Press Release - May 28, 2003

The Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Donald Tsang, has today (May 28) unveiled Team Clean's comprehensive strategy to boost environmental hygiene and cleanliness in Hong Kong.

Short-term measures to be taken over the next three to six months will brighten up the city through a major cleanup of streets and roads, hawkers centres and markets, private and public housing estates and rear lanes and private roads.

A 'zero tolerance' and stricter enforcement action will be taken against spitting and littering offences, illegal cooked food hawkers, filthy rear lanes and private roads, unhygienic market stalls, unclean toilets and dirty pavements in front of shops.

A longer-term strategy aims to engender sustained community involvement in maintaining a clean and healthy environment, coupled with stricter enforcement action and new approaches to long-standing public hygiene problems.

Mr Tsang stressed that any efforts to keep Hong Kong clean in the long term would depend on the individual resolve of everyone in Hong Kong.

"Team Clean does not and cannot work alone," he said.

"Members of the community are the true owners of all the initiatives we have devised. Every member of the community is a member of Team Clean.

"We can only achieve our goals for a cleaner, more hygienic Hong Kong if we all play our part."

Mr Tsang said all efforts to improve Hong Kong's living environment must begin with the individual, extend to the family and the immediate neighbourhood, and then radiate throughout the entire community.

Accordingly, Team Clean's work plan had been structured in a hierarchy of personal hygiene, home hygiene, and community hygiene.

"A comprehensive strategy has been developed to help bring about a sea change in the way that Hong Kong people regard their living environment," he said.

"This will be achieved by promoting individual and community-wide involvement and ownership of cleanliness and hygiene efforts, increased civic education and tougher enforcement action for breaches of food, hygiene and cleanliness regulations.

"A broad range of measures - including pilot schemes - will be taken over the next three to six months (Phase I) to achieve quick and visible improvements in the living environment.

"Longer-term measures (Phase II), which could include new or amended laws, will be developed on the basis of experiences gained during Phase I."

Mr Tsang said Team Clean recognised the need for a new mindset within Government and the community to develop innovative and sustainable systems that break new ground, and break down barriers, to tackle long-standing health and hygiene problems.

The district administration system will play a key and pro-active role in monitoring local conditions and devising new initiatives to engender a sense of individual responsibility and collective community pride in environmental hygiene.

The management of housing blocks - both private and public - has received special attention to put systems in place that will ensure common areas and facilities are well-maintained and that drainage systems are inspected regularly and, if faulty, repaired quickly.

Owners unwilling to maintain their buildings properly, will be billed by the HKSAR Government for any rectification measures that need to be taken.
Greater attention will also be paid to hygiene in restaurants, markets and cooked food stalls, with an immediate crackdown on illegal food hawking and stricter enforcement of food and hygiene regulations in markets and bazaars.

For more details of the short-term and long-term measures and the full report, please visit the Team Clean website at: www.teamclean.gov.hk.

For updated information and latest news on respiratory tract infections, please visit the special home page on the subject at www.info.gov.hk/info/infection-e.htm, and the HKSAR Department of Health website at www.info.gov.hk/dh/ap.htm as well as the e-bulletin at www.news.gov.hk/en/index.shtml.