From the Editor

In his maiden Policy Address to the Provisional Legislative Council on 8 October 1997, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa called upon Hong Kong citizens to "have the courage to set aside past modes of thought and plan Hong Kong's long term future with new vision?" (para. 3 of the Address). One of the key issues in planning the long term development of Hong Kong is to reposition the metropolis within the overall context of China's modernization and to optimize the growing interface - in terms of economic activities, infrastructural linkage and environmental impact - between the Special Administrative Region and the rest of the Mainland so as to achieve sustainable mutual benefit.

This issue of Policy Bulletin features three articles on infrastructural and environmental development. Both Dr. L. H. Wang and Dr. W. T. Hung look at transport development. Dr. Wang argues for a sustainable transport development strategy which can serve the needs of Hong Kong both as a stand-alone urban entity and as an active constituent economy of the Pearl River Delta region. Dr. Hung examines railway development specifically and is critical of the current Railway Development Study 2 (RDS-2) commissioned by the government, which he thinks should be better synchronized with other studies on transport infrastructure conducted under the jurisdiction of various government departments. As he points out, the biggest uncertainty in formulating development options relates to the distribution and size of both passenger and freight demands. The estimation of such demands of course depends very much on the strategic positioning of Hong Kong within south China and how Hong Kong sees as its main economic priorities.

Finally the joint article of Dr. K. C. Ho and Dr. C. S. Man uses the case of the recent outbreak of red tides along Hong Kong coast to highlight the seriousness of environmental pollution caused by unplanned and uncoordinated infrastructural development in the Pearl River Delta region. With increased interaction with neighbouring cities in the Mainland, the authors expect Hong Kong to face more and more cross-jurisdiction problems related to infrastructural development and environmental protection, which call for better coordination through a broad-based regional policy advisory framework so as not to jeopardize the goals of sustainable development.

Dr Anthony B L Cheung

Editor-in-Chief