THE 2000-01 BUDGET

Madam President,	主席女士：
Introduction	引言
I move that the Appropriation Bill 2000 be read a second time.	我謹動議二讀二○○○年撥款條例草案。
2. A short time ago the world welcomed the birth of a new century. As always, ringing out the old and ringing in the new meant different things to different people. For me it brought a time to reflect. Time to reflect on Hong Kong's amazing journey through the last century - a journey that has transformed this obscure trading port into one of the world's best-known economic miracles; and from a remote colony in the East to a capitalist Special Administrative Region reunited with a fast-growing China. Above all, my thoughts focused on the dramatic events of the last two years. Two years in which our record of uninterrupted economic growth was destroyed as we fell prey to a sharp and sudden economic downturn. All these twists and turns evoked feelings too complicated to put into words. But reminiscences aside, the dawn of a new era also brings a natural sense of hope and renewed vigour, urging us to look ahead and position Hong Kong for the future.	2. 不久之前，人類迎接了一個新世紀的誕生。時代更迭，舊去新來。不同的人，自有不一樣的感受和體會。撫今追昔，我無法不想起香港在上一世紀走過的路 - 從寂寂無聞的小商埠，到國際知名的經濟奇迹；從東方的一個殖民地，到回歸發展神速的中國，成為國家一個資本主義特別行政區。尤其難忘的，是從享受多年繁榮，到突然在世紀末最後兩年遭逢經濟巨變。其間曲折，不禁令人百感交集。但回首過後，一個嶄新世紀的來臨，又很自然地喚起新的希望與鬥志，驅使我們舉目向前，積極為未來部署。
3. This afternoon's Budget is the first after Hong Kong comes out of a deep economic recession. But more importantly it is the first budget in the 21st Century for the SAR. This is a time for taking stock and a time for charting a new course for the future. This afternoon I want to consider the reasons for our past success, and look at the lessons we must learn from the recent turmoil. I want to re-emphasise our economic and fiscal policies. And I want to put forward proposals that should position Hong Kong for the 21st Century. These proposals will help us achieve the policy objectives previously described by the Chief Executive and are consistent with the strategic framework recently outlined by his Commission on Strategic Development.	3. 今天下午發表的，是我們在擺脫經濟重創之後的第一份預算案，更是香港特區在二十一世紀的首份預算案。這是總結經驗的時候，更是開創未來的時候。我將回顧香港過去繁榮的原因，歸納逆境帶來的啟示，闡明特區政府的經濟和理財政策，並根據行政長官的施政方針，以及他的策略發展委員會最近公布的策略綱領，提出一些有助香港在新世紀中取得更大發展的建議。
Crisis Management : Turning Adversity into Opportunity	逆境奮進轉危為機
4. Over the past two years, the contagious impact of the Asian financial crisis brought Hong Kong its worst economic downturn for half a century. Few, if any, families or companies went unscathed. It was an extraordinary period demanding extraordinary measures. Throughout this period the economic, monetary and financial measures which we took were aimed at achieving three targets - · to relieve the difficulties of the community; · to restore confidence; and · to turn the crisis into an opportunity for reform.	4. 過去兩年，由於亞洲金融風暴引發的連鎖影響，香港經歷了半世紀以來最急劇的經濟逆轉。衝擊所及，幾乎無一家庭和企業倖免。為了應付非常時期的挑戰，我們也毅然採取了一些不尋常的經濟、財政和金融措施，以達到三大目標，就是： · 紓解民困； · 重建信心； · 轉危為機。
5. In the 1998 Budget, we introduced a series of tax and other concessions costing nearly $100 billion over four years. But shortly after that Budget the need to act further became painfully apparent. Three months later, we took the extraordinary step of releasing a 'mini-budget' which contained a further package of relief measures. These were aimed at easing the credit crunch, providing further relief through reducing taxes and fees, and stabilizing the property market. In early 1999, when our economy had shown little sign of turning the corner, we accepted the need for a substantial budget deficit. The aim was to provide further relief in the form of tax rebates, the continued freezing of fees and charges, and the commitment to maintain our spending plans despite a sharp fall in our revenues.	5. 我在九八年公布的財政預算案中，宣布了一系列稅務和其他優惠，四年間總值大約千億元。三個月後，鑒於經濟環境惡劣，急需改善，政府破例再發表一個「小型預算案」，頒布一整套紓緩方案，包括促進信貸流通、減稅減費，以及穩定物業市場的措施。去年初，由於經濟仍未見好轉，我們制定了一份赤字龐大的預算案，在稅收驟減的情況下，仍然退稅、繼續凍結收費、維持政府服務開支計劃，以進一步紓解民困。
6. But last year's Budget went further than that. At a time when our economy was badly rocked, we decided that it was important to sustain Hong Kong's positive and enterprising spirit. That was why I took the exceptional step of announcing our plans for the Cyberport and for Disneyland.	6. 此外，為了在風雨飄搖的時刻穩住信心，讓大家看到香港在逆境中仍然奮勇進取，積極應變，我在去年的預算案中宣布了興建數碼港和迪士尼主題公園。這也是不同於往日預算案的做法。
7. But, of all the measures which we took during this period, the most extraordinary occurred in August 1998 with our unprecedented incursion into the stock and futures markets to safeguard our very economic survival.	7. 但我們最突破常規之舉，便是在九八年八月進入股票和期貨市場，保衞香港的經濟命脈。
8. Yet the economic crisis also opened windows of opportunity for domestic reform. The dizzying pace of change in the global financial market and the shocks to our system brought about by the massive flows of funds in and out of our stock and currency markets proved a catalyst for local unity. We have reached consensus in a number of areas at a speed previously unimaginable. With this new-found unity, we have introduced reforms to several areas of our financial systems.	8. 另一方面，金融風暴帶來的經濟危機，也成為我們厲行改革的難得契機。全球金融市場的瞬息萬變，加上巨額資金在我們股票和貨幣市場上流竄所造成的嚴重衝擊，轉化成一股團結的力量，促成各個有關機構在以往難以想像的短時間內達成共識，合力推行一系列金融改革措施。
9. We also took the opportunity to reform the Civil Service and to privatise the MTRC, so that the public sector could move on with the times and operate with greater efficiency.	9. 我們也及時推出了公務員體制改革，以及提出將地下鐵路私有化，使公營部門的運作能夠與時並進，更講求成本效益。
10. Today, I will be reporting how our economy has started to bounce back and is doing so at a rate even faster than I dared hope a year ago.	10. 今天，香港的經濟已經恢復增長，反彈速度之快，更遠超我去年預期。稍後我會更詳細交代。
11. Our currency regime has proven to be much stronger after the technical improvements we introduced. Our banking industry is now one of the most open and best-regulated in the world. The stocks that we purchased in defending our financial system have brought gains for the Exchange Fund and a revenue windfall for the Government. Not only that, we have lived up to our pledge to reduce these stock holdings progressively in a way that would not damage the market. By disposing of some of them through the Tracker Fund, we have enabled the community to share the fruits of our investments, and at the same time brought an innovative product to our stock market.	11. 我們的貨幣制度經過連串技術性改善後，證實更加穩健。香港銀行業的開放程度與管理水平之高，已位於世界前列。我們為了捍衞香港金融體系而購入的股票，為外匯基金和庫房帶來了可觀進帳。我們更信守承諾，通過設立盈富基金，以不影響市場的方式逐步減少持股量。這種做法不僅讓市民得以分享投資成果，更為股市增添了嶄新的投資工具。
12. But the most exciting outcome of the financial reform must be the formal establishment just two days ago of the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Company. This puts Hong Kong at the forefront of the demutualisation game worldwide and has much enhanced our position as an international financial centre.	12. 我們推行金融改革最可喜的成果，便是在兩天前剛成立了香港交易及結算所有限公司。現在，香港在證券和期貨市場股份化上的成績，在國際間已是名列前茅，我們作為國際金融中心的地位也更形穩固。