Bus travel irregularities adding up to millions
Commuters who travel by bus are effectively subsidising loss-making routes by paying a high premium when they cross the harbour - an irregularity due to the government's fare-mechanism policy that adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, a study by the South China Morning Post revealed. A Transport Advisory Committee member, who declined to be named, said the government was keen to investigate the irregularities in bus fares.
Data base proposals ring alarm bells
Proposals to establish a data base of personal loans could be open to abuse by bank staff working outside Hong Kong where there are no laws to protect privacy. In an interview with ATV's Newsline programme, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Raymond Tang Yee-bong said the SAR would have no control over data that was accessed from another jurisdiction such as the mainland. Mr Tang said he was confident that with China's accession to the World Trade Organisation it would be forced to develop its own privacy regime to fulfil WTO requirements.
Job quiz show fails to entice
An ATV quiz show offering jobs as prizes has attracted a meagre response from the unemployed - about 30 applicants - despite a record jobless rate of 7.8 per cent, or 275,000 people. The one-hour show, provisionally titled Win a Job, will be screened twice a week for three months from the end of this month. An ATV spokeswoman said a dozen employers had already pledged to provide 100 jobs in total, including a number in the tourism and media industries and some as waiters and dim-sum makers.