Conference was beneficial for HK despite the disruption, says John Tsang
There had been more pluses than minuses for Hong Kong resulting from this month's WTO meeting in the city, the commerce minister said yesterday.
John Tsang Chun-wah admitted there had been some disruption to normality, particularly for people living on Hong Kong Island and for the Wan Chai area.
'We feel pretty bad about that. But overall, I think there have been more pluses than minuses for Hong Kong as a whole, particularly in the medium and longer term,' the secretary for commerce, industry and technology said.
Mr Tsang also said Hong Kong had no plans to host another World Trade Organisation ministerial conference despite applause from some quarters at the way the city handled the week-long gathering of trade ministers, lobby groups and protesters.
He said there was never an intention to play host a second time but added that the 18 months the government had spent preparing for the event helped see a 'very satisfactory' conclusion to the talks.
Many businesses near the conference venue were forced to shut over the weekend two weeks ago after protest crowds of mainly South Korean farmers brought Wan Chai to a standstill.