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Science and technology are not novel terms to everyone nowadays. The application of scientific knowledge has great impact on our daily life in such many ways as shopping, traveling, driving, and even keeping healthy. People can enjoy their life at their fingertips. Our government has invested colossal amounts of money on bringing in advanced level of science and technology in the government services, expediting the services and elevating our living standard. There are numerous advantages to utilize science and technology in our public services.
Some time you may not recognize your standard of living or enjoyment has been raised should you not carefully notice the environment around you.
Deteriorating as Hong Kong air quality tends to be, the Environmental Protection Department, for example, is committed to alleviating the problem. The PATH (Pollutants in the Atmosphere and Their Transport over Hong Kong) modeling system renders constructive information about air pollution in and around Hong Kong, helping forecast air quality and comprehend sources of pollutants. What is important is to let people with asthma or respiratory illness can take precaution while getting out. The development of scientific knowledge enables us to understand and master nature for the benefit of man.
Millions of travelers crossed the mainland boundary every year. Had a good monitoring system of passage of people or vehicles not been in place, would we have such orderly passage now? Or, we would suffer loss of time or even injury in a stampede. To cite an example, the Planning Department utilizes 2 models to forecast the total cross-boundary passengers and vehicle transportation, namely the Total Passenger Demand Model (TPDM) and Cross-boundary Transport Model (CBTM). The models provide abundant and efficacious information for various resource planning and prediction work as regards traffic volume change. The sophisticated systems underpin the effective and swift interdepartmental cooperation in the government bodies, such as Immigration Department and the Planning Department, vastly promoting the communication between people in Hong Kong and China.
Not only does the application of science and technology raise the standard of living, but it also protects our people's health. It is not rare to hear a wide coverage on food poisoning. The commitment of the government to combat on contaminated food in the market is to safeguard the health of her citizens. With modern methods of testing food, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is able to find out the "defected food" in the retail market by endlessly scrutinizing food or related products even like sauces.
Besides, people in Hong Kong have long had the most reliable and safest water supplies. Have we ever asked how the water is treated before running to your water tap? The Water Supplies Department is entrusted to maintain excellent quality of the water supplied. It has used a stern monitoring standard and state-of-the-art technology to assure the quality of Dongjiang raw water transferred to Hong Kong. The process is definitely complicated, supported by trustworthy scientific methodology.
The ample use of science and technology in Hong Kong benefits living and enjoyment in one hand, but also is instrumental to international trading and reputation on the other. Innovation and Technology Commission and Government Laboratory, for instance, are committing themselves to contributing to the growth and prosperity of Hong Kong and to laying down a solid and concordant technical foundation for global commerce and regulatory matters. They help align measurement standards used in trading with international ones. To keep abreast with the trading world, standardization appears to be common in business dealings. According to Innovation and Technology Commission, "the lack of confidence in the measurement standards of an economy would jeopardize the results of tests conducted on products destined for overseas markets".
The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland for the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook promulgates the ranking of competitiveness of an economy from time to time. Some of the criteria for computing the ranking of competitiveness are pertinent to applicability of science and technology such as Business Efficiency and Infrastructure of an economy. Hong Kong has long been remaining on high ranking, the fact indicating that an affirmative support and use of science and technology in public and private services can also reap international accreditation. The ranking fortifies investors' confidence in conducting businesses in Hong Kong.
Science and technology is widely adopted in a variety of areas to enhance people's lifestyles. There are boundless examples we can count. However, some citizens may be unaccustomed to the radical changes made by the development of science and technology in public services. In the end, they could not live through the prosperity and convenience brought about by the changes. It is common that some senior citizens used to borrow books over counter in public library, but have no knowledge of online library services provided. There are still younger generation who may not understand the technology used in public services and evade the use of such services. Not only does the lack of knowledge keep the society lag behind the others, but it also forms a barrier to better people’s lifestyles. Education is thus paramount to the progress of science and technology and its use in public services.
It is inspiring that young generation at school has already been receiving basic training on information technology or computer science in recent years. The general applicability lies in the science and technology literacy of the citizens. The more knowledgeable about science and technology the people are, the more common the people use and benefit from public services. Flocks of fans encircling the big lecture hall where the world-renowned scientist and cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking was lecturing and the emerging of the popular schoolboy inventor Chan Yik Hei convey good messages to HongKongers that Hong Kong is not a "desert of science and technology". It appears that there are still countless science enthusiasts in Hong Kong. Apart from spending stupendous money on upgrading systems, investment on education constitutes a far-reaching influence to the local.
Marketing the use of information technology or scientific methodology in Hong Kong looks soaring. Noticeably, to encourage the business sector and its members to harness the benefits of information technology, the government has implemented a number of policies, like the Digital 21 Strategy, in recent years. The emphasis of the strategy is to establish Hong Kong's information infrastructure and to foster the right environment for e-business to prosper. The patronage of the government plays a vital role in uplifting the general knowledge of science and technology, and thus enhancing the benefits to the people in turn.
Undeniably, scientific and technological advancement has brought revolutionary changes to our daily life, making our life easier, safer, and more convenient. We should be grateful to living in this era of science. It is also about time for our government to substantially increase its expenditure on research and development in the arena of science and technology to outflank the neighbouring regions.
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