Chief Executive Donald Tsang declares the appointment of 10 members to serve on the Task Force on Economic Challenges when meeting the press yesterday. The task force, chaired by Tsang, will assess the impact of the financial crisis. CNS

Chief Executive Donald Tsang yesterday appointed 10 members to serve on the Task Force on Economic Challenges, which is established in response to the global financial downturn.

The task force, chaired by Tsang himself, will seek to make a preliminary assessment of the impact caused by the crisis, and formulate a work plan for the coming few months, the chief executive said.

Tsang announced the setting up of the task force in his policy address speech on October 15.

Appointed members from the business sector include Standard Chartered PLC chairman Mervyn Davies, Li and Fung group chairman Victor Fung, Hong Kong Futures Exchange former chairman Leong Ka-chai, HSBC Global Co-Head Commercial Banking general manager Margaret Ko Leung, KPMG partner Ayesha Macpherson, and Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach. Shih Wing-ching, chairman of Centaline (Holdings) Company, is also appointed.

Chinese University of Hong Kong president Lawrence Lau, also a prominent economist, will serve on the task force as well.

Tsang has also appointed cultural sector representative Mathias Woo, the executive director of Hong Kong-based theatre company Zuni Icosahedron.

Financial Secretary John Tsang will be the deputy chairman.

The task force has invited David Burton, head of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, to give an update on the global financial crisis in its first meeting next Monday.

The chief executive said the task force will help the government weather the storm and turn the crisis into an opportunity.

"The challenges ahead of us are daunting. The damage that the financial turmoil has inflicted on the global economy has yet to be fully revealed," he said. "While the task force has a small membership and does not include representatives from every sector of the economy, I hope that it can bring to use new perspectives."

When asked the reason for appointing Woo, Tsang replied that the government wants to help every sector, including the creative and cultural industry.

Woo said he will express his ideas to the task force based on common sense.

"We haven't had our first meeting yet and I don't know if I can understand the issue," said Woo. "But economics and culture are related. And I have ridden on taxi and minibus, I know how ordinary citizens feel."

Meanwhile, Shih said he had suggested the government approach someone else when he was invited because he believed appointing him would stir up controversies.

He added that he will express his opinion based on the overall interest of Hong Kong, but added that the community should not expect the task force to be a solution to the crisis.

"What we can do is to tell the government what they have done wrong. We can't really tell the government what it should do in the future. I think correcting mistakes is much easier than determining the right way to go," he said.

Chinese University head Lau said he feels honored to serve on the task force and is confident that Hong Kong can overcome the crisis.

(HK Edition 10/29/2008 page1)