Hong Kong citizens accounted for 83 percent of all cross-boundary passenger movements in 2001, with most visitors travelling across the border to Shenzhen (61 percent) for a day out, Ava Ng, Deputy Director of Planning, said at the Chamber's July 14 roundtable luncheon.

Mainland Chinese, on the other hand, accounted for just 5 percent of cross-boundary passenger movements.

Citing statistics from the government's Cross-boundary Travel Survey, which was conducted in November 2001, Ms Ng said that while Hong Kong people generally travelled to the Pearl River Delta (PRD) for leisure, Mainlanders mainly visited Hong Kong for business and tended to stay longer, averaging three to four days.

These numbers could change dramatically now that restrictions on Mainlanders travelling to Hong Kong are being relaxed, she said. As a result, cross-boundary passenger traffic is expected to almost double from 128 million in 2002, to 239 million by 2016.

This huge growth will impact local infrastructure services, not least Hong Kongs roads with cross-boundary vehicle movements expected to soar from 12 million in 2002, to 39.8 by 2016. She expects vehicle growth could even be driven to 48 million once access to the western PRD is improved.

The survey also found that out of the 50,000 people polled, approximately half of the daily cross-border passenger traffic is made up of commuters and students travelling to and from Hong Kong, and any rise in this number could further imbalance Hong Kong's population mix.

Hong Kong's labour force structure currently resembles that of a nation, rather than a city economy, George Leung, HSBC's Chief Economist for Greater China, said at the luncheon. We have a wide mix of professionals, managers and clerks, but Hong Kong has a disproportionally high number of unskilled workers, which most major cities in the world do not have.

As a pillar industry, tourism is one sector that might be able to absorb some of these unskilled workers, but not all, and it will be up to the government to figure out how these workers can best be employed.

Another problem that Hong Kong needs to find an answer to is its greying population. Over the last two decades, the birth-rate here has halved, from around 88,000 in 1982, to about 42,000 in 2002. As a result, by 2031, Mr Leung estimates that almost 25 percent of the population will be over 65 years old. Without a young workforce to drive it along, a shrinking and lower-quality labour force could create new problems for Hong Kong's economy.

Forty citizens were commended for their bravery in helping Police fight against crime during the Good Citizen Award Presentation Ceremony on June 12.

The recipients, 35 men and five women, helped the police arrest about 40 culprits for a variety of offences.

Yiu Sau-fong, one of the recipients, assisted police in foiling an attempted deception.

On the morning of November 26, 2002, an elderly woman was approached by two women and one man in Sha Tin claiming they knew a supernatural doctor who could dispel bad luck and cure illnesses.

Convinced by the group of three, the victim took cash and valuables totalling HK$48,000 from her home and went to withdraw another HK$40,000 from a bank.

Feeling suspicious, Miss Yiu, a bank teller, informed the police. Police officers netted one of the suspects. The suspect was sentenced to two years' imprisonment upon conviction of attempt to obtain property by deception.

Ng Kwok-wah, another recipient, successfully helped police arrest a thief.

Mr Ng, a manager of a supermarket in Tsim Sha Tsui, received a report on a missing rucksack from a Japanese customer on the evening of January 12 this year.

Although not Japanese-speaking, Mr Ng took the initiative to figure out the situation and intercepted a suspect who was holding the rucksack. The suspect was arrested by police and sentenced to six months' imprisonment upon conviction of theft.

The ceremony was held at the Whiskers Theatre, Ocean Park. All recipients were each presented with a certificate and a cheque of HK$2,000 for their initiatives in fighting crime.

Officiating guests included the Police Director of Personnel and Training, Foo Tsun-kong; Fight Crime Committee member, Ma Fung-kwok; and Council Member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Daniel Koo.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Ma commended the recipients for their courage, alertness and initiatives. He said they had set a good example for other members of the community.

Mr Koo told the gathering that the HKGCC attached great importance to citizens' concerted efforts to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity for which police-community cooperation in the fight against crime was essential.

The Good Citizen Award Presentation Ceremony, held twice a year, is organised by the Police Public Relations Branch and sponsored by the HKGCC with Ocean Park giving its support to the latest event by providing a venue free of charge.