To enhance women's participation in decision and policy making, the Government will take gender composition into account when making appointments to its advisory and statutory bodies and will increase the percentage of females appointed from 20% to 25%.
The move is to tie in with the Chief Executive's 2004 Policy Address delivered on Wednesday.
The Government will consider including more women's names in its Central Register Database so that more can be appointed into advisory bodies.
Meanwhile, Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho has outlined six major policy initiatives for his bureau.
They are:
* elimination of racial discrimination;
* heritage conservation;
* promotion of creative industries;
* culture and sports exchanges with Macau and Guangdong;
* cultural policy; and
* district administration.
Bill against racial discrimination to be introduced
Dr Ho said the Government is now proceeding to issue a consultation paper on the proposed legislation against racial discrimination.
The Government has issued drafting instructions for a bill to the Department of Justice and is preparing a consultation document for garnering public opinion on the matter.
It expects to complete consultations this year and, if all proceeds smoothly, to introduce a bill into the Legislative Council in the 2004-05 legislative session.
On heritage conservation, the Government intends to adopt a holistic approach in assessing the historical value and cultural background as well as the merit of the architecture of the buildings in our strategy for heritage conservation.
Dr Ho said this will not only give appropriate protection to historical buildings and their cultural ambience, but also maintain the diversity of our architecture, enhance the community's sense of belonging and widen citizens' exposure to our unique history. A consultation exercise will be launched later this year.
Gov't facilitating creative industry development
Dr Ho said the Government will further facilitate the development of our creative industries and will provide a platform for the matching of business investors and creative talent.
It will follow up on the proposal of a visual arts academy with a comprehensive review of the professional training of various forms of arts, including the performing and visual arts.
Turning to district administration, Dr Ho promised to enhance the partnership with the District Councils and will garner their opinions when formulating policies that affecting them.
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