Negotiations at the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference have begun to gain momentum after an initial warming up, Assistant Director-General of Trade & Industry Rosanna Law says.

Speaking at a press briefing today, Miss Law said discussions on agriculture, non-agriculture market access and development issues are ongoing, adding the Hong Kong delegation takes an active role in the informal meetings and gives advice on where convergence can be pursued.

Regarding the plenary session on cotton and banana issues last night, Miss Law said the city does not have specific interests in these areas. However, the Hong Kong delegation keeps a close watch and maintains a keen interest on their development as this is in line with the city's efforts to have the Hong Kong Ministerial succeed.

She stressed Hong Kong promotes free trade, and hopes trade partners can lower or remove tariffs and liberalise their services.

Public rallies peaceful

Police Public Relations Branch Chief Superintendent Alfred Ma said public rallies staged today were peaceful, adding protesters are satisfied with the Police arrangements.

"In terms of the manner in which we have handled the demonstrations, we have handled with the best possible professional way and exercised a high degree of constraints during the encounters," Mr Ma said.

Noting some protesters claimed they will escalate their demonstrations, Mr Ma reiterated the Police are well prepared to manage all sorts of incidents, adding initial review has shown the conference's security work is sufficient.

He said the Police treat all protesters, both local and overseas, the same. Keeping up a dialogue with demonstrators is necessary so that Police can make appropriate arrangements.

Busier traffic expected

On the transport front, Principal Transport Officer Albert Su said traffic flow on Hong Kong Island rose this morning, with more private cars observed and vehicles queued up in Wan Chai and Hung Hom during rush hours.

While the Transport Department will work out with Police temporary traffic plans with regard to the scale of public rallies to keep public inconvenience to the minimum, he expected traffic in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay to be much busier.

The public should pay attention to the latest traffic bulletins and take public transport.  He also called on employers to deploy staggered working hours for staff  to avoid traffic jams.