It gives me great honour and pleasure to speak to you today, for this is a truly remarkable symposium that pools together leading academics, social work practitioners as well as other key stakeholders from the region.

It also marks the 45th anniversary of the Department of Social Work of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which has been a leader in social work education in Hong Kong for many years.

Officially 45 years old, the department's history actually dates back to 1956, when Chung Chi College, later a founding college of the Chinese University, established the Department of Religious Studies & Social Work - two years before the Government had our own Social Welfare Department.

When the university began offering a full-time undergraduate social work programme in 1964, it was the first of its kind in the territory. The department continued to break new ground by introducing in 1977 postgraduate social work programmes, in response to the expansion of social services in Hong Kong and the increasing demand for advanced professional social work training.

Over the years, the department has established itself as a leading institution in training professional workers who are committed to social justice and the well being of their clients.

Most of its 2,600 graduates have dedicated themselves to the development of welfare services in Hong Kong, either by practising at the management level and on the frontline, or by serving in the academia as lecturers and researchers. My heartfelt tribute goes to the department for nurturing our social workers in the past four decades.

Nowadays, the social-work profession is indispensable in any modern society, regardless of the differences in culture, values and traditions.

Everywhere, the modern society is experiencing quantum changes. Its problems are becoming more complex by the day, and social workers have to shoulder a great deal of responsibilities and fight hard to meet new challenges.

This is all the more so in modern Chinese societies like Hong Kong. Here self-reliance is revered, and tradition has it that family and other social problems should better be resolved behind closed doors.

But this in no way undermines the role played by our social workers. It only means that in this part of the world our social workers will probably have to make extra efforts to reach out to the needy and ensure that they receive timely assistance that tailors to their values and concerns.

And of course a lot of good old Chinese traditions exert a positive influence on our society, not the least our respect for the family. In his latest Policy Address, the Chief Executive highlighted the family as Hong Kong's core value.

Recognising the fact that social harmony has its roots in fully functional family units, he established the Family Council under the leadership of the Chief Secretary to ensure that policies and the provision of public services would be planned with due regard to the family perspective and in a holistic manner.

The provision of welfare services relating to the family, be they for women, children, youngsters or the elderly, will also abide by this princple.

I am sure speakers and participants in this symposium will have much more in-depth discussions on the roles that social work practice and education play in Chinese societies. I shall defer to the experts to deliberate.

As for the Hong Kong Government, we are keenly aware of the characteristics of the local population and relentless in supporting our social-work profession in meeting our special social needs.

Apart from setting policy directions, we also provide the infrastructures and resources required to enable social workers to maximise their contribution.

First of all, the Government is fully committed to nurturing professionalism in social work. We believe that Hong Kong people deserve quality welfare services, and recognise their rightful expectation that the people caring for them should be well trained and competent. We therefore spare no effort in the training of social workers at tertiary institutions.

Each year, there are more than 200 social-work graduates on publicly funded degree places to replenish the city's pool of over 13,000 registered social workers. I am pleased to note that our social work undergraduate programmes remain one of the most popular and sought-after disciplines in our tertiary institutions.

Second, in 1997 we took a decisive step to formalise social work practice by establishing an independent Social Workers Registration Board and putting in place a compulsory registration and disciplinary mechanism.

We also accord the term "social worker" with special legal meaning and status. These measures seek to ensure that our social workers are all qualified and of high professional standards.

We are also aware that our social workers, whether working in the Government's Social Welfare Department or in non-governmental organisations receiving Government subvention, need resources to deliver their services.

That is why the past 10 years have seen unprecedented growth of Government investment in social welfare. This financial year, our expenditure on welfare services stands at $11.6 billion, 16% more than last year.

We are making great strides in social-welfare development, and our social workers can be assured that they are well equipped to do their job.

In 2001, we introduced a new subvention system for our NGOs, namely the Lump Sum Grant Subvention System, which gives NGOs greater say in their management and in the deployment of Government subsidy as they see fit. This system enables NGOs to practise good governance and enhance their human resources management, or HRM.

To date, we have already provided around $2.6 billion one-off resources for NGOs under the system to reinforce their HRM initiatives. Recently, we have also decided to give a special recurrent funding of $200 million to NGOs under the system to strengthen their administrative support. With the greater autonomy and additional resources, NGOs will be in a better position to adapt to the changing needs of our society.

Apart from supporting the welfare sector, we also encourage tripartite partnership of the business sector, the community and the Government in the provision of social-welfare services. We believe that every one of us has a stake in social issues and should take ownership of society at large. Together, we can serve the community better.

Welfare cannot be taken out of its social context. The same is true for social workers' professional development. In this light, the theme of this symposium, "Social Work Practice & Education in the Chinese Societies", is most apt.

I have no doubt that the professional discourse and sharing on this occasion will provide much food for thought to those of us involved, including policymakers, frontline workers, the NGO management and the academics.

Permanent Secretary for Labour & Welfare Paul Tang gave this address at the 45th Anniversary Symposium - Social Work Practice & Education in the Chinese Societies, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Department of Social Work.