Entitled Action Plan to Raise Language Standards in Hong Kong, the consultation is aimed to seek public views on the findings and recommendations of a language education review conducted by the committee.

The committee will consider the views collected and prepare its final recommendations for submission to the government of the HongKong Special Administrative Region.

Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Michael Tien, chairman of SCOLAR, said that the review focused on two major issues - specifying the language competencies expected of students and working adults, and raising students' motivation for language learning.

Tien said that the SCOLAR recommended setting basic language competencies for primary and secondary students, university graduates and professional groups.

"Being biliterate and trilingual has been our competitive advantage. Increasing globalization and a more open China market have made it more important than ever to enhance the English and Chinese proficiency of the community as a whole to meet the challenges of the future," Tien said.

Arthur K C Li, secretary for education and manpower, welcomed the release of the consultation document.

"Our language education policy is to enable our population, particularly students and working adults, to become biliterate (in written Chinese and English) and trilingual (in Cantonese, Putonghua and spoken English). While this policy has general community support, how best to achieve its goal has been a subject of ongoing debates both inside and outside the education sector," Professor Li said.

"We encourage members of the public to give their views to the SCOLAR, and look forward to receiving the final recommendations of the committee," Li said.

The two-month public consultation on the review findings and recommendations will last until Feb. 28, 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2003)