Signing ceremony for "Survey of Hong Kong People Living in Shenzhen" (with photo)
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    The Planning Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Statistics Bureau (SZMSB) today (March 25) signed the Co-operation Agreement of the "Survey of Hong Kong People Living in Shenzhen" at the Shi Min Zhong Xin in Shenzhen.

    The co-operation agreement signing ceremony was chaired by Deputy Secretary General of Shenzhen Municipal Government, Mr Xu Anliang, with the agreement signed by the Director of Planning of the HKSAR, Mrs Ava Ng, and the Director of SZMSB, Mr Deng Ping.

    The intensifying of the socio-economic relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland has been accompanied by increasing cross-boundary activities.  The results of various surveys undertaken by the Planning Department and the Census and Statistics Department indicated that Shenzhen was one of the most popular places for Hong Kong people to live and work.  Against this background, it is the intention of both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides to understand the situation of Hong Kong people living and working in Shenzhen as well as their socio-economic relationship with Hong Kong.  The survey results will provide useful reference to the strategic planning and land-use planning for both Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

    The survey, which is supported by both the HKSAR and Shenzhen sides, is also the first joint co-operation project between the Planning Department and SZMSB.  Apart from enhancing the co-operation between the two parties, it is also hoped that the undertaking of the survey could lead to more understanding and co-operation on the levels of future social research and urban planning.

    Following today's signing ceremony, the work related to the survey will begin immediately, including the convening of a working meeting to discuss the approach and methodology of the survey.

    The survey will be carried out in two stages.  Stage One will involve examining the number and distribution of Hong Kong people currently living in Shenzhen to facilitate a questionnaire survey in Stage Two.  With a target of about 3,000 to 5,000 people by random sampling, the questionnaire will collect information about Hong Kong people living in Shenzhen for detailed analysis.

    The survey will be implemented through the SZMSB.  It is anticipated that the research work could be completed within 10 months.

Ends/Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:32

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