Hong Kong To Test Y2K Contingency Plans

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Hong Kong To Test Y2K Contingency Plans

Updated 3:13 AM ET August 16, 1999

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong is taking no chances with the millennium bug and more than a dozen key sectors will put contingency plans through rigorous tests well before the end of 1999, a senior government official said.

Work done so far on the Year 2000 (Y2K) problem had reduced the risk of the bug infecting locally based computer systems, but the territory could still be vulnerable if foreign countries and supply chains, on whom Hong Kong depends, were hit, he said.

"If you talk about internal risks, within Hong Kong, we are very confident...but at the end of the day, whether this is good enough hinges on a lot of external factors," William Tang, a member of the government's Central Steering Committee on Year 2000 compliance, told Reuters in an interview.

The efficient but small territory depends on external suppliers for such basic items such as food, fuel and water.

A Hong Kong Y2K expert said last week the territory ran risks of catching the bug from less-prepared Asian trading partners, such as mainland China, Thailand and the Philippines.

To deal with possible disruption on January 1, the government has ordered detailed contingency plans from 13 crucial sectors and will hold territory-wide tests later in 1999.

"All government departments and essential services providers are required to formulate contingency plans to protect their core businesses," Tang said.

"They have to ensure that in the event of any Y2K induced disruption, their services will be maintained."

The plans, which will have to be ready by end-September, will outline how providers in each sector would step in and cover for each other in case of supply disruptions, Tang said.

The Y2K bug stems from a programming practice of using only two digits to denote the year. Older computers could mistake 2000 for 1900 and crash at the start of the new year.

"We don't produce food, energy. We rely on other places to keep us moving...but it's impossible to tell what could be the worst scenario," Tang said.

"We plan to test the overall plan adequately, that is more than once in the fourth quarter to make sure they do work."

The 13 sectors deal with food, transportation, financial services, public order, fire and emergency, water and sewerage, civil aviation, public health, telecommunications, port management, energy supply, immigration and broadcasting.

From December 31, all 13 sectors will begin monitoring the roll-over into the new millennium and enforce emergency responses if trouble arises, Tang said.

Coordination across the 13 sectors will be undertaken by Tang's government committee. The committee will also liaise with international and regional Y2K monitoring bodies.

"External problems won't affect Hong Kong immediately...it will take a few days to take effect," he said. "We will have time to respond...to explain to the public what is happening. That sort of scenario shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

The Hong Kong government has achieved a high level of Y2K readiness. Almost all of its 6,155 mission critical systems were now Y2K compliant, Tang said. Only nine are non-compliant.

All nine will be replaced by year end, he said.

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It appears that we are experiencing a "Turning Point" in mass media coverage of y2k

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 16, 1999


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