2005 WTO Ministerial Conference held in Hong Kong
The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005. Representatives from 148 countries were expected to attend the event, as well as over 10,000 protesters led by the Hong Kong People’s Alliance on WTO and made up of largely South Korean farmers. The conference approved a declaration which many participants described as marking "significant progress". However, due to violent protesters, police officers were deployed with batons, riot gas, and other non-lethal weapons. Around 910 people were arrested. Of these, 14 were charged, but none were convicted.
Background.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body in the World Trade Organization (WTO), meeting at least once every two years and providing political direction for the organization. The Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which was held from 13 to 18 December 2005, is the sixth ministerial conference (MC6) of the WTO. The 150 WTO member economies aimed to reach a preliminary agreement on liberalization of farm trade by reducing subsidies, providing Aid for Trade and address other issues at the Hong Kong meeting, aiming for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round in 2006.
Doha Development Agenda.
The declaration of the "MC4 in Doha", named for the Qatari capital (Doha) has provided the mandate for negotiations on a number of issues on agriculture, concerning the implementation of the agreements which had to be completed in 2000 originally. However, the declaration set 1 January 2005 as the deadline for completing all but two of the agreements.
The Doha round aims to cut trade barriers across a wide range of sectors and is supposed to address the needs of developing countries, for whom agriculture is a particularly sensitive topic. Developing countries say farm trade needs to be tackled first because it is so important to their economies and because it is heavily protected in many rich countries. The 25-nation European Union, in particular, has been under fire for not making further cuts to its farm tariffs and subsidies. A series of meetings between ministers has failed to break the deadlock. The EU says equal attention needs to be paid to manufactured goods, which far outweigh agriculture's importance in global trade.
At the 2003 Ministerial Conference, it was expected all members would reach consensus on how to complete the remaining agreements. However, the meeting got stuck because of discord created by agricultural issues and ended in deadlock on the "Singapore issues". The original 1 January 2005 deadline was missed. After that, members aimed at finishing the negotiations by the end of 2006.
The shelved Doha development agenda was therefore carried over to the Hong Kong conference. That is why speculation on the chances of success of the MC6 had been rife in the months leading up to the conference in Hong Kong.
The potential benefits of the success of the MC6.
The WTO attempted to facilitate dialogue between developing and developed countries. It is a platform that member states from all over the world can gather to discuss issues that influence global trade and economic development such as General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, agricultural subsidies and equal access to technology.
The WTO has stated that it seeks to assist developing countries enhance their rural-based economies. It has been suggested that advanced technology could be provided by other countries. Developing countries are seeking easier access to foreign markets, especially those in the EU and North America. Moreover, they are seeking a larger quota of export and free tax for their products. In order to protect the interests of developing countries and recognise their needs, the term 'consider positively' may be extended to seven years as to eliminate any measures that are inconsistent with the overall goals of the WTO. Should these efforts have succeeded, the MC6 would have made substantial progress towards fulfilling its mandate.
The barriers faced by the MC6.
Many groups of people are not happy with the WTO as they believe it symbolizes the exploitation of poor countries by the developed countries. Thus, there are many protests and demonstrations organised during each WTO conference. Besides, as the number of member countries in WTO is large, it is not easy to reach an agreement which gets the consensus of the participating countries. Therefore, the last two Ministerial Conferences which included the Ministerial meetings at Seattle and Cancún failed. It was not easy to tell if the MC6 could reach any final agreement.
Participations of the member countries.
Commonwealth of Nations.
The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of 53 countries. Its 1.8 billion citizens, about 30 per cent of the world's population are drawn from a broad range of faiths, races, cultures and traditions.
In the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta, on 25–27 November 2005, the group issued its Valletta Statement on Multilateral Trade calling on "all developed countries to demonstrate the political courage and will to give more than they receive."
The Commonwealth has also acknowledged that "Agriculture is the most distorted sector of world trade" and has put renewed pressure on the European Union to commit to a time-table to reduce agricultural subsidies.
Africa.
The main concern of Africa in the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization was to have the right of entry to the Northern markets for tropical products, and to defend African markets from profoundly subsidised exports dumped onto their market. On conjugal support, the proposal is for rich countries to cut down their support to home farmers and to slowly but surely phase it out. Africa was requesting cuts in subsidies for produces that are sent abroad and dumped onto African markets.
Pre-conference predictions.
Although WTO members are eager to reach a deal in MC6, a 42-page draft unveiled by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy show how far they are agreeing on critical issues.
The draft does reflect some progress made over 18 months on new anti-dumping rules and customs facilities improvement. However, the two subjects, reducing tariffs and subsidies on either agriculture or manufactured goods, have held up the negotiations.
Trade officials said unless progress has been made in negotiations in these two subjects, meaningful deal can hardly be reached in MC6.
In an interview with a Hong Kong's local newspaper, the "South China Morning Post", France's trade minister, Christine Lagarde, anticipated that there would no consensus and no major progress in Hong Kong.
Planning.
A steering committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Commerce and Industry) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Denise Yue, was set up in August 2004.
Seven working groups under the committee were established. Their tasks covered the following areas:
to ensure the success of the event.
Venue.
During the MC6, a closed area covering the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and its linking footbridges, Tamar site, Wan Chai ferry pier, Convention Drive, Expo Drive and the podium adjacent to Grand Hyatt Hotel was set up. In terms of geographic coverage, the closed area was about one square kilometre. The closure was on a 24-hour-a-day basis from 6pm on 12 December to 5 a.m. on 19 December 2005.
An executive order was made by the Chief Executive under section 36 of the Public Order Ordinance (POO) (Cap. 245) to turn these places into a closed area. Under the order, the Commissioner of Police may grant permission to individuals to enter or leave the closed area. Holders of accreditation badges, including MC6 delegates, local and overseas journalists, representatives of non-governmental organisations, support staff, staff and tenants of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were allowed to enter or leave the closed area during the closure period. Other people who needed to enter the closed area for justifiable reasons applied for permits from the police.
Security and emergency.
A total of 9,000 officers from the Hong Kong Police Force were on stand-by for the conference, which was one-third of the regular police force and the greatest number of all the activities the police force has ever been involved in. Officers underwent riot control and shield training. Some of them were sent to observe security arrangements for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Pusan, South Korea.
The Commissioner of Police, Dick Lee provided reassurances that weapons such as water cannons and plastic bullets would not be used. Given the police's experience in dealing with previous riots, such as those involving Vietnamese refugees in the 1990s, Mr Lee said the Hong Kong Police Force should be able to handle any protests. In the unlikely event of an emergency which the police cannot handle, the Chief Executive had the power to seek help from the Hong Kong detachment of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Provisions for this were in the Hong Kong Basic Law. On 17 December, the Hong Kong Police Force used tear gas, pepper spray and fire hoses in order to suppress the demonstrators. Almost 1000 demonstrators have been detained.
The police force formed nine working groups responsible for different aspects of the conference, drawing manpower from all over the force. The working groups included: logistics; traffic management; manpower and procurement; public relations; command and control; IT and communications; public order; security; and tactics and training.
To stop protesters, fences around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were erected. French windows of shops, including McDonald's in Sun Hung Kai Centre, which is close to the Wan Chai Sports Ground protest zone, were surrounded by wire nettings. The Wan Chai Cargo Handling Basin in Wan Chai, which was also assigned as a protest zone, had fences surrounding the area. The ground of the Cargo Handling Basin was also levelled.
Drain covers outside Wanchai Tower were secured, and bricks on the ground in Wan Chai also glued together to prevent protesters from digging them up. Nets were placed around footbridges in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay to prevent objects from being thrown onto the roads.
The seven commercial buildings around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, for the first time, formed a security network, under which their closed-circuit television systems were linked together during the period of the conference.
Considering the possibility of fire, the Fire Services Department increased the number of officers in the Harbour Road, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay fire stations. The Director of the Hong Kong Fire Services, Anthony Lam, said the current fire equipment of the department would be able to cope as the temperature of general indoor fires is much higher.
St. John Ambulance sent 1,200 people to provide medical aid support. The Auxiliary Medical Services stationed in areas near the Exhibition Centre during the conference.
Logistics.
Public transport.
The areas around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were barricaded from 6pm on 12 December. At least 30 bus routes were diverted when roads to Admiralty and Wan Chai Ferry Pier were blocked. There was suspension of the regular ferry services running between Wan Chai and Hung Hom and between Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui.
The MTR spent HK$10 million due to the WTO meeting and fares were not be deducted as what it was suggested from a legislative councilor. It carried out measures including bypassing stations, temporarily closing entrance gates and changing exits as entrance or entrance as exits in Admiralty, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay stations during the Conference.
To help divert road traffic from Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the government reached an agreement with the two other tunnel operators, Western Harbour Crossing and Eastern Harbour Crossing, to offer toll discounts of 14% to 25% for private cars, taxi and goods vehicles between 13 and 18 December 2005.
During the Conference there were 80 hotlines (Telephone No. 1834567) operated by the Transport Department for the public to inquire about the updated transport condition.
Volunteers.
The Special administrative region government recruited 488 volunteers through two organizations (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and Agency for Volunteer Service) to serve guests in the airport, help with the accreditation application and carry out clerical work. Those volunteers include students, civil servants professionals such as lawyers and retired people.
Contingency plans.
Hong Kong seemed to have met its most chaotic week during the Conference. Most schools in Wan Chai and some schools in Causeway Bay and Happy Valley were suspended during the Conference. All shops and firms in Wan Chai were forced to close early on