Today marks the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and the third anniversary of the current term of the Government. Over these three years, the Government has forged ahead with reforms to build a safe and stable Hong Kong, and striven to develop the economy and improve people’s livelihood. Our efforts are gradually delivering results.
I have changed the culture of the Government and formed a “result-oriented” Government. We have fulfilled the constitutional duty by enacting the local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law, a historic task long envisioned by previous terms of the Government but unrealised until now. We have rebuilt a safe Hong Kong. This year, Hong Kong is ranked seventh globally in the safety index.
The Government has spared no efforts in addressing land and housing issues. The waiting time for public housing has been shortened by about nine and a half months, from 6.1 years to 5.3 years. In our combat against the abuse of public rental housing resources, another 8,700 or so housing units have been recovered, equivalent to about 11 public housing blocks and a saving of around $8.7 billion in construction costs. We have acted swiftly to build Light Public Housing for intake by over 9,500 households within this year, relieving the imminent housing needs of more than 9,500 families.
Since we assumed office, Hong Kong’s economy has shifted from negative to positive growth. Median monthly household income during the period has risen by $3,000, an increase of over 11%. We attach great importance on labour rights. The abolition of the Mandatory Provident Fund offsetting arrangement has taken effect, and the review cycle of the Statutory Minimum Wage has now been revised from every two years to every year.
We have strengthened mutual market access, relaxed the listing requirements for biotechnology and specialist technology companies, established a licensing regime for stablecoin and simplified listing procedures, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the financial sector. Hong Kong has climbed up one place in its ranking as a financial centre and secured the third place globally.
We have endeavoured to trawl for talent, compete for enterprises, and attract companies and investment to Hong Kong. Over 210,000 professionals, top talent and quality migrants have arrived in Hong Kong, boosting the city’s competitiveness. We have attracted 84 strategic enterprises from frontier technological industries to Hong Kong, bringing in investment amounting to some $50 billion and creating over 20,000 job opportunities. We have simplified the regime for company re-domiciliation, with two major global insurance companies readily expressing their interest in re-domiciling to Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s global position in the World Competitiveness Yearbook has improved for two consecutive years, rising from the seventh to the third place. For World Talent Ranking, Hong Kong has returned to the top ten, climbing up seven places to the ninth position.
Amid economic restructuring, Hong Kong is faced with challenges as well as opportunities. With the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle, the challenges we face would be outweighed by the opportunities available to us. Looking ahead, our major tasks will cover three areas:
First, to safeguard high-quality development with high-level security. We will actively co-ordinate the coherence between security and development. Under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong will remain steadfast in maintaining national security, fully seize national opportunities and proactively integrate into the overall national development, with a view to fostering economic growth and development while assisting enterprises in upgrading their operations and expanding domestic and overseas sales markets. We will deepen international exchanges and co-operation, explore new markets and opportunities, bolster the provision of extensive supply chain services, expand and strengthen regional trade with the aim of offsetting the risk of over-reliance on a single market in business trade. In addition to dedicating our efforts to the development of innovation and technology and expanding digital trade and supporting the development of local enterprises, we will introduce new technologies and industries, and continue to compete for talent and enterprises, further securing our position as an international financial, shipping and trade centre.
Second, to speed up the development of the Northern Metropolis. The Northern Metropolis, which takes up around one-third of Hong Kong’s area and will later accommodate one-third of our population, is a new engine for the development of Hong Kong. By introducing new concepts and new methods, removing potential barriers and leveraging market forces, we aim to enhance the speed and efficiency of developing the Northern Metropolis, the San Tin Technopole, and the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. With a focus on industry development and innovative technology, our goal is to attract scientific research talent from around the world and concentrate innovation resources, in order to promote the establishment of Hong Kong as a hub for high-calibre talent and drive the overall development of Hong Kong.
Third, to improve people’s livelihood proactively. Our policy objective is to make Hong Kong a better place for living and working – for people to enjoy better living and accommodation, for young people to fully realise their potential, and for the elderly to be well taken care of.
The Hong Kong SAR Government will sustain its efforts in improving people’s livelihood in such aspects as housing, medical health, education and welfare, thus enhancing people’s quality of life. We will remain committed to accelerating the supply of public housing to further reduce the waiting time, and ensure the timely provision of Light Public Housing to meet pressing demand. The registration of compliant Basic Housing Units, which will replace substandard subdivided units, is expected to begin in March next year. The Government will continue to deepen the reform of the healthcare system and improve public and primary healthcare services. We will remain committed to the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation, focusing on directing resources to those most in need. On transportation, the Government will take forward the implementation of the Hong Kong Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint, pressing ahead with various railway projects, including the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link connecting Hung Shui Kiu and Qianhai, the Northern Link Spur Line, as well as local smart and green mass transit systems.
As a Chinese saying goes, “Is there anything too hard in the world? With determined efforts, a hard task becomes easy; otherwise, an easy job may become difficult”. We would rather be reformers who rise to challenges than become complacent idlers. Amid an ever‑changing geopolitical landscape and constantly increasing uncertainties, Hong Kong is able to showcase exactly to the world the certainties of safety, stability and development opportunities. These are precisely what the world needs and seeks. Hong Kong is a place where national and global opportunities converge. As long as we are determined to fully seize the opportunities, keep enhancing our value and competitiveness, undertake reforms for progress and foster innovation, I am confident the wisdom and experience of the people of Hong Kong will help our Pearl of the Orient shine brighter than ever on the world stage!
This is a translation of Chief Executive John Lee’s speech delivered at the reception in celebration of the 28th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s establishment on July 1.
