Mr YUEN Mo (Chairman of the 52nd terms of office) May 2022
We are confident that John Lee’s daring to change and strong sense of duty will lead Hong Kong to scale new heights.
CGCC offers its sincerest congratulations to John Lee on his election as the sixth Chief Executive of Hong Kong. The 99% of votes he received from the Election Committee reflects the wide support and approval for his pragmatic and forward-looking governing philosophy and policy agenda. We are confident that his daring to change and strong sense of duty will lead Hong Kong to scale new heights.
Strengthening governance capabilities
The constant internal and external challenges faced by Hong Kong in recent years call for more decisive policymaking by the HKSAR government. CGCC agrees with the Chief Executive-elect’s result-oriented approach, and his proposal to improve governance by streamlining the government structure and procedures, enhancing interdepartmental communication and coordination, and reforming the culture of “the less I do, the less I do wrong”.
To strengthen the government’s emergency response capability, Lee proposed establishing a new mobilization protocol to ensure the deployment of civil servants in a timely manner. He also proposed establishing district services and community care teams in all 18 districts, with a network of volunteers, to engage and solidify the community. CGCC believes these initiatives will facilitate the more effective and precise implementation of government measures. To further improve the promotion and implementation of policies, we suggest that the new administration should look into pooling more resources in policy research, strengthening communication and cooperation with the media, and leveraging social media platforms.
Enhancing economic competitiveness
To propel economic and business developments, it is imperative that Hong Kong’s strengths be consolidated, and its competitiveness be enhanced in an all-round manner. Stressing the importance of strategic long-term planning, Lee has put forward various proposals on promoting economic growth and enhancing Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness. Benefiting from the staunch support of the Motherland and a global outlook, Hong Kong must strive to fulfil its role as a bridge connecting the mainland and the rest of the world, and to attract global talents and capital, to provide new momentum and find new growth areas for Hong Kong’s economy.
CGCC has long been proposing a dual-core metropolis focusing on the developments of finance and innovation & technology (I&T) – on the one hand, Hong Kong’s position as a global offshore RMB business hub should be reinforced; on the other hand, the construction of a mini-Silicon Valley in New Territories North should be accelerated to align Hong Kong with Shenzhen in I&T development. Meanwhile, we hope the new administration will provide policy support to help Hong Kong businesses to invest, operate and expand in the mainland, and introduce more liberalization measures under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) to offer the Hong Kong service sector greater convenience. Furthermore, to support Hong Kong businesses in finding new regional trade opportunities, the new administration should deepen exchange and cooperation with the ASEAN countries and markets along the “Belt & Road”, and actively strive for Hong Kong’s inclusion in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Rebuilding social cohesion
Having experienced a politicized environment in the past few years, Hong Kong is in great need of social harmony and stability to be able to focus on developing the economy and improving people’s livelihood. Lee’s vision of building a more livable, dynamic and united Hong Kong speaks directly to this need. In particular, we agree with him that it is a priority to tackle the problems of land and housing supply that have plagued Hong Kong for a long time. We believe that his proposals, including the “Public Rental Housing Advance Allocation Scheme”, a steering committee on land and housing supply, and thorough review of the development plans and strategies for Northern Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow Vision, will bring tremendous benefits to Hong Kong’s economic and industrial development in the long run. To be truly able to achieve the goal of “speed up, efficiency up, mass up”, and address society’s urgent housing need, we hope the new administration will adopt breakthrough thinking when reviewing the policies and procedures on land and housing supply, and promote better communication and participation of all stakeholders.
We are also pleased that the Chief Executive-elect attaches great importance to youth development and elderly services. Regarding youth development, we hope the new administration will actively work with the business sector and social enterprises to provide young people with more education, employment and training opportunities, and subsidies for internships and exchanges in the mainland, so as to help them regain confidence, move up the social ladder, and develop a positive attitude toward life and a sense of belonging to the country. As for addressing social needs arising from an aging population and public health, the new administration will have to allocate more resources to improve public healthcare services and efficiency, and strengthen primary healthcare and Chinese medicine services.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s reunification with the Motherland. It is a crucial time for the steadfast and successful implementation of the “patriots administering Hong Kong” and “One Country, Two Systems” principles. We have full confidence in Lee as Chief Executive, and look forward to his presentation of the specifics of his governance philosophy and policy agenda soon. All in all, we hope he will strengthen communication and work closely with the business and other sectors to find new development opportunities for Hong Kong and resolve deeply rooted social problems, and lead Hong Kong to further integrate into the Country’s “dual-circulation” framework in the new era where new opportunities await.
