Hong Kong is on track to regain its charm and allure, says Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong is now blessed with a brighter future due to the “three pillars of the ocean” — the National Security Law for the city, upcoming electoral reforms, and a national development blueprint that creates new opportunities for the special administrative region, the city’s No 2 official said.

And with more far-reaching changes on the horizon, the SAR is on track for a fresh start to regain its charm and allure, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said in an interview.

The decision adopted by the National People’s Congress on March 11 on improving the electoral system of the SAR, and the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) represent a “continuum of strategic decisions and measures” following the promulgation of the National Security Law in June to plug the city’s national security loopholes.

With the “three pillars of the ocean”, Hong Kong can now chart the course of “completing an optimistic, new scenario” within five years, said Cheung, who is Hong Kong’s second-highest ranking public official after the city’s top leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

“The combination of the three also underlines the central leadership’s genuine care for Hong Kong, with a clear commitment to making sure that ‘one country, two systems’ will be here to work, flourish and thrive, ensuring Hong Kong will succeed in the years ahead.”

Riding high on the goals and undertakings to have a “politically stable, united Hong Kong” and make it more relevant to the world’s second-largest economy, Hong Kong will forge ahead “like a new engine” over the next five years, Cheung said.

The nation’s latest Five-Year Plan incorporates more than 500 words in a chapter designated for Hong Kong. For a top-level policy blueprint that has a major bearing on the city’s future, every word is highly valued and carries weight, Cheung noted.

The plan, which pledged to entrench Hong Kong’s long-cherished strengths as a world-renowned financial center and super-connector, is undeniable proof that the city’s future is now secure, the official said.

At a critical, historic juncture, the national economic and social development plan has more to offer. It offers unwavering support for turning Hong Kong into a global innovation and technology hub, enhancing the city’s status as an international aviation pivot and developing it into an exchange center for arts and culture between the Chinese mainland and the world, Cheung said.

Hong Kong’s Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah also noted that the 14th Five-Year Plan emphasizes the need to maintain the SAR’s long-term prosperity and stability while promoting the Greater Bay Area, which again demonstrates the central government’s staunch support and care toward Hong Kong and southern China.

She said she is “delighted to learn” that the national plan supports Hong Kong to establish itself as the center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region, and transform Hong Kong’s service sector into a high-value-added industry. 

The GBA Legal Professional Examination and the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are two recent breakthroughs facilitating the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Hong Kong should do more to facilitate financial connectivity within the Greater Bay Area and accelerate the process of the Wealth Management Connect, Chief Executive Lam said on March 19 at a GBA forum.

“Enhancing the connectivity of financial markets within the Bay Area has always been of upmost importance,” Lam told the conference titled “Pilot 9+2: First Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Forum and Award Presentation Ceremony”.

Sun Yu, chairman of the Chinese Banking Association of Hong Kong, said the 14th Five-Year Plan highlights further opening-up and the development of financial technology within the Bay Area, which will bring new opportunities to Hong Kong as an international financial center.

Sun, also vice-chairman and executive director at Bank of China (Hong Kong), said technology, domestic demand, a high level of opening-up and sustainable development are four important themes in the development of the GBA.

The GBA is “the best choice for building a new long-term growth pole of the Chinese mainland’s economy”, said Li Dahong, vice-president and chief editor of Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group. 

The GBA should “explore industrial cooperation in the high-end of the value chain around telecommunications, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, internet finance and other key areas”, Li said.

At the heart of the SAR’s tech vision is the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, whose construction work has been in full swing for a “future icon” to come into being, Chief Secretary Cheung said.

For the first time, the Lok Ma Chau Loop, where the park will be located, has been included in the country’s Five-Year Plan to make it a major platform for cooperation in the development of a high-quality GBA.

The third-runway project at Hong Kong International Airport, which handles the largest volume of air cargo in the Bay Area, will buttress the city’s international standing as an aviation center. The West Kowloon Cultural District will leverage Hong Kong’s potential as a cultural powerhouse where East meets West.

The GBA “will provide a new ‘turbine engine’ that will propel the Hong Kong jet forward. It will be the future of Hong Kong for a number of years to come,” Cheung said.

Such a promising future, however, is built on the premise that Hong Kong has essentially restored peace and stability after years of social chaos, with everything back on track. This is exactly where the improvement of the local electoral system comes in as an imperative task and the need of the hour.

“Safety, security and stability are the basic elements for a successful metropolis across the globe,” Cheung said.

Implementing the National Security Law over the past nine months has brought Hong Kong back to normal. The electoral overhaul marks a bold move that has opened up a “new landscape” for the city, with rational debate returning to its legislature that will enable deep-rooted issues concerning Hong Kong’s economic revival and people’s livelihoods to be discussed, he said.

With a more efficient, effective government in place, a patriot-governed Hong Kong could truly expect to be part of the next big story unfolding in the country, Chueng said.

As a planned shake-up of the electoral system is poised to rewrite Hong Kong’s political landscape, young people can be trusted with the city’s future as they forge new careers in politics.

Under the overarching principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, the criteria for young candidates seeking public office are clear, Cheung said. As is the case in every country, he said they must be law-abiding citizens, with a love for the motherland and commitment to protecting the nation’s sovereignty and interests.

“These are the basic, minimum requirements, which are also absolutely reasonable,” Cheung said.

The city will see a “new vista and landscape” in its legislature, with patriots working with “one heart, one mind and one purpose”, once the electoral mechanism is improved.

“This is Hong Kong — a hybrid, dynamic, vibrant, safe and enterprising Hong Kong,” Cheung said. With the city on the cusp of great change, he firmly believes Hong Kong will “scale new heights and fly high”.

Contact the writers at sophia@chinadailyhk.com