Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu arrives at the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong to deliver his 2023 Policy Address, Oct 25, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Unlike the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s budget plan, which rightly pays greater attention to society’s shorter-term needs and has invariably doled out “sweeties” every year over the past few years to help bail residents and businesses out of their predicaments caused by the 2019 anti-extradition insurrection, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent economic downturn, the Policy Address unveiled by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday focused on macro policies and longer-term strategies that, in his words, will make Hong Kong a better place for all. 

Political and social stability is the foundation of socioeconomic development, as has been theorized and proved empirically. So it is justified that Lee emphasized the need to uphold “one country, two systems” and prioritized his elaboration on proposed measures to safeguard national security and enhance patriotic education in his Policy Address speech, including setting a deadline for legislation according Article 23 of the Basic Law.

Economic development is a prerequisite for any meaningful improvement in people’s livelihoods. To further develop and diversify the economy, the HKSAR government will take a plethora of initiatives to speed up the development of “eight centers” and the Northern Metropolis as new engines for growth, attract overseas enterprises and talent and nurture local talent, further the city’s integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and seek membership of regional trade pacts such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. 

To fulfill his promise of rooting out the longstanding land/housing shortage and creating a better living environment for residents, Lee pledged to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands, as well as other projects, with the objective of building 410,000 public housing units in 10 years, far exceeding the demand.

Putting President Xi Jinping’s epigram “Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive” into practice, Lee proposed a series of measures to better prepare young people for the future by providing them with more opportunities to receive quality education. These include developing the Northern Metropolis University Town, upgrading vocational and professional education/training to university level to provide an alternative path to success for youth pursuing a career in technical professions, and establishing the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology.

Conceivably, the HKSAR government will face numerous challenges in pursuing its policy objectives. But Hong Kong residents have reason to have confidence in it achieving those objectives as its results-oriented governance philosophy works. In the previous Policy Address, 110 indicators for specific tasks were set. Lee noted in his Wednesday speech that the performance of government departments has generally met his expectations.