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Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 00:32
City has high hopes for John Lee’s upcoming Policy Address
By Regina Ip
Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 00:32 By Regina Ip

Two years after the commencement of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, law and order has been restored. Order, dignity and efficiency have returned to the revamped legislature composed of patriots and more broadly representative than its predecessor. In the past year, important legislation has been passed that stands to benefit Hong Kong as a global financial hub, improve people’s livelihoods and narrow the wealth gap.

After two months of hard work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic while progressively removing restrictions that hamper international travel, Hong Kong is beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s approval ratings are deservedly rising. The scene is set for Lee to deliver his full-fledged policy manifesto in his upcoming Policy Address next month.

As the chief implementer of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, Lee is expected to lead “one country, two systems” from strength to strength, and showcase to the world Hong Kong’s unique systems and advantages under China’s sovereignty.

Lee is also expected to take the lead in winning the hearts and minds of Hong Kong people, especially support from the young. The sense of national identity of many young people has been perverted in Hong Kong’s two “lost decades”, when education went awry and misinformation about Western systems and values led many astray.

Hong Kong’s acute land and housing shortage is well-known to have aggravated the wealth gap, dashed many young people’s hopes for starting their families and careers, and fueled their discontent. After years of procrastination, expectations are high for Lee to deliver bold and daring solutions that will provide a timeline and a road map for lifting Hong Kong people out of the current abyss.

Much rests on Lee’s success in implementing the Northern Metropolis development plan, the centerpiece of fifth-term chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s last Policy Address. The Northern Metropolis encompasses 30,000 hectares of land bordering Shenzhen in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long and North districts.

Lam envisaged that when the Northern Metropolis development is brought to fruition, Hong Kong will be able to produce an additional 350 hectares of land for housing 2.5 million people.

This highly ambitious developmental plan would not only substantially expand Hong Kong’s space for housing and economic development, but also offer Hong Kong a much-needed opportunity for catching up in technological development. This window rests on combining the technological resources on both sides of the boundary with the mainland. If successfully implemented, the Northern Metropolis plan is a potential game changer for Hong Kong.

The Northern Metropolis is a strategically located economic belt that is well-suited to accelerate Hong Kong’s integration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. If the Northern Metropolis plan succeeds in liberalizing the movement of talent, capital and technological know-how across the three jurisdictions in the Greater Bay Area, together, the “9 plus 2” — nine cities plus two special administrative regions — could become a new, powerful locomotive for growth.

There will also be a need for large-scale infrastructure projects, and the consequential opportunity for public-private-partnership in infrastructural financing.

Lee will also have to address Hong Kong’s current “brain drain” and labor-shortage crisis. Hong Kong faces a unique population challenge in that it has the world’s highest life expectancy at 86 years, a rapidly aging population but one of the lowest total fertility rates (at 0.772 percent) among developed economies. Many industries, including construction, elderly care and transport services, already suffer from a chronic shortage of skilled labor. The decline in population, as recorded by Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department’s population survey for the first half of 2022, is compounded by highly aggressive talent recruitment programs offered by many countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore, which target Hong Kong’s young graduates with skills in short supply in those countries.

Against this background, Lee must update the government’s population policy. Since 1997, the government has conducted two population studies, in 2002 and 2014 respectively. The aging of the population anticipated in these studies has accelerated, while the reform of Hong Kong’s immigration policies has not gone far enough to allure the world’s top talent.

As a small territory destitute of natural resources, Hong Kong has always thrived on the talent of its people. In the past, because of its dense population and limited employment opportunities, Hong Kong has closely guarded the admission of professionals from overseas and the Chinese mainland. The city did not start to open its door to professionals and talents from the mainland until 2003. In the past three years, COVID-19-induced limitations on cross-boundary travel have substantially reduced the numbers of new arrivals for family reunions, as well as professionals and talents to fill high-end positions in the city.

Hong Kong must counter the talent crunch by rolling out decisive measures to recruit talent to replenish Hong Kong’s depleted talent base. Hong Kong needs to outmaneuver its competitors in the global-talent quest. In addition, Hong Kong needs to work out innovative ways to encourage women’s participation in the workforce, maximize the productivity of older but healthy Hong Kong people, and improve the quality of local education and upgrade the skills of the locals.

Hong Kong should encourage mainland talent and professionals to settle down in Hong Kong by allowing them to pay the same stamp duty rates for their first-time home purchase in Hong Kong, after they have settled for three years. They can be required to reimburse the full “double stamp duty” if they leave before acquiring permanent residency.

There should be a “one-stop” service to help top-notch talents to settle in Hong Kong. Hong Kong should look beyond the Chinese mainland, which is our traditional and largest source of professionals and talents, to other parts of the world, including the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, just to name a few, to scout the world’s best talents.

All this would require bold, new thinking and a sustained effort. All eyes are on Lee to map out his vision for turning Hong Kong around.

The author is convener of the Executive Council and a legislator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily. 


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