The Policy Address unveiled by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday focuses on economic revitalization, development strategies, residents’ welfare benefits and people’s happiness, with a comprehensive scope ranging from short-term economic stimulation and long-term economic planning, to housing, healthcare, elderly care, transport, tourism and population planning, leaving no stone unturned in addressing issues in the city. 

The blueprint proposes a series of forward-thinking policies and measures that we believe will help make up for the development lag caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; tackle or alleviate various livelihood issues; and make life better and happier for residents.

As the second Policy Address of the sixth-term Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, and the first since Hong Kong scrapped all COVID-19-related restrictions and refocused on economic development, societal expectations were naturally high. Fortunately, the new Policy Address did not disappoint, not least because it adopted several suggestions from the New People’s Party, of which I am a member. These include reducing the stamp duties on property and stock transactions, which is likely to have a positive effect on maintaining a healthy real estate market and revitalizing the stock market and thus strengthening the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s financial industry.

Faced with a talent shortage in the city, Lee introduced numerous talent acquisition measures in his first Policy Address, delivered last year. The preliminary results have been quite positive, with the measures having attracted approximately 160,000 applications by the end of September, with over 100,000 approved and about 60,000 individuals having landed in Hong Kong.

Retaining talent is another crucial task for Hong Kong. In line with New People’s Party suggestions, the latest Policy Address proposes changing the stamp duty for foreign talent buying property from the original “levy first, exempt later” to “exempt first, levy later”. This means that relevant taxes are initially waived during the purchase of the property, and levied only if the individual fails to become a permanent resident of Hong Kong. This will be of great help in retaining talent and helping those people establish themselves in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, the Policy Address proposes that from November, the government will temporarily lift the working restrictions on full-time nonlocal postgraduate students studying in Hong Kong. This will create a new labor force that can alleviate the staffing shortages in many sectors, and allows nonlocal postgraduates to familiarize themselves with the working culture in Hong Kong, which in turn could encourage them to stay in Hong Kong after graduation.

In terms of transportation, the Policy Address proposes the optimization of three rail and three road networks, and building two new railways and one major road. These will further improve the development of the Northeast New Territories transportation network, making it convenient for residents to travel to different border crossings, especially the Northern Link’s east extension and the Northeast New Territories Line, both of which will connect to different border crossings, promoting exchanges in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal’s poor transportation connectivity has significantly affected tourists’ impression of Hong Kong. To address this issue, the Policy Address proposes the construction of smart, green public transport to connect the cruise terminal to the Kai Tak MTR station. This suggestion, which I proposed to the government after accompanying the chief executive on a visit to the GBA, has been adopted. I believe this will greatly help the development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

In his concluding remarks, the chief executive pointed out that the love and willingness of Hong Kong people to contribute to the city moves him. He quoted residents as saying that they never tire of working for Hong Kong, but feel pain when encountering those who constantly belittle the city and talk it down.

It goes without saying that with the advantage of the support of the motherland, Hong Kong should not sell itself short. As long as the measures in the Policy Address are implemented step by step, Hong Kong will undoubtedly shine again in the global arena.

The author is the convener at China Retold, a member of the Legislative Council, and a member of the Central Committee of the New People’s Party.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.