In formulating the 2023 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that he was guided by the directives that were expounded on by President Xi Jinping in his speech marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 1, 2022.
In particular, the State leader raised “four musts” for the HKSAR government: It must fully and faithfully implement the principle of “one country, two systems”; uphold the central government’s overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong while securing the HKSAR’s high degree of autonomy; ensure that Hong Kong is administered by patriots; and maintain the city’s distinctive status and advantages.
In addition, President Xi laid down “four proposals” for the then-newly inaugurated HKSAR government; namely, improving its governance, continuing to create a strong impetus for growth, earnestly addressing people’s concerns and difficulties in livelihoods, and working together to safeguard social harmony and stability. There was particular reference in the president’s address to love and care for the city’s young people, which pointed out that “When the young people thrive, Hong Kong thrives. When the young people grow, Hong Kong grows. When there is a future for the young people, there is a future for Hong Kong.” He asserted that Hong Kong should create opportunities for all of its young people, so that they can devote themselves to building the city into a better home and writing a rewarding chapter of their lives with impassioned youth.
The new policy blueprint does offer a raft of measures and strategies to “promote diversified youth development”. The HKSAR government will help establish universities of applied sciences to upgrade vocational and professional education to recognized university level, which will provide an alternative path to success for young people eyeing a rewarding career in technical professions. In a bid to raise the status of postsecondary vocational studies, the HKSAR is likely to usher in next year a pioneering university of applied sciences focusing on vocational and practical training, as well as underscoring career articulation and hands-on exposure. Subdegree qualifications are on track for striking greater mutual recognition with those having corresponding status on the Chinese mainland. In local schools, patriotic education is to be integrated into the current national education system, which is smoothly implemented. STEAM education — teaching science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics — will be invigorated in the schools to strengthen students’ backgrounds in the relevant disciplines before they proceed to university studies or higher-level vocational training. The Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology will shortly be set up to nurture local young talents in the information technology industry, along with the Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform.
Taking into consideration the guidelines set by President Xi for the HKSAR, Lee has mapped out strategies to train and equip the younger generation for their important roles in contributing significantly to both Hong Kong and the homeland in future amid a rapidly globalized and digitized environment
To actualize the goal of advancing the city into a “global higher education hub”, the city’s leader has called on all government-funded postsecondary institutions to double their nonlocal admission quotas to 40 percent, primarily targeting students from countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative — China’s trade and infrastructural investment program connecting over 180 countries and international organizations in Asia, Europe and Africa since 2013 — on the strength of the BRI and other scholarship programs, which will beef up the present support quota of 2,500 students by 50 percent from 2024-25. This internationalizing plan will hatch further cultural diversity on local campuses and contribute to a global learning environment by extending local students’ horizons through interactions with their counterparts from different nations.
To enhance understanding on expectations and requirements regarding the growth and preparation of the younger generation, the Youth Development Summit, focusing on youth development in Hong Kong, will be held for the first time next year.
The plan to develop the Northern Metropolis University Town to foster strong cooperation between local postsecondary institutions and renowned mainland and overseas education institutions will be a big step forward to integrating academic resources and efforts across territories with a focus on the HKSAR, which will boost the city’s status as an international higher education hub, and contribute to the high-quality development propelled by the central government under the BRI and in the GBA, where economic opportunities for further capitalization were repeatedly underlined in the policy blueprint.
Of no lesser importance is the proposal to set up the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption, which, coupled with the move to globalize the city’s universities, will strengthen the HKSAR as a talent-nurturing center offering valuable contributions to the sustainable and fair development of both the GBA and the BRI. This has not yet taken into account the proposals to set up a joint investment fund together with the Guangdong provincial government and other institutions to finance projects in the GBA with social and economic benefits, and to formulate a “GBA Emergency Response and Rescue Operational Plan” with other GBA cities to strengthen the region’s capability of coordinated emergency management.
Doubtlessly, Lee has addressed an extensive spectrum of political, social, economic and educational priorities in his second Policy Address. Taking into consideration the guidelines set by President Xi for the HKSAR, Lee has mapped out strategies to train and equip the younger generation for their important roles in contributing significantly to both Hong Kong and the homeland in future amid a rapidly globalized and digitized environment. By internationalizing the city’s postsecondary education, trawling enterprises interested in tapping the mainland market, as well as attracting and retaining talented professionals in the high-tech sector, Lee has given the HKSAR a solid foundation for participating in high-quality BRI and GBA development, which in turn will assure Hong Kong of sustained prosperity in the long run under the “one country, two systems” framework and common law judiciary.
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
