The essence of the resolution of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is to achieve Chinese modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through comprehensively deepening reforms.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of CPC Central Committee, pointed out when meeting with Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and his delegation in Beijing on July 23, “Reform and opening-up is an important magic weapon for contemporary China to make great strides to catch up with the times. For Hong Kong, which is facing profound changes in the internal and external environment, it is also necessary to recognize changes, cope with changes, and seek changes to achieve better development through reform. We hope that the SAR government and all sectors of society will deeply understand and appreciate the spirit of the resolution, seize the opportunity, be determined to undertake reform, and take the initiative to accelerate Hong Kong’s transition from good governance to magnificent prosperity”.
Recently, many voices in Hong Kong society have responded to the decision and Xia’s instructions for Hong Kong. They concur with Xia that Hong Kong should reform and change to deal with the city’s many problems and challenges. The principal entities that need to promote and implement reforms are the HKSAR government and all sectors of the society.
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These voices reflect anxiety and uneasiness about Hong Kong’s current situation and future development and contain encouragement, demands, and expectations for the SAR government. After all, after the central government ended the chaos and restored order in the SAR, the city has achieved unprecedented political stability, smooth governance, harmonious executive and legislative relations, and cordial relations between the central government and the SAR. All these were rare in the years following Hong Kong’s return to China. By providing the SAR with an excellent political environment and social atmosphere, these achievements allow the city to deal with the chronic problems effectively and thoroughly.
The problems of development, economy, and people’s livelihood accumulated over time. Under the new political landscape and with the strong support and guidance of the central government, both the central government and Hong Kong residents naturally expect the SAR government to work hard and bring about favorable results for the city’s development through active, enterprising, innovative, and bold governance while demonstrating the superiority of the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.
Today, the SAR government can no longer blame the failure of governance and slow development on the interference and sabotage of “anti-China insurrectionists” in Hong Kong. However, the global economic downturn, the slowdown in economic growth on the Chinese mainland, the strong headwind of anti-globalization, rampant protectionism and xenophobia in the United States and the West, their continuous suppression of Hong Kong, the deterioration of the financial situation of the SAR government, and the economic slowdown have led to growing intense competition and conflict among various interests, etc. All these adverse factors combined have made Hong Kong’s challenges increasingly complex and difficult to overcome.
Undoubtedly, the biggest test currently facing the SAR government is how to respond to the expectations and demands of the central government and all sectors of Hong Kong society. As far as I know, some SAR government officials and social elites resist reform and are even appalled by the term. They feel that calls for reform on the part of the SAR government are a form of discontent with its administrative performance. Some people sincerely believe that the current difficulties faced by Hong Kong are only a temporary phenomenon and that the situation would be even worse if “medicines are taken indiscriminately for different diseases”. Some people worry that the reform means earth-shaking changes in Hong Kong’s institutions and policies, and may even cause the city’s capitalist system to crumble. Some people think the demand for reform is to completely change the government’s role in the economy and society and move Hong Kong toward socialism. Similarly, many people who do not know how to engage in reform are worried about the consequences of reform, and lack confidence and experience in their ability to become successful reformers.
In my opinion, Hong Kong is facing a large number of longstanding and increasingly severe problems in social and economic development, and people’s livelihood, including slowing economic growth, narrow industrial base, declining competitiveness of traditional industries, emerging industries still in their infancy, narrow tax base, rapidly aging population, insufficient talent supply, land and housing shortage, overburdened medical services, severe poverty and wealth disparity, urgent need to improve the business environment, and difficulty in meeting the demand for upward mobility opportunities by the increasingly educated young people. Since the new SAR government took office, it has done a lot of work to address these issues conscientiously and has achieved some tangible results. However, because these are structural problems that have accumulated over time and cannot be solved quickly, the SAR government and all sectors of society must work together and cope with them intelligently and persistently through reform and innovation. The SAR government’s strong, decisive, and visionary leadership is critical.
Recently, many thoughtful people in the SAR and the mainland have put forward suggestions on how Hong Kong should be reformed, covering a wide range of areas, including the government’s way and means of governance, civil service system, laws and regulations, strengthening traditional industries, cultivating new industries, expanding and upgrading professional services, strengthening cooperation between the SAR and the mainland, broadening Hong Kong’s presence in the international economic sphere, public housing policy, land policy, fiscal and taxation policy, education policy, talent policy, people’s livelihood and welfare, and so on.
Significantly, no one has suggested that Hong Kong should replace its existing institutions and policies and start over. They envision and advocate reforms to promote changes in Hong Kong’s institutions, policies, and rules without violating the basic principles of “one country, two systems”. Almost all the reform proposals pertain to the bold improvement, innovation, and adjustment of existing systems and policies, thereby implementing the principle of “keeping the fundamentals unchanged while innovating”.
Liang Haiming, chairman of China Silk Road iValley Research Institute, put it quite neatly. He said, “In the face of new development opportunities and challenges, what Hong Kong needs is not disruptive and drastic changes, but progressive reforms based on existing advantages and foundations to move toward a new stage of development at a steady pace.” He further suggested, “Reforms aimed at gradual improvement should focus more on optimization, adjustment, and innovation within the existing framework to achieve maximum benefits at the minimum cost. For Hong Kong, this choice of path is particularly critical.”
However, even if progressive reforms are undertaken, the SAR government and Hong Kong society will still have to meet new and higher requirements.
First, both need to have a strong sense of crisis and mission, acknowledge that Hong Kong is facing severe challenges in the economy and people’s livelihood now and in the foreseeable future, and at the same time, believe that continuous reform and innovation is the way out. Wholehearted cooperation between the government and all sectors of society is essential. The misguided “sense of superiority” that many Hong Kong people harbored in the past is no longer appropriate today. It should be replaced by humility as soon as possible, and we should learn from the successful experiences of the mainland and other places.
Second, reform and innovation can only be promoted through cohesive policies and measures. The SAR government must carry out top-level design, overall planning, systemic integration, and deep coordination of reform and innovation measures to ensure that various government departments effectively collaborate and actively complete their responsibilities and tasks while using limited resources. The SAR government must also continuously evaluate the effectiveness of reform and innovation work, adjusting and adapting when needed, establishing a clear division of labor and responsibilities for relevant officials and civil servants, and rewarding and punishing them accordingly.
Third, due to financial constraints, limited resources, insufficient talent, and little experience, the SAR government must carefully determine the priorities and sequencing of reform and innovation projects through rigorous research and repeated experiments and formulate and implement a series of mutually coordinated significant policies and measures. During the process, it should work closely with experts and knowledgeable people from Hong Kong, the mainland, and overseas. The current priority must be to accelerate Hong Kong’s economic growth, industrial diversification, industrial transformation and upgrading, and coordinated development between industries. The so-called mandate of “development is the hard truth” applies to both the mainland and the SAR. After all, only through rapid development can Hong Kong have the resources to deal with the deep-seated contradictions in society and people’s livelihoods. Among them, strengthening and upgrading the traditional industries that are still the mainstay of Hong Kong, especially finance, trade, shipping, and professional services, should be the top priority of the development strategy. The primary purpose of reform and innovation is to enhance the international competitiveness of traditional industries, open a broader development space for them on the mainland and overseas, and broaden their product types, quality, and technological content. Of course, emerging industries, including innovation and technology, creative, green, education, medical, testing, and certification should receive the government’s attention and support. However, compared with traditional industries, these emerging industries will not have a significant impact on the city until later. Their contribution to Hong Kong’s GDP is difficult to match with that of traditional industries. To promote development, the SAR government’s financial, fiscal, science and technology, talent, trade, industrial, environmental protection, labor, civil servant recruitment, education, land, housing, and other policies must work together to achieve common policy goals. It is even more necessary to recruit professionals from the mainland and overseas to join the government and enterprises.
Fourth, reform and innovation are the inescapable responsibilities and tasks of the SAR government and all sectors of society. Yet, the SAR government is still a government with “fewer” functions and limited resources from a comparative perspective when it comes to engaging in significant reform and innovation, it must cooperate with different social sectors, industries, enterprises and professions, draw on their resources, and win their support and cooperation for the government’s development strategies and significant reform and innovation policies. The purpose is to produce high-quality collaboration between an enterprising government and an efficient market to accelerate Hong Kong’s development. To this end, some of the original functions of the mechanisms linking the government with industry, business, and professions must be expanded, strengthened, and further institutionalized. Additional mechanisms can also be established in response to the need to implement development policies.
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Fifth, the numerous statutory organizations, advisory bodies, semigovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations should be more organically integrated into the development strategies and reform and innovation measures of the SAR government, thereby promoting synergy between the government and the organizations outside the government, injecting more powerful and more lasting impetus to Hong Kong’s reform and development.
Sixth, whether the SAR government’s reform and innovation can achieve results is closely related to whether Hong Kong can comprehensively accelerate its integration into the country’s overall development. The central government’s support and guidance are vital in this crucial process. Specifically, it is an inevitable choice to become more actively involved in constructing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and to further promote cooperation and integration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, especially in innovation and technology.
Finally, after formulating reform innovations and strategies and selecting relevant significant policies, the SAR government needs to work with elites from all walks of life to widely promote them among Hong Kong residents to win their endorsement and use this to ignite hope. With the SAR government and the people’s concerted effort, the so-called vested interests barriers that posed obstacles to reform and innovation in the past can be more easily dismantled.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
