Hong Kong's first five-year plan – as a forward-looking and strategic guiding document – will align with the vast opportunities brought by the nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan, providing clear directions for the city’s economic and social development over the next five years, the city’s leader said on Friday.
John Lee Ka-chiu made the remarks while receiving a briefing from Legislative Council members on research conducted and views gathered in relation to the special administrative region’s first five-year plan.
A public consultation exercise on the plan is expected to be launched in the second quarter of this year, the government said in a statement.
Thanking all LegCo members for their efforts and support, the chief executive said he was delighted and encouraged by the complementarity between the executive and the legislature, and the joint commitment of both to building a brighter future for Hong Kong.
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He said Hong Kong’s five-year plan will lay a solid foundation for growth; consolidate and enhance the city’s traditional strengths, while actively exploring new avenues; and capitalize on the SAR’s distinctive advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle, thereby expanding international development opportunities while allowing the city to integrate with and serve national development overall.
The CE said he is leading the SAR government in drafting the plan.
The government has established a collaborative mechanism to foster a synergistic partnership between the executive and the legislature. Through the LegCo Subcommittee on Hong Kong's Work to Actively Dovetail with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, which was set up at the beginning of this term as a coordination platform, all LegCo members were mobilized and six working groups were established based on their respective constituencies, professional knowledge and practical experience, etc, the LegCo said in a statement.
The groups conducted in-depth thematic studies, rigorous analyses and canvassed views from different sectors across various subjects, including economy, finance and trade; industry development and innovation and technology; land, housing and the Northern Metropolis; regional cooperation; livelihood and social development; and the synergistic development between culture, sports and tourism and green living, etc.
On behalf of LegCo, LegCo President Starry Lee Wai-king, together with two LegCo Chief Coordinators – Ronick Chan Chun-ying and Stanley Ng Chau-pei – and members of the subcommittee submitted the report to the CE at the Chief Executive's Office on Friday.
“LegCo attaches high importance to the CE's expectation regarding the collaborative mechanism. As the most important platform for gathering public views, LegCo is responsible and duty-bound to carry out this task. This ground-breaking approach, which mobilized all members to work together efficiently, demonstrates the unity and teamwork of the eighth LegCo,” said Starry Lee.
She also said the innovative collaborative mechanism established by the CE enables LegCo to take part at an earlier stage in the government's formulation of major development visions and policy initiatives, helping the government gauge public sentiment more effectively.
It symbolizes a new milestone in the positive interaction between the executive and legislative authorities, added the LegCo chief.
The LegCo members said they would spare no effort in assisting the HKSAR government to complete Hong Kong's first five-year plan at the earliest opportunity, cultivating a new collaborative paradigm for good governance of the city.
