The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (June 3) addressed more than 200 members of the local and international business community at a webinar hosted by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) under its 160th anniversary distinguished speakers series. She highlighted the tremendous opportunities presented by the “Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035” (the 14th Five-Year Plan) approved by the National People’s Congress earlier this year, and encouraged businesses to contribute to and benefit from the national blueprint and action agenda.
Mrs Lam took members through the content in the 14th Five-Year Plan that concerned Hong Kong, although she suggested that one should actually refer to the entire Plan to appreciate the many opportunities available in the country’s development strategies in the coming years. She highlighted that the Hong Kong and Macao chapter contained, first and foremost, the fundamental principles that would contribute to the long-term prosperity and stability of the two special administrative regions. She said that it was imperative for Hong Kong to fully and faithfully implement the “One Country, Two Systems” principle; uphold the constitutional order as enshrined in the Constitution and the Basic Law; uphold the Central Authorities’ overall jurisdiction over the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR); implement the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests of the nation and the social stability of the HKSAR; and resolutely prevent and curb interference by external forces in the affairs of Hong Kong. She remarked that seen against the unprecedented challenges faced by Hong Kong since the latter half of 2019 till the enactment and implementation of the National Security Law, the reiteration of these important principles underpinning the relationship between the Central Authorities and the HKSAR were timely and pertinent.
Mrs Lam went on to point out the positioning of Hong Kong as set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan, which reflected the full support and recognition of the Central Authorities for Hong Kong, and the plans and the progress of work in the relevant areas. In particular, Hong Kong was recognised for its status as an international financial, transportation and trade centre, and a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. Furthermore, Hong Kong was encouraged, for the first time, to develop as an international aviation hub, an international innovation and technology hub, a regional intellectual property trading centre, and a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
“To enable Hong Kong people to seize the opportunities brought about by the development of the nation, the Leading Group on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development has endorsed various measures to facilitate Hong Kong people to study, live and work in the Mainland cities of the GBA. I am sure such supportive measures will continue now that a reference has been made to it in the 14th Five-Year Plan. However, the HKSAR must at the same time cultivate a stronger sense of national identity amongst the people of Hong Kong,” said Mrs Lam.
She also pointed out that in recognition of Hong Kong’s status as an international city, the 14th Five-Year Plan supported Hong Kong to foster co-operation and exchanges with countries and regions around the world. She encouraged international companies and chambers of commerce to leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages to access the Mainland market and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.
Mrs Lam addressed wide-ranging questions from the participants covering such topics as the plan for lifting travel restrictions, quarantine arrangements, visa-free access to the Mainland by residents of non-Chinese ethnicity, Hong Kong-Shenzhen co-operation and sports development.
Mrs Lam expressed her gratitude to the HKGCC and various enterprises for their overwhelming support for the Government’s “Early Vaccination for All” campaign launched this week by rolling out measures to facilitate employees to get vaccinated as well as offering numerous reward schemes.
“Vaccination is the best hope for Hong Kong to overcome the epidemic; we need to do much better than the present vaccination rates in order to reach the immunity level for our society to return to normality. This is the time to act,” Mrs Lam said.
