Hong Kong garners 16,000 submissions from consultation for city’s first 5-year plan

Hong Kong authorities received more than 16,000 public submissions for the city’s inaugural five-year plan by the close of its consultation on Friday, with an official noting general support for more focused integration into national development and the strategic cultivation of emerging sectors. Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Janice Tse Siu-wa described the blueprint, which is set to be delivered next month, as “a milestone in public administration”, adding that it would feature binding and predictive targets, mirroring the design of the country’s 15th five-year plan. Meeting the press on Friday, Tse said that after using artificial intelligence to analyse the public submissions, the collected views generally supported Hong Kong’s integration into national development in a more focused manner. “This included promoting the development of the ‘four centres and one hub’ positioning. Many views said that Hong Kong should be more focused on cultivating emerging sectors with strategic values, and leverage the strengths of Hong Kong’s professional services,” she said. “[Respondents also suggested] Hong Kong should accelerate its development as an innovation and technology hub, and consolidate Hong Kong’s positioning as an international financial centre.” Tse said the public had also proposed that the city reinforce its status as an international renminbi business hub by introducing a wide variety of yuan products, alongside the development of the commodity trading ecosystem. She added that among the more than 16,000 submissions, about 80 per cent were by individuals and focused on livelihood issues, while the rest were from organisations, such as political parties, think tanks, academic groups and chambers of commerce. Tse noted that the government had held more than 100 consultation sessions over the past two months, with about 30 of them conducted by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. Officials had also visited mainland Chinese cities in the Greater Bay Area to solicit their views on further alignment, cooperation and development, she added. The bay area refers to Beijing’s initiative to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into an economic powerhouse. “During the consultation period, public response has been very enthusiastic,” Tse said. “The general public and stakeholders from different sectors take the formulation of Hong Kong’s first five-year plan very seriously and are keen to contribute their views and suggestions.” Tse said many submissions also supported accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis megaproject, particularly by pooling resources to advance the university town and the Hong Kong Park within the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone in the Lok Ma Chau Loop. She noted that the public had called on the government to deepen cooperation within the bay area, in areas such as talent, education, and logistics. Other suggestions covered a range of livelihood issues, including housing, healthcare, education and welfare, she added. “Hong Kong’s first five-year plan will help us better seize both international and national development opportunities,” Tse said, describing it as an integral part of the national 15th five-year blueprint. On whether the city’s maiden five-year blueprint would contain “substantial indicators”, the minister said Hong Kong would mirror the design of the national plan by setting out both binding and predictive indicators. “Some indicators, such as those related to environmental protection and food security, are implemented through the government’s resource allocation and policies. There are usually binding indicators under the 15th five-year plan,” Tse said. “Predictive indicators involve areas such as economic development, innovation and technology, and people’s livelihoods.” She explained that these areas required both government guidance and market participation, and that the related targets were typically predictive, as it would be difficult to project the exact scale of change. “[It] is a major initiative to integrate into and serve the overall development of the country and at the same time a milestone for public administration in Hong Kong,” Tse said. She said the government would continue to collate and analyse the public views and suggestions, adding that it aimed to deliver the document in September. In its own proposals, made public on Friday, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong called on the city to maintain ties with European and US business partners while expanding exchanges with emerging economies. On the subject of the Northern Metropolis, the chamber proposed establishing a single statutory entity to streamline coordination and facilitate public-private partnerships. It also suggested expanding the financial advisory task force for the megaproject to include long-term institutional investors, and called for dedicated policy support to attract international schools to the area. Other proposals included calling for more proactive policies to improve the seamless movement of people and data with the mainland, particularly within the bay area, such as a simplified mechanism for consent-based cross-border transfer of e-commerce payment data. The Hong Kong Institute of Architects also submitted its suggestions to the government on Friday, calling for the establishment of codes and certification systems for green building materials to cut carbon dioxide emissions. The body said the government should further streamline the procedures for rural tourism projects in the Northern Metropolis to revitalise villages. In the 32-page consultation document released in June, authorities outlined six core areas for the plan: accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis megaproject; economy, finance and trade; innovation and technology; people’s livelihoods; regional cooperation; and the development of culture, sport and tourism. At a recent consultation session with residents, city leader Lee said Hong Kong’s five-year plan would set out “macro indicators”, adding that the coming policy address would contain more than 100 indicators for departments to follow up on.

Hong Kong garners 16,000 submissions from consultation for city’s first 5-year plan

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Minister Janice Tse says analysis of public submissions shows general support for more focused integration into national development

Minister Janice Tse says analysis of public submissions shows general support for more focused integration into national development