Over the past three years, political stability and effective governance have enabled the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and all sectors of society to focus on addressing the economic and livelihood issues that have plagued the city for years, particularly its narrow industrial base, the lack of competitiveness of traditional industries, the widening income gap, and the government’s financial-resource shortages.
However, the global economic downturn, anti-globalization currents, rising protectionism, hostilities directed at Hong Kong by the United States and its allies, and most recently, the global tariff and technology wars against China instigated by the administration of US President Donald Trump have posed severe challenges to Hong Kong’s development.
Under the guidance of the central government, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and the SAR government have essentially formulated and gradually implemented a development strategy tailored to the changing and challenging environment within and beyond Hong Kong. The core elements of this strategy include: enhancing the government’s role and commitment in economic and social development; accelerating Hong Kong’s integration into the overall national development; leveraging the numerous preferential policies provided by the central government; actively promoting the development of emerging industries, particularly innovative technology; increasing efforts to attract foreign capital and talent; strengthening the city’s status as an international financial center and expanding its international economic space; assisting Chinese mainland enterprises and the renminbi in “going global”; and gradually and pragmatically addressing livelihood issues such as housing and population aging in Hong Kong.
These strategies are long term, representing a significant shift from past policies and the government’s economic role. They involve a massive investment of public resources and will not achieve results overnight. Ultimately, success requires long-term persistence and unremitting effort. Over the past three years, the SAR government has introduced a series of policies and measures to implement its development strategy, achieving tangible results. Today, the government is overwhelmed by the need to implement many major policy projects. In the coming months, the greatest challenge facing the Lee administration will be to effectively expedite the implementation of this development strategy within the constraints of fiscal resources and a challenging international situation, and to continuously deliver tangible results to ensure the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s economy and, based on this development, improve people’s livelihoods. In other words, the administration’s focus over the next two years will not be on continually initiating new and significant policies. Instead, it must carefully prioritize various existing policies. With the full support of the central government, it needs to implement and continuously optimize these policies with strong executive capabilities, strengthen the foundation for Hong Kong’s future development, and thereby enhance the confidence and expectations of the city’s residents in their future.
Regardless, enhancing government executive capability is crucial for improving Hong Kong’s governance and promoting development. To accomplish this essential task, much remains to be done. The government must persevere and innovate persistently, demonstrating a sense of responsibility to history
One of the focuses of the new Policy Address is to enhance the government’s executive capabilities and optimize existing policies, rather than to propose significant new policy initiatives. This approach better reflects the current realities and objective needs. First, the government clarified the priorities of major policy projects, deciding to shelve the massive land reclamation project at Kau Yi Chau and concentrate limited resources on the paramount project — the Northern Metropolis. This will better promote cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and enable the SAR’s more active participation in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, allowing Hong Kong to accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading.
Second, to enhance administrative efficiency, the government has decided to further “tear down walls and loosen binds” in administration, simplifying and optimizing numerous administrative rules and procedures to expedite the implementation of policies and measures, particularly in areas such as land development, housing, innovation and technology, and education. The government will establish a Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis, chaired by the chief executive, to strengthen coordination, enhance management, and introduce a rapid and flexible decision-making system for the development of the Northern Metropolis. These initiatives will stringently test the innovativeness, reform activism, and commitment of officials. In addition to promoting Hong Kong’s industrial transformation and economic development, they will also improve Hong Kong’s investment and business environment and enhance the international competitiveness of its economy.
Third, after reviewing the successes and failures of existing policies, the government has decided to consolidate and optimize some of them, improving their implementation and ensuring that policy objectives are better achieved, that policies better reconcile the interests of all parties, and that they gain greater public support. Among these, improving the imported-labor policies, optimizing housing policies, providing targeted support for disadvantaged groups, and improving people’s livelihoods are particularly important.
Fourth, to enhance the government’s executive capacity, a comprehensive accountability system for public officials must be established to ensure that they conscientiously, proactively, expeditiously, and accurately implement major government policies. While the accountability system for politically appointed principal officials was established in 2002, the administrative accountability system for civil servants remains incomplete. Consequently, Hong Kong still lacks a comprehensive accountability system for public officials. Despite the inevitable resistance from some civil servants, Lee resolutely proposed establishing an administrative accountability system known as the “Heads of Department Accountability System”, demonstrating his political courage and commitment. While establishing an effective administrative accountability system will undoubtedly take time, the government’s willingness to take this first step should benefit Hong Kong’s governance structure and capacity in the long run.
Finally, to improve administrative efficiency amid the constraints of a shortage of financial resources and difficulty in increasing the workforce, the government will more actively utilize advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence to support government work. It will also establish an “AI Efficacy Enhancement Team” to promote the construction of a smart government, increasing administrative efficiency, enabling the government to provide services to residents more quickly, and strengthening communication between the government and residents.
Regardless, enhancing government executive capability is crucial for improving Hong Kong’s governance and promoting development. To accomplish this essential task, much remains to be done. The government must persevere and innovate persistently, demonstrating a sense of responsibility to history.
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.
