Fu Kin-chi says constructing an authoritative academic discourse firmly rooted in the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law is an urgent task

Tuesday’s successful convening of the 10th “one country, two systems” and Basic Law Seminar, organized by Bauhinia Magazine and centered on the theme “Implementing Executive-led Governance, Enhancing Governance Efficacy, and Promoting High-Quality Development”, represents a pivotal intellectual and strategic milestone for Hong Kong.

As the city transitions from a phase of restoring order to one of forging sustained prosperity, this gathering of distinguished legal scholars, policy experts, and community leaders contributed to fostering a comprehensive and coherent vision for the next chapter of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s socioeconomic development.

The deliberations collectively affirmed that Hong Kong’s successful trajectory is contingent upon three deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing pillars: The unwavering consolidation of an executive-led constitutional system; the demonstrable enhancement of public governance efficacy; and the strategic pursuit of an economic model defined by innovation, resilience, and shared benefits. This tripartite framework offers both a diagnostic lens for current challenges and a proactive blueprint for future success.

The principle of executive-led governance, as enshrined in the Basic Law, constitutes far more than a mere administrative convenience; it is the fundamental constitutional architecture of the HKSAR governance. This system is the essential operational mechanism that translates the overarching “one country, two systems” policy from a constitutional principle into a living and functional reality.

It establishes a clear hierarchy of authority, with the chief executive at its apex, ensuring both decisive and effective leadership and unambiguous accountability. This design is crucial for maintaining administrative efficiency, safeguarding national security, and upholding the overall interests of Hong Kong society within the broader context of national sovereignty.

The necessity of this system has been vividly underscored by Hong Kong’s recent history. The enactment of the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law and the subsequent improvement of the electoral system were not deviations from “one country, two systems” but rather vital acts of constitutional maintenance. These measures addressed profound vulnerabilities by eliminating external interference and corrosive internal politicking, thereby creating a secure and stable environment in which the executive-led system can function as originally intended.

Having secured this foundational stability, the focus must now evolve toward functional optimization and deepened institutionalization. The path forward requires a dual strategy: First, formalizing more structured, regular, and constructive channels for executive-legislative interaction to foster policy synergy and reduce adversarial deadlock; and second, strengthening the integrated policymaking capacity of the executive branch.

This involves enhancing the Executive Council’s role in strategic deliberation and ensuring the team of principal officials operates with cohesive purpose and operational excellence. A robust, confident, and dynamically effective executive authority is an indispensable steering mechanism for navigating Hong Kong through an increasingly complex global and regional landscape.

A sound constitutional structure, while necessary, is insufficient if it does not yield high-quality outcomes for society. Therefore, the seminar’s sharp focus on governance efficacy directly addresses the critical link between institutional design and the lived experience of residents.

Governance efficacy encompasses the entire spectrum of public administration — from the relevance and fairness of policies to the efficiency and accessibility of services, and ultimately to the level of public trust and social cohesion it generates. Elevating this efficacy requires a holistic modernization of the government’s operational paradigms, technological tools, and engagement models.

The human dimension of this equation is paramount. The civil service remains the permanent engine of administration. Enhancing its capability extends beyond traditional training to include fostering a deepened strategic literacy. Civil servants must possess not only professional expertise in their domains but also a sophisticated understanding of macro-level national strategies, such as the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) and the intricate dynamics of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.

Cultivating a civil service that is both locally expert and nationally conscious is essential for Hong Kong to proactively align itself with, and capitalize on the vast opportunities presented by national development, thereby turning policy synergy into tangible advantages for Hong Kong.

With constitutional order secured and governance mechanisms refined, the paramount objective becomes the pursuit of high-quality development. This concept signifies a mature evolution in Hong Kong’s economic philosophy, moving beyond traditional quantitative growth to prioritize qualitative advancement characterized by innovation-driven growth, environmental sustainability, higher value creation, and inclusive prosperity. It definitively answers the question of what form Hong Kong’s high-quality development and celebrated prosperity should take in the decades ahead.

Hong Kong’s established economic pillars — international finance, trade, and professional services — remain formidable assets but require deliberate evolution. The future lies in leveraging the city’s unique common law system and global connectivity to achieve preeminence in emerging and high-value sectors such as green and sustainable finance, intellectual property trading and arbitration, legal and regulatory technology, and family wealth management.

The central government’s explicit support for Hong Kong to develop into an international innovation and technology hub is a transformative national endorsement. Realizing this ambition demands bold, cross-sectoral initiatives to overcome historical constraints in talent retention, research commercialization, and physical space.

Large-scale projects like the Northern Metropolis and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone are critical physical and institutional platforms. They are designed to function as interconnected nodes within a regional innovation ecosystem, fostering deep synergy with Chinese mainland cities like Shenzhen through the fluid exchange of talent, capital, data and ideas.

Critically, the success of high-quality development will be judged by its social impact and inclusiveness. Economic strategies must be intentionally designed to alleviate persistent social concerns — notably housing affordability, healthcare accessibility, educational excellence, and intergenerational mobility. A portion of the wealth generated from new growth sectors must be strategically channeled into strengthening the social infrastructure and safety net. This creates a virtuous, self-reinforcing cycle: Social stability and a shared sense of progress underpin economic confidence, which in turn fuels further sustainable and equitable growth.

Sustained practical progress must be anchored in robust theoretical clarity. There is a pressing need for continuous, sophisticated scholarly work to elucidate the dynamic constitutional and administrative theory underpinning Hong Kong’s unique status. This involves exploring the juridical foundations of executive-led authority within a unitary state, developing metrics and models for assessing governance efficacy, and defining the legal and policy parameters that foster high-quality development.

Constructing a coherent, authoritative academic discourse — one that is firmly rooted in the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law while engaging rigorously with global scholarship on governance and development — is an urgent task. This intellectual project is not merely academic; it strengthens institutional confidence, informs sound policymaking, shapes public understanding, and fosters a mature, forward-looking social consensus.

For Hong Kong’s legal, academic, and professional communities, the contemporary mission is to actively steward this integrated process. This entails being vigilant interpreters and defenders of constitutional order, innovative contributors to governance solutions, and persuasive advocates for a future built on confidence and collective endeavor.

The author is a law professor, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, and president of the Association for the Promotion of Rule of Law, Education and Technologies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.