The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government plans to publish a consultation paper on the city’s first five-year development plan in the second quarter. The document is expected to provide the public with a detailed vision for the city’s development from 2026 to 2030.
Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu acknowledged the challenge of the limited time frame. He said that the Chinese mainland authorities typically spend 18 months to two years conducting research for their respective five-year plans.
He said each policy bureau has set up a dedicated drafting team to carry out research on their policy domains, draw up their roles in the consultation process, and compile research findings and public feedback.
The SAR government and the Legislative Council have established a coordination mechanism to study various development topics, and will work together to gather public opinion.
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Lee urged all sectors of society to participate in the formulation process and offer suggestions, emphasizing that the plan will shape people’s livelihoods and social development over the next five years. He projected that the plan will cover the economy, investment, industries, land, housing, transportation infrastructure, healthcare, education, welfare and employment.
He said he believes this blueprint will create new development paths and opportunities, while consolidating and enhancing the city’s traditional strengths, such as its status as an international center in finance, shipping, trade, innovation and technology. The plan will also help the city to better integrate into and serve the country’s overall development, Lee added.
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Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said that releasing the consultation document within this quarter is challenging, but the task should not be delayed.
Lau said he believes it is necessary for the document to give the public “a rough idea of the concrete results” they will see in the next five years.
He suggested that the consultation paper needs to be “concise and focused” to more effectively gather input from all sectors of society.
Moreover, he said he hopes that the document will outline the challenges facing Hong Kong in the coming years, its goals, development strategies, and major policies. It should also demonstrate how Hong Kong’s unique advantages will be leveraged and how its development plan aligns with the national development agenda. In a joint statement, LegCo President Starry Lee Wai-king and chief coordinators Ronick Chan Chun-ying and Stanley Ng Chau-pei expressed their support for the government’s efforts in formulating the five-year plan. They said LegCo is committed to fulfilling its role as an integral part of the SAR’s governing team and as the most important platform for gathering public views in Hong Kong.
They added that LegCo has established multiple working groups based on lawmakers’ constituencies, expertise and experience to conduct thematic research and analysis while collecting feedback from various sectors.
Starry Lee expressed hope that the executive and legislative branches will work together to ensure the plan clearly outlines Hong Kong’s development goals, strategies and a road map for the next five years in areas such as the economy, society, and people’s livelihoods.
The national 15th Five-Year Plan was adopted by the National People’s Congress in March, calling for Hong Kong’s deeper integration into and service of the country’s overall development. Mainland provincial- and prefecture-level governments also issue their local plans separately — Guangdong and Shanghai adopted theirs in December and February respectively, while Beijing released its plan on April 7.
Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com
