John Lee’s policy address will need to deliver hope, above all else

With Covid-19 a non-issue and domestic politics now stable, people expect the administration to tackle economic growth, livelihood issues and housing

Alice Wu

Published: 9:30am, 23 Oct 2023

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With Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu scheduled to deliver his policy address on Wednesday, he is no doubt busy putting the final touches to his speech. And this may be his most challenging address.

There are many reasons, the most obvious being that there are no more excuses to fall back on. Covid-19 is a non-issue, although the impact of the prolonged border and quarantine policies are still being felt. Numbers don’t lie and the economy has yet to pick up.

Also gone is the excuse of needing to tend to more pressing priorities, by which I mean restoring order after the political chaos that culminated in the 2019 social unrest. The Lee administration has seen to it that the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” is being fully implemented, and national security safeguarded.

The coming district council elections will see the final piece fall into place for a revamped electoral system designed to align with those principles. With drastically reduced seats and a completely different decision-making and power structure, the district councils will have no real political power. That power lies with the government and those anointed with nomination privileges.

Just eight people from the opposition camp – two from the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood and six from the Democratic Party – have expressed a wish to run. None, so far, has secured enough nominations.

With the opposition camp – which has, in the past, employed obstructionist tactics and been cited as the reason for the political stalemate – effectively cut out of the Election Committee, Legislative Council and, most likely, the district councils too, the people will expect greater expediency from officials in dealing with Hong Kong’s long-standing problems.

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People will also look to the government to make clear Hong Kong’s role in the country’s development plans – this has been considered the city’s “way out” for years. Last year, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying sounded the alarm over “the last window of opportunity” to play that role.

Lee has also been talking about leveraging mainland support and development, enhancing the city’s competitiveness and creating opportunities for growth. In his national day reception speech, he highlighted the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the 20th anniversary of CEPA – the mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement – and the 30th anniversary of H‑share listings in Hong Kong.

How to translate those promises of opportunities into livelihood improvements will be Lee’s challenge. More specifically, improving people’s sense of contentment and happiness will require more of the Lee administration than campaigns with short-term results.

Lee has vowed to focus on livelihood issues and boost economic growth. Housing, healthcare and education remain the top three concerns for residents. These long-standing problems desperately need new solutions. Government sources have revealed it is ready to ease cooling measures like stamp duty for some property transactions.

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Home prices have dropped to 2017 levels, land sales have been dismal and, for months, the government has been pressured to step in. Whether easing the cooling measures will help much remains to be seen but, despite the fall in prices, affordability is still a pressing issue.

This is why one-off, quick-fix measures will not solve our problems in the long term.

A recovery in both the economy and the city’s outlook – and hence confidence – is urgent and requires more than just lifting a few property cooling measures or handing out cash for babies (something sources say the government is planning).

The policy blueprints and key performance indicators are only window dressing. The government has a lot of work to do to restore people’s faith in the city’s leadership. Hong Kong’s birth and suicide rates reflect a desperate need for the government to start delivering hope.

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In his last policy address, Lee said we should tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong. There have been good stories to tell, most recently of Hong Kong athletes’ phenomenal achievements at the Asian Games – setting personal bests, breaking records and winning medals where we hadn’t before.

The good news for Lee is that Hongkongers have it in them to fight, persevere and win. It’s on him to lead the government in setting the stage for people to work towards, and contribute to, the narrative Hong Kong wants the world to hear.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA