bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Editorial

In his maiden policy address last October, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu hailed a new chapter for Hong Kong advancing from stability to prosperity.
The biggest aspiration of the people, he said, was to have more decent housing, improved care for the elderly, better prospects for youth and more development opportunities in society.
As he delivers his second blueprint on Wednesday, more daunting challenges await.
Thanks to the subsiding pandemic late last year, Lee’s first policy speech focused on reopening the borders for the first time in three years, with an array of initiatives to rebuild the city and tell the “good Hong Kong stories”.
In addition to recruiting overseas talent and business investment, there were also housing and livelihood initiatives.
Hong Kong policy address theme unveiled: ‘vibrant economy for a caring community’
“The next five years are important for Hong Kong to break new grounds and achieve another leap forward,” he said.
The chief executive, to his credit, has managed to show some results over the past year.
The unemployment rate hovers at a healthy level of 2.8 per cent. More overseas companies and expatriates have flocked to the city.
Tourists are also returning, although the numbers still fall short of the pre-pandemic levels.
But economic performance, especially in the property and stock markets, still leaves much to be desired. The journey is far from plain sailing.
Internally, not only is the pace of recovery slower than expected, some deep-seated economic and social issues have also become more acute.
The sluggish economy, persistent housing shortage, shrinking manpower, dwindling fiscal reserves, deepening political apathy and changing demographics are some of the immediate problems that require more vigorous efforts to address.
Externally, intensifying geopolitical tensions have made navigating the complex global environment more difficult.
Hong Kong’s tiny shoebox flats a big problem; can policy address tackle it?
The political and economic uncertainties ahead have made leveraging the city’s strengths under “one country, two systems” all the more challenging.
Lee must be well aware of the growing public expectations for more concrete improvements across key policy areas.
The government is reportedly prepared to relax some anti-speculation measures amid growing concerns about the property market slump.
To address the chronically low birth rate, there may also be some financial incentives to encourage couples to have more babies.
Should Hong Kong give priority housing to couples with babies or offer cash?
The current medical voucher scheme for senior citizens may also cover those living in the Greater Bay Area.
To what extent the new initiatives make a difference will be closely watched. But the to-do list should not just stop here.
From boosting innovation and technology to improving the economy and people’s livelihood, a lot more needs to be done to give people hope and confidence that the city can truly move towards prosperity.


Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs wraps up second bay area visit in 3 weeks

Landlords of 5,557 subdivided homes seek 3-year grace period to fix flats

Tighter civil service disciplinary rules risk becoming excessive: union head

Health chief hails tobacco control efforts as smoking rate falls to 8.5%

Hong Kong politics

John Lee’s policy address must offer Hong Kong hope and confidence

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled a promotional video of his second policy address, printed in green, themed as  “A vibrant economy for a caring community” on his Facebook page on Sunday.  Photo: Facebook/ @ John Lee

Hong Kong policy address 2023: building ‘vibrant economy for a caring community’ will be theme of speech, John Lee says

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is seen in a still from a promotional video about his coming policy address. Photo: Facebook/@ John Lee

The city recorded 1,441 homeless people in an official database this year, more than double the 595 people in 2013, according to NGOs. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong policy address 2023: property market may roar again if stamp duty eases, but will first-time buyers and some locals be squeezed out?

Illustration: Henry Wong

Property investor Joseph Ng has bought and sold 200 flats over the years and is holding on to fewer than 20. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Finance chief Paul Chan has hinted that the city may ease its property cooling measures. Photo: Martin Chan

The city has introduced a range of property cooling measures in stages since 2010 to discourage speculators. Photo: May Tse

Stamp duties related to the cooling measures have fallen from HK$22 billion in 2018-19 to HK$9 billion in 2020-21. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Allowing property prices to slump further could lead to a crisis, Victor Zheng says. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong policy address 2023: will priority access to housing for couples with newborns help boost birth rate more than cash handouts?

The city’s total fertility rate was the lowest in the world according to a United Nations Population Fund report in April. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chief Executive John Lee will deliver his policy address next Wednesday. Photo: Jelly Tse

The number of births in Hong Kong has declined by almost 40 per cent over the past four years. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong policy address 2023: John Lee ‘expected to ease stamp duty for some home transactions, unveil plans to boost birth rate’

The government has faced mounting pressure from developers and the business sector to ease property market cooling measures amid an ongoing decline in transactions and a series of failed land purchase bids. Photo: Sam Tsang

Chief Executive John Lee is set to roll out new measures to address structural problems in the economy. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Prospective homebuyers line up at a sales office in Hung Hom’s Fortune Metropolis. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

The Lok Ma Chau Loop area is set to house clusters of top laboratories and research institutes. Photo: May Tse

Opinion

Chief executive’s to-do list is a long one, but the challenges can be met if he presents ideas and visions that are both realistic and practicable


Chief executive’s to-do list is a long one, but the challenges can be met if he presents ideas and visions that are both realistic and practicable.


John Lee

John Lee policy address 2023

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Editorial

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Chief executive’s to-do list is a long one, but the challenges can be met if he presents ideas and visions that are both realistic and practicable

Chief executive’s to-do list is a long one, but the challenges can be met if he presents ideas and visions that are both realistic and practicable