Proposal for R&D transfers from mainland China to Hong Kong has ‘very high’ chance of success, technology secretary says
- Sun Dong says data access proposal is part of strategy to transform city into global hub for innovation and technology
- Technology secretary says chief executive also planning ‘ambitious and new’ plans to tackle talent shortage in sector
Hong Kong and mainland China are discussing a proposal to give the city access to some state-owned data on research and development, as part of a wider drive to become an international hub of innovation and technology (I&T) and attract talent in the sector, the minister leading the talks has said.
Sun Dong, the secretary for innovation, technology and industry, told the Post that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu would also introduce several “ambitious and new” initiatives to tackle Hong Kong’s lack of I&T talent in his first policy speech next month.
“Hong Kong would like to set up its own data centre, so we hope that part of the national data could be transferred to Hong Kong. This will form a unique advantage for the city,” said Sun, a former professor of biomedical engineering who was in charge of robotics and automation research at City University.
“We are now arguing for the transfer of national data and in discussion with the central government and its relevant departments. I believe under certain conditions, the chances are very high the mainland will relax the data access.”
Sun said he was confident the authorities in mainland China would give conditional approval to the proposal. The Post understands that the type of information under discussion consisted of state-owned scientific and technology data.
On the issue of whether any sensitive data could ever flow in the opposite direction, Hong Kong’s privacy laws prohibit the transfer of personal data to places outside the city except in circumstances specified in the law. The government has said in the past it had bolstered confidence in data centre services.