Hong Kong must ‘make the cake bigger’ to achieve Beijing’s goal of ‘common prosperity’, finance chief says

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says city must ensure economic fruits are more evenly distributed after Beijing sets out ambitious policy goal

Chan also argues this year’s slate of Legislative Council candidates are more diverse than ever despite Beijing’s electoral overhaul

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Hong Kong must keep up its economic growth if it hopes to achieve Beijing’s goal of ‘common prosperity’, the city’s finance chief has said. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 4:19pm, 14 Nov 2021Updated: 10:30pm, 14 Nov 2021

Hong Kong must keep up its economic growth if it hopes to “make the cake bigger” so all residents can enjoy a share, the city’s finance chief has said, touting Beijing’s latest policy goal of achieving “common prosperity”.

In his weekly blog post on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the goals laid out on Thursday at the closing of the sixth Communist Party plenum, including the common prosperity push, were significant for both mainland China and Hong Kong, adding that the city must take the messages to heart, particularly the principle of putting the people first.

“Economic development is for the people to have a better life; this underlines the significance and meaning of ‘common prosperity’. We must not only make the cake bigger, but also divide the cake well,” he wrote.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan. Photo: May Tse

The communique issued at the end of last week’s four-day gathering of China’s political elite summarised the achievements of the party over the past 100 years. The leadership also adopted a resolution at the plenum hailing President Xi Jinping as the creator of a body of “theories and thoughts”, putting him on par with party immortals Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Thursday’s communique noted the sweeping changes Beijing imposed on Hong Kong following the anti-government protests of 2019, such as its implementation of the national security law and its drastic overhaul of the city’s political system to ensure only “patriots” held power.

Hong Kong must ‘make the cake bigger’ to achieve Beijing’s goal of ‘common prosperity’, finance chief says

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says city must ensure economic fruits are more evenly distributed after Beijing sets out ambitious policy goal Chan also argues this year’s slate of Legislative Council candidates are more diverse than ever despite Beijing’s electoral overhaul

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says city must ensure economic fruits are more evenly distributed after Beijing sets out ambitious policy goal

Chan also argues this year’s slate of Legislative Council candidates are more diverse than ever despite Beijing’s electoral overhaul