Editorial | If Hong Kong plays to its strengths, it can expect even more benefits
- Post’s 11th China Conference sends message that, thanks to ‘one country, two systems’, Hong Kong can play a wider superconnector role and reap the rewards
Hong Kong is still digesting the stunning liberalisation of mainland travel for its permanent foreign residents. Now the chief executive has foreshadowed more such game-changing news on top of the July 1 handover anniversary gift from Beijing.
John Lee Ka-chiu did not reveal details when he addressed the Post’s 11th China Conference. But he did disclose that the new five-year, multi-entry travel permit for non-Chinese nationals is just the second step in a “big policy breakthrough” – with more steps to come.
The first step, last October, was a fast application process for multiple-entry visas for foreign employees of local firms. The business community reacted positively to the latest measure, with visions of seamless travel one day within the Greater Bay Area economic hub.
One suggestion is to include non-permanent residents after a qualifying period of, say, three years.
The chief executive said he expected the policy, which reflected the country’s support for Hong Kong, would attract companies and talent from around the world. He rightly hailed it as underlining the city’s “singular status” under “one country, two systems”.
The city enjoyed “bountiful support” from Beijing while retaining global connectivity. He attributed this to a “robust legal system” and institutional strengths such as free flow of information.