CE: Policy Address to grasp 'new opportunities in new era'

HONG KONG – Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngorhas said her last Policy Address of the current tenure – scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday – would focus on seizing new opportunities in the new era for Hong Kong.

With many favorable conditions in the new stage, the address will focus on economic integration with the Chinese mainland, housing and land supply, and resumption of quarantine-free travel with the mainland, Lam told the media on Tuesday.

This year's policy address is different, in that it's being delivered in the new era of Hong Kong's return to the right track of the "one country, two systems", she said.

The National Security Law for Hong Kong and a revised electoral system have restored stability in the city, plugged legal loopholes in the SAR for national security, and ensured the administration of the city by patriots, said the Hong Kong leader.

In such a well-optimized environment and free from interference of disruptive forces, many people in the city have spontaneously felt: "It's time to make a change", said Lam.

The central government's support for Hong Kong has reached an all-time high under the nation's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). The city must seize the huge opportunities presented by the national plan that positions the SAR as a regional and international center in eight areas, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Qianhai and Hengqin cooperation zones, she said.

Hong Kong's economy has also begun to show signs of rebounding amid the pandemic. The gross domestic product, for example, saw a year-on-year growth of 7.8 percent in the first half of 2021, while unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent from a peak of 7.2 percent at the beginning of the year, according to the CE.

She said this year's 168-page supplement (Chinese version) to the policy address will summarize her administration's work over the past four years, including the implementation of about 900 policies and measures.

In the past three months, total 3,500 people attended 40 online and offline consultation sessions on this year's policy address. A further 3,800 submissions were received.