Hong Kong leader John Lee will unveil ‘bold measures’ in policy address to lure talent, investment, says finance chief Paul Chan
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan also confident high-powered banking summit will be held successfully next month
- Top government adviser, meanwhile, says authorities in mainland China could relax entry restrictions for travellers from Hong Kong after 20th party congress
“We are confident that the summit will be held successfully,” Chan said after the latest round of informal exchanges between officials and lawmakers. “The Monetary Authority and our Health Bureau colleagues have been in close contact all along, preparing the summit based on the latest situation.”
Following the session, executive councillor Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, a member of a key decision-making body, also suggested mainland Chinese authorities could relax the seven-day quarantine period for those crossing the border from Hong Kong.
Lam said changes to the entry regime could come after the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th congress on October 16, a twice-a-decade national meeting that lays out leadership and constitutional changes.
“I learned from some mainland friends that there is a good chance the relaxation will be made after the party congress, but not to entirely zero quarantine,” Lam said.
The remarks from Chan and Lam came as the number of daily Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong remained below the 4,000 mark for a fifth day, with health authorities on Wednesday logging 3,642 new infections, of which 324 were imported.
Ten additional deaths were also reported, bringing the number of related fatalities to 10,194, while the overall case figure rose to 1,783,337.
Hong Kong leader vows to roll out talent drive in coming policy address
Chan also admitted he was not optimistic over prospects for growth in the near term, pointing to challenging geopolitical tensions which had disrupted supply chains and tighter monetary policies by central banks amid higher inflation.
“This year unavoidably we will be recording negative growth, but our outlook in the coming year is still pretty challenging, given the continuing headwind in the external market,” Chan said.
“As for our government, we will take a more proactive attitude to adopt bold measures to stimulate our economic development and provide new economic impetus.”
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu would announce “bold measures” in terms of attracting investment, businesses and talent in his first policy address on October 19, he said.
The deficit would be the second-largest one after a shortfall of HK$232.5 billion was recorded in 2020.
Asked whether the government would scrap the current “0+3” arrangement – under which arrivals are no longer required to undergo hotel quarantine but must do three days of home medical surveillance – ahead of next month’s financial summit, Chan said many guests had earlier promised to attend the event despite the current curbs.
“The pandemic situation is changing all the time. We will make every effort to resume social and economic activities as soon as possible under the prerequisite of protecting the health of the public,” he said.
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‘We need to look past uncertainty’, says Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief ahead of banking summit
Government pandemic adviser Professor David Hui Shu-cheong suggested authorities scrap the medical surveillance period for incoming travellers if Hong Kong did not report any rebound in coronavirus cases over the coming days.
“The government should consider implementing the ‘0+0’ arrangement as soon as possible, preferably before November,” he said, noting that many large-scale conferences were set to take place then.
Hui added that Hong Kong needed to quickly catch up with the many other locations which had already fully opened to the rest of the world, otherwise the livelihoods of residents would be affected.
John Lee expected to reveal Hong Kong’s ‘biggest healthcare reform in a decade’
The antechamber exchange is a monthly practice started by Lee’s administration, aimed at improving the working relationship between the executive branch and the legislature.
Also joining the exchange session in the Legislative Council were Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man and Securities and Futures Commission deputy chief executive Julia Leung Fung-yee.
According to Chan, the session also featured discussions on topics such as logistics, land supply and housing, and financial and technological developments.
October 1, 2012: Deadly ferry crash off Hong Kong’s Lamma Island kills 39
During the exchange, lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu called for authorities to release an internal government report on a deadly ferry crash off Lamma Island in 2012 that caused 39 deaths, while fellow legislator Edward Leung Hei asked for further details on Hong Kong’s possible participation in a coming national space programme.
Executive Council member and lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei, meanwhile, voiced his support for calls to build housing on the fringes of country parks to help tackle the city’s shortage of flats.
