Central government and Hong Kong officials have called on the city’s think tanks to tell good stories about the nation and contribute more wisdom to improve the city’s governance and competitiveness.
They made their call while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the city’s leading think tank — Our Hong Kong Foundation — on Wednesday.
At the reception, Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of the foundation, read out a congratulatory letter from Xia Baolong, director of Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of Communist Party of China Central Committee.
Xia, who is also director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, praised the foundation’s achievements in maintaining the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s stability and prosperity and enhancing the city’s competitiveness.
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He said Hong Kong has excellent prospects and enormous opportunities as the implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle has entered a new stage. The director said he hopes every sector of the city, including think tanks, would fully study the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s reply letter to representatives of Hong Kong entrepreneurs of Ningbo ancestry, support the work of the chief executive and the SAR government, and spare no efforts to develop economy.
Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, hailed the foundation’s work in spreading Chinese culture to the world and its endeavor to compile local chronicles for Hong Kong in the past 10 years.
Zheng said that the foundation has become the flagship of Hong Kong’s think tanks, winning a sterling reputation at home and abroad. He stressed that Hong Kong’s historic progress from stability to prosperity should be underpinned by efforts from think tanks.
He added that he hopes the foundation would fully leverage its resources, particularly its emphasis on high-end technology research, to help the government address challenges, integrate the city into the nation’s overall development and collaborate with partners around the world to tell good stories about China.
The Liaison Office will continue to support the SAR’s think tanks, explore new directions of development, and make greater contributions to the city’s long-term prosperity and stability.
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Also speaking at the event, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu applauded the foundation’s contributions on offering suggestions on matters of global concern and telling good stories about China.
Our Hong Kong Foundation has devoted itself to policy research and brought forward incisive insights and analysis on issues such as land supply, housing, green finance, innovation and technology as well as business opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Lee said.
Lee noted he has put a higher premium on collecting opinions from think tanks, and his administration has established the Council of Advisers and the Policy Unit Experts Groups to garner professional opinions and maximize the effectiveness of his policies.
Lee recalled his meeting with Xia in Beijing last week. He said Xia hopes entrepreneurs in the city will translate their patriotism and love for Hong Kong into action and advance the city’s transition to prosperity.
“I trust that the foundation, along with Hong Kong society, will join hands to advance Hong Kong’s development and make greater contribution to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and Hong Kong’s transition from order to prosperity,” Lee said.
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Chan noted that the foundation will continue to capitalize on the advantages of the “one country, two systems” principle and Hong Kong’s status as an international city to strengthen the connection with the world and enhance cooperation with different stakeholders to unite the community.
Founded in 2014 by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, the foundation is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, which aims to contribute to Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability as well as its sustainable development under the “one country, two systems” principle.
