Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu encouraged national lawmakers and political advisers from the city to provide practicable suggestions ahead of next week’s two sessions in Beijing to further propel the territory’s development and serve the country’s long-term interests.
While hosting engagement sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, Lee reaffirmed his high expectations for some 100 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) — the nation’s top political advisory body — and about 30 HKSAR deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s national legislature.
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The sessions were held days before members and deputies set off to the third session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, scheduled on Tuesday, and the third annual session of the 14th NPC, which opens the next day.
Lee expressed his gratitude to members and deputies for their efforts in playing a bridging role, fostering Hong Kong’s further integration into national development, and making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the country and Hong Kong.
The sessions, Lee noted, are the epitome of the government’s unwavering endeavors to cement regular exchange mechanisms proposed in the 2023 Policy Address, which aim to enhance the HKSAR government’s communication with HKSAR deputies to the NPC and HKSAR members of the CPPCC National Committee.
Hong Kong’s chief executive listened intently to every word spoken by members before commenting on them, said Eliza Chan Ching-har, a CPPCC National Committee member and an Executive Council member who attended Tuesday’s session.
“This shows his sincerity, earnestness, and eagerness to truly reflect on what he wants to achieve and what members can contribute by voicing out opinions and suggestions that are viable, practical, and workable for the betterment of Hong Kong,” Chan said.
Lee said it is his hope the city’s CPPCC National Committee members and NPC deputies, as leading figures who embody the value of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, care for and are familiar with national and Hong Kong matters and can jointly seek policy enablers for the city’s development.
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Chan said that Lee stressed that Hong Kong has been dedicating every effort in the past few years to align with national development needs, while fulfilling its designated key roles, especially as the country is in the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).
Hong Kong NPC deputy and legislator Maggie Chan Man-ki expressed her appreciation for Thursday’s engagement session, saying that Lee exchanged views with attendees, took notice of deputies’ suggestions, and jointly commented on the need for support from the government.
The CE also urged deputies to fulfill their duties, said Maggie Chan, who, during Thursday’s session, presented her viewpoints on consolidating legal resources to better empower women.
“With national security laws well in place to safeguard the long-term stability of Hong Kong, we are now directing our focus of suggestions more on spurring the city’s economy,” Eliza Chan said.
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Lee stressed that proposals to be submitted should pay due attention to both local appeal and the interests of stakeholders on the mainland, be down-to-earth, and ultimately give fuller play to the city’s leverage in benefiting the overall development of the nation, Eliza Chan added.
According to Eliza Chan, during Tuesday’s session, some attendees touched on the need to explore ways to boost Hong Kong’s property market, with the possibility of establishing targeted mechanisms to ease the transaction process for top professionals who are attracted by the city’s various talent admission regimes to buy residential property in the city.
Other motions and proposals to the NPC and CPPCC National Committee included suggestions to upgrade the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and undergird the construction of a world-class business restructuring center in the region, as well as streamline registration and approval processes for mainland enterprises eyeing overseas expansion.
