On November 25, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region, Carrie Lam, delivered his fourth Policy address during his term of office at 11:00, focusing on the Central people's Government's measures to benefit Hong Kong. The report is divided into seven parts:
(1) Preface: sharpen and move forward
(2) Central support
(3) adhere to "one country, two systems"
(4) getting out of the epidemic
(5) inject new impetus into the economy
(6) increase housing and land
(7) Building a livable city
The following are the main points of Carrie Lam's speech:
Over the past year or so, Hong Kong has experienced unprecedented multiple blows, seriously damaging the social stability of the SAR, stifling economic development and damaging Hong Kong's international image. Under such circumstances, people are anxious and even lose confidence in the future. How to get Hong Kong out of the predicament as soon as possible and restore public confidence is the primary objective of this policy address.
With the promulgation and implementation of the Law of the people's Republic of China on the maintenance of National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region ("Hong Kong National Security Law") on June 30 this year, social stability has been restored, but the road to economic recovery still seems to be fraught with thorns.
President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the meeting celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inauguration ceremony of the fifth government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region on July 1, 2017. he said that "one country, two systems" needs to be constantly explored in practice. he also pointed out that at present, "one country, two systems" has encountered some new situations and problems in the practice of Hong Kong. He mentioned that the "four principles" of "one country, two systems" will be better implemented in Hong Kong in the future. that is, always accurately grasp the relationship between "one country" and "two systems", always act in accordance with the Constitution of the people's Republic of China (the Constitution) and the basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region of the people's Republic of China (the basic Law), always focus on development as a top priority, and always maintain a harmonious and stable social environment.
The Policy address aims to clarify the political system, consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's advantages in economic development, advance in diversity, carry on the past and open up the future in the construction of people's livelihood, and strive to solve immediate and long-term social problems.
I hope to have the support of the Legislative Council and the community.
There are six key points to be promoted in financial development.
Speed up the implementation in the Greater Bay areaCross-border LiCaiTong；
To deepen the interconnection between the two places and will be listed in Hong KongUnprofitable biotechnology stocks和Mainland Science and Technology Innovation Board stockUnder certain conditionsInclude "interconnection"The scope of stock selection
Abolition of double ad valorem stamp duty on non-residential properties implemented since 2013, effective November 26However, there are no plans to adjust the stamp duty arrangements for residential properties
Promotion of Hong Kong Real Estate Investment Trust [Housing Trust]Multi-pronged measures are being studied, including appropriate relaxation of investment restrictions on home trust funds, broadening the investor base, improving the legislative and regulatory framework to facilitate the operation of the industry, and strengthening marketing and investor education
Consolidate Hong Kong's position as Asia's leading private equity hubTax relief will be provided for carried interests distributed by private equity funds operating in Hong Kong subject to certain conditions
为Further promote the family office business in Hong KongInvest Hong Kong will set up a dedicated team to enhance publicity on Hong Kong's strengths in Hong Kong and other major markets, and to provide one-stop support services to family offices interested in operating in Hong Kong.
The central government supports the full implementation of the 24 policy measures adopted in principle by Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area's construction leading group by the end of this year, following the measures already implemented earlier in tax concessions, housing purchase convenience, youth entrepreneurship support, science and technology funds "crossing the river", the opening of lawyers and construction professional services, and so on. In the near future, it will be introduced to allow designated Hong Kong-funded medical institutions in mainland cities in the Greater Bay area to use drugs and commonly used medical equipment registered in Hong Kong, relax the transit of mainland human genetic resources through Hong Kong for research purposes, and implement "Hong Kong cars northward" on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. convenience and speed up the implementation of "cross-border LiCaiTong".
According to Article 99 of the basic Law, civil servants must perform their duties faithfully and be accountable to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region. The SAR Government has made it clear that all civil servants who have joined the civil service since July 1 this year must sign a declaration confirming their support for the basic Law, allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative region of the people's Republic of China and accountability to the Hong Kong SAR Government. As for other serving civil servants, the Secretary for the Civil Service will announce the specific implementation measures later.
Recently, in order to support Hong Kong in ensuring the supply of vaccines, the Central Government has agreed to reserve a certain number of vaccines developed or produced in the mainland for use by the people of Hong Kong when necessary. As for the arrangements for facilitating customs clearance which are of concern to the public, the Central people's Government supports that when the epidemic in Hong Kong can be controlled, through mutual recognition of "health codes", residents of Guangdong and Hong Kong can cross the border in a gradual and orderly manner without compulsory quarantine.
Once again, we will carry out large-scale community testing and strive to achieve "zero clearance" with the support and cooperation of the general public, hoping to meet the goal of resuming personnel exchanges between the two places as soon as possible.
In the past year, Hong Kong's economy has been hit hard by social unrest, epidemic and international political situation, and the labour market is also under tremendous pressure. the government forecasts that the economy will contract by 6.1% for the whole year.
In accordance with the original target, the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AA) will open the third runway and the entire three-runway system in 2022 and 2024 respectively. It is expected to complete the "High-end Logistics Centre" in 2023 and the "Space City" development project in phases from 2021 to 2027.
A number of university presidents recently said that due to the rapid development of start-ups in Hong Kong in recent years, many outstanding scientific research talents working overseas are interested in developing in Asia. Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to pool more talents for start-ups.It is proposed to launch a five-year Outstanding Creative scientists Project, which is estimated to cost 2 billion yuan.
The tourism industry will still face severe challenges for a long time to come, and the Government will introduce additional relief measures for the industry. The total commitment of the relevant measures is close to 600 million yuan.It will benefit travel agents and their staff, freelance tour guides and tour guides who are mainly tour guides and tour guides, and tour bus drivers who mainly pick up tourists.
After the epidemic has eased, more local cultural and green tourism resources will be developed to revitalize the tourism industry, with a view to expanding the source of tourists at home and abroad and providing citizens and tourists with rich historical, cultural and leisure experiences. The continuing epidemic will change the global tourism situation, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board is taking the opportunity to examine Hong Kong's tourism positioning to meet future challenges. I'll be there.When visiting Beijing later, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will continue to support the tourism cooperation between the two places and upgrade the quality of the tourism industry.
Carrie Lam pointed out that all the 330ha of land that has been identified for the construction of 316000 public housing units will be able to meet the demand for about 301000 public housing units in the next decade (that is, from 2021 to 2030 / 31). The supply mainly comes from agricultural land and brown land in new development areas such as Tung Chung Reclamation, Kwu Tung North ╱ Fanling North and Hung Shui Kiu ╱ Ha Tsuen, a number of sites rezoned to public housing, nine sites at Kai Tak and Anderson Road Quarry rezoned for public housing development, part of the Fanling Golf course and a number of brownfields with housing development potential.
The URA is actively carrying out its new task of providing more "first home" flats in its redevelopment projects. The URA has decided to designate the redevelopment project adjacent to Huanran Yiju as another "first home" project, which is expected to launch about 260 flats in 2024.
Among the many land supply options, "Lantau Vision tomorrow" is the largest and has the largest amount of land available. At present, funding is applied for the artificial Island study in Central Waters involving 1000 hectares of reclamation and related strategic transport infrastructure.
In terms of job creation, Carrie Lam pointed out that more industry-based job opportunities would be created for people who wish to join the industry, especially young people who have graduated in recent years. The planned industries include investing in a series of environmental protection projects in the next few years, which is estimated to create 4000 jobs involving scientific research, construction and engineering, recovery and transportation. in the construction industry, in addition to planned large-scale projects, I have asked all works departments to carry out the renovation, repair and maintenance of various government buildings and facilities at full speed, so as to speed up the renovation and minor improvement works of public markets, and the Housing Authority will also allocate additional resources. Improve the environment and public facilities of public housing estates
As for the start-up industry, more scientific and technological talents are needed, but in the short term, more jobs are in large technology companies in mainland cities in the Greater Bay area. The Government will provide wage subsidies for Hong Kong technology companies to recruit staff to work in mainland cities in the Greater Bay area to gain experience. in respect of creative industries, the Government will make good use of various funds to support the development of film, design, culture and arts, arts and technology. Consideration will also be given to providing wage subsidies to enable more people interested in creative industries to join the industry.
In terms of community building, Carrie Lam put forward the "Hong Kong Island South Project", formulated a plan for the rebirth of Ocean Park, revitalized the Treasure Seafood Restaurant, a historic Hong Kong landmark, and turned the Southern District into a vibrant, bold and energetic area. an area suitable for work, living, creativity and leisure.
In the area of transport, we will no longer promote the introduction of franchised taxis for the time being, but will step up efforts to work with the taxi trade to improve the quality of taxi services, including through making good use of technology and organizing commendation schemes, and so on, taxi drivers and fleets are encouraged to provide quality services to the public. In additionThe Transport and Housing Bureau is preparing to amend the legislation to increase the penalties for illegal carriage of passengers and taxi-related offences respectively, so as to protect passengers.
Strive to be carbon neutral by 2050, and the Hong Kong Climate Action Blueprint will be updated in the middle of next year.To formulate more aggressive carbon reduction strategies and measures. Various carbon reduction methods will be studied, including exploring different zero-carbon energy and carbon reduction technologies, improving the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings, promoting zero-carbon vehicles and green transport, and building large-scale waste-to-energy facilities. To reduce the cost of achieving carbon neutralization.
In terms of measures to benefit the peopleFrom January 1 to June 30, 2021, the Government will continue to provide 1/3 subsidy to people whose monthly public transport expenditure exceeds 200 yuan, subject to a ceiling of 400 yuan per month, which is expected to benefit about 3.8 million people each month.In addition, after consultation with the government, MTR Corporation decided toThe 20% discount on fares originally scheduled to end at the end of this year will be extended for three months to March 2021.。
(click to view:Policy address of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative region of the people's Republic of China in 2020）
There will not be many new measures that require the use of public finance, and public views will be listened to tomorrow.
Carrie Lam said earlier that the report would propose an additional 200 new measures. There is a very serious situation in Hong Kong's public finances. We think that we should manage people's expectations and appeal to the public not to expect too much. There will not be many new measures requiring the use of public finance in the new policy address.
She added that after the novel coronavirus epidemic, the unrest in the past year and external shocks, it was time to examine how to strengthen our preparedness, including law and order, economic and public health, so as to make Hong Kong better able to meet the challenges that arise in the future.
A press conference will also be held this afternoon. In the evening, we will attend a television forum programme to respond to questions related to the Policy address. Tomorrow morning, we will also attend a broadcast programme hosted by three radio stations to listen to the views of the public on the Policy address.
Edit / IrisW