A Policy Address that is ambitious, responsible

By demonstrating a significant amount of ambitiousness in its last Policy Address, the current government surprised many who felt it would probably do little during its remaining time in office. It is both normal and logical for people to have low expectations of an outgoing administration whose term will last for just a few months. This is simply because any policy of significance to society probably won’t be implemented in a short period of time.

But rather than just muddling through the last six months of its term, the administration chose to tackle deep-seated problems plaguing society and threatening the long-term development and prosperity of the SAR.

The most laudable initiatives are those seeking to enhance retirement protection for employees. These include scrapping the offsetting mechanism of the Mandatory Provident Fund system and raising the monthly Old Age Living Allowance to HK$3,435 from HK$2,200 for elderly persons with more financial needs. The two new measures will to a certain degree ease citizens’ worries about insufficient retirement protection. This is among their gravest concerns.

In preferring a significantly higher living allowance for the elderly with more financial needs over a no-means-test universal retirement protection scheme, the administration is seriously considering its financial sustainability. It is also exercising fiscal prudence — which is a trait of a responsible government.

To tackle the city’s most pressing problem — the housing shortage — the administration has rightly adopted a multipronged approach to release land resources. Measures like changing land use, increasing development intensity, mapping out new development areas, creating new town extension projects, hastening development of brownfield sites and increasing reclamation will help ensure sufficient land resources for the city’s long-term housing targets.

But successful implementation of these measures hinges on whether people can do their part. They first need to change in their thinking and embrace both conservation and development. They need to think out of the box to strike a good balance between the two. This is essential in meeting the city’s development needs.

The administration also attaches great importance to further economic development. This is crucial to solving the city’s other deep-seated problems such as stagnant wages for workers and low upward social mobility for the youth.

Amid rising protectionism in international trade and a tepid recovery in the global economy, it is sensible that the SAR government seeks closer cooperation with the mainland. Moves to enhance cooperation under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), particularly in investment, economic and technological cooperation, will create huge opportunities for the local economy. Active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative will also be a great help.

By exercising fiscal prudence, balancing the interests of different stakeholders and taking a long-term vision in addressing the city’s present problems as well as longer-term development needs, the new Policy Address demonstrates the qualities of a responsible and proactive administration.