CE heralds new phase of cooperation
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying envisions broader and deeper cross-boundary cooperation in commerce and trade, finance, infrastructure and technology between Hong Kong and Guangdong province.
Leung met with Party Secretary of Guangdong Hu Chunhua on Thursday in Guangzhou after meeting Party Secretary and Mayor of Shenzhen Xu Qin in the city bordering Hong Kong earlier that day.
Leung said collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has entered a new phase with the launch of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Stock Connect and development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at the Lok Ma Chau Loop.
With completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the GuangzhouShenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, trade and other exchanges between Hong Kong and Guangdong will receive another boost, he said.
While in Shenzhen, Leung visited the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, the city’s experimental hospital project in Shenzhen and attended its fifth anniversary celebrations.
Leung said the hospital aims to create the “biggest and best” platform for joint medical development, teaching and research in the two neighboring cities.
The hospital, established by the Shenzhen government and University of Hong Kong, had adopted Hong Kong’s hospital management model. It has more than 500 doctors, including many from the Chinese mainland. It also has more than 100 Hong Kong doctors, who have obtained licenses to practice there.
Coming from different backgrounds, doctors share their experiences. And with many clinical cases on the mainland and the use of Chi- nese medical therapies, Hong Kong doctors can gain valuable work experience.
Leung said the establishment of the hospital has not only benefited Shenzhen and other people on the mainland, but also residents from Hong Kong.
In October 2015, the hospital became the first on the mainland to accept healthcare vouchers worth HK$2,000 annually provided by the Hong Kong government to elderly people. This helps Hong Kong senior residents living in or near Shenzhen.
By the end of January, 1,230 elderly people had used the vouchers at the hospital, Leung revealed.
Head of the hospital Lo Chung-mau, a respected liver transplant surgeon, told reporters after Leung’s visit that every step the hospital takes will be in accordance with the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. It will also seek to contribute to the development of medical reform on the mainland.
Cross-boundary cooperation also thrives when it comes to innovation and technology. On Jan 3, former chief secretary for administration Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor signed a memorandum on jointly developing a science park.
Leung said using the loop to develop innovation and technology represents the epitome of “One Country” and “Two Systems”. It also demonstrates the mutual benefits of Hong Kong and Shenzhen working together to develop innovation and technology.