Budget offers strategic vision for HK
FINANCIAL CHIEF PAUL CHAN did the right thing to underline importance of SAR working more closely with the mainland on such major projects as the Greater Bay Area. Tony Kwok comments:
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s latest annual budget speech, particularly the introductory part, is a very well researched strategic plan for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, analyzing our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to economic development. It develops a clear future strategy for the betterment of Hong Kong. The budget should be read by all citizens eligible to vote in the coming March 11 by-election, so they can rationally choose the right candidates who can make the plan work for our future economic prosperity and well-being.
In his report on global trends, the financial secretary highlighted the shift in global economic gravity from West to East, and that over the past five years China has contributed more than 30 percent to global economic growth as the country expanded to a $12 trillion economy last year. It therefore makes sense for Hong Kong to take advantage of its unique position to work closely with the Chinese mainland on economic development. Yet we have opposition legislators who have been trying to incite Hong Kong to oppose our motherland. This must not be allowed to happen; the public can help to prevent this with their votes.
One of the opportunities before us is the central government’s strategic plan to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area which boasts a population of 68 million and GDP amounting to $1.4 trillion.
The GBA development plan offers us an enormous market potential to exploit and great convenience to Hong Kong people to operate businesses, study, work and to live. Upon completion of various transport infrastructure projects, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Guangzhou-Shenzhen- Hong Kong Express Rail Link, travel within the GBA will be very convenient – with all destinations within reach in 30 minutes. Yet we have the opposition legislators now trying to block the XRL co-location arrangement, thereby needlessly slowing down our travels. Do we want to elect another candidate to this obstructionist camp to strengthen the opposition at this critical juncture?
Chan also pointed out that our average annual economic growth rate over the past decade was just 2.7 percent, reflecting a slower growth momentum. He said we need to create new business opportunities; indeed, one of the potentially most attractive prospects lies in innovation and technology, which is an “unstoppable wave swept through the world, fundamentally changing the global economic structure and the way we live and consume”.
This is an area where the GBA and Hong Kong can start a productive symbiotic relationship by creating an international innovation and technology hub. The financial secretary said he would seek funding approval from the Finance Committee to inject HK$20 billion into the first phase of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop. However, we should beware how opposition legislators have used filibustering to block former chief executive Leung Chunying’s bold proposal to set up the post of secretary for innovation and technology, thereby holding us back four years in launching this major job-creating and economyboosting initiative. In the meantime, we saw Shenzhen overtake us by leaps and bounds. Shenzhen is now internationally recognized as the leading technology hub, an honor we could have claimed for ourselves had we not been sidetracked by petty politics which paralyzed our government and held up potential foreign investors, entrepreneurs and technology talents.
With their anti-mainland knee-jerk politics, we should expect opposition legislators will try to block funding approval in the Finance Committee. Hence we badly need more supporting voices in the chamber and Finance Committee instead of more obstructionist politicians.
Chan noted that Hong Kong has been plagued by land shortages for years; the problem not only affects people’s livelihoods, but also hampers our economic growth. Yet every time the government wants to develop land, such as the North East New Territories project, the opposition legislators come out with all manner of obstructions. We need more legislators who would put community interests above their narrow self-interests if we are going to break out of this legislative conundrum.
The budget will require funding approval from the Finance Committee but given the opposition legislators’ track record, we can expect a long and hard slog over this process. However, the respective constituents can help by appealing to their representatives to act responsibly for the greater good. It is time the public says “No” to filibustering, followed by positive lobbying efforts.
To retain its competitive position on the world stage, Hong Kong must capitalize on its strategic location, and favored relationship with the mainland, and put its house in order!