Han tells HK deputies to care for SAR young people
Vice-Premier Han Zheng on Wednesday called on national legislators from Hong Kong to pay special attention to the city’s young people — helping them grasp opportunities presented by national strategies.
Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, focused on the development of the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
He made the remarks during a closed-door meeting with 36 Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
A day after Premier Li Keqiang delivered his annual Government Work Report, Han stressed that the younger generation will be the major driving force in the development of both the special administrative region and the nation, Hong Kong deputy Wong Yuk-shan recalled.
Thus Hong Kong NPC deputies should take the initiative to listen to the younger generation and encourage them to participate in the country’s overall development, Han said, according to another Hong Kong deputy Ma Fung-kwok.
Han told deputies to treat young people like their own children and communicate with them in ways they understand, Wong recalled.
Reiterating that the Bay Area blueprint provides Hong Kong with a stepping stone to greater development, Han pledged the central government will successively release more favorable measures to support Hong Kong younger generation’s participation in national development, Ma cited.
The measures would include more funding, subsidies and career opportunities, Han said. He hoped the moves can send a message to Hong Kong young people that the Bay Area blueprint is a plan that can benefit them, Ma cited.
Meanwhile, Han also expressed the central government’s confidence in Hong Kong’s development into an international hub for innovation and technology, Wong said.
More specific policies will be in place to facilitate the flow of talents, funding, biological samples, and laboratory equipment for research across the boundary between Hong Kong and the mainland — especially at the Lok Ma Chau Loop science park on the border, Wong said.
Moreover, Han urged deputies to take the lead in safeguarding the authority of the national Constitution and Basic Law and supporting the SAR government and the chief executive’s law-based governance, Wong said.
Han reiterated the central government’s “zero tolerance” on Hong Kong independence. Divisive, separatist acts would destroy the “one country, two systems” principle, recalled another Hong Kong deputy Brave Chan Yung.
Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, a Hong Kong delegate, said one of the key points of the meeting with Han was how the central government values Hong Kong people’s views during policymaking — and recognizes the SAR’s important role in the Bay Area development.