HK needs joint efforts to get going again

Although the situation in the special administrative region has stabilized with the implementation of the national security law, the road to economic recovery remains difficult, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, wrote in his blog on Sunday. But he stressed that the HKSAR government is determined to overcome all the difficulties and resolve the deep-seated problems in society.

The huge challenges Hong Kong faces explains why HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor spelled out the latest policy blueprint for the city in an unusually lengthy policy address.

Hong Kong’s economy, which had been bruised by the trade war launched by the United States against China, is in its worst shape for more than a decade, having deteriorated significantly over the past year due to the persistent social unrest and novel coronavirus outbreak. The livelihoods of residents, particularly those in the service and tourism sectors, have been badly hit and many households are struggling to make ends meet.

The political radicalization perpetrated by the city’s political fanatics to advance their own political objectives still lingers, not only undermining Hong Kong’s efforts to fight off the coronavirus but also hindering the SAR’s desperately needed economic recovery. Worse, it continues to poison the minds of many young people, weakening their respect for the law.

So while the chief executive emphasized the necessity and urgency for facilitating a swift recovery in the economy by taking bold measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, she has rightly attached equal importance to tackling political radicalization by restoring and maintaining Hong Kong’s constitutional order, the very foundation of the long-term stability and prosperity of the SAR.

Cheung said in his blog that the HKSAR government will hold a forum with legal experts and scholars on Friday to discuss the issue of national security.

Meanwhile, the policy blueprint confronts headon the deep-seated social problems such as the severe housing shortage, stagnant upward social mobility for the youth and the widening wealth gap that have plagued Hong Kong society for years, if not decades, and fueled the political radicalization. Some 2,000 new policy measures aim to diversify the economy, meaningfully increase land and housing supply and facilitate the career development of thousands of young people by subsidizing their employment in mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The new policy blueprint of the chief executive demonstrates the SAR government’s determination to lead Hong Kong society back to the right track of socioeconomic development with the support of the central government.