DAB proposes B&R platform

The SAR’s biggest political party on Friday proposed building an integrated platform to promote Hong Kong brands to regions and cities along the Belt and Road (B&R). This is in order to bring more benefits to the local market

he Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) also suggest central government authorities consider providing more benefits to Hong Kong people who live on the mainland, such as social and labor insurance.

DAB former president Tam Yiu-chung, also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said Hong Kong boasted abundant local brands striving for a greater market. A platform will help them search for financing channels, legal advice and information about target markets, Tam added.

The move will also facilitate the city’s plan to attract financial institutions from the B&R countries to set up regional headquarters in Hong Kong, Tam said.

Meanwhile, the DAB also proposed granting Hong Kong residents who live on the mainland residential permits without scrapping their Hong Kong permanent residency.

The DAB’s Ip Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC), said that by getting these residential permits, Hong Kong people could be covered by some or all benefits permanent residents there enjoy. These include social welfare, labor insurance as well as the medical care system.

Moreover, to enhance Hong Kong people’s sense of national identity, the DAB suggested regularizing Hong Kong students’ culture and history exchange programs with the mainland, as well as allowing SAR people to serve in the army voluntarily.

Thomas Pang Cheung-wai, the DAB’s vice-chairman and a CPPCC National Committee member, said Hong. Kong students he met in Beijing told him they hoped to join the army as they were studying international relations and diplomacy.

But they were not allowed to due to their Hong Kong permanent resident identity, Pang added. Thus he hoped Beijing could review this regulation.

Under China’s Military Service Law, Chinese male citizens above 18 can enlist in the People’s Liberation Army and are obliged to perform military service when required. The law is not applied in Hong Kong as it was not included in Hong Kong’s legal system via Appendix III of the Basic Law, which specifies which national laws are to be enforced in Hong Kong.

The DAB is going to file 24 proposals during the upcoming two sessions of the NPC and CPPCC National Committee set for early March in Beijing.

Ip Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People’s Congress