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| No.1 February, 2013 |
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Chief Executive tackles HK's most pressing issues in maiden Policy Address |
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 In his maiden Policy Address on January 16th, Chief Executive Mr C Y Leung laid out plans to tackle the key issues facing Hong Kong, including housing and land supply, economic development, environmental protection and conservation and poverty and ageing.
Mr C Y Leung said the HKSAR Government will focus on these issues in the next few years.
 Housing and land supply
To deal with the shortage of housing in Hong Kong, the Chief Executive plans to increase the supply of public rental housing (at least 100,000 over the five years from 2018), approve new sites for housing development, progress large-scale development projects (including those in the New Territories), and to rezone approximately 144 hectares of land for residential use.
Economic development
The Chief Executive also put forward a strategy for Hong Kong's continued economic development. In the financial services arena, the focus will be on expanding Hong Kong's offshore Renminbi business. There will also be greater emphasis on positioning Hong Kong as the leading legal services hub in the region. The Government will also concentrate on aviation and shipping services and build up Hong Kong's innovation and technology industries.
The Policy Address also outlined plans to enhance the implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). Beginning with neighbouring cities, the CEPA trade agreement covers goods, services and investment and may extend to dealings with the broader Pearl River Delta region.
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Environmental protection and conservation
In terms of environmental protection and conservation, the Policy Address stressed the need to improve Hong Kong's air quality. The Chief Executive announced a range of measures, including incentives and mandates to phase out over 80,000 diesel commercial vehicles and possible legislation to encourage sea vessels to switch to cleaner fuels. This scheme is expected to reduce the overall emission of particulates and nitrogen oxide by 80% and 30% respectively. |
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Poverty and ageing
The Chief Executive also emphasised the importance of two social issues: poverty and ageing. Mr C Y Leung said a commission will be established to help determine an official poverty line which will help identify the drivers of poverty and come up with effective solutions.
Like Australia, Hong Kong has a rapidly ageing population, and the Policy Address set out several measures to target this problem, including new subsidised residential care places, and a voucher-for-services system to help the elderly stay in their own homes for longer.
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For the full 2013 Policy Address, highlights and more information, please visit:
http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/ |
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