The Government must remain result-oriented to expand development capacity, strengthen development momentum, speed up the recovery process, and inject vitality into the economy.

The sustainability of public finance is an important foundation for the stable and prosperous development of Hong Kong’s society and economy. Hong Kong needs the Government to have sufficient financial strength to withstand risks to ensure the stability of its economy and financial system.

Reorganizing the Council of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (“CUHK”) is necessary, urgent and legitimate. The Legislative Council (“LegCo”) passed The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2023 on the third reading on November 1, which is an important step towards improving the university’s governance and enhancing its efficiency of governance.

Amendments to Hong Kong’s criminal procedure, which are necessary, proper and timely, will help safeguard procedural justice and the reputation of the laws of Hong Kong.

Promoting the Nurturing of Local Professional Services Talents

The key to improving the governance of the districts is to get the district bodies to truly return to their original role spelled out in Article 97 of the Basic Law, i.e., their positioning not as organs of political power, in order to raise the standard of district governance.

Late last year, the Hongkong Electric Company (HEC) and CLP Power Hong Kong(CLP) announced that they would raise tariffs from January 2023 by 45.6% and 19.8% respectively compared with
January 2022, which were the highest tariff hikes in past years. How can we lower electricity tariffs to alleviate the burden on the public?

Hong Kong’s increasingly severe aging population not only hinders its medium- to long-term economic growth and affects people’s lives, but also poses serious challenges to the sustainability of public finances. The Government must formulate a holistic population policy as soon as possible to effectively address the problem.

This year’s Budget is Hong Kong’s first one since its emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic overhang and resumption of normal cross-border travel with mainland China and the world. This Budget is critical to reigniting the post-pandemic economy.

As profound changes unseen in a century are evolving rapidly in the world, Hong Kong should secure the historic opportunity arising from RMB internationalization to strengthen its advantages and assist the country in navigating the path of internationalizing the RMB.