Honored to have the support of members, I was elected as a Legislative Council member at this critical time to bring the voice of the business community into the legislature. In addition to continuously consolidating and elevating its status, Hong Kong is also explicitly supported by the national “15th Five-Year Plan” to build itself into an international innovation and technology center and to create a hub for gathering international high-end talent. In fact, whether it is the development of emerging industries or the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries in a place, it cannot be separated from an integrated strategy of education, technology and talent. Hong Kong’s development of innovation and technology, as well as nurturing and attracting talent, is actually a necessity for its own development.
Looking forward to the Budget supporting IT development
The government will soon release the new budget, and I hope that the government can propose measures in the budget to promote the construction of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology center. To build Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology center, it is necessary to first optimize the top-level design, formulate a comprehensive innovation and technology development strategy plan and roadmap, connect the relationships among upstream, midstream and downstream stakeholders, and establish a complete innovation and technology ecosystem. Hong Kong already has several universities ranked among the world’s top 100, but there is still a need to strengthen cross-sector collaboration in “government-industry-academia-research.” The government can launch or optimize various funding schemes to encourage cooperation between universities and enterprises, leverage market forces, and accelerate the transformation and application of innovation and technology achievements from academic and research institutions.
With changes in the living and consumption habits of citizens and tourists, many traditional industries are facing the challenge of keeping up with the times and upgrading and transforming. In my election manifesto, the top priority was to make good use of technology to support traditional industries in moving towards intelligentization, thereby enhancing productivity and output value. Currently, the government supports business transformation and expansion through the “BUD Fund” and its “E-commerce Easy” program, but improvements can still be made in the application and approval processes, coverage scope, etc. The government can also consider integrating various funding schemes and simplifying application procedures, relaxing eligibility criteria, to provide broader support for local SMEs in upgrading and transforming.
Nurturing and retaining talent
Hong Kong needs to nurture and attract more research talent while enhancing its status as an international education hub, turning Hong Kong into a hub for gathering international high-end talent. Hong Kong has 22 government-funded or private higher education institutions, including traditional universities focused on education and research, a new batch of applied science universities emerging like mushrooms after rain, and 14 member institutions under the Vocational Training Council specializing in vocational talent education. The accelerated development of the “Northern Metropolis University Town” can attract more talent to Hong Kong. Therefore, the government must plan well for teaching land, reserve land for building or renovating institutions and student dormitories; support local post-secondary institutions in collaborating with overseas institutions to run programs; attract renowned overseas universities to establish Asian campuses in Hong Kong, and even launch an “International Student Loan Scheme” to alleviate the living pressures for students from different places studying in Hong Kong.
However, to expand the talent pool, it is even more important to retain talent. To retain talent, conditions must be created that allow them to enjoy their work and settle down in Hong Kong. The government, institutions and the industry should strengthen cooperation, focus on exploring the long-term development direction of Hong Kong’s industries and the demand for various types of talent, conduct targeted cultivation based on industry needs, elevate the status of vocational talent education, and propose measures to encourage the industry to implement internship or apprenticeship programs, further promoting the development of the Qualifications Framework.
With the government’s finances expected to turn to surplus, I hope that the new fiscal budget can propose eye-catching measures that align with the needs of social and economic development and support the business community.
This is a free translation. For the exact meaning of the article, please refer to the Chinese version.
