This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. The Chamber has always been walking with Hong Kong in integrating into national development before and after its return. After these 25 years, we remain firmly confident that Hong Kong can scale new heights with the support of our strong motherland and the unity of all sectors of society.
Best Wishes: Pearl of the Orient to Scale New Heights
Yuen Mo, Chairman
This year, which marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, saw John Lee elected as the sixth-term Chief Executive by an overwhelming vote on May 8. We look forward to him faithfully implementing the ‛One Country, Two Systems’ policy and leading Hong Kong’s 7.4 million residents to overcome the epidemic in order to get Hong Kong’s economy back to growth and people’s livelihood back on track as soon as possible, with Hong Kong remaining prosperous and stable to progress towards an ever better tomorrow.
Ian Fok, Life Honorary Chairman
I am truly heartened to have witnessed the Chamber’s constant growth since beginning my involvement with its work in the 1970s. At this special moment of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return, I sincerely wish Hong Kong continuing to prosper and remaining stable. The Chamber will definitely serve both Hong Kong and the country.
Charles Yeung, Life Honorary Chairman
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return, I wish further strength and affluence for our motherland, greater prosperity and stability for Hong Kong, and every success for everyone!
Jonathan Choi, Permanent Honorary President
I extend my heartfelt wishes on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. I am convinced that Hong Kong will do increasingly better and scale new heights under the leadership of the new HKSAR Government.
Ricky Tsang, Vice-chairman
This year marks the 25th year since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. No matter how many setbacks and crises Hong Kong has encountered, we still stand tall and remain stable and prosperous, which demonstrates the success of the ‛One Country, Two Systems’ policy in Hong Kong. Looking ahead, I am convinced that Hong Kong will certainly have a better tomorrow as long as all sectors make concerted efforts.
Connie Wong, Vice-chairman
As this year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, I wish our motherland continued prosperity, and that Hong Kong will enjoy social harmony and steady economic growth under the leadership of the new Government.
Tommy Li, Vice-chairman
In the 25th year since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, with the ‛One Country, Two Systems’ policy and the patriots governing Hong Kong policy fully in place, I am convinced that Hong Kong will enjoy long-lasting stable development as long as we seize the opportunity to integrate into national development. Hong Kong will always be a Pearl of the Orient well cherished by the motherland.
Johnny Yu, Vice-chairman
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return, I wish great peace and prosperity for our country, stability, harmony and thriving economy for Hong Kong, and happy life, fruitful career and good health for the people of Hong Kong.
Herman Hu, Vice-chairman
It is now 25 years since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. Over the past 25 years, Hong Kong has made many remarkable achievements, cementing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade center, while the ‛One Country, Two Systems’ policy has become better implemented and developed. Looking ahead, Hong Kong will surely have a better future on the back of our country’s strong support.
Rock Chen, Vice-chairman
First of all, I extend my warmest congratulations in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and the success of the ‛One Country, Two Systems’ policy. Also, my heartfelt wishes go to Hong Kong. Over the next 25 years or longer, by reaching out to the world with the backing of our motherland, Hong Kong will be able to fully showcase its strengths, with the Pearl of the Orient sparkling with greater brilliance.
Tse Yung-hoi, Vice-chairman
Connected with mainland China and linked with the wider world. Globally oriented and backed by the motherland. Hong Kong will get rejuvenated and start afresh to jointly create a better future for the Chinese nation!
Charles Cheung, Vice-chairman
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland and a change of the HKSAR Government. At this historic moment, we look forward to the HKSAR Government and the new Chief Executive bringing the people of Hong Kong together in both hearts and minds to jointly start a new chapter for Hong Kong.
Martin Liao, Member of the HKSAR Legislative Council for Commercial (Second) Constituency
The executive and legislative branches must interact in a positive manner for good governance to prevail. Besides resolving the deep-seated problems that have plagued Hong Kong for many years, they must also further integrate Hong Kong into national development, making concerted efforts for a brighter future.
Facilitating Hong Kong’s Smooth Return to Safeguard its Prosperity and Stability
Hong Kong finally returned to the fold of the motherland on 1 July 1997. As Hong Kong is an inseparable part of the motherland, the Chamber has always given full support to its return to the motherland to safeguard its prosperity and stability.
Actively involved in discussing and handling handover affairs
From the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 to the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the Chamber had actively involved itself in all aspects around Hong Kong's transition. Many of our members served as members of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, the Preliminary Working Committee of the Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR, and the Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR. When the 400-member Selection Committee of the HKSAR was established in 1996, 138 of its members were the Chamber's members.
A wide variety of events to celebrate Hong Kong’s return
The Chamber made preparations for a series of special celebrations as the handover of Hong Kong became imminent after a 13-year transition period. It is worth noting that, since July 1, 1997, the Chamber has adopted a newly designed emblem and flag, and every day it holds flag-raising ceremonies for the national flag, the regional flag and the Chamber’s flag at the CGCC Building, symbolizing that the Chamber and Hong Kong are moving towards a new milestone together.
Since Hong Kong’s return, the Chamber has been holding various celebration events every year, e.g., hosting large-scale business forums, sponsoring a fireworks display for the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return, and holding a photography competition. We also held consumer events to celebrate Hong Kong’s return in 2014 and 2015, where we offered discounts on purchases.
Getting frequent recognition for excellence
The Chamber has repeatedly received recognition for unceasingly giving full support to the HKSAR Government’s law-based governance. A total of 734 of members were awarded Honours, the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Service, and Justice of the Peace titles from 1997 till now. Over the years, a total of 30 of members were awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system. All these clearly demonstrate the full recognition for the efforts of the Chamber’s members.
The Chamber always regards Hong Kong as its home and building a prosperous and stable Hong Kong as its duty, and this commitment will forever remain unchanged.
Uniting All Sectors to Support HKSAR Government’s Law-based Administration
The Chamber has always been serving as a bridge connecting different sectors and fields. The best example is that we actively express our views on the annual Policy Address and Budget. The Chamber also has representatives in the HKSAR Government and relevant industrial and commercial organizations to work together with the government and various sectors of society to offer policy suggestions.
Actively involved in political participation and policy discussion
Both before and after Hong Kong’s return, many of the Chamber’s members served as NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members to participate in the discussion and handling of state affairs. Currently, the Chamber has 16 members serving as NPC deputies and 61 serving as CPPCC National Committee members, 13 of whom are serving as members of the Standing Committee or deputy directors of the special committees of the CPPCC National Committee. They all fully play an effective role in discussing and handling state affairs. Every year after the conclusion of the Two Sessions, the Chamber will hold events such as the Insights into China’s Two Sessions and the NPC & CPPCC Exchange and Sharing Meeting to act as an important bridge for communication between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
In addition, the Chamber regularly sends high-level delegations to visit Beijing, which are another important platform for communication between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Since 1991, the Chamber has sent 15 high-level delegations to visit Beijing, each of which has been given warm reception by the state. While in Beijing, the delegations met with state leaders, relevant ministries and business organizations to facilitate exchanges between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
On the Hong Kong front, the Chamber expressed its stance and views inside and outside the Legislative Council through the Commercial (Second) functional constituency and active participation in the work of the Election Committee. In total, over 250 members of the Chamber were elected to different subsectors at last year’s Election Committee Subsector Elections. They attentively listened to the views of the sectors and the general public on multiple occasions before and after the elections.
Following the conclusion of the election for the new Legislative Council under the improved electoral system, besides the Commercial (Second) functional constituency to which the Chamber belongs, another 16 members of the Chamber were elected to the Election Committee constituency, and other functional constituencies and geographical constituencies.
Getting the public to forge consensus
The Chamber has played an active role in getting the general public to forge consensus on key social issues since Hong Kong’s return. In 2013, it became the first organization to start discussions on Hong Kong’s political reform when it published a statement on major newspapers.
In July 2015, the Chamber sent a delegation to visit Beijing, where it met with Zhang Dejiang, the then Chairman of the National People’s Congress. During the meeting, Zhang made it clear that the Central Government’s five policy principles for Hong Kong are consistent with its future political and economic development, including the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the improvement of its electoral system.
In 2020, the Hong Kong National Security Law established a legal system to safeguard national sovereignty and security in Hong Kong. In the following year, the National People’s Congress voted to adopt a decision to improve Hong Kong’s electoral system. Giving full support to both policies, the Chamber hosted specifically themed seminars as well as participated in publicity, interpretation and signature campaigns to enhance the public’s understanding of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the decision of the National People’s Congress.
With Hong Kong’s ties with the Mainland and overseas being severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic over the past two years, all sectors of society were looking forward to resuming cross-border travel with the Mainland as soon as possible. In this regard, the Chamber actively has expressed its views to the HKSAR Government and relevant Mainland departments to create favorable conditions for full border reopening.
The Chamber has always served as a platform for communication and strived to forge consensus on key social issues to drive Hong Kong’s society and economy forward.
Reaching Out to the World while Rooted in Hong Kong and Backed by Motherland
Whether it is the Chamber or Hong Kong, the process of its development has led to its orientation of taking roots in Hong Kong, gaining support from the motherland and reaching out to the world, where it has also discovered many opportunities for development.
Exploring Hong Kong’s orientation in economic development
At the beginning of every year since 1985, the Chamber has been hosting the Seminar on Hong Kong Industry and Commerce, which was later upgraded to the CGCC Forum in 2019 to become one of the Chamber’s brand events. Later on, the Chamber began to host the higher-level Hong Kong Summit, where minister-level government officials from Hong Kong, the Mainland and other East Asian countries gather to analyze the new trends in East Asian regional cooperation and discuss Hong Kong’s role and positioning in this regard.
Given the rise of emerging industries such as creative culture and innovative technology, the Chamber has set up a dedicated committee to tap into the latest developments and potential of these industries through various activities such as seminars and study visits.
Creating win-win situations with the Mainland
As Hong Kong and the Mainland are always interdependent in terms of economic development, we have been committed to driving national economic development, actively promoting and working in conjunction with national plans to help the Hong Kong business community secure the opportunities therein. We set up our Guangzhou Office at the Nansha CGCC Building, which was completed in 2005, providing a physical platform for communication among Hong Kong businesses, Mainland businesses and overseas Chinese entrepreneurs.
Over the years, the Chamber has maintained close ties with the Mainland’s provinces, cities, autonomous regions and relevant organizations, as well as participating in high-level roundtable meetings among chambers of commerce in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and the Hong Kong-Mainland Joint Business Liaison Committee. The Chamber has very frequently organized study visits to the Mainland in view of its rapid economic development, building up a strong network of contacts over the years.
Building communication platform for Chinese entrepreneurs
The Chamber has always played an active role as a connector to pool together the strengths of Chinese entrepreneurs around the world. As one of the three convenor organizations of the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC), the Chamber has actively participated in organizing the biennial WCEC. We also successfully hosted the second WCEC in Hong Kong in 1993.
In addition, we hosted the CGCC World Chinese Entrepreneurs Summit in Hong Kong in 2018 and 2021. In recent years, we have held forums and study visits around the world to promote regional economic and trade cooperation.
The Chamber has always played a role in bridging ties. Such a role will continue expanding in width and depth amid global integration and the Mainland’s rapid economic development.
Connecting with B&R Opportunities and Driving Greater Bay Area Development
The Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area), which are national initiatives, have heralded new opportunities for Hong Kong. As a response, the Chamber has been encouraging the Hong Kong business community to participate in them.
Building B&R cooperation platform for strong partners
In 2018, the Chamber and the China International Contractors Association jointly established the Mainland China-Hong Kong Belt and Road Business and Professional Services Council (BRBPSC) to build a cooperation platform for strong partners.
In 2017, we hosted the three-day “CGCC Belt & Road” Fest to enhance the Hong Kong public’s understanding of the B&R countries.
Elevating Greater Bay Area to international level
The Chamber has hosted the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Co-operation Forum and then continued to hold talks, seminars and study visits on the Greater Bay Area theme. It has also upgraded its previous Pearl River Delta Committee to the Greater Bay Area Committee to strengthen ties with member companies in the Greater Bay Area.
The Greater Bay Area is an important development initiative of the country and must be benchmarked against world-class bay areas. The success of the Symposium on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, initiated by the Chamber and held in Tokyo in 2019, elevated the Greater Bay Area concept to an international level.
The Chamber will continue holding a diverse range of events to drive the Hong Kong business community to continue playing the role as a connector, investor and operator.
Contributing to Building a Harmonious and Stable Society
Being strongly civic minded, the Chamber set up the CGCC Foundation, the We Care We Share Campaign and the Emergency Relief Fund to pool together the resources and networks of the business community, holding various charitable and public welfare activities to benefit the grassroots and disadvantaged groups.
Pooling together business community’s strengths to benefit the public
The five district liaison offices under the Chamber’s District Affairs Committee actively encourage members to engage in public welfare affairs and often host a variety of caring events with the We Care We Share Campaign. In addition, they arrange for members to participate in the Community Chest Walk for Millions event every year. The Chamber was the top fundraising organization and Challenge Cup champion for Hong Kong for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016.
Fighting COVID-19 together in one mind
In 2019, in view of the severe shortage of anti-epidemic supplies on the market due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chamber’s members spontaneously contributed money and other resources to support the anti-epidemic efforts, including buying anti-epidemic supplies worth about HKD1 million and distributing them to the public free of charge at the Chamber’s premises and people in need in various districts.
We have also launched a vaccination subsidy scheme in response to the HKSAR Government’s vaccination drive. The scheme has raised a total of HKD5 million to provide those eligible with funding for pre-vaccination screening and subsidy for vaccination, benefiting over 5,000 people.
At the beginning of this year, in the wake of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, we launched a donation drive to give out anti-epidemic care packs, donating HKD2 million worth of such packs to needy grassroots residents to combat the virus together with all Hong Kong residents.
In 2003, when SARS was raging, besides distributing masks free of charge to members, we also donated HKD3 million to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the country’s Ministry of Health to support their efforts in SARS research.
Based on our firm belief that sharing can overcome inadequacies, when people encounter difficulties or crises, it is incumbent upon the Chamber to show the spirit of helping each other in the same boat.
Nurturing a New Generation for Hong Kong
We always attach great importance to nurturing Hong Kong’s young people and encouraging them to understand the national circumstances. The Chamber has put in place a series of youth development programs in this regard.
Helping Hong Kong’s youth integrate into national development
In 2006, we set up the Internship and Exchange Program for Tertiary Students to support Hong Kong’s tertiary students to participate in internship and exchange programs in the Mainland. Through the program, which is diverse in format and covers many different sectors, participants can experience the ways of work and life in the Mainland.
As many of Hong Kong’s young people have been seeking opportunities for career development or entrepreneurship in the Greater Bay Area in recent years, we want to help them by holding seminars in a timely manner.
Broadening secondary school students’ horizons to help set goals early
We similarly attach great importance to the nurturing of secondary school students. Under the Young Astronaut Training Camp initiated by the Chamber in 2009, every year we exclusively sponsor Hong Kong secondary school students to visit the Mainland to experience astronaut training and visit the country’s space facilities. They also have the opportunity to meet and communicate with the country’s astronauts. These experiences will not only fulfill their dreams of spaceflight, but also broaden their horizons.
We offer off-campus learning experiences for secondary school students, giving them opportunities for volunteer teaching, military training, work and exchanges in the Mainland. We also hold career planning seminars for secondary school students to help young people plan their future development directions as early as possible.
We want to nurture a new generation of young people for Hong Kong through a series of development programs and by sharing the business community’s networks, resources and experiences with them.
