Platform

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Determination

In parallel to developing my career and professions in urban planning and management, I have been in the past forty years actively serving the community with dedication and professional knowledge.  My activism was fuelled by my participation in a campaign back then against The United Kingdom government’s discrimination against Hong Kong students studying in Britain.

Albeit positive moves on various fronts have put Hong Kong on the right track towards prosperity and stability again, undoubtedly we are suffering socially and economically.  We still waver as we try to stand on our feet and recover from the past wounds.  Reconstruction of all aspects of society’s functions is needed in order to ensure the momentum of recovery.  The Executive and Legislative branches of the Government are the forerunners in this.  I volunteer myself, therefore, as a willing foot-soldier and devote my energy to construct a collective effort for the greater good of society.

The newly established Election Committee Constituency represents the overall interests of Hong Kong instead of sectoral or fragmented or local interests.  Serving in the legislature is not about personal honour either.  Members returned for this Constituency should, therefore, have a macro vision for Hong Kong and a strong commitment to our sustainable prosperity.

"Ordinary people are the basis of society and their livelihood is a matter of utmost importance to governance.  People’s livelihood dictates the progress and harmony of society and in turn, leads to the rise and fall of a nation.  No public servant should take this light-heartedly”.  China’s astonishing rise to become a major power in just a few decades is exactly the result of the Government’s ability to set aside disputes among different sectors of the community and concentrate on economic development.  With Hong Kong’s solid foundation, we shall overcome and be back in centre-stage shall we demonstrate our determination and set the priorities right.

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Status quo

Opportunity missed : The Motherland has made with pride significant and outstanding achievements in governance, economy, people's livelihood, poverty alleviation etc since the reform and open-up policy.  Hong Kong has been resistant to a higher degree of integration with the Motherland due to various factors.  We have hence missed the opportunity of riding on the Motherland's development to move forward.

Politicisation : Hong Kong’s public administration, efficiency and effectiveness in which we once took pride, could not catch up with the time given the Executive Branch’s insufficient knowledge of the Motherland, lack of global vision as well as the administrative red-tapes.  Such limitations with the Executive Branch that has slowly separated itself from the legislature, local communities and the general public.  The situation had been worsened by the opposition’s indiscriminate politicisation of different issues and obstruction to proper governance.

Deep-rooted contradictions : The stagnated and highly politicised society in the past quarter-century have prevented the timely resolution of many deep-seated contradictions affecting people’s livelihood -

• Insufficient land supplies and difficulty in providing housing have led to the steep rise in the price of housing and the unbearably record waiting time for public housing.  A vicious cycle has been formed among high land cost, high business cost and high cost of living.

• Over-reliance on a handful of industries has led to an unsustainable market, which hinders the development of a diversified economy.  In turn, it makes alleviating poverty of lowly skilled and lowly educated labour, who suffer most because of the high cost of living, very difficult;​

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• Colonial education emphasised on vocational training.  It brought up a generation which is critical but not necessarily analytical.  It did not seek to cultivate moral and cultural standards, let alone the promotion of understanding of the nation.  As a result, our younger generations do not possess a global vision and lack social mobility, weakening our overall competitiveness in the long run.

Vision

Hong Kong moves from chaos to proper governance with the promulgation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the implementation of the Decision of the National People's Congress on Improving the Election System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In order to ensure the accurate implementation of “One Country, Two Systems”, the Executive Branch, Legislative Council (LegCo), and the entire community should work with together to plan for the long-term development of Hong Kong.

Priorities

• Expedite land and housing supplies with adequate transport and community supporting facilities

• Establish a smart city management system to raise living quality in all aspects

• Strength Hong Kong's role in GBA to contribute to the raising of its overall competitiveness

• Promote cultural, art and sports development to nurture younger generations.  To tell the "China Story" and "Hong Kong Story"

• Transform public administration to ensure a "for the people" government

Platform

A thorough understanding of the system and the ability to communicate are both important in participation in public affairs.  One could only put up practical and well-balanced solutions with these characters.  With my 40 years of professional and public service, I believe I would be able to work together with 89 Legislative Council colleagues to work out a brighter future for Hong Kong.  This is the power of “1-plus-89”.

Hong Kong has gone through a long period of instability and turmoil. Society is deeply wounded.  Regardless, we must have faith in ourselves.  We would be able to transform into a better Hong Kong as long as we correctly understand our role under “One Country, Two Systems”, position ourselves appropriately in the GBA development, capitalise on the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" ("Belt and Road") strategy, and contribute to the "community of shared future for mankind".

Differences in opinions are inevitable in the process of unwinding difficulties which have been bothering our society for so long.  With my background, experience, knowledge, and networks, I will work with different sectors of the community in the next four years to unlock problems, in particular, those in "land and housing," "diversification of the economy" and "livelihood matters" and make plans for Hong Kong.  Once strategies have been decided, we have to work with the Executive Branch to “seriously develop while seriously conserve”. 

Land and housing:

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Insufficient land supply has led to high prices of residential, commercial and even retail premises.  The vicious circle has made living and business costs high and triggered a series of deep-rooted social conflicts.  This has been a long-standing problem for Hong Kong that requires urgent solutions.  “Increasing land supply” is not a question of "should", but one of "how".

In the process of building more residential and commercial buildings, the Executive Branch should plan the affiliated facilities carefully in order to give a good living environment, convenient transportation and vibrant community life.   We should develop truly "self-sufficient" communities in order to change the situation where people live in remote areas but work in urban areas.  In building transportation infrastructure, it is important to ensure quality and timeliness with a view to coping with the development of communities.

Applying information technology to community management and creating a smart city.  Such community services should include traffic monitoring and crowd control.

Develop based on sustainability concept.  Carry out environmental protection and conservation on a science-based methodology, actively develop projects with economic and social values to drive the local economy for the benefit of local residents.  This will provide residents with a good environment and residents outside the district provide a place to chill.

Diversification of economy:

When housing is no longer an issue, people may focus on developing our economy.  As we move from chaos to a more peaceful time, LegCo should urge the Executive Branch to diversify our economy on our solid foundation as a diverse and inclusive city, which has put us in the league of super international cities.  Free flow of information, talents, capital and goods; a tradition of inclusiveness in academic, cultural, and scientific researches are the cornerstones of our long-term prosperity and stability.  These are also necessary to support the nation’s development under “One Country, Two Systems”.  We must preserve and enhance these qualities to maintain Hong Kong's unique position in the Greater China, Asia, and the world.

In addition to being international financial, shipping, and trade centres, the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and Long-Term Goals for 2035" ("14th Five-year Plan") has assigned to Hong Kong new roles, namely innovation and technology, dispute resolution, intellectual property trading, and cultural and art exchange centres.  As the nation further opens up to the world, Hong Kong must play its role in identifying and managing risks for the nation and maintain our characteristics as a more open city than other cities in the nation.

GBA is another major national strategy to capitalise on comprehensive advantages and coordinated development by deep integration of the three places.  GBA has a population ten times of Hong Kong and GDP several times higher.  With such a huge opportunity in front of us, we must not miss it again.  Hong Kong should play its role to its fullest extent and serve the needs of the nation.

GBA is closely tied to the "Belt and Road" strategy.  With our strengths in "communication”, “connectivity”, “trade”, “financial integration”, and “soft powers", Hong Kong should play the role of bridging GBA with the world.  We can also contribute to the establishment of China’s new set of economic and trade frameworks and professional standards.

Hong Kong's diverse and inclusive characteristics have made us a place where the East meets the West.  The "14th Five-year Plan" has also given Hong Kong a new role of being a centre for cultural and arts exchange.  As more world-class cultural and arts performance facilities being put into service, Hong Kong will be able to attract more talents from all over the world.  In addition, Hong Kong has always had an active arts trading and auction market.  It is necessary to grasp and provide incentives to develop the affiliated industries such as accreditation, certification, electronic transactions, insurance, logistics, financing, tourism etc to support its further development.

For various reasons, the younger generations feel alienated from the nation, share a strong sense of powerlessness with the city, and are confused about the future.  As a result, many of them join the opposition.  The Executive Branch should help cultivate a complete personality for the younger generation through cultural, arts, and sports education.  These will help enhance the national identity and strengthen Hong Kong’s soft power.

Livelihood matters:

Hong Kong is affected by the international and geopolitical landscape, intentional slandering or misunderstanding of China by overseas powers.  As a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong has economic and trade offices in many parts of the world.  It has built a good platform to be used to tell the "China Story" and "Hong Kong Story" and  our unique position under "14th Five-year Plan", "Belt and Road" strategy and GBA .

For a long time, a small number of politicians used "monitoring" as the banner, "check-and-balance" as the pretext, and "obstruction" as a means to discredit the SAR government.  As a result, the Executive Branch and the Civil Service have become very bureaucratic.  It is high time for us to change the situation urge the Executive Branch to do good for the benefit of the people.

Grand visions and well-intended policies would be wishful thinking unless the civil servants would take livelihood matters as the ultimate goal of their work.  If the mechanism for the selection, appointment and removal of civil servants fails to ensure that, it will be a waste in public resources.

District administration should serve local residents.  District councils should focus on livelihood matters.  They failed to do so in the past and reform has become necessary.  There are different residents service groups at the district level, the Executive Branch should promote the organic integration of district administration, district councils and such service groups to improve service quality.  The reform should start with restructuring the size of the constituencies to avoid fragmentation.  It will also help enhance the function of local governance and cultivate future political talents.

"One Country" is the basis of "Two Systems."  It is everyone's responsibility to safeguard national security.  Only when national security is guaranteed can the society evolve further in the political system, economy, and livelihood.  Article 23 of Basic Law requires HKSAR to legislate on its own to prohibit any acts of treason, secession, sedition, and subversion of the Central People's Government. Twenty-four years have passed, it is still a blank page in this regard even after the illegal occupation of Central in 2014 and the riots in 2019.  As the Seventh LegCo begins work, I will work with other members to urge the Executive Branch to start the legislative process with a view to allowing Hong Kong to celebrate its 25th anniversary knowing that national security is secured.

Articles 43 and 68 of Basic Law stipulate that the Chief Executive and the LegCo will eventually be elected by universal suffrage.  The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has made relevant decisions on subjects.  Based on these foundations, LegCo colleagues from various fractions should, in the foreseeable future, urge the Executive Branch to explore together with the community a democratic development model and pace that suits Hong Kong's conditions.

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Seize the opportunity to ignite a new economic engine:

It took time for many problems facing Hong Kong to take root, which has caused social instability and discord. To unlock this, we have to seize this opportunity to ignite a new economic engine to "expand" Hong Kong:

• Strengthen Hong Kong's role as financial, shipping, and trade centres in contributing to China’s further opening up

• Position Hong Kong against the background of "14th Five-Year Plan", "Belt and Road" strategy, GBA development

• Support emerging industries to build a "Hong Kong brand" and provide young people with new outlets

• Co-build a tolerant culture to strengthen Hong Kong’s creativity

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Concluding remarks

Hong Kong's return to the Motherland when the nation grew rapidly economically.  Regrettably, Hong Kong has missed the opportunities to move forward because of troubles stirred up by anti-China, anti-Hong Kong elements from outside and inside.

Hong Kong faces various deep-rooted challenges.  Pointing out the problems is not enough.  Politicians should appreciate that everything is intertwined with each other.  Any changes in one aspect will inevitably affect all the others.  These cannot be solved by one person or a small group of persons.  The Executive Branch, LegCo, the business community and the general public must work together.

At this critical juncture, I hope your good selves will lend me your support as I seek to contribute to my nation and homeland as a member of the Legislative Council.

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Platform details:-

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Adequate land bank for housing

To unlock the problem of insufficient land supplies, Hong Kong is in need urgently of building up a land bank:

• Set up a dedicated agency to coordinate land development, put a halt to the habitual procrastination among departments

• Take an active approach in relation to building up the land bank, and review the projects under MTR and URA

• Streamlined planning permission and administrative procedures, make effective use of abandoned lands, buildings with a view to expediting short- to mid-term land supplies

• Broader application of the district-based land premium system, unleash the potential of NT lands to increase short- and mid-term land supplies

• Develop a territory-wide land development study and database to provide a scientific basis for the orderly implementation of a development programme

Purpose-driven planning

To unlock the lagging behind in development, the Executive Branch needs to think out-of-the-box and act swiftly :

• Set up and empower a senior official-led cross-agency platform to supervise and coordinate the work of the departments

• Make government officials accountable by setting clear and traceable targets

• Make specific policies for promoting new industries development and guiding the change in land users

• Give economic incentive to promote efficient use of lands

Sustainable community

To unlock local residents’ needs based on sustainable development concepts :

• Infrastructure-led development model to ensure transportation and other facilities are in place time

• Provision of supporting facilities, such as education, medical, employment etc, to promote district-based living

• Build community in the spirit of humanities, environment and conversation to promote the mental health of residents

• Develop projects of economic and social benefits, conduct conservation based on science

Living condition and acquisition of property

Property is more than a “home”, it is also the largest investment and first step of wealth accumulation.  To unlock the current difficulty in these aspects:

• Change relevant rules to expedite wholesale urban renewal, speed up the supply chain and provide the option of relocation within the district

• Speed up the implementation of the central waters development plan with a view to providing mid-to-long-term housing supplies

• Develop an “equity lock-in” programme on identified lands to promote “saving today, property tomorrow”

Innovation & technology, digital era

Following China’s economic growth and the rise of the digital economy, the Executive Branch should grab the chance to contribute to the motherland’s further open up to the world with our own strengths.  To unlock the situation：

• Develop world-recognised standards in collaboration with the Greater Bay Area cities

• Develop a big database and open for public and commercial use to convenient transportation and logistics

• Consolidate government services to build an “electronic portal” for business’ convenience

• Develop a “digital service platform” for providing services to Hong Kong people living on the Mainland

Building of Smart City

The pandemic has changed most of our long-established habits.  To unlock the issues we need a vision to build a Smart City:

• Build a territory-wide city management database, laid the foundation for Hong Kong’s evolution into a digital economy

• Consolidate database of Works Departments to better vet and monitor projects

• Submerge innovation and technology in the development of a new community to facilitate to move towards a digital economy

• Make use of information technology and automation to promote better manage community services

Smart management in a digital era

High population density leads to a lot of inconvenience to local communities.  To unlock the issues:

• To apply smart management in community design to facilitate every aspect of life

• Promote information technology to help effective management issues such as traffic, hygiene, safety and waste handling

• Review comprehensively of charge level of the toll road and implement electronic road pricing to adjust traffic flow

Transportation infrastructure to convenient people

Hong Kong needs new thinking of planning to unlock the mismatch in transportation development:

• To take an infrastructure-led approach in planning new development areas

• Review the current project delivery mode to ensure quality and cost

• Monitor operators and introduce competition to ensure first-class service for the commuters

Review the overall transport planning

We have not reviewed the overall transport planning for years, leading to traffic congestion, and high prices.  To unlock the situation, the Executive Branch should:

• Start a new round of public transportation strategy study as soon as possible, and re-examine the respective roles of railway and road transports

• Develop Hong Kong’s next generation of transit, including new road networks and railway lines

• Review the vehicle parking policy and provide sufficient parking spaces for drivers

Commuting within the Greater Bay Area

There are lot of rooms for improving the flow of people between GBA cities and Hong Kong given the high degree of economic integration. To unlock this the Executive Branch should:

• Make the coordination mechanism of transportation, infrastructure and planning between Hong Kong and GBA permanent

• Reform the port management to facilitate people, vehicles and logistics

• Coordinate with GBA railway construction and operators to develop an efficient railway network

• "Metroization" of High-Speed Rail to unleash its potential

Diversification through positioning

As a highly developed economy, Hong Kong is highly dependent on several industries. To unlock this limitation, the Executive Branch needs to:

●  Accurately understand the "14th Five-Year Plan", the "Belt & Road" strategy, GBA policy with a view to repositioning Hong Kong

●  Comprehensively understand the new roles given to Hong Kong by the "14th Five-Year Plan", create conditions to promote market development

●  Strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international financial, shipping, and trade centre

●  Planning based on GBA development and to assist the Bay Area to move towards the world

Integrate development to open up opportunities

To unlock the mismatches facing the business community and labour market, the Executive Branch needs to:

• Capitalise on the opportunity to integrate with Shenzhen to nurture an innovative and creative environment

• Ride on northern metropolis concept, lay the foundation for the "Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Corridor" and the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone"

• Promote the integration of GBA with the joint development of Hong Kong and Shenzhen

• Capitalise on the "production, academia, and research" advantages shared with Shenzhen and consolidate GBA resources in this area

Build “Belt and Road” and GBA in one heart

GBA is a talent pool.  Hong Kong failed to integrate due to various reasons.  To unlock the situation, the Executive Branch should:

• Leverage on Hong Kong’s educational and research institutes, developed a share talent pool with GBA cities

• Coordinate with Mainland authorities to match talents to corporations to develop the talent pool

• Strength and build GBA world-class research, finance, cultural, arts and sports centres

• Expand the proportion of foreign and Mainland students for tertiary institutions to strengthen Hong Kong as a centre for talents academic exchange

• Make use of, such as, Aviation Academy and MTR Academy to train professional and technical personnel and to export professional skills

To tell the “China story”

Hong Kong government and QANGO have offices overseas.  These could help unlock the current challenges to Hong Kong’s long-term development:

• Review the offices’ establishments to ensure they are true patriots

• Urge overseas personnel to coordinate with Chinese counterparts to tell the "Chinese story" well

• Ensure that overseas personnel master the "14th Five-Year Plan", "Belt and Road" strategy, and GBA to speak the "Hong Kong Story" well

• Contribute to the “Belt and Road” making use of the offices

• Offices on the Mainland should encourage capital, talents and technology to use Hong Kong as a platform to enter the GBA and then the world

Diversified industries to revitalise the economy

Our economy is not diversified enough and is highly dependent on several industries. To unlock this limitation, the Executive Branch needs to:

• Steer away from "positive non-intervention", support emerging industries strategically and build a "Hong Kong brand"

• Consolidate Hong Kong’s status as financial and shipping centres, accurately play the new role assigned to by the "14th Five-Year Plan", and lay a foundation for the development of innovation industries

• Make use of Hong Kong’s reputation to support the development of the art trading market, accreditation, certification, electronic payments, insurance, logistics, financing and other related industries

• Promote an organic integration of culture, art, sports, tourism, conservation, agriculture and fisheries industries to strengthen the economic multiplier effect

• Establish Hong Kong’s as the innovation, mediation, intellectual property trading centres on our value of openness

Seize the time, turn wastes into chances

Waste has become a common problem.  To unlock this phenomenon, the Executive Branch should :

• Work with GBA cities with a view to leveraging the overall resources to drive the recycling chain with innovations

• Promote and create a scale of economies with GBA markets for green industries

• Coordinate with GBA to promote green financing for enterprises to invest in sustainable development

Revitalise moral education

Faced with various changes, our young generations have lost confidence in the future.  To unlock this phenomenon, we urgently need:

• Promote small-class teaching to provide an all-round education

• Build a whole-person character through cultural, arts, sports development

• Widen their horizons by promoting cultural, arts and sports industries

• Allow families to co-build family culture with deepen family-friendly policies

• Consolidate resources to help ethical minorities to understand Chinese culture, strengthen their language ability and contribute to Hong Kong

Language and skill training

With the nation’s miraculous development, we must equip our younger generations so that they can face the new world.  To unlock this situation, the Executive Branch should:

• Provide more resources in promoting English ability

• Promote the ability to use Chinese and Putonghua

• Rebuild professional ladders and broaden the paraprofessionals' development

• Capitalise on tertiary institutions and others, such as Aviation and MTR Academies, to provide technical training

• Provide suitable training to younger generations in light of the “14th Fifth-year Plan”, “Belt and Road” strategy and GBA development

Diversified development for youngsters

Hong Kong's narrow base has made it difficult to support the development of young people. To unlock this phenomenon, the Executive Branch should:

• Make and implement specific policies for youngsters

• Co-build a tolerant culture to strengthen Hong Kong’s creativity

• Proactive coordination with GBA governments and companies to help youngsters to have a better understanding

• Provide suitable training to younger generations in light of the “14th Fifth-year Plan”, “Belt and Road” strategy and GBA development

• Increase internships for students to the Mainland and countries within the “Belt and Road” area

History education

Young people are unfamiliar with the nation which led to their failure to embrace the opportunities of the Motherland's development. This is really a big problem for Hong Kong. To unlock this phenomenon, we should:

• Emphasis on history education, especially Chinese history

• Guide students to understand the culture and advancement of China through the use of STEAM

• Encourage in-depth understanding through more exchanges with Mainland counterparts

Law-abiding spirit

We witnessed how our young people were instigated to disobey the law and order. To move on, Hong Kong must be unlocked this through :

• Build a whole-person character through cultural, arts, sports development

• Promote national identity and understanding of the nation and society

• Strengthen discipline, team spirit and law-and-order through the help of uniform groups

• Promote volunteering through uniform groups

Human common fate

Climate change’s impact has more obvious.  The Executive Branch’s laissez-faire attitude in the past has delayed the problem. To unlock this：

●  Develop a roadmap to implement the Climate Action Blueprint 2050

●  Urge the Executive Branch to set an example in improving building energy performance, such as integrating district cooling systems into development projects

●  Urge the  Executive Branch to study reducing dependence on the power grid

●  Urge the  Executive Branch to move to zero-carbon fuels as soon as possible and accelerate the application of electric vehicles

●  Urge the government to study the city’s resilience to extreme weather

All have a part in national security

The past few years witnessed Hong Kong’s insufficiency in protecting national security.  To unlock this question:

• Start the Article 23 legislative process as soon as possible, with a view to filling the loopholes at the 25th anniversary

• Enact appropriate laws to regulate the distribution of fake news and false information

Develop political system step-by-step

Question about political development has deeply divided our community.  To unlock this:

• Promote the understanding of the Basic Law and the relevant decisions of NPCSC

• Promote joint-exploration of a model and pace that suits Hong Kong within the community

• Unite different sectors to work out a development model and pace for Hong Kong accordingly

Reform district administration

There was a series of serious problems at the district level.  Reform is the way to unlock the problem:

• Review the mechanism of managing district affairs

• Strengthen the role of DOs with adequate resources to resolve livelihood matters locally

• Change the size of constituencies to avoid fragmentation

• Promote organic integration between district administration, district councils and local service organisations

Civil service reform

It is necessary to ensure that civil service put people in the top priority. To unlock the problem of government officials, Hong Kong needs:

• Promote change in mentality and assist in system reform

• Dedicated agencies for promoting specific policies

• Reorganise oversized policy bureaux to focus on difficult issues

• Relay the foundation for public participation to nurture talents in governance

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