Chief Executive Addresses Economic Summit

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, spoke of Hong Kong’s past and future in a speech for the Hong Kong Economic Summit: Leveraging on the Mainland and Engaging Ourselves Globally, held on August 23, 2004.

Mr Tung summarized the challenges Hong Kong has faced in recent years. He pointed out that, for three decades until 1979, much of Hong Kong’s prosperity was due to the Mainland economy being closed. “Today,” he said, “Hong Kong’s prosperity hinges on a Mainland economy that is open, prosperous and rapidly integrating into the world economy.”

The need to secure Hong Kong’s future with greater access and two-way trade flow to the Mainland market has led to CEPA, stronger co-operation with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the granting of personal RMB business to Hong Kong banks. 

Measures taken by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to address Hong Kong’s economic challenges have been successful, says Mr Tung. He pointed to Hong Kong’s 6.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2004 and anticipated double-digit growth in the second quarter, as well as stabilizing property prices, a levelling off of unemployment and disappearing deflation. 

Mr Tung outlined the HKSAR Government’s commitment to strengthening its co-operation initiatives. Medical authorities in Hong Kong and Guangdong are working together to prevent the transmission of potentially deadly diseases like SARS and bird flu. The 2006 completion of the Western Corridor will facilitate the movement that comes with increasing cross-border commerce. Sub-committees are working towards agreement on a range of issues, including a regional air-quality monitoring network, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

Mr Tung discussed policy initiatives which play an important role in Hong Kong’s economic restructuring. He reported that education reform in primary and secondary education is bearing fruit in enhancing human capital. Training and retraining measures are helping Hong Kong people to maintain their competitiveness. And Hong Kong is continuing to welcome foreign and Mainland talent with skills and knowledge to enrich its society.

Expanding on the theme of Hong Kong as a world city, Mr Tung described the concept as a city that has developed tremendous strengths in internationally oriented service industries and other high-level corporate service functions, which generate significant levels of added value as well as good employment opportunities. “The world city”, he said, “is a city that is typically characterized by an outstanding enabling infrastructure”. He pledged his commitment to pushing other policy initiatives which will enhance and enrich Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s world city.

Mr Tung expressed his commitment to strengthening the relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland. “We must faithfully turn the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ concept into an everyday reality in full accordance with the Basic Law,” he said. “And we must be sensitive to the needs and concerns of our country, and therefore actively promote her national interests and well-being.”

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