[Explanation] On October 6, Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, issued the fifth and last policy address of the current SAR government in the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor stated at the beginning that under the dual protection of Hong Kong's national security law and the perfection of the SAR electoral system, Hong Kong is ushering in a good situation. It is a time to move forward, start anew, and plan for the future.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
My team and I attach great importance to this policy address; I personally presided over 40 online and offline consultation meetings, attended live broadcasts, and walked into campus, and contacted more than 3,500 citizens from different sectors.
I and some of the participants who spoke at the same time said in unison that under the dual guarantee of the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of National Security Law" (Hong Kong National Security Law) and the improvement of the SAR election system, Hong Kong is ushering in a good situation and is moving forward. , Restart, and plan for the future.
[Commentary] Carrie Lam said that the policy address focuses on development and outlines the future for Hong Kong.
Although the current government faces unprecedented severe challenges, it upholds the spirit of facing difficulties and actively doing things for the people, advocating policy breakthroughs and striving to solve social problems.
For example, she said that over 900 policy measures have been proposed in the past four policy addresses, 96% of which have been completed or implemented in order.
[Commentary] Talking about the work of the Legislative Council, Carrie Lam said that in the past period of time the Legislative Council had an extreme political ecology, and "rabbling" and "soliciting speculation" severely undermined the positive interaction between the government and the Legislative Council, and hindered the development of Hong Kong. Legislation and funding work to improve the economy and people’s livelihood.
She pointed out that since the group of "opposed to oppose" MPs left the parliament in November 2020, the work of the Legislative Council this year has been fruitful.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
This year's Legislative Council can be said to have achieved fruitful results. A total of 46 bills will be passed and more than $320 billion in appropriations will be approved to fulfill the constitutional functions of the Legislative Council.
The seventh session of the Legislative Council will begin on January 1 next year. Under the improvement of the electoral system, 90 members from different sectors who meet the requirements of "patriots ruling Hong Kong" will assume the function of supervising the government.
[Explanation] At the level of safeguarding the Constitution and the Basic Law, Carrie Lam said that in the past two years, Hong Kong has faced unprecedented political shocks, and there has been a great risk of endangering national security.
The central government has always acted in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, and promptly reversed the chaos in Hong Kong.
She pointed out that in the future, the SAR government will promote the publicity and education of the Constitution and the Basic Law through multiple methods.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
At the level of school education, the subject of Civic and Social Development, which replaced the subject of general education, was implemented this school year from the fourth grade of secondary school. One of the three themes is Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems".
I went to a middle school to observe classes in early September and thought it was a good start.
In order to enable teachers who teach the subject of civil and social development to better grasp the Chief Executive's constitutional status and powers under "one country, two systems", I have proposed to the Secretary for Education that I should speak up and teach interested teachers in person.
[Explanation] As one of the important livelihood issues in Hong Kong, housing-related content has also become the focus of the report.
Statistics show that there are currently more than 220,000 people living in sub-divided houses in Hong Kong, and the median floor area per capita of sub-divided houses is less than 7 square meters.
As of the end of June 2021, there are 150,000 families and 100,000 individual applicants on the public housing waiting list, a total of about 550,000, and the average waiting time for general public housing applicants is 5.8 years.
In this regard, Carrie Lam said that allowing citizens to live in peace is the primary goal of the future housing policy of the SAR government.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
The high waiting time for public housing is worrying.
But in fact, the number of public housing units built during the five-year term of the current government reached 96,500 units, an increase of 30,000 over the previous five years.
In the next ten years (i.e. from 2022-23 to 2031-32), we have found about 350 hectares of land for the construction of about 330,000 public housing units, which is slightly higher than the figure announced last year and is sufficient to meet the expectations of the ten-year period. The demand for 301,000 public housing units.
[Explanation] At the level of fighting the epidemic, Carrie Lam said that looking back on the anti-epidemic work in the past 21 months, Hong Kong has successfully defeated four waves of epidemics. With the density of the city and the flow of people and goods in Hong Kong, such results can be achieved. The citizens of Hong Kong should all be credited for their achievements.
She also encouraged Hong Kong citizens to get vaccinated to create favorable conditions for cross-border travel.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
The Chief Secretary for Administration led the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government team to conduct a matchmaking meeting on epidemic prevention and control with relevant mainland authorities last month. The two parties discussed in detail the issues involved in the gradual and orderly restoration of (normal) customs clearance, as well as assessing the possibility of the (normal) customs clearance. Right risk.
The two sides will further study the details and strive to hold the second matchmaking meeting as soon as possible.
To successfully fight for "customs clearance", the support of the public is of utmost importance.
If you or your family and friends have not been vaccinated, please do not hesitate to get the injection as soon as possible to protect yourself and your family from the virus and create favorable conditions for cross-border travel.
[Explanation] At the end of the report, Carrie Lam reviewed her work history. She said that she was fortunate to participate in the return of Hong Kong. Since then, she has implemented "One Country, Two Systems" in different jobs.
Taking office as the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region more than four years ago, I deeply feel that there is a long way to go. It is both an honor and a challenge.
She said that as long as the SAR insists on taking "one country" as its root, the "two systems" will definitely flourish.
[Concurrent] Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
"One country, two systems", under the supervision of the central government and the cooperation of the special zone, has perfected the legal system and implementation mechanism necessary for safeguarding national security and the special zone's electoral system in line with the constitutional order.
This system protected by the Constitution and the Basic Law is already one of the advantages of the national governance system. As long as the SAR insists on taking “one country” as the foundation, “one country” as the root, “patriots ruling Hong Kong” and “two countries”. The “system” will definitely flourish, and Hong Kong will still be the jewel in the palm of the motherland.
At this new starting point, the 2021 policy address shows a new outlook and outlines a new layout, let us walk together and create the future!
Reporter Fan Siyi, Liang Yuan and Luo Siyu reporting from Hong Kong
Editor in charge: [Yue Chuan]