China News Agency, Hong Kong, July 4 (Jin Zhiya) The Hong Kong economy fell into recession after being hit by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic and the "revision storm". On the 4th, Hong Kong’s largest trade union, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), held a round table discussion on “Discussing Hong Kong’s Economy and Employment Prospects” to find a way out for the Hong Kong economy out of the predicament. The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Chen Maobo, brought good news at the meeting, pointing out that if the epidemic situation in Hong Kong and overseas can continue to be controlled and the society continues to be stable, Hong Kong's economy is expected to bottom out in the second half of the year.
Chen Maobo said that the Hong Kong epidemic situation has subsided from mid-April. The government has also relaxed a number of measures to maintain social distance. The flow of people and consumption activities have gradually recovered. The Hong Kong economy is expected to bottom out in the second half of the year.
But he added that the recent outbreaks in some places overseas have shown that the threat of the outbreak is still lingering before the emergence of the new coronary pneumonia vaccine. Coupled with the strained political and economic relations between China and the United States, including the recent Western countries imposing so-called sanctions on Hong Kong through the Hong Kong National Security Law, he believes that it may bring uncertainties to Hong Kong in the short term and needs to be paid attention to. Certainty.
He emphasized that a safe and stable social environment is essential to economic development. Since the second half of 2019, the violent impact of Hong Kong has intensified, causing investors in Hong Kong and foreign countries to worry about the political and social instability of Hong Kong. It is precisely through the law that the Hong Kong National Security Law protects Hong Kong from the threat of acts that jeopardize national security and terrorist activities, and ensures the stability of "one country, two systems".
Also present at the meeting were Lei Dingming, former director of the Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Shi Yongqing, founder of Zhongyuan Group, and Huang Guo, chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.
Shi Yongqing suggested that Hong Kong should not only be a large-scale enterprise, but small and medium-sized enterprises should strengthen technology and innovation, promote enterprise transformation, and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.
Huang Guo believes that the timely implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law provides protection for employees in all walks of life in Hong Kong. He hoped that the SAR Government could refer to the arrangement of the Epidemic Prevention and Anti-epidemic Fund to provide subsidies to the unemployed and relax it to apply for subsidies with tax bills. (Finish)