MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Thank you, Deputy President, and many thanks to Mr YIM Kong for proposing the motion today. I support the proposal of the joint development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Boundary Control Points Economic Belt (“the BCPs Economic Belt”). In fact, this proposal has been included in the important work of the country, Guangdong Province and Shenzhen Municipality in the development of the Greater Bay Area (“GBA”). Shenzhen has already carried out the planning proposal, and Hong Kong has also put forth the proposal of the Northern Metropolis. It is believed that the future development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong BCPs will be the engine to drive the economic development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, as well as the entire GBA.
This motion is debated in the Legislative Council today, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the Motherland. In the past 25 years, the areas near Hong Kong’s BCPs has seen little or no significant development and still remains barren. Hong Kong has wasted a lot of precious time. In contrast, Shenzhen has already fully developed its ports, and has even comprehensively upgraded the facilities in many places. The foundation for the development of ports is already in place.
The development of Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis will take more than 10 years, and the development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, as well as the economic integration of GBA, can brook any delay. Therefore, I agree that we should discuss with the Shenzhen authorities as soon as possible the commencement of the development of the BCPs Economic Belt on the basis of their current situations, so that the Northern Metropolis can accommodate the specific developments in the future. It will be a very pragmatic approach.
In fact, the governments of the two places have a lot of work to do to develop the BCPs Economic Belt. For example, there is a need to discuss the mode of cooperation in various aspects, as well as putting in place a coordination mechanism for the parallel development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, instead of each having its own approach which will result in the lack of coordination. Incidentally, in the early days after the return of sovereignty, Hong Kong’s officials were still relatively resistant to cooperation with Shenzhen. Therefore, they had been reluctant to develop Hong Kong’s BCPs. However, nowadays, Hong Kong must be integrated into the overall development of the country in order to sustain its development. I believe that Hong Kong’s officials are fully aware of this situation, so we should have a new mindset to cooperate with Shenzhen for development in a sincere manner.
I believe that the development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong BCPs Economic Belt will be a vital opportunity for the economic integration of GBA, and with this starting point, the future development will be more favourable. Hong Kong is now promoting the development of innovation and technology (“I&T”) industries and re-industrialization, which requires a large number of talents and technologies, as well as inflow investments from Mainland I&T enterprises. Moreover, Hong Kong can also assist Mainland enterprises in “going global” to promote their products internationally and, at the same time, assist international investors in investing in the Mainland. In addition, to consolidate its position as an international financial centre, Hong Kong needs large Mainland enterprises to list locally and Mainland capital to invest locally.
While we have to strive for economic integration with GBA, under the principle of “one country, two systems”, we must maintain Hong Kong’s unique strengths so that it will continue to shine and prosper. I believe that one of Hong Kong’s irreplaceable strengths is that it is one of Asia’s most internationalized and modernized metropolises. For this reason, Hong Kong must maintain its status as an international financial and trade centre, and continue to attract people from all over the world to make investment and do business, as well as adsorbing talents and capital. Hong Kong’s vitality depends on its continuous promotion and maintenance of an international presence.
Thank you, Deputy President.