“Together, let’s open a new chapter for Hong Kong as we move from stability to prosperity “, launched Wednesday, October 19 the new chief executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, appointed by Beijing last May. In concluding his first general policy speech, the former career policeman wanted to be optimistic and determined: “Let’s know how to innovate to achieve a new great leap forward” for Hong Kong.
Without realizing that the Great Leap Forward of 1957 in China had caused a terrible famine resulting in the death of 30 million Chinese. “I have confidence in the future of Hong Kong”, he repeated after announcing numerous measures intended to revive the economy of the territory: controlling the Covid, attracting foreign talent and launching a vast social program, in particular on housing.
Isolated from the world for three years
Since Hong Kong’s handover to China on July 1, 1997, the city has never known such a difficult period. Huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 were followed by a strong crackdown on dissent and a massive brain drain abroad.
During the pandemic that began in January 2020, the city adopted some of the toughest health measures in the world, with long quarantines and strict bans on gatherings, in place long after the reopening of other financial centers which decided to live with the virus. The budget deficit of the special administrative region has exploded, and it should end the year in recession.
Reviving economic activity
It is in this particularly difficult context that John Lee presented before a Parliament composed only of “patriotic deputies” his plans to resurrect the business center, in the hope of attracting international expertise once again to a mired city. in the recession and which has experienced an exodus of talent.
“Over the past two years, the local workforce has shrunk by about 140,000 people,” he said, alluding without naming it, to the real Hong Kong “brain drain” in many sectors: health, education, finance… “As well as actively nurturing and retaining local talent, the government will relentlessly engage in talent hunting around the world,” he assured.
Bringing in “talent”
Hoping to reverse the trend, John Lee has proposed 30 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.9 billion euros) for a new investment fund intended to attract foreign companies. Hong Kong will also give preferential treatment to “top talent” and graduates of the world’s top 100 universities with relevant professional experience. “The government is going to have to put a lot of money on the table to attract foreign ‘talent’, underlines a university professor who requested anonymity, because health checks remain very strict and the atmosphere of freedom is no longer the same as before the 2019 protests.” John Lee has not ruled out the possibility of bringing in mainland Chinese to fill all vacancies in many sectors.
Closer to the concrete concerns of Hong Kongers, he announced a vast social program in favor of the elderly, health and especially housing. He also promised the construction of more than 100,000 homes over the next five years to meet one of the most urgent demands of the population. “I have been waiting for public housing for more than seven years, despairs Carmen Yip, 35, an office worker. In this context, with my companion, we cannot get married and we still live with our parents…”