Li Jiachao
Chief Executive John Lee said that in the future, it is necessary to go all out to fight for the economy, and the concept of the SAR government is to "increase quantity" and then "improve quality". He pointed out that the period of economic transition will definitely go through a wait-and-see period, and some people may feel uncomfortable in their hearts, but he believes that Hong Kong will have a way to rise to the challenge, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to promote the event economy.
In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, John Lee said that there are three main factors influencing Hong Kong's GDP, namely investment, consumption and exports, among which exports are affected by external factors from the production chain to the supply chain due to geopolitics, and the SAR Government has a low level of initiative. Investment is divided into the SAR Government and private investment, the latter is not the most influential due to the business community's own ideas, but it shows that the SAR Government will continue to increase investment, for example, the current average annual investment in construction projects has reached 90 billion yuan, about 17% more than the average in the past five years, which will help promote future development.
Li Jiachao said that in recent months, the local retail and catering markets have been sluggish, and the emergence of empty shops will inevitably cause social concern, but he pointed out that in the first five months of this year, the number of tourists increased by 78% year-on-year, of which the number of mainland tourists increased by 73%, and some Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Thailand have a more ideal trend.
Hong Kong organises a series of events to attract visitors. Profile picture
Regarding the outside world's accusation that there are as many as 210 items in the list of events this year, which are too many and difficult to focus, Lee Jiachao said that he understands the society's worries, and also believes that "quality" and "quantity" are equally important, but there are steps in the process of boosting the economy, pointing out that Hong Kong has experienced the two major challenges of "black violence" and the epidemic in 2019, and many economic sectors need to redouble their efforts and develop again. In the process, "increase the quantity" is the primary condition, when a certain base is established, the conditions can be further refined, and the restaurant as an example, the first thing is to "sit full", otherwise there is no condition to "pick customers", and then consider increasing consumption, can not first "exclude" some business.
The completion of the 23 legislative work is the most satisfying
When the Kai Tak Sports Park opens next year, Lee Ka-chiu revealed that he has tried to strive for some appealing and world-renowned performances to be held in the Kai Tak Sports Park and meet the needs of the other party as much as possible, but the commercial reasons need to be kept secret, describing it as "chasing girls", pointing out that these activities must be very popular, and the process is difficult to immediately disclose to the public. He also described the Kai Tak Sports Park as a golden sign for Hong Kong's future mega event economy, and the HKSAR Government will make a good rehearsal to ensure smooth operation.
In addition, Lee said that the completion of the legislative work on Article 23 of the Basic Law is a "milestone achievement", and it is also the policy that he has felt the deepest and most satisfying since taking office. Most of the political work of the current-term HKSAR Government has been completed, but the community must remain vigilant against political risks from overseas, and the HKSAR Government will also enhance public awareness through patriotic education and national security education.
The authorities will soon publish the results of a study on the regulation of ride-hailing platforms. Profile picture
The SAR government will announce the results of the study on regulating online ride-hailing platforms next month, and Mr Lee said that online car-hailing does meet some of the market demand, and the SAR government's research direction is to improve taxi services while properly handling the regulation of online ride-hailing platforms.
Asked whether this means that the current ride-hailing platforms such as Uber are expected to operate legally, and whether he is worried about the impact on the price of taxis, Lee Jiachao responded that if taxi services are popular, it is believed that there will be a positive impact on the price of taxis, which means that multi-seated taxis will also increase turnover and driver income, so as to achieve "self-generated engine"