With less than six months to go before the election of the next chief executive, what was supposed to be the swan song Policy Address of incumbent Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was more like her maiden one, with swaths of visionary, groundbreaking policy initiatives that may take more than decades to get done.
Catching most pundits off guard, Lam reassuredly attempted to break the mold and mull ambitious strategic development plans with closer regional collaboration with the Chinese mainland and propose government reorganization even as the clock is ticking for the current administration. Nevertheless, in view of deep-seated social problems, not the least of which is with our infamous housing woes, more targeted stopgap policy measures that dovetail with our government’s steely determination are required, echoing the call of Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, for Hong Kong to bid farewell to “caged homes” by 2049.
A centerpiece of Lam’s blueprint, among other policy initiatives, is her plan for the creation of the Northern Metropolis, which will span 300 square kilometers, including existing new towns in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Fanling and Sheung Shui and their neighboring rural areas, as well as six new development areas under planning or construction, to be supported by an enhanced railway network with seven land-based border control points. Such a grandeur mega development forming a spatial framework of “Twin Cities, Three Circles” — referring to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Bay Quality Development Circle, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Close Interaction Circle, and the Mirs Bay/Yan Chau Tong Eco-recreation/tourism Circle — is unprecedented: Not only will there be a massive supply of over 920,000 flats housing 2.5 million people and the potential creation of 650,000 jobs two decades later; more importantly, the proposal marks a substantial shift of Hong Kong’s development strategy away from Hong Kong Island to our city’s north in a bid for greater collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the national development blueprint deftly promulgated by the central government. This is crucial for Hong Kong to fully grasp the strategic development opportunities in the national 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and formulate tailored policies to enable Hong Kong to reach new height in the future.
In unshackling bureaucratic tangles and procedural red tape, the chief executive’s government reorganization proposal is appreciated. It involves splitting the current Transport and Housing Bureau into two distinct entities — one focusing on transport infrastructure, and one tasked with boosting land supply for residential — and the creation of a new Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau with the view to developing Hong Kong into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between the mainland and the rest of the world. As the largest government restructuring since 2015, it demonstrates our government’s institutional efforts to streamline unnecessary administrative procedures and avoid redundancies from timely implementation of relevant public policies. In placating the critics of our civil service, it is reassuring that our chief executive has pledged to review the existing appointment mechanism for senior levels of the civil service in accordance with the principle of meritocracy to ensure competent officers are appointed to suitable positions. With enhanced administrative efficiency and more high-caliber people being recruited to the government, it definitely strikes a note of optimism for the quality of governance in Hong Kong’s future.
Apart from the overhaul of the above government hardware, the mindset of our administration, as the key software, must never lose touch with the public. Taking a leaf from the book of the latest outreach drive by the director and deputies of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, who made 20 trips and 80 percent of whose staff took part in meetings in all walks of life in Hong Kong, the special administrative region government must now abandon the prolonged officialdom and adopt a people-centric approach in policymaking. No longer should policies be formulated among officials behind closed doors with little public engagement. Our government should proactively reach and hear the public voices by regularly holding more town hall meetings attended by government officials and local representatives. In this way, public grievances over hot-button social issues can be timely channeled and reflected in our government policymaking. As President Xi Jinping declared at the Communist Party of China centenary celebration, “This country is its people; the people are the country. … We have in fact been fighting to earn and keep the people’s support.” May SAR government officials be enlightened by an ounce of wisdom from President Xi and pursue people-based governance in our city’s overall interests.
Nevertheless, in light of the housing crunch in Hong Kong, our chief executive’s rosy promise of 1 million flats to be market-ready through the Lantau Tomorrow Vision and Northern Metropolis, which will be realized only after two decades, is no different from “puting out a nearby fire with distant water”. With more than 153,600 families waiting an average of 5.8 years to be allocated a home, the longest in more than two decades, with the waiting time twice as long as the Housing Authority’s pledge to deliver a home within three years, our administration should not shrug off any possible “quick fixes” to ease the city grassroots’ day-to-day predicament. While it is appreciated that there will be an increase in the supply of 5,000 transitional homes and a 10 percent cap of rents to be paid by subdivided flats’ tenants following the passage of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 2021 last month, more progressive and targeted policies are warranted: The cash subsidy available for applicants in the queue for public rental housing for more than three years should at least double from HK$1,300 ($167) per individual, and HK$3,900 for a household of six or more, as the monthly rent for a shoebox-size cubicle now costs at least HK$5,000. Cash subsidies on a pro rata basis must be offered to subdivided-flat tenants who are troubled by the amount of the rental spike by landlords prior to the rental control bill coming into effect, lest the vulnerable are sent to live on the streets before the law offers them an olive branch. Moreover, a detailed realistic timeline must be set for the availability of the upcoming transitional housing. In the medium term, the government should, if appropriate, relax plot ratios for sites building temporary and public rental housing. Streamlining the unnecessary administrative procedures in town planning and introducing a joint venture of public-private partnership in construction of subsidized flats will facilitate the launch of more affordable housing expeditiously.
As Rome was not built in a day, it is not realistic that a more harmonious and prosperous Hong Kong can be facilitated within a few months’ time before the end of the current administration. As a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the latest policy blueprint demonstrates an unprecedentedly determined, visionary political will to make Hong Kong great again, paving a path of dependency for the new administration to follow even though it may be too early to tell who will throw their hat in the ring for the coming chief executive election. As President Xi said, “It is a shame for an official to avoid responsibilities”. One thing is certain — whoever is in the driver’s seat administering Hong Kong must deliver.
The author is a practicing solicitor and chairman of Y Legalites. The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not reflect those of the law firm for which he works.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.