John Lee: The drafting of the "Hong Kong Five-Year Plan" will be completed within the year.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu met the media before attending the executive meeting on the 17th. He said that the HKSAR government will work at full speed to prepare the “Hong Kong Five-Year Plan,” and will launch public consultation in about the fourth quarter this year, with the formal text of the “Hong Kong Five-Year Plan” to be published by the end of the year. Lee said that preparing a five-year plan for Hong Kong can strengthen Hong Kong and better leverage its advantages. The plan will set out a five-year vision and goals for various key areas, so that residents of Hong Kong can understand more clearly how Hong Kong will thrive after five years. The planning will create a dynamic cycle that continuously develops the economy and improves people’s livelihoods, enabling residents of Hong Kong to share the fruits of development and see people’s well-being steadily improve.

Lee said that the preparation work will be led by him. The lead responsibility will lie with the HKSAR government’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, while all the bureau directors of the HKSAR government will fully push forward and participate together.

“Preparing the ‘Hong Kong Five-Year Plan’ will be completed within this year.” Lee said that, to assist the HKSAR government in completing the work within a tight timeline, he proposed setting up, under executive-led arrangements, a mechanism for coordinated research and collection of views between the HKSAR government and the Legislative Council, so as to bring into play the partner strength of healthy interaction between the executive and the legislature, and mutual cooperation.

On the same day, the HKSAR government’s Development Bureau submitted a discussion paper to the Development Affairs Committee of the HKSAR Legislative Council, introducing the thinking behind the establishment of dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis district and seeking members’ views. Lee said in response that he hopes dedicated legislation can remove barriers and loosen restrictions in planning and land administration procedures for the planning of the Northern Metropolis, allowing the land in the Northern Metropolis to be planned in a flexible and dynamic manner. At the same time, it will accelerate project progress by adopting different facilitation measures, and assist industries in taking root in the Northern Metropolis by facilitating the cross-border flow of factors of production. (Xinhua News Agency)