Some members of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong explain at a news briefing on Friday the motions and proposals they will present in March at the nation’s two sessions. PHOTO / FACEBOOK ACCOUNT OF BPA
Several Hong Kong members of the nation’s top legislature and its political advisory body who are also members of a local business-focused political party said they will present 15 motions and proposals at the nation’s two sessions next month to promote cooperation between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in various areas, including medical health, technology, talent, and culture.
At a news conference that the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, the second-largest political group in the Legislative Council, held on Friday, alliance Vice-Chairwoman Priscilla Leung Mei-fun said Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, herself included, will use the two sessions to introduce the advantages of Hong Kong to other NPC deputies, promote exchanges and cooperation between the two places, and contribute to Hong Kong and the country.
This year’s session of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will kick off on March 4, and the NPC session will begin the following day. Earlier, several members of the BPA were elected as national lawmakers — deputies of the 14th NPC — or as the nation’s political advisers — members of the 14th CPPCC National Committee.
As more Hong Kong residents are choosing to spend their retirement in mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Leung suggested establishing a one-stop medical system to provide Hong Kong residents living there with the professional medical services they need.
Also referring to healthcare, Peter Lam Kin-ngok, a national political adviser and chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, asked for the nation’s support to develop Hong Kong into a medical health platform in Asia. He suggested organizing regular international health forums in the city and enhancing local capacity to introduce advanced overseas medical technologies.
He also suggested doubling down on efforts to set up a Greater Bay Area smart healthcare research base in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis, the planned urban area for the northern New Territories. Hong Kong can also help raise fund for healthcare industries for mainland enterprises by leveraging its well-rounded financial platforms, Lam said.
Regarding talent, Leung said that the Belt and Road Initiative can be an excellent way to attract talent, suggesting Hong Kong make full use of the initiative to bring more outstanding young people to the country via Hong Kong.
Political adviser William Junior Guilherme Doo proposed that Hong Kong introduce travel documents for nonlocal senior secondary students to study in Hong Kong. It can offer mainland students more options for further studies and also enhance senior secondary education in Hong Kong, Doo said.
Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, another member of the nation’s advisory body, suggested more initiatives be rolled out to encourage more Chinese science and technology enterprises to establish a base in the Northern Metropolis. This could be built up to become the “Silicon Valley of Hong Kong”, Lau said.
Lau also proposed setting up an incubation park for GBA young entrepreneurs in the new town, together with more support for Hong Kong to set up a State Key Laboratory there. The new town can be built into a talent pool for science and technology, with initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship and favorable visa schemes to attract talent, he said.
As for the culture, Michael Woo Kim-kong, a political adviser who is also group chairman of Woo Leung Lee Group (Holdings) Ltd, suggested making more efforts to hold exchange activities in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, thus enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture.
Earlier, the city’s largest political party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) also unveiled its plan to table 21 proposals, focusing on deepening the city’s integration with the nation’s development.