Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor delivered her fourth Policy Address on Wednesday, pointing out that Hong Kong’s public finances are in dire straits, and with this year’s budget and the implementation of the three “epidemic prevention funds”, she expects the fiscal deficit to reach HK$310 billion this year. As for how to make the difficulties disappear through economic growth, she said that “integration into the overall development of the country” is essential.
The report was originally scheduled to be released a month ago, but because Hong Kong’s economy and people’s livelihoods were struggling after the “anti-sending to China” campaign and the neo-crown pneumonia epidemic, Mrs. Lam postponed the release of the report and visited Beijing earlier this month to solicit Beijing’s support for policies to revitalize the local economy and people’s livelihoods for inclusion in the report. The Policy Address, which was delayed for a month, proposed 200 new measures to revitalize the economy, as well as measures on the economy, transportation, aviation, education and health care to complement the “Greater Bay Area” development policy.
In her address, Mrs. Lam stated that the government would prioritize restoring Hong Kong’s constitutional order and political system from chaos, and she again praised Beijing’s implementation of the National Security Law for its “remarkable” results.
This was the first time that Mrs. Lam delivered her annual policy address without any protests from opposition legislators, as Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators announced their collective resignation earlier this month in protest of the Hong Kong authorities’ disqualification of four allegedly “unpatriotic” pro-democracy lawmakers.
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