Tuesday, October 2, 2018 5

COMMENT CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION

Editor’s note: We launched a photo-sharing campaign on Instagram. Share your photos by tagging #hk24hr! We’ll choose the best ones to publish in the newspaper. Encourage R&D in areas Left hanging where HK has distinct edge The SAR must take a long-term, targeted approach to research and development to further national development goals, writes Ken Chu

ang Zhimin, direc- sector and tertiary institutes. tor of the Liaison Unfortunately, corporations in the pri- O ce of the vate sector in Hong Kong, known for their Central People’s make-a-quick-buck mentality, may not have Government in the patience to wait for R&D to pay o . To the Hong Kong encourage private-sector R&D, more incen- tives must be o ered. Currently, the SAR Special Adminis- Ken Chu trative Region, recently penned an article The author is a CPPCC member and government has put in place a tax deduc- inW a newspaper urging the SAR to leverage CUHK Council member. tion up to 300 percent for private enter- its advantages to establish itself as a global prises’ R&D expenditures, but we certainly innovation and technology center in order would like to see more tax-incentive mea- A street lamp in Tseung Kwan O hangs by its electrical cord after being snapped o its pole by to better integrate into the nation’s overall tech and medical research institutes have sures to encourage the private sector’s R&D Typhoon Mangkhut. @KANEHUNGKANE / INSTAGRAM development and contribute to building the also established branches in the SAR, such e orts in the upcoming Policy Address. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay as Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, which Besides funding and incentives, we need Area’s overall innovation and technology. chose Hong Kong as the place to set up its experts and scientists to carry out R&D Without doubt, Hong Kong is well-posi- fi rst overseas branch. work. The recently launched Technology tioned to forge ahead with its innovation However, Hong Kong still relies heav- Talent Admission Scheme is a step in the and technology development. Hong Kong ily on talents, knowledge and resources right direction but we still face formidable Bay Area development is thriving in this area, largely due to our imported from abroad. Perhaps this challenges in attracting top-notch sci- solid supporting infrastructure. Our well- explains why the SAR still ranks low entists and IT talents because of intense established intellectual property legislation in various global indexes in the area of global competition. Even within the United of international standards is vital. Besides, innovation capacity. Our relatively little States, various cities are competing with o ers SAR new roles our venture fund market is vibrant, condu- overall R&D spending by the private sector, Silicon Valley for talents. What should cive to nurturing numerous young startups universities and government is another we do to attract them? Not just monetary he convening of the fi rst plenary in Hong Kong. According to InvestHK, factor contributing to our low ranking in rewards but also a favorable living and meeting of the Guangdong-Hong there were some 2,229 startups in Hong terms of innovation and technology in working environment, such as interna- Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Kong by the end of last year. these global indexes. The combined total tional education and leisure activities, must leading group, a coordinating The “one country, two systems” principle research and development spending by the be provided to them. bodyT tasked to drive the development of the undeniably has given Hong Kong a distinct private sector, universities and government Apart from experts and scientists, we Bay Area project, signifi es a crucial mile- should also consider where the R&D advantage. While maintaining its status as accounts for less than 0.8 percent of our stone in the development of the Bay Area. Edward Liu the most international cosmopolitan city GDP, according to a recent report by the spending must be used. Defi nitely our The e ects of those favorable policies that The author is vice-president of the Hong within the Bay Area, Hong Kong’s position Task Force on Review of Research Policy R&D cannot focus on all kinds of new benefi t residents in this whole region are Kong and Mainland Legal Profession as an SAR a ords it numerous additional and Funding headed by well-respected technologies and innovations. Our R&D already felt as we speak. In particular, after Association and co-opted member of the privileges, such as enabling us to tap into Professor Tsui Lap-chee. This percentage is e orts should focus on where Hong Kong the publication of the “Method of Applica- Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board. the pool of experts and scientists who have well below the average 2.4 percent among has advantages and where the Chinese tion of the Residence Permit for Hong Kong, abundant knowledge of the nation’s innova- OECD countries. mainland needs support. It normally takes Macao and Taiwan Residents on the Main- tion and technology sector and the science Insu cient R&D will impede the drive to decades to see basic scientifi c and tech- land”, many of my friends and colleagues Hong Kong must be more fi eld, as well as attract global IT enterprises, spur innovation and advances in technolog- nological research bear fruit. In this case, have already been disquisitive and ebullient innovative entrepreneurs and venture capi- ical development. Although Chief Executive fi ntech, biotech, pharmaceuticals, robotics about the functions, rights and privileges proactive in the develop- talists. The soon-to-be-established Hong Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has promised and new energy come fi rst to mind. that this residence permit has to o er. Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology to set aside HK$10 billion to lift our overall Rome cannot be built overnight. Hong The Bay Area is seen as an important piv- ment of the city cluster, Park in Lok Ma Chau Loop is an excellent R&D spending to 1.5 percent of GDP by the Kong must patiently devote more funding ot in the implementation of “one country, otherwise it will fail to example of how Hong Kong and Shenzhen year 2022, R&D takes a long time to yield and resources to R&D before we can derive two systems”. It is part of the national policy, can collaborate and complement each other fruitful results. Therefore, funding in R&D concrete results to transform our city into as made known in the 19th National Con- cement its traditionally in the IT fi eld. Because of our unique nature must be sustained on a long-term basis. an IT hub, and before this materializes, we gress of the Communist Party of China, that and position, we have attracted many global One of the recommendations by the task must carefully address how much funding promotes faster integration of Hong Kong strong and vital economic IT giants such as Alibaba, IBM, Facebook, force is to substantially boost Hong Kong’s is needed for whom to carry out R&D work and Macao into the national development sectors and it may even Google and NEC. Leading international bio- overall R&D spending by both the private in the most suitable IT areas. strategy. When President Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong during the commemoration of forego the opportunity to the 20th anniversary of the establishment raise its level of competi- Peter Liang of the Hong Kong Special Administra- tive Region, he noted that Hong Kong’s tiveness in the world. Although the government economic development faced an array of Long may HK’s rekindled constraints, including fi rstly, the relative long ago abandoned the abatement of the city’s traditional strength their economies in order to maintain their and secondly, that many sectors of the econ- respective competitiveness. Particularly, traditional hands-o omy that are the targeted areas of the city’s banking on the infrastructural improve- self-reliant spirit continue future development are still in their prelimi- ments brought by the implementation of policy, it is singularly ill nary stages. As a result, Hong Kong should the Belt and Road Initiative, Hong Kong uper Typhoon Mangkhut, which rekindled, can continue to burn. Indeed, equipped to be a social bank on political and social policies that could utilize its familiarity with interna- hit Hong Kong last month with Hong Kong people were once well-known integrate the city further with the mainland tional commercial rules and its position as unprecedented fury, has taught for, among other things, their self-reliance nanny if the free market in order to fi nd its place and direction in a prime fi nancial center to attract overseas Hong Kong people a long-forgotten which was born out of the government’s environment and low the Bay Area plan as the country’s “super- enterprises to establish regional headquar- Slesson: self-reliance. hands-o policy. connector” to the rest of the world. It is only ters in the city and become the commercial In the aftermath of the storm, which left This policy, which ensured that people tax base are going to be with this determination, dedication and hub for the Asia-Pacifi c region under the behind mountains of debris on the beach- could get to keep a large share of the wealth fortitude that Hong Kong may continue to Belt and Road Initiative, particularly the es, in the streets and numerous densely they helped create, suited them fi ne. To be preserved. prosper by reaping the full benefi ts of play- Maritime Silk Road. populated housing estates and complexes, sure, social and economic inequality, as ing a key role in the Bay Area. Given Hong Kong’s technological many people, young and old, have taken it measured by today’s standards, was brutally Hong Kong’s role in the Bay Area should resources, the government’s e ciency and upon themselves to clean up the mess in evident. But most people didn’t think too get good grades. The widening income gap not only be circumscribed to being a con- adherence to the rule of law and its position their neighborhoods. While the adults were much about it in the belief that they could is the responsibility of the government and nector or intermediary. Instead, Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading fi nancial cen- seen shoveling the dirt mixed with pieces count on their relatives, friends and neigh- nobody blames the motorists among them- must be more proactive in the development ters, Hong Kong is well positioned within of broken glass from shattered windows, bors when the worse came to the worst. selves for polluting the air and jamming of the city cluster, otherwise it will fail to the Bay Area to make full use of its core young students were busy picking up loose Such confi dence was further augmented tra c. It’s the fault of the government. cement its traditionally strong and vital strengths. Taking shipping as an example, tiles on the pavement thrown up by the by the many fi lial and ethnic associations Although the government long ago aban- economic sectors and it may even forego the Shenzhen’s container port is the third- tidal waves. in which members contributed what they doned the traditional hands-o policy, it is opportunity to raise its level of competitive- busiest in the world, Guangzhou is one of The loss of properties was taken mostly had to help out the neediest among them. singularly ill equipped to be a social nanny ness in the world. It is imperative that both the world’s core ship-building bases and in good humor. A young man was fi lmed Leaders of these associations were mostly if the free market environment and low tax the public and private sectors of Hong Kong Hong Kong’s strengths are in high value- telling reporters with a bitter smile that he wealthy merchants and shop keepers pry- base are going to be preserved. synchronically engage in innovation and added services including ship fi nancing, took possession of his once-shiny new car ing their trade in the old part of town that There is a strong argument for the estab- strive to become a “reformer” by embracing marine insurance and maritime arbitration. only a few months ago. After being sub- still retains remnants of its past despite the lishment of a universal pension scheme to the country’s national development strategy It is believed that the SAR’s participation merged in fl ood water brought by Mang- rapid pace of gentrifi cation in recent years. replace the jokingly inadequate Manda- and a “constructor” in making up for the in the development of the Bay Area city khut for a day, it was now heading for the These associations held sway in those tory Provident Fund. But the scheme as defi ciencies of some mainland cities. cluster and the pooling of the Bay Area cit- scrap yard. narrow streets that wound through shop envisaged by workers has been shot down As a reformer, Hong Kong should appre- ies’ resources would help to further deepen Blocked roads and damaged railway houses, godowns and tenement blocks. because it is deemed to be unsustainable ciate the determination of the central gov- cooperation and development of Hong lines created great inconvenience for Pooling their resources, they built schools, without massively raising taxes. ernment in developing the Bay Area. The Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen’s strengths people living in the districts that took the hospitals, orphanages and retirement Young people who have not saved economic reform of the country has now in the shipping industry. heaviest beating from the typhoon. But the homes for the poor and downtrodden. enough money to buy their homes are come of age since its initial implementation In his speech commemorating the 20th problem lasted only for a few days before Some of these establishments, including blaming the government for dashing their 40 years ago, and it is crucial that Hong anniversary of the establishment of the tra c returned to normal, except, perhaps, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, are still Hong Kong dream. Home prices in land- Kong continues to play its role in bringing Hong Kong SAR, Xi said: “A cause with pub- in the most remote regions. in operation today. scarce Hong Kong are rarely a ordable. in an international perspective to the coun- lic participation and public support is sure All told, the city took on up to 40 percent That spirit of self-reliance has enabled To buy homes, young people in the past try. In this respect, it is of utmost impor- to achieve success.” The implementation more waste than normal after the typhoon, Hong Kong to survive several social and knew that they had to save enough money tance that creative policies are implemented of the Bay Area project has opened a new according to a government estimate. More economic upheavals brought about by fun- to make the down payment for mortgage to further Hong Kong’s cooperation with chapter in Hong Kong’s economic and social than 12,000 tons of waste was handled on damental shifts in the region’s geopolitical loans. And they usually waited until the Guangdong province. development. With a determination to work the day after the typhoon, up from an aver- environment. Not anymore. market down cycle to make the plunge. As a constructor, Hong Kong should together, it can be assured that cooperation age of 8,500 tons per day. Now, young people are blaming the That’s self-reliance. engage in cooperation and benign competi- between the 11 partner cities within the Bay As more ordinary people from all walks government because they can’t a ord to tion with the partner cities in the Bay Area. Area will herald in a new era of economic of life pitched in for the cleanup, it’s buy homes and parents pour scorn on the The author is a veteran current a airs Through sharing resources and market development for Hong Kong, Macao and hoped that the spirit of self-reliance, once education system when their children don’t commentator. forces, cities within the region may diversify Guangdong.