LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3085

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Thursday, 21 January 2021

The Council continued to meet at Nine o'clock

MEMBERS PRESENT:

THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE ANDREW LEUNG KWAN-YUEN, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ABRAHAM SHEK LAI-HIM, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE TOMMY CHEUNG YU-YAN, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE JEFFREY LAM KIN-FUNG, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WONG TING-KWONG, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE STARRY LEE WAI-KING, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAK-KAN, B.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE PRISCILLA LEUNG MEI-FUN, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-KIN, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MRS REGINA IP LAU SUK-YEE, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE PAUL TSE WAI-CHUN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE STEVEN HO CHUN-YIN, B.B.S.

THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING, S.B.S., J.P.

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THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING, B.B.S.

THE HONOURABLE MA FUNG-KWOK, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAN-PAN, B.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG, S.B.S., M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ALICE MAK MEI-KUEN, B.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE KWOK WAI-KEUNG, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHEUNG WAH-FUNG, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, B.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LIAO CHEUNG-KONG, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE POON SIU-PING, B.B.S., M.H.

IR DR THE HONOURABLE LO WAI-KWOK, S.B.S., M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHUNG KWOK-PAN

DR THE HONOURABLE JUNIUS HO KWAN-YIU, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE HOLDEN CHOW HO-DING

THE HONOURABLE SHIU KA-FAI, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WILSON OR CHONG-SHING, M.H.

DR THE HONOURABLE PIERRE CHAN

THE HONOURABLE CHAN CHUN-YING, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LUK CHUNG-HUNG, J.P.

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THE HONOURABLE VINCENT CHENG WING-SHUN, M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE TONY TSE WAI-CHUEN, B.B.S., J.P.

MEMBERS ABSENT:

THE HONOURABLE CHAN KIN-POR, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL TIEN PUK-SUN, B.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE CHIANG LAI-WAN, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE JIMMY NG WING-KA, B.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE YUNG HOI-YAN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG KWOK-KWAN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LAU KWOK-FAN, M.H.

THE HONOURABLE KENNETH LAU IP-KEUNG, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE CHENG CHUNG-TAI

PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING:

THE HONOURABLE MATTHEW CHEUNG KIN-CHUNG, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P. CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION

THE HONOURABLE PAUL CHAN MO-PO, G.B.M., G.B.S., M.H., J.P. FINANCIAL SECRETARY

THE HONOURABLE TERESA CHENG YEUK-WAH, G.B.S., S.C., J.P. SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE

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THE HONOURABLE JOHN LEE KA-CHIU, S.B.S., P.D.S.M., J.P. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY

THE HONOURABLE FRANK CHAN FAN, J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING

PROF THE HONOURABLE SOPHIA CHAN SIU-CHEE, J.P. SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH

THE HONOURABLE EDWARD YAU TANG-WAH, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

THE HONOURABLE KEVIN YEUNG YUN-HUNG, J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION

THE HONOURABLE PATRICK NIP TAK-KUEN, J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE

THE HONOURABLE ALFRED SIT WING-HANG, J.P. SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

THE HONOURABLE ERICK TSANG KWOK-WAI, I.D.S.M., J.P. SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS

THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER HUI CHING-YU, J.P. SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY

MR SONNY AU CHI-KWONG, P.D.S.M., J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR SECURITY

DR DAVID CHUNG WAI-KEUNG, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY

DR BERNARD CHAN PAK-LI, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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MR ANDY CHAN SHUI-FU, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS

DR CHUI TAK-YI, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH

MR JOSEPH CHAN HO-LIM, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY

DR RAYMOND SO WAI-MAN, B.B.S., J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING

CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE:

MS ANITA SIT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

MISS FLORA TAI YIN-PING, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

MS DORA WAI, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

MR MATTHEW LOO, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

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MEMBER'S MOTION

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): This Council now continues with the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Policy Address.

MOTION OF THANKS

Continuation of debate on motion which was moved on 20 January 2021

DR JUNIUS HO (in Cantonese): Good morning, President. The Policy Address this year is … in the Sixth Legislative Council, we have been under the leadership of two Chief Executives and had held three motion debates on the policy address. We failed to hold a motion debate on the 2019 Policy Address. In my opinion, whether the Council conducts a debate on the Motion of Thanks is not very important, as it is merely a kind of formality. However, I hope the Government can improve any areas where it has not done so well and aim even higher in areas where it has a leading edge. This year (2021) is the fifth year of the extended Sixth Legislative Council, should we praise or criticize the Policy Address this year? I believe there are both areas for praise and criticism. In the first debate session, I would like to share my views on the implementation of "one country, two systems", national security, economic development, as well as innovation and technology in Hong Kong. Basically, we must pay special attention to these four areas.

The implementation of "one country, two systems" has met with many barriers. However, as the saying goes "true gold stands the test of fire", the implementation of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law over the past 23 years (now in the 24th year) has been taken forward very steadily. This has not only showcased to the world that Chinese people can manage Hong Kong well, but also manifested that Hong Kong has made a few important contributions to our country. Let me talk about the first contribution. When our neighbour Shenzhen was still a piece of agricultural land―Shenzhen had yet been established at that time, not to mention development―Hong Kong had already provided an opportunity for Shenzhen to develop. Upon the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1980 along with China's opening up, Hong Kong had acted as a mentor to Shenzhen, teaching Shenzhen how to pursue economic reform and bring into full play capitalism with global characteristics. Subsequently, the coastal cities of China followed in the footsteps of Shenzhen and opened up. Today, Shenzhen's GDP is higher than that of Hong Kong, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3091 outperforming its teacher. This is the greatest contribution made by Hong Kong to our country.

The second contribution is the restructuring of the Hong Kong economy from a labour-intensive one to a service-based one where people make money with wisdom. Hong Kong has also been world renowned for its financial service industry. In 2008, after 30 years of China's reform and opening up, WANG Yang, the then Party Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee, said that it was time for the Guangdong Province to implement the policy of "emptying the cage for new birds". What does that mean? The real meaning is different from CHENG Chung-tai's theory of "emptying the case for new birds". He parroted what others said, giving a negative connotation to the policy. The policy of "emptying the cage for new birds" was to upgrade and restructure the economy of the Guangdong Province by developing tertiary industries, that is, service industries, so as to enable people to make money with wisdom. At that time, the service industries of the Guangdong Province accounted for around 50% of its economy; the objective was to attain a GDP contribution of over 90% from its service industries, as in the case of Hong Kong.

In 2009, China established a special zone called Qianhai in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone to assume a supporting role. China developed this "special zone within a special zone" based on the economic and financial model of Hong Kong. As I recall, representatives from the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Shenzhen Municipality came to Hong Kong for a meeting. As the Vice-President of The Law Society of Hong Kong as well as the Chairman of the committee on Mainland affairs, I was honoured to participate in that work meeting in 2009. At that time, a group of leaders came to Hong Kong. They said resolutely that Qianhai would make contribution to GDP in 2019 and told us how they would develop the land covering an area of 15 sq km (i.e. 1 500 hectares). At that time, we met them in the west wing of the government offices building. While the guests sat at the outer ring on the left, we sat on the right. We joined the meeting in our capacity as professionals such as lawyers and accountants. At that time, I wondered if this awesome plan was feasible, and I had loads of questions in my mind. Nevertheless, the Chinese leaders had set the target that Qianhai would have GDP contribution in 2019. In the blink of an eye, the target was reached in advance in 2018. Since then, Qianhai Bay, which was once a pool of still water, has dramatically turned into a place with innumerable high-rise buildings, drawing in massive capital and making many people rich.

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Subsequently, at the spring cocktail receptions in 2016 and 2017, I heard countless stories, such as a Mr CHAN owed a lot of construction sites at Qian Hai. This development opportunity has brought countless chances for many people. Suddenly, it seems that there are billionaires everywhere, and people are thrilled by the abundant opportunities. This is the second contribution made by Hong Kong to the country, i.e. use wisdom to make money and develop the financial markets. Today, the combined capital of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong is close to that of New York of the United States ("US"). However, the engine to propel economic development has just been activated. Last year, we did not have a motion debate on the policy address owing to the emergence of "black violence" and political problems. Some people only talk about human rights and democracy without paying heed to the concept of national security; they only care about "two systems" and forget the importance of "one country". Some people have elevated "two systems" to a level equivalent to that of a country. Of course, ice three feet deep is not due to one day's cold.

What is Hong Kong's third contribution to China? Do not think that bad things will necessarily turn out to be something bad; bad things may instead turn out to be something good. The SAR emblem in this Chamber had been daubed with graffiti, and words "The revolution of our times, liberate Hong Kong" were written on the side of it. I felt distressed when I saw the damage. In this sound and intact Chamber, the Legislative Council has been working hard to enact legislation in accordance with the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" principle. Despite the efforts, there are always some people who do not show appreciation and even take advantage of the situation. Although many government officials have been very industrious, they are still berated, denounced and criticized unfairly in the Chamber. They have had a hard time. However, nothing is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.

What is the third contribution that I wish to talk about? Hong Kong has experienced the most terrible chaos or riot ever. Nevertheless, government officials said courteously, "We have experienced a social incident". They dared not say that was a riot. On the day before yesterday, representatives from 11 tertiary institutions came to the Legislative Council to discuss with us the issue of enhancing governance. These people, being in high positions and well remunerated, do not care about the social situations. Though the incident was initiated by students, they still said that was a social incident. The Chinese University of Hong Kong was completely vandalized, but its vice-President still said it was a social incident. Why wasn't it an incident concerning the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3093 institution? Why couldn't the vice-President reprimand the students and declared that the incident was a riot? Things have become very complicated, involving rights and wrongs. From this incident, we can see that Hong Kong people do not have the concept of national security, so their views are divided without a common goal. They hope that Hong Kong will move towards democracy, but can we sacrifice the interests of the country and disregard national security and prospects in the process? Have they elevated their personal desires to the highest level at the expense of the overall interests? This is where the problems with Hong Kong lie.

If people put undue emphasis on individualism, they will lose their direction. The retired Mr Justice LITTON once said, "Changes are required for our judicial system and judicial culture". Must personal interests always override the overall interests? I hope that we will all think about this point.

Earlier, I had the honour to hear the comments made by Mr TUNG Chee-hwa, the former Chief Executive. He said that "The one who gets the support of people wins the world". This statement comes from a speech made by Chairman MAO Zedong. However, to be frank, I think so far, all the Chief Executives have failed to "get the support of people". Why? Have they put their personal interests or the overall interests in the first place? Being a government official is not easy; one started to work as a junior Administrative Officer and then moved up the political ladder progressively. The transmission of culture has also been done in a gradual and orderly manner. If government officials are politically incorrect, they can no longer stay in their position and their political prospects will be jeopardized. Therefore, when considering some policies, they will strike a balance between their own prospects and the interests of Hong Kong or even the interests of the country. Chairman XI Jinping once said, "A government official who shirks his responsibilities will live a shameful life". This statement seems simple, but the message behind is profound. It means that government officials should be ready to take risks. As the saying goes "a misfortune might be a blessing in disguise"; what appears to be a loss may sometimes turn out to be a gain. So, do not only focus on one's personal interests all the time. I understand why members of the public only have their eyes on their own interests, because they only care about their small profits. When they are not allowed to do business, they will immediately scold people for hindering them from making money. This is understandable. However, when making a decision, government officials should unreservedly put public interests in the first place at the expense of their personal interests. Of course, this does 3094 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 not mean that they have to make contributions unconditionally. While providing the public with benefits, government officials should know how to lead the public to give support, as rights come with responsibilities. This is an art.

Let me talk about the third contribution made by Hong Kong to China. When Hong Kong was vandalized and devastated by rioters, government officials behaved like they were "working from home" during the epidemic. Among the disciplinary forces, the Police Force had most staunchly safeguarded the Hong Kong society, as well as the lives and properties of members of the public. For this reason, the Police Force was selected as the "Heroic Figures" in 2019. What is Hong Kong's contribution to China? The fact that Hong Kong has been strongly suppressed, sanctioned and banned by the US during the process vividly presented a political farce to the world, especially to the 1.4 billion Mainland compatriots. Our Mainland compatriots are filled with righteous rage at the US's actions and never have they been so united. Their identification of being Chinese has reached an unprecedented level of more than 90%. This is the third contribution made by Hong Kong to our country, and Hong Kong can be said to be "lighting our country and consuming itself". I must thank people who have or have not participated in the incident, because the rights and wrongs between the two parties have brought delighting surprises.

Why has the delivery of this Policy Address been deferred for two months? I think that is because the Address has to incorporate the most important concept of national security. For a small place like Hong Kong, if people solely talk about economy and talent without having the concept of national security and the support from people loving the country and Hong Kong, everything is just sheer empty talk. So, the most important section of the Policy Address is the part on national security contained in Chapter II. The National Anthem Ordinance was also mentioned. What is national security? In my view, among the 3 Secretaries' Offices and 13 Policy Bureaux, only the Education Bureau has started to think, while other Bureaux have not taken any action. Regarding national security, if we take a look at the Mainland textbooks, even primary textbooks have mentioned national security, and political security is of the first importance. A place with an unstable political framework is tantamount to a building with an unstable structural beam and framework. It makes no sense to talk about decoration. As the saying goes "lofty towers are all built from the ground up", national security is of the first importance.

I wonder if Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew CHEUNG has discussed with other Directors of Bureaux about national security. Apart from LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3095 political security, there is also biosecurity. Regarding the issue of vaccines, the vaccines currently provided to Hong Kong by three companies have all adopted the same technology―mRNA. More than 90% of our Mainland compatriots have been administered inactivated virus vaccine. The vaccine has been proven to be effective, very stable and with insignificant side effects. Is it true that the Government has not allowed Hong Kong citizens to make a choice? Let me state explicitly my preference: Secretary Prof CHAN, I will receive inactivated virus vaccine, please make sure that this type of vaccine is available on the list. I would like to ask: If 90% of the 7.5 million people in Hong Kong request to receive this type of vaccine, how will the Secretary achieve the objective of "sparing no effort in fighting the virus together"? I will receive whatever vaccines our country uses. Today, there are still people criticizing that the vaccines manufactured by our country are ineffective. In fact, the problem lies with people with this mentality, but not with our country.

As I said just now, over the past decades, including the 23 years (now stepping into the 24th year) after reunification, Hong Kong people are proud of our three contributions to the country. It is a fluke that Hong Kong can achieve these three goals despite the blunders, the rights and wrongs experienced during the process. We should take pride in this achievement. I really hope that Hong Kong can strive ahead, as stated in the Policy Address, but the prerequisites are that the goals must be made clear and people must work with concerted efforts. The situation is analogous to a wagon being pulled by 10 horses. If these 10 horses are running in the same direction, the wagon will at least not be torn apart even if the horses are running in the wrong direction, as they will adjust their path and eventually return to the right direction. However, the present situation is deplorable. The 10 horses are good at running long distances, yet the horse in the lead has gone in the wrong direction, and although other horses want to adjust the direction, they do not know how to move forward. As a result, each of the 10 horses goes its own way. Who will suffer ultimately? The person sitting in the wagon will suffer most. The wagon will not be able to move forward at best and will be torn to pieces at worst. Hong Kong people cannot ignore the concept of national security; they must have a clear concept of national security. If they fail to grasp this basic point, they can only work as renovation workers but not engineers. Renovation workers will not pay attention to the structural safety of the building; their concern is to renovate the units beautifully; but all their efforts will eventually be wasted. No matter how strenuously and tirelessly they work, what is wrong must be corrected.

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Yesterday, I received a letter from the Chief Executive―the letter was issued on 19th and put on my table on 20th―the last paragraph in the letter reads: "We will enhance communication with Members". Are they paying lip service or are they going to communicate with Members seriously? As government officials, will they face the issues squarely or will they shirk their responsibilities? If the governing team fails to make people think alike, so that everything play their roles well, national security will be in jeopardy. That is because not everyone is at the same page of a book―they may even be reading different books, not to mention the same page. For this reason, they must ensure that everyone is thinking alike.

Speaking of the rule of law, I have repeatedly pointed out the constitutional defects. There are only four permanent judges in the Court of Final Appeal over a long period of time. As five judges are required to constitute a legal court, one non-permanent judge ("NPJ") must be appointed. However, the Basic Law has not specifically stipulated that a place should be reserved for NPJ; it only stipulates that overseas judges may be appointed if necessary. This is the law enacted before the reunification in 1997. However, after the reunification, we have to review the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance to see if it is unconstitutional. Now that Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG Kui-nung has taken office officially and Chief Justice Geoffrey MA has departed, the situation of four-missing-one still persists. If this defect exists in a court dealing with final adjudication, can we say that Hong Kong lacks a sense of national security?

Over the past years, the overseas judges appointed by Hong Kong are all from the "Five Eyes" countries. Of course, Hong Kong has not appointed judges from the US as the US, strictly speaking, is not a common law jurisdiction. The overseas judges appointed by Hong Kong have come from the "Four Eyes" countries, namely the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Later in 2019, judges from Canada are also appointed. As there are nearly 70 common law jurisdictions around the world, why must Hong Kong appoint judges from these few countries over the years? In the case of Singapore, which is so near to Hong Kong, its constitutional and economic structure, culture and races are very similar to those of Hong Kong, how come Hong Kong has not appointed judges from Singapore? Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong in many areas, including GDP. While Singapore's GDP per capita is more than US$60,000, Hong Kong's GPD per capita is just over US$40,000. How come judges from Singapore have not been considered? This is because Hong Kong has followed the rules set by the predecessor; the practice adopted before 1997 has remained unchanged for 50 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3097 years. That was fine in the past as we did not have a sense of national security. However, it is now evident to all that the US has exposed its ugly face. In the past, the US acted like a suitor, trying to woo Hong Kong. With roses in hands and wearing a smile, the suitor had presented his best. Today, the US no longer needs to put up a pretence; it blatantly suppresses Hong Kong. How do we respond to this situation, and do we know how to deal with it?

The country is full of self-confidence. Yesterday, it announced that further sanction would be imposed on 28 former US officials, including sharp-tongued Mike POMPEO. The country imposed sanctions as said, demonstrating its real power. As the saying goes "weak countries have no diplomacy", if people make a vain attempt to turn Hong Kong into a country under the "one country, two systems", will Hong Kong fare better than Taiwan? Although Taiwan has its own army, it has been isolated for not only 14 days but years.

What is the positioning of Hong Kong? Hong Kong must do a good job in national security and law. It must have the determination to fight the virus and should not make three steps forward immediately followed by two steps backward, like doing a cha-cha dance. As far as the present governance is concerned, if the Government still grants a funding of over $20 billion to the University Grants Committee each year, but the people concerned only care about whether they have enough money in their pockets without paying heed to the prospects of students, I will ask the Administration to make a prompt decision to cut the funding when necessary.

Finally, during the current Legislative Council, there are five policy addresses. Among the four policy addresses delivered, three were delivered by Chief Executive Carrie LAM, and the Motion of Thanks had been made on her two addresses. In the last … she (The buzzer sounded) …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Junius HO, please stop speaking.

MRS REGINA IP (in Cantonese): President, I would like to speak on the implementation of "one country, two systems", the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA") and the epidemic situation. I am very pleased that the Chief Executive has gone to great lengths 3098 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 to elaborate on the spirit and original intent of "one country, two systems" in her Policy Address this year. However, I think it is still necessary to explain the benefits of "one country, two systems". As I had participated in the Sino-British talks and the drafting of the Basic Law, I must tell the people of Hong Kong that "one country, two systems" was actually not easy to come by. In particular, to the many people who have misgivings about the Basic Law, I would like to point out to them that the Basic Law has not only safeguarded our original way of living, the capitalist system, the independent legal, taxation, financial and economic systems, but has also provided for an unprecedented level of human rights.

It has been set out clearly under Article 39 of the Basic Law that the provisions of several fundamental international conventions on human rights and freedoms (including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour conventions) as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region ("HKSAR"). This is an extremely high standard. I have reviewed the constitution of many other countries and found that none of them has mentioned the highest international standards of human rights and freedoms. In Australia, human rights protection is only manifested in individual laws and court decisions. The United Kingdom, a self-proclaimed powerful country upholding human rights, only passed the Human Rights Act 1998 in 1998. The Act came into force in 2000. The United Kingdom passed the Act only because it had to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights since it had joined the European Union. It is thus evident that after the reunification, the Basic Law has given Hong Kong people an unprecedented level of protection in respect of human rights and freedoms.

I would also like to point out that the Basic Law has also provided Hong Kong people an unprecedented opportunity to involve in Hong Kong's governance under the principle of "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong". I believe all of you in this Chamber would know that before the reunification, the Governor of Hong Kong, being the topmost leader in Hong Kong, was simply appointed by the British Government. Hong Kong people had no say at all on the matter. The Basic Law, on the other hand, established the principle of "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong". President, I have with me here a private copy of A Draft agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Future of Hong Kong, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3099 issued by the British government in September 1984. Although many governments of western countries such as the United Kingdom have repeatedly accused us of violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Declaration actually made no mention at all of democracy or universal suffrage. It merely stated that the chief executive of the HKSAR should be selected by election or through consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government.

The Basic Law also stipulated that the chief executive of HKSAR should be selected through consultations or by election, which can take place in various forms. Since the reunification, the Central Government has been listening to the voices of Hong Kong people and has many times expanded our electoral rights. In 2010, pursuant to the agreement reached on the political reform, the Government abolished all appointed seats in the District Council in 2016, and increased five so-called "super seats", i.e. the District Council (Second) Functional Constituency. As a result, the existing District Council seats are all returned by election, whereas 40 of the 70 Legislative Council seats are elected by popular vote. While functional constituency Members are not returned on the basis of one-person-one-vote, they have also proactively responded to public opinions. Take Mr YIK and Mr SHIU, who are seated next to me, for example, they are accountable to their electors. It is thus evident that this Council is already very democratic.

Regarding Hong Kong's political system, there is an unprecedented degree of popular participation. Unfortunately, the freedom and democratic development given to us by our country have been hijacked and distorted by a handful of people. A number of Members elected into the Legislative Council have exploited the grey areas and loopholes in the Rules of Procedure by filibustering deliberately or voting down all government motions. They voted against the initiatives to meet public needs such as the Anti-epidemic Fund and put forward the "35+1" proposal in order to achieve "mutual destruction". They strongly opposed all bills relating to national affairs, including the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill which I introduced in 2003, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Bill, the National Anthem Bill, and the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. They have stirred up public fear and thrown society into chaos. Given that they have hijacked the freedoms and democratic system of Hong Kong, and have even conspired to overthrow the Government through election, the Central Government had no 3100 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 choice but to take decisive action to pass the National Security Law and disqualify Members who oppose China and seek to disrupt Hong Kong.

"One country, two systems" has become widely distorted after 22 years of implementation. In June 2020, the Central Government had no choice but to enact legislation on national security for Hong Kong. In 2047 or thereafter, when someone writes about the history of the implementation of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong, they would agree with me that the social unrest in 2019 was an inflection point in implementing "one country, two systems". The distortion of "one country, two systems" has persisted for years, leaving the Central Government with no alternative but to take action and having to bear the unjust criticisms from the international community.

I remember that in around 2012 or 2013, when Director ZHANG Xiaoming was still working in the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, he wrote an article, reminding us that we had to address squarely the three major conflicts associated with "one country, two systems". In 2014, a civil disobedience campaign named "Occupy Central with Love and Peace" was initiated, claiming to achieve justice by violating the law. In view of this, the Central Government released in the same year a White Paper on "The Practice of the 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", which called for thorough understanding of the Basic Law and full implementing of its principles. We had been reminded that the Constitution and the country should come first as they were the prerequisites for "two systems".

In 1980, all people in Hong Kong were jittery about the impending handover. What were our options then? One option was to reunify with the Motherland immediately and fully accept the national system. The other option was to implement "two systems". However, to implement "one country, two systems", a special administrative region of Hong Kong must first be set up in accordance with Article 31 of China's Constitution, subject to the approval of the highest organ of state power. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law. To mark the occasion, the Central Government sent officials to Hong Kong to attend the Legal Summit. At the Summit, the Chief Executive explained time and again the original intent of the Basic Law. It was very important to do so. Many young people opined that there was a better system than the Basic Law. I believe this is not possible. We should value and strengthen the existing arrangement so that it can continue to shine on the basis of national security.

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In fact, "one country, two systems" was a bold and innovative proposal put forth by Mr DENG Xiaoping. He hoped that the successful implementation of "one country, two systems" in China would provide a new concept to resolve international disputes. I believe that under the leadership of the Central Government, and with the full commitment of the SAR Government and the public support, "one country, two systems" will continue to be successfully implemented.

Next, I would like to talk about the development of GBA. The Chief Executive has talked at length in her Policy Address about the initiatives in the Mainland. I have browsed the website of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and found that it has listed 16 measures to enhance the flows and integration of people, goods and capital in GBA. Yet, there is a shortcoming in the Government's explanation of its policies to the public, that is, the Government tends to talk about what initiatives the authorities have undertaken; but these initiatives are often so abstract that people fail to see their future ahead. Therefore, the Government should adopt a more interactive and lively approach to explain to the public how Hong Kong can benefit from its integration into GBA. Certainly, the integration offers many immediate benefits for Hong Kong. First, it can stimulate local consumption and domestic demand. The most obvious example is the huge inflow of capital from the Mainland that has sparked a surge in stock market, the only industry that thrives at the moment. For this reason, I opine that stamp duty should be increased, as stock buyers' only concern is the capital gain and they do not mind paying higher stamp duty. The only enterprise that has donated $10 million to the Hospital Authority is a securities firm. Second, members of the public are looking forward to the reopening of the border, as our tourism, catering and retail sectors depend on Mainland visitors from the "one-hour living circle" to boost their sales.

Let me talk about a few more important benefits. First, as the Chief Executive has repeatedly stated, given Hong Kong's narrow economic base, we really have to rely on the larger economic framework of the Mainland to provide our young people with more long-term development opportunities, not just immediate employment. I know many young people are very interested in science subjects such as Physics and Pure Mathematics, and their results are outstanding. However, in view of the limited number of technology companies in Hong Kong, they have been convinced by their parents to pursue further studies in medicine or law, thus failing to give full play to their strengths. Our country, on the other hand, has a very strong competitive edge in areas such as 5G and big data.

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During a trip to GBA two or three years ago, a number of Members visited the China Spallation Neutron Source project―I am not sure if I remember the name correctly as the term is very technical―and the advanced scientific research facilities at the Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industry Park. I met a researcher there whom I was acquainted with. He once worked as a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His appointment has reflected the prosperous development of Mainland's technology industry which can provide career opportunities for aspiring Hong Kong talents in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Our country's achievements in innovation have been recognized by the global community. Apart from the abstract fields of 5G and big data research, let me cite another example for illustration. President, in an article titled "The future of e-commerce" published in the Economist―a reputable journal not quite friendly to China―it is stated that China's e-commerce is second to none, not only in terms of the vast market and large number of users, but its unmatched innovative capabilities have outperformed Facebook in the United States ("US"). It is also pointed out that while social media platforms in the US are silos, Chinese e-commerce apps are all-embracing, providing more opportunities for young people in Hong Kong to innovate. That said, we must not be short-sighted and only seek immediate gains. In order to create opportunities for Hong Kong, we have to learn from our country by undertaking long-term commitment to society and having the determination to stand at the forefront of the innovation scene.

I would also like to talk about other opportunities that may arise from Hong Kong's integration into GBA, i.e. to solve the problem of short supply in Hong Kong. In this Council, Members often criticize that 80% to 90% of postgraduate students in our universities come from the Mainland. In fact, it is not that Mainland students are taking over the school places, but rather the majority of Hong Kong's students are simply not interested in pursuing local doctorate degrees. Without postgraduate students from the Mainland, universities may not have enough students to offer postgraduate programmes. Hong Kong does not have sufficient high calibre talents and technical talents required in an international financial centre. To fill the talent gap, we need to have Mainland talents who are graduates of renowned universities overseas, with international vision and well versed in Putonghua and the Mainland market.

I have pointed out on various occasions that Hong Kong can seek collaboration with the Mainland to replenish its shortage of land supply. In the long run, Hong Kong should explore with the Mainland on integrating major infrastructure facilities. Hong Kong has been managing the Zhuhai Airport and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3103 there is a suggestion that the Airport Authority Hong Kong should inject equity in the Zhuhai Airport. Secretary Frank CHAN, is that right? Despite the low utilization rates of the Kwai Chung Container Terminals and the River Trade Terminal over the years, the Government has failed to take resolute actions to release the site at the River Trade Terminal. I was once told by an expert of the container trade that GBA has the capacity to accommodate 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units ("TEUs"). As many manufacturing industries have moved away from GBA, there is an oversupply of terminal capacity. The Government should examine long ago the feasibility of integrating the infrastructure facilities of the two places so as to release the site at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals. Mr YICK is nodding. I always chat with him, and I acquire this information from him. From these, we can see that there is a lot we can learn from GBA and exchanges should be made.

In my opinion, what the SAR Government lacks most is the spirit of innovation and reform. The authorities have all along been very conservative and tend to stick to the old practices. Hence, all policies are more of the same. Whenever a problem arises, the Government will set up a task force or an investigation committee and simply passes the problem to it. The work will then be dragged on for 10 months or more. After the investigation on the train derailment incident at Hung Hom Station was commissioned to an expert panel, the panel had procrastinated time and again for a year or two. When a report was eventually released, society had lost interest in the incident long ago. While our Government is always stalling by various bureaucratic means, our country is always a step ahead, leading Hong Kong's development. One such example is the introduction of the central bank digital currency ("CBDC"). China is recognized by the international community for its leading role in introducing CBDC. I notice that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is working closely with the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China to explore the cross-border circulation of the digital Renminbi, known as e-yuan. Such dedication to innovation and long-term development is something for us to learn from.

I also notice that, with the approval of the Mainland authorities, the Government has launched a number of facilitation measures for Hong Kong people to study, work and buy a home in GBA, with a view to encouraging young people to develop their careers there. A salary subsidy scheme has been introduced, offering 2 000 positions in GBA for young people. While this is a feasible solution, I hope that in the long run, the Government can come up with a more appropriate solution, rather than solving every problem with money. In 3104 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 my view, many trades in Hong Kong have the problem of talent mismatch due to poorly planned higher education. Consequently, graduates in many disciplines are underemployed. An example is the Chinese medicine practice. Hong Kong has three Chinese medical schools and each year there are 70 to 80 graduates. In addition, 100 to 200 persons―the Education Bureau claimed the number has dropped in recent years―have returned to Hong Kong after obtaining their professional qualification in Guangdong and Guangxi.

In other words, there is now an oversupply of Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong. I have often received complaints from Chinese medicine practitioners, saying that they have to meet the targets set by the 18 Chinese Medicine Clinics cum Training and Research Centres established by the Government with subsidies from the Jockey Club. Despite the many Chinese medicine programmes offered in Hong Kong, the Government has not implemented any measure to support the career development of Chinese medicine practitioners. Hence, Chinese medicine practitioners are paid considerably less than Western medical doctors.

The veterinary profession will also face the same problem. The City University of Hong Kong has raised a large amount of funds to set up a college of veterinary medicine. However, I believe that in a few years' time, we cannot provide enough jobs for veterinarian graduates. Will the graduates have to seek a job in GBA, or they have to go to Conghua to help in horse rearing for the Jockey Club?

Although the Government provides education and training to performing arts talents, it has not provided them with a career prospect. The Academy of Performing Arts offers a wide range of publicly-funded degree courses, such as television and film production, dance, music and Chinese opera. However, many graduates told me that they were unable to pursue their career; some have thus resorted to writing revolutionary songs. In fact, many performing arts groups and musicians would like to perform in GBA. There are many restaurants and splendid concert halls―such as the Zhuhai Grand Theatre―in GBA, but performing groups are in short supply. The Government should find out what kinds of jobs or performance opportunities are available in GBA for the people of Hong Kong. It should tell our young people that they can join the Mainland's television industry, and there are successful cases. Many fresh graduates, including members of performing arts groups and musicians, would like to perform in GBA, but are saddened by the border closure. The LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3105

Government should let young people know what specific opportunities are available in GBA, rather than simply solving every problem with money.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the epidemic situation. I believe the Chief Secretary is aware of the indignation of many Honourable Members and members of the public. The reason is that "zero infection" cannot be attained within a foreseeable future despite the strenuous anti-epidemic efforts made by the Government over the past year. After four waves of the epidemic, a fifth wave may happen in Yau Ma Tei at any time, and there may be an outbreak of the sixth and seventh wave of the epidemic. As we all know, there are basically three ways to tackle the epidemic, that is, conduct tests, isolate the persons affected and track any invisible chain of transmission. Regarding testing standards, the Government initially announced that, based on scientific considerations, if four unrelated persons in a building had contracted the disease, all residents of the building had to undergo compulsory testing. However, had the Government taken the environmental and social factors into consideration? As pointed out by Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, some residential buildings in Chai Wan are connected on certain floors. In the case of Amoy Gardens, if residents frequently meet to play mahjong and have meals, a lot of people will be infected in the community. Later on, the threshold for compulsory testing of buildings was lowered to two unrelated cases, and then further lowered to one unrelated case.

From these we can see that the Government's testing policies are always lagging behind. As it takes two to three days for gazettal and issuance of compulsory testing notice, and another two to three days for testing, the epidemic might have spread in the community during the period. How can the invisible chain of transmission be severed in that case? As such, economic recovery will be impossible in the foreseeable future. Many members of the public have already used up all their money, and for that reason, a number of Members have proposed to allow members of the public to suspend making Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") contributions or to make early withdrawal of their MPF benefits to meet urgent financial needs. While the law does not allow such practices, the demands have precisely told the Government that many people are struggling to maintain their livelihood and if this situation continues, there will be no way out for them.

Just depicted by a columnist, we have been taking the "suppress and lift" medicine for a year. In order to reduce social activities, the Government has closed many premises. Yet, the most recent outbreak is not related to these 3106 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 premises. What are the reasons? The Government claimed that it has plugged all loopholes in its anti-epidemic measures to prevent the importation of cases; if that is the case, why do we still have imported cases each day? I have pointed out time and again that one third of the recent cases have unknown sources of infection, possibly due to … in every society, there are always a lot of people undertaking some unlawful and clandestine activities … be they at the top or bottom level of society. Hence, the Government should have the determination to put forward proposals to eradicate the epidemic. Dr HO Pak-leung also agreed that testing for the whole area should be conducted. Some medical professionals advised that the Government should be more proactive in conducting testing and more stringent measures should be implemented.

The "LeaveHomeSafe" app has only attracted 400 000 downloads, which is far from ideal. While I have downloaded the app long ago, I often forget to use it for I think it has no great effect. For this reason, the Government should really think of ways to enhance the app in order to track the invisible chain of transmission; otherwise the epidemic cannot be contained in the foreseeable future. With the economy on the verge of collapse, members of the public are in dire straits. Hence, I implore the Government to reconsider its anti-epidemic policy, for the "suppress and lift" strategy has come with high economic and social costs and the target of "zero infection" will never be met. The Government should really reflect on this.

President, I so submit.

MR SHIU KA-FAI (in Cantonese): President, Mrs Regina IP mentioned the implementation of "one country, two systems" just now. She has succinctly refreshed Hong Kong people's awareness of the importance and merits of "one country, two systems" for Hong Kong. However, I would like to highlight the fact that the policy of "one country, two systems" is mainly to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and how to maintain the prosperity and stability in the territory is of vital importance.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MS STARRY LEE, took the Chair)

The current-term SAR Government under the governance of Carrie LAM has been hit by two once-in-a-century crises, one being the "black violence" social incidents that started to take place in June 2019, and the other being the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3107 epidemic of the century in 2020. I believe the people of Hong Kong still have vivid memories of the "black violence" incidents and have seen Hong Kong in a state beyond recognition. Many people suffered vigilante attacks due to divergent views, and some shops had been vandalized repeatedly due to contrasting stances. It seemed that a group of people had used certain pretext to "hijack" Hong Kong. At that time, many members of the public were afraid to go out, not to mention doing business, fearing that their lives might be in danger.

At that time, Hong Kong was flooded with fake news every day. I remember that in the early stage of the "black violence" incidents, the Police had not arranged to hold daily press briefings. At that time, I often approached Under Secretary Sonny AU and Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN as people around me, including friends from the medical sector, kept asking me questions concerning the fake news relating to the Police or other government departments. I was surrounded by negative news about the Government every day. I made every effort to seek clarification from the Secretaries of various Bureaux, fearing that if I failed to do so, even those sensible, unwavering business operators or pro-establishment supporters around me might take the false news as true. Fortunately, when I told my friends that the news was false, they were still willing to trust the Government. Later, as the Government started to hold daily police briefings and make clarifications of the events one by one, the people of Hong Kong gradually had a better understanding.

Of course, in hindsight, we would realize that while different cases had kept coming up day after day arousing public grievances and inciting young people to take to the streets, all those stories of injustice turned out to be false. The woman allegedly shot in the eye and the woman allegedly raped at San Uk Ling Holding Centre turned out to be fabricated; the girl allegedly gang-raped in Kwai Chung Police Station turned out to have lied and is now wanted by the Police; those allegedly died in the "31 August" incident turned out to have left for Britain and reappeared there. At that time, many stories fuelled resentment among the people of Hong Kong and prompted many people, especially young people, to take to the streets. All such stories have turned out to be fabricated.

Fortunately, the Central Government has not abandoned Hong Kong all along. Even though many people might be "brainwashed" or in a muddle at that time, the country has not ceased to support Hong Kong. Members may notice that the daily news briefings in Beijing used to talk about major international events, and I used to watch them regularly. However, during the period which 3108 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 lasted for almost a year, the news on Hong Kong was mentioned every two to three days at the briefings, as there were ongoing discussions about Hong Kong affairs in other countries. However, even though a number of senior Central Government officials were subject to unjustified sanctions by foreign countries, the Central Government has not ceased to support Hong Kong.

After the Central Authorities enacted the National Security Law in June last year, Hong Kong has started to restore calmness in society. I believe this perfectly exemplifies that heavy penalties are required for restoring order to a chaotic society. At that time, many people dared not do business and intended to leave Hong Kong, and many people were hurt. With the enactment of the National Security Law, coupled with the SAR Government's recent efforts in publicity and information dissemination, many Hong Kong people have gradually come to their senses and society has started to stabilize. One can say that Hong Kong has weathered the difficult times. Of course, many legal issues require follow-up. I believe that even though the Secretary for Justice has to face pressure from all sides, she will continue to uphold the impartiality of the laws of Hong Kong and slowly reveal to the people of Hong Kong whether certain people have broken the law, so that Hong Kong can regain its stability.

The second difficulty faced by the SAR Government is the once-in-a-century epidemic, as mentioned by many Members today. Every place has its own way of dealing with the epidemic. Our country, Europe, America and Hong Kong each has its own way. Now I am not going to comment on how Hong Kong should have fought the epidemic back then because, to be fair, many SAR government officials have worked very hard in the past year. Even though some of the policies were right and some were wrong, I believe the officials were dedicated for the good of Hong Kong. In the early days of the epidemic outbreak, the community was flooded with fake news, as what had happened in the past year. I believe Secretary Prof CHAN still remembers the rumours about inadequate supply of toilet paper, which had led to public outcries, and later, the rumour about shortage of face masks had caused panics. When I learnt about the rumours concerning the inadequate supply of food and rice, I immediately contacted the representatives of the wholesale and retail food industry during the night and within a few hours, a meeting was convened the following day. It was not until a clarification was made on the stable supply of food that members of the public felt at ease and no longer scrambled for rice and food. All these incidents happened in the early days of the epidemic outbreak.

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However, after the first, second, third and fourth waves of the epidemic, the business sector in Hong Kong has been dealt a heavy blow and suffered tremendously. After the social incidents, the business turnover of many shops has dropped 60% to 70%. They have endured for more than half a year. If the situation continues this year, many shops will have to close down. As the current business environment is really harsh, many owners have to use personal savings to support their business. Some of my friends in the retail industry told me that whenever the Government introduced new measures which required premises to suspend operation, they would have to take out collateral loans to pay for the rent of that month; otherwise they could hardly pay wages to employees. None of them knows how they can survive the crisis.

When the Government held discussions with me in the past, it mentioned that it had to strike a balance between the social and economic conditions, as well as between anti-epidemic measures and public health. I respect the Government's consideration, but I would like to point out that many businesses, having gone through the first, second, third and fourth waves of the epidemic, are on the verge of collapse, especially those premises that were required to suspend operation. Some of them have suspended operation for over 100 days. During that period, I wish to thank Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew CHEUNG for disbursing a government subsidy of $80,000 to retailers as an instant relief. We have kept exploring ways to support the industries during the first wave of the epidemic, and subsequently, various anti-epidemic funds were introduced to help the affected industries.

Besides, I wish to thank Financial Secretary Paul CHAN, who is not present at the moment. We were the first group to put forward to him the idea of providing support to employees. At that time, as we did not expect the epidemic to persist for so long, we proposed to provide a three-month subsidy of up to $20,000 per month, so as to help businesses meet their expenses. The Government subsequently introduced the Employment Support Scheme ("ESS") to provide a monthly subsidy of $9,000 per person for a period of six months. In fact, this measure has helped many enterprises tide over the difficult times. Between June and November, many enterprises, in particular micro, small and medium-sized enterprises ("MSMEs"), relied on ESS to make it through. The unemployment figures provided by Secretary Dr LAW Chi-kwong demonstrated the effectiveness of ESS. Under such an austere economic environment, the drop in the unemployment rate at the latter stage clearly reflects the effectiveness of ESS.

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As Hong Kong has yet to achieve "zero infection" and the epidemic persists, I would like to tell Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN that various sectors are facing operating difficulties, especially the premises that are required to suspend operation in the fourth wave. I am a representative of the wholesale and retail industry, representing 82 trade associations, including the beauty services industry. Therefore, whenever the industry players come forward to air their grievances, I would stand by their side. The 15 trade associations representing the beauty services industry have all along respected the Government and complied with the requirement to suspend operation. The Government has rendered support to them too. Although MSMEs have received support from the Government, the prolonged suspension of operation and the expiry of ESS may push many enterprises over the financial precipice.

During all this time, Chief Secretary Matthew CHEUNG has been communicating with us, and I wish to fight for the industry on its behalf. I would like to tell Chief Secretary Matthew CHEUNG that although the industry is in dire straits, I have not heard anyone blaming him because it is known to all that the Chief Secretary has done his best, having to listen to expert groups and balance the views in society. Thus, the industry is very grateful indeed. However, I would like to raise a point. Was the suspension of operation due to the poor anti-epidemic performance of the industry? In fact, the Chief Executive has stated that it was not the case. The premises that were required to suspend operation had zero infection in the second and third waves. Therefore, the requirement to suspend operation was not attributed to the poor anti-epidemic performance of the industry, but the Government's wish to reduce the flow of people.

However, on reducing the flow of people, members of the public may have noticed that in the past month or so, crowds of people have gone outdoors, including the countryside. I recently visited some farms in the countryside where people were allowed to pick sweet potatoes. The fields were packed with people. Amusement rides were also available at the venues, with many children playing bumper cars. While members of the public may be flocking to the countryside for recreation and amenity as a result of anti-epidemic fatigue, it may render the anti-epidemic efforts ineffective.

In this connection, I would like to tell Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN: the Government requires 13 types of premises to suspend operation in the hope to reduce the flow of people, yet in fact the desired effect cannot be achieved. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3111

Now the epidemic situation remains serious. With the closure of premises, some people may really fail to make ends meet, in particular the employees. While the Government has provided $100,000 to these companies, they have to pay for employees' wages and rent. Now, after two months of closure, how should this money be allocated? The problem is serious for companies with 10 employees. Just imagine how many companies in Hong Kong have more than 10 employees. Assuming that the rent for these premises is as high as $100,000 to $200,000, asking these premises to suspend operation is in effect forcing them to close down or borrow from loan sharks.

I know the Government will provide support, but at present, the quickest way to provide support is to let the premises resume operation as soon as possible. Several industries have asked me to relay their views to the Chief Secretary and the Government: they will cooperate with the Government to step up anti-epidemic measures and safeguard public safety, in the hope of resuming operation as soon as possible before the Lunar New Year to earn some income for the festive occasion. As people from China and Hong Kong attach great importance to the Lunar New Year, I hope the Government can kindly consider allowing premises to resume operation as soon as possible.

On economic development, frankly, I do not foresee any major changes in the coming first half of the year. Owing to the current epidemic situation, vaccination will not start until the end of February. I asked the Government on several occasions when the vaccination programme would be formally completed, but the Government did not have the relevant figures. Assuming all goes smoothly, it will take at least three to four months. Even if we have completed the vaccination programme in three to four months, we still have no idea if other countries have completed their vaccination programmes. In fact, there is no timetable for reopening the border. Therefore, I expect that it will be difficult to reopen the border in the first half of the year. Of course, if we can promote domestic circulation in Hong Kong with members of the public contributing to local consumption, various industries will not "starve to death".

Previously, I mentioned to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Tourism Board about local tourism, i.e. members of the public can patronize retail shops and be the tourists of their own city to boost local consumption. In fact, the campaign received quite positive response and the quotas were fully enrolled soon after it was launched. The campaign will be taken forward as soon as the epidemic stabilizes. I believe this campaign can 3112 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 help stimulate the local economy. I have just mentioned the development of the Greater Bay Area, which I believe will be the lifeline for Hong Kong in the next 5 to 10 years. As for how to facilitate Hong Kong's integration into the development and render support, I believe it is no easy task.

Secretary Erick TSANG has mentioned the liaison role played by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in the Mainland to address the conflicts between Mainlanders and Hong Kong people. I think this is very down-to-earth and pragmatic. Given the incidents that happened in the past year or so, it is actually not easy to rebuild Mainlanders' confidence in visiting Hong Kong. How can we ease the conflict and convince Mainlanders that they are welcomed by the people of Hong Kong? This is an important point, and an important mission for the SAR Government.

Regarding the current economy of the Mainland, Members mentioned earlier that Shenzhen's Gross Domestic Product ("GDP") has actually surpassed that of Hong Kong. Some people say that the situation of Hong Kong and Shenzhen is the real-life version of the race between the tortoise and the hare. The reality is that Hong Kong used to be well ahead of Shenzhen. But when the hare dropped off to a doze, the tortoise kept crawling ahead and moved further and further away. In fact, Shenzhen has surpassed Hong Kong in terms of GDP. However, I do not agree with this metaphor because Shenzhen is not our competitor, but our brother. Hong Kong is part of the country, just like every province and city in the Mainland. If these provinces and cities have a sound economy, Hong Kong will definitely benefit, unlike other countries such as Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and so on. Therefore, as you can see, Shenzhen's outstanding performance has set a very good example in the Greater Bay Area. We should put aside differences and facilitate integration as soon as possible. As regards how to facilitate the work, Hong Kong officials at all levels can certainly play a leading role to the business sector. The wholesale and retail sectors have all along strived to render assistance.

Finally, in order to lead Hong Kong forward, I think the authorities need to put in more efforts in publicity. During the "black violence" period, Members met with the Chief Executive individually. During our meeting with the Chief Executive in the early stage, we racked our brains, trying to understand what had happened in Hong Kong. I told the Chief Executive that the entire SAR Government had actually done a lot for Hong Kong in the past, but despite the 200 good things done and the 200 policies introduced, no one in Hong Kong LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3113 knew about them or mentioned about them. In contrast, when the Chief Executive was photographed with her eyes closed at a meeting, the photos were disseminated to various media. The 100 000 viewers in one media and 200 000 viewers in another all berated the Chief Executive for dosing at a meeting. When the news spread to millions of people all over Hong Kong, everyone knew that the Chief Executive dosed at the meeting, but no one mentioned the work she had done. This is actually the biggest problem in Hong Kong. While the good deeds done by the Government are not known to the people of Hong Kong as they have not been informed accordingly, people keep picking the Chief Executive's faults. Obviously, the problem lies in promotion, which is called "marketing" in the business world, and "publicity" in a country or region.

As we do not have a secretary for publicity, all the Policy Bureaux have worked hard on their own. I have noticed that the officials have been working very hard, especially in the past year. They have made great efforts, such as filming videos to brief Hong Kong people the work of the Bureaux. However, the SAR Government should have a central coordinator, such as a publicity bureau, to help disseminate such information. In the past, the role of the Director of Information Services was to publicize the good deeds done by the SAR Government. The message did not need to contain one-sided praises, but at least the public should be informed accordingly. At present, what channels are available to publicize the work of the Government to the people of Hong Kong? At present, members of the public can only see photos of the Chief Executive closing her eyes, thus they wrongly think that she was dozing off; no one pays attention to the accomplishments of the Chief Executive. If things go on like this, Hong Kong will never enjoy stability and the economy will never flourish. Therefore, I hope that the Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux can explore ways to centrally disseminate these messages to the public.

Owing to the "black violence" incidents in the past, the people of Hong Kong have gradually awakened. As time goes by, the court starts to present different cases or stories, and people begin to understand. Regardless of their political stances, I do not think the vast majority of people in Hong Kong are crazy; only that their political stance is different from mine. In the past, I did not understand why they had such thoughts. It turned out that the information they received was completely different from what we have received. Oddly, people from the two sides are looking at totally different information. Of course, I should try to understand the information they received. Sometimes I may not have done so well and have made mistakes, just like the SAR 3114 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Government. Even though most of the police officers are good, they are not totally flawless. We all need to reflect on ourselves, but the problem is how to disseminate positive messages to the other side, which is a great challenge. I hope the SAR Government will make efforts in this respect. Thank you, Deputy President.

MR MARTIN LIAO (in Cantonese): Deputy President, this Policy Address is the fourth Policy Address within the term of office of the Chief Executive. The most prominent feature that differs this Policy Address from the previous addresses is that there is a dedicated chapter on "one country, two systems". The Chief Executive reiterates that the Constitution and the Basic Law establish the constitutional order of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR"); she also fully affirms the role of the National Security Law in restoring social stability in Hong Kong and maintaining national security. The Chief Executive has made a targeted response to the events experienced by Hong Kong in 2019, including social movements, "black violence" attacks and request for foreign sanction on Hong Kong, so as to restore political order and lay the foundation for the future development of Hong Kong.

The year (2020) marks the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law. If it is said that the principle of "one country, two systems" is the soul, the Basic Law is then the flesh and blood; and the combination of the two forms a whole. China is a unitary nation with powers being passed down. The country has, by way of the Basic Law, authorized Hong Kong's executive, legislative and judicial organs to exercise a "high degree of autonomy" in Hong Kong. During the 23 years after the reunification, Hong Kong has indeed encountered many new situations and problems in the process of implementing "one country, two systems". For example, as the past five terms of governments failed to enact legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law, some people have advocated "Hong Kong independence" and self-determination, and some even begged foreign forces to intervene in Hong Kong affairs and sanction Hong Kong. On the other hand, foreign governments and parliaments are more than willing to intervene, and the situation has aggravated. They have used Hong Kong as the base for penetration into the Mainland and a pawn for international political wrestling.

Deputy President, national security is related to the fundamental interests of the entire country including Hong Kong. Hong Kong's national security loopholes not only cause harm to itself but also endanger the well-being of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3115

1.4 billion Chinese people. As a part of China, Hong Kong undoubtedly has the responsibility to fulfil its responsibility and safeguard national security, sovereignty and development interests. As Hong Kong fails to enact legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law on its own accord within a foreseeable future, it can hardly fulfil its constitutional responsibility under the Basic Law, resulting in political chaos and spawning a terrorist "color revolution". In view of this, the Central Government exercises its constitutional powers to enact legislation to plug Hong Kong's national security loopholes; this move is understandable and brooks no delay.

The National Security Law is a milestone in Hong Kong's implementation of "one country, two systems" as it ensures the robustness of "one country, two systems". The saying that the framework of "one country, two systems" has been destroyed is totally absurd and ridiculous. The National Security Law is implemented in Hong Kong by way of Annex III to the Basic Law and has become part of Hong Kong law. When enacting the National Security Law, the Central Government had accorded full importance to the opinions of the SAR Government. The National Security Law contains the common law principles, such as the rule against double jeopardy and a person is considered innocent until proven guilty, etc. Article 4 of the National Security Law clearly stipulates that human rights shall be respected and protected and the freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong, shall be protected in accordance with the law.

Deputy President, in establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for Hong Kong to safeguard national security, the law itself is certainly important, but much thought is required for the enforcement mechanisms to ensure their effectiveness; otherwise, we will only get half the results with twice the effort.

On administration of justice, the Basic Law guarantees that Hong Kong enjoys judicial independence. When the Department of Justice assesses whether prosecution should be instituted and when the court hears a case, details of the evidence will be reviewed holistically and a person will only be convicted in a criminal case when it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that he has committed the offence. I believe that the courts and judges in Hong Kong have the competence and wisdom to handle cases involving the National Security Law objectively and professionally. Even though Hong Kong courts are not familiar 3116 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 with the new National Security Law, Chief Justice Andrew CHEUNG who took office this month said that things would get better with more understanding and experience gained. Under the common law system of Hong Kong, courts have rich experience in handling various legal procedures and despite the differences between the legal systems of China and Hong Kong, no problems will arise.

In terms of judicial transparency, apart from cases involving state secrets, public order, etc., in which public trial will be inappropriate, cases are publicly heard in Hong Kong. The media and the public can attend court hearings. The judgments of the courts are also published on the website of the High Court.

As regards legislation, after the interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2016, many follow-up actions have to be taken and local legislation has to be enacted for implementation. I am pleased to learn that the SAR Government will introduce a bill into the Legislative Council after the Lunar New Year to amend the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance and the Legislative Council Ordinance, so as to enhance the oath-taking arrangements and deal with those who have breached the oath after swearing-in as well as the legal consequences involved.

Deputy President, the National Security Law and the interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law are the initiatives taken by the Central Government at important junctures. However, in implementing "one country, two systems", the SAR Government should not adopt a negative and passive attitude and wait for the Central Government to take actions or impose supervision; otherwise, the original intent of a "high degree of autonomy" in Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" policy will be defeated. For instance, on the education front, the Government must take the initiative to use simple and easily comprehensible methods to strengthen education on the Constitution and the Basic Law so that people of different ages can understand the relationship between the country's Constitution and Hong Kong. During the disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendment, more than 10 000 people have been arrested for illegal acts, among them, 40% are students, including nearly 2 000 primary and secondary students. The situation is distressing and warrants reflection.

Deputy President, I will not discuss the quality of education of primary and secondary schools for the time being. In terms of teaching hours alone, surveys have shown that the teaching hour on the Basic Law, a humanities subject, in LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3117

30% to 40% of schools is zero; and the teaching hours on the Chinese History subject in nearly 80% of schools are less than 15, far less than the relevant teaching hours prescribed by the Secondary Education Curriculum Guide of the Education Bureau. Nearly 60% of the principals interviewed agreed that schools had to enhance the effectiveness of Basic Law education.

The current-term Government has included Chinese History as an independent compulsory subject for junior secondary students and introduced a new Chinese History curriculum. Stringent actions should be taken against teachers who are incompetent or found misconducted. The Policy Address also promises that the Education Bureau will, through diversified activities, cultivate primary and secondary students' comprehensive understanding of the nation's development, the Constitution and the Basic Law, and the importance of national security, and teach them to respect and preserve the dignity of the national flag and the national anthem as symbols of our nation. This will be conductive to fostering students' sense of national identity and awareness of national security, and ensuring the proper implementation and continuity of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.

In addition, the biggest highlight of this Policy Address is that the SAR Government has the full support of the Central Government in its administration. After the Chief Executive's visit to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, she has finalized a number of measures which fully manifest the advantages of "one country, two systems". The Central Government will fully support whatever measure that is conducive to maintaining the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, improving the well-being of Hong Kong people, and promoting further integration of Hong Kong into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA"). On the other hand, while manifesting the advantages of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong can integrate into the overall national development and play the role as a bridgehead in the domestic and international dual circulation, and be given new impetus in the course of national development to facilitate economic revival and long-term economic diversification. As the saying goes, "A waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first; the flowers and trees on the sunny side meet spring earlier".

Deputy President, Hong Kong is in a critical period of development. We must correctly understand "one country, two systems", and on the basis of soundly implementing the constitutional responsibility for safeguarding national security, we have to eliminate the serious impacts of the disturbances arising from 3118 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 the opposition to the proposed legislative amendment and the novel coronavirus epidemic on Hong Kong, and actively integrate into the overall national development, so as to relaunch Hong Kong from a new starting point.

Deputy President, next I will talk about my expectation of the Government in assuming strong leadership to lead all sectors in Hong Kong out of the epidemic and relaunch the economy. The novel coronavirus epidemic has brought an unprecedented public health crisis to mankind. On the long road to fight against the epidemic, Hong Kong's healthcare system is under tremendous pressure. The Policy Address mentions the proactive response of the Central Government to requests from the Government, including sending a professional nucleic acid test support team to Hong Kong to assist in implementing the Universal Community Testing Programme; assisting the Government in providing medical facilities at AsiaWorld-Expo, etc. I believe many people also feel the Central Government's care for Hong Kong. The authorities should exercise flexibility in the use of resources provided by the country to support our fight against the epidemic and do a good job in collaborative prevention and control; otherwise, our healthcare system may be seriously overloaded.

In fact, in the course of fighting against the epidemic, the acute manpower shortage of our public healthcare system has been highlighted. Although the authorities have exhausted every means over the years, including increasing medical training places, rehiring doctors after retirement, and enhancing overseas publicity of the limited registration system for doctors, distant water cannot put off a nearby fire. According to the Report of the Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development published by the authorities a few years ago, it was estimated that there would be a shortage of more than 1 000 doctors in Hong Kong in 2030. In the face of these data, the authorities should deal with the manpower shortage problem as soon as possible and formulate a new mechanism for appropriately recruiting non-locally trained doctors. On the premise of meeting public interests and the well-being of patients, consideration should be made to upgrade our healthcare services.

On the other hand, the Government has recently indicated that vaccines will be available soon. According to the Secretary, the public will be vaccinated in batches after the Lunar New Year at the earliest. Although a number of experts have publicly called upon the public to be vaccinated, it seems that the public do not have sufficient confidence in the vaccines. For example, a survey conducted by the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3119 found that only 37% of the respondents were willing to be vaccinated. A government expert adviser has pointed out that the herd immunity effect can only be achieved when 70% of the adults have been naturally infected or vaccinated. Despite the Government's relentless effort in procuring vaccines, if the uptake rate falls short of expectations, it is not a blessing for Hong Kong. The Government's top priority is to allay public concern and disseminate, through various channels, accurate information about the epidemic to the public, so that they can make informed decisions.

Deputy President, effectively containing the epidemic is a prerequisite for relaunching the economy. Regrettably, the epidemic has recently become more rampant. Our economy contracted by 6.1% last year. Though the Government anticipates that the economy will resume growth this year, many small and median enterprises ("SMEs") are now at a critical juncture of life and death. At a time when the Lunar New Year is just around the corner, some enterprises in the tourism industry laid off their employees due to the gloomy future, and 3 000 restaurants in the catering industry are facing the crisis of closure. These are the industries hard hit by the epidemic. At this moment, the SAR Government needs, more than ever, a new mindset and the determination to lead and pave the way for the future development of Hong Kong in a forward-looking manner, so that people can really see hope. The Government should also appropriately help SMEs tide over difficulties so as to attain a speedy economic recovery. As such, we can all share the fruits of economic revival.

If we want the general public to regain hope in the economy, the key is to win the fight against the epidemic so that people's daily lives and cross-boundary traffic can resume to normal. We must also capitalize on the historic development opportunities of GBA, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ("RCEP") to deeply integrate into the overall national development and achieve mutual benefits and create a win-win situation. This is also the point that I highlighted in my recommendations to the Chief Executive in respect of the Policy Address. In the light of the new global political and economic conditions amid the epidemic, leveraging on the Motherland is particularly significant.

The global economy was hit hard by the novel coronavirus epidemic last year. Although it is estimated that the global economy will grow by 4% to 5% this year, it still depends on the epidemic situation. The World Health Organization has just alerted that a more infectious variant of the virus is 3120 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 spreading and the epidemic this year may be even more severe than that of last year. China was the first country in the world that has effectively contained the epidemic and it was the only major economy that achieved economic growth last year. According to the economic forecasts of the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, China's economy is expected to grow by 8% or more this year, contributing more than one third of global growth, thereby becoming an important engine of economic growth. The nation has also established a new development pattern featuring "dual circulation", which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while enabling domestic and foreign markets to interact positively with each other, so as to form a strong domestic market to stimulate and expand investment by consumption. The Hong Kong SAR should seize these major opportunities to leverage on the Motherland and revive the economy in a more expeditious and steady way.

This Policy Address has regarded capitalizing on the unique advantages under "one country, two systems" and integrating proactively into national development as the overall strategy guiding economic development. The Policy Address also contains many significant measures to promote the integrated development of the Mainland and Hong Kong, which is very encouraging.

Deputy President, GBA is a huge market with a population 10 times that of Hong Kong. As part of GBA, Hong Kong establishes domestic sales channels and expands import/distribution business in the hope of occupying the huge market and getting a share from domestic circulation. As the freest economy, Hong Kong is connected to the international market owing to its advantages in international finance, free trade and legal infrastructure. It then strives to get a share in the enormous market and benefits from dual circulation. Last year, Hong Kong's exports were adversely affected by the China-US trade conflicts and market shrinkage in mature economies such as Europe and the United States. Fortunately, the rebound in Mainland domestic demand has driven economic recovery. Looking forward to next year, Hong Kong will capitalize on dual circulation and domestic sales opportunities in GBA. It is also hoped that Hong Kong will join RCEP at the soonest to participate in trading in the region. Consequently, it is anticipated that Hong Kong's exports will increase by 5%.

It is necessary to deepen the mutual access between Hong Kong and GBA and speed up the integrated development of the two places. The initiatives in the Policy Address for promoting Hong Kong's integration into GBA are highly appropriate and imminent. Such measures help Hong Kong grow bigger and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3121 stronger, consolidate its status as an international financial centre and an international aviation hub, and help Hong Kong enterprises open up the Mainland market. Moreover, these measures are conductive to the implementation of "one country, two systems", and will definitely bring about substantial and even drastic changes to the related economic activities and operations, as well as their ecosystems. The business and professional sectors in Hong Kong are looking forward to implementing such measures.

These measures are at different stages of maturity and have different levels of complexity. For example, the "GoGBA" platform which offers all-round support to Hong Kong businessmen may be relatively simple and can be launched earlier. As for other projects, such as allowing the Airport Authority Hong Kong to inject equity in the Zhuhai Airport for achieving greater synergy between Hong Kong and Zhuhai airports; allowing the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to lease and manage certain areas of the Innovation and Technology Zone in Futian, Shenzhen, so that innovation and technology institutes which are interested can establish a presence in that Zone; implementing co-location arrangements at the new Huanggang Port; and releasing over 20 hectares of land in Hong Kong's Lok Ma Chau Control Point for other uses, they are still at different stages of discussions. I urge the SAR Government to communicate with the relevant industries, business associations and stakeholders as soon as possible under appropriate circumstances, so that the various parties can be informed of the implementation timetable and enforcement details as soon as possible, and preparations and planning can be made accordingly.

Having the direction of development and hope, the Government must practically continue to support the economy and safeguard jobs. In fact, many countries that had earlier spent a lot of money to fight against the epidemic and save the economy have to inject more resources now to stimulate the economy. In Hong Kong, the Government's anti-epidemic and relief measures had amounted to $300 billion, exerting unusual pressure on public finances and prudent financial management was required. Nonetheless, the Government is duty-bound to stop the epidemic and help the community tide over the economic winter. The Government should show its courage and earnestly support SMEs, so as to preserve Hong Kong's economic vitality. It should also review the sustainability of Hong Kong's public finances and propose improvement measures, such as promoting studies on broadening the tax base, for discussions by the community.

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To conclude, the Government should strive to stimulate local consumption, which is one of the three main drivers of the economy. For example, it can consider launching consumption vouchers in due course, providing more targeted support to industries seriously hit by the epidemic, and providing enterprises with appropriate waivers and concessions of taxes and government fees, as well as refunding provisional taxes. In addition, the Government should also allow deferred tax payment by enterprises and provide tax exemptions or concessions to encourage landlords to extend tenants' rent payment periods or reduce rents. At this difficult time, when the Government implements any new policies or laws, it should pay special attention to the impact on the business environment and make suitable adjustments. Moreover, the Government should pay close attention to the "new normal" under the epidemic on economic activities, consumer behaviours and industrial chains, and in response to these new trends, assist enterprises to adapt flexibly, upgrade and transform.

Deputy President, with these remarks, I support the motion moved by the Chairman of the House Committee.

MR CHRISTOPHER CHEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I rise to speak in support of the Motion of Thanks. The content of this Policy Address is detailed and pragmatic with targeted and forward-looking policies formulated to improve the implementation of "one country, two systems", promote economic development and increase housing supply. A pleasant change to me is that this year's Policy Address no longer only confines to Hong Kong, but also focuses on the overall development of the country, especially the Greater Bay Area ("GBA"). I am convinced that with the implementation of these policies, Hong Kong can definitely continue to capitalize on its strengths to serve the country's needs for better integration into the overall national development while creating a better future for Hong Kong.

As the Member representing the financial services sector, I shall first talk about the financial policies in the Policy Address. Indeed, this Policy Address has somewhat given the financial sector a delightful surprise. To begin with, I have to thank the Central Government for its continuous support of the development of Hong Kong's financial industry. Over the years, the industry and I have proactively lobbied the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, the Financial Secretary and even the Chief Executive time and again for continuous expanding the scope of mutual access. In response to the Chief Executive's LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3123 request, the Central Authorities expanded mutual access since 28 December last year, allowing southbound Mainland capital to buy biotech stocks which are listed in Hong Kong and included in the mutual access.

Moreover, the expansion also allows local investors to invest in stocks listed on the Mainland Sci-Tech Innovation Board. This initiative is definitely highly favourable to the financial market of Hong Kong. As we can see, with the recent inflow of southbound capital to Hong Kong, the stock market has scaled new heights time and again, with the daily turnover hitting a record high of $300 billion. The cumulative southbound capital has reached $150 billion, thus fueling the stock market with abundant liquidity and creating a bullish market. This is precisely the positive effect brought by expanding the mutual access.

Given that the Chief Executive had postponed the delivery of the Policy Address to strive for the Central Authorities' expansion of mutual access, her contribution cannot be ignored. I notice that Dr CHENG Chung-tai made some remarks about "emptying the cage for new birds" yesterday. The expansion of mutual access has brought in Mainland capital to invest actively in the local stock market which has a relatively lower price/earnings ratio on average, resulting in huge turnover. Dr CHENG said that this phenomenon indicated the withdrawal of foreign capital to be taken over by Mainland capital. I think Dr CHENG Chung-tai made this wrong and biased remark due to his lack of understanding of the securities market.

Deputy President, the Policy Address promotes real estate investment trusts ("REIT") in Hong Kong and expedites the implementation of the cross-boundary wealth management connect scheme, with a view to developing Hong Kong into a vibrant REIT market in Asia and a financial management centre in GBA. I think this is conducive to the financial development in Hong Kong, and I greatly welcome this initiative. However, regrettably, the current expansion of mutual access has not included more secondary listing stocks, such as Alibaba and JD.com. We hope the Government will strive to expeditiously include other secondary listing stocks in the scope of mutual access, as this will be conducive to making companies listed overseas to return to Hong Kong for secondary listing, thereby maintaining the vibrancy of Hong Kong's securities market.

As for other long-awaited measures by the industry, including the launching of the exchange traded fund ("ETF") and the Southbound Trading of Bond Connect, no good news has been revealed in this Policy Address. In this 3124 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 connection, I hope the SAR Government will continue its work to strive for the inclusion of more financial products in GBA's mutual access mechanism so that further expansion is possible.

In addition, the financial services sector to which I belong has all along been strongly demanding the Government to lead us into GBA's financial market. Earlier on, the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong has proposed the idea of a unified pass permit, whereby local small and medium securities firms with rich professional experience can set up offices in GBA, with a view to providing diversified financial services to the investors there. Regrettably, this Policy Address has not responded positively to the said demand, which is pretty disappointing. I hope the Government will proactively take forward the work in this area and help provide an access to the Mainland financial market, so that the industry can unleash its potential and contribute to GBA's financial development.

Deputy President, in the Policy Address, the Chief Executive stated that the Government would proactively take the initiative to drive market development so as to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre and strengthen its competitive edge. I certainly endorse and greatly support this act. I also hope that the Government will suit its action to the word by taking the initiative to promote market development and raise its market sensitivity, so as to avoid formulating policies and measures that hinder market development. For instance, Members of different political parties and groupings have recently proposed to increase the stamp duty on stock transfers, whereas the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited has conducted a consultation on raising the threshold for companies seeking a listing. From a long-term perspective, I think the proposal and the consultation are perhaps well-intentioned. However, amid the impacts of "black violence", political wrestling between China and the United States and the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, there are many uncertain factors affecting the development of the Hong Kong financial market; if we ignore these factors and only set our eyes on the vibrant turnover or other factors and then hastily raise the stamp duty on stock transfers or the listing threshold, this will definitely reduce market attractiveness to investors and weaken our competitiveness, thereby affecting the rapid development of the entire financial market. This is tantamount to killing the goose that lays golden eggs or throwing a stone at our own feet. Therefore, I sincerely hope that the Government can achieve the goal of "maintaining financial stability and striving for development" as vowed in the Policy Address. In my opinion, we must LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3125

"seek stability prior to development" under the current economic conditions. I hope that careful consideration would be made by the Government.

Next, I would like to talk about the issues of "one country, two systems" and national security. The Policy Address states right at the very beginning that in order to improve the implementation of "one country, two systems", the Government will do its utmost to prevent and suppress acts and activities that endanger national security. In my opinion, the Government not only has to implement such policies, but also has to proactively and effectively explain the contents of these policies so as to enhance people's understanding and enlist their support. This is not only the constitutional responsibility of Hong Kong and also its due obligation.

Deputy President, safeguarding "one country, two systems" and national security tops the policy agenda of the Government. As the saying goes, "Without a nation, families go nowhere". Although it has been more than 20 years since Hong Kong's reunification, the Government has all along been unable to legislate for Article 23 of the Basic Law, resulting in creating a serious loophole in respect of safeguarding national security in Hong Kong. The disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments erupted a year ago had caused great upheaval to Hong Kong. There were incidents of people trampling and burning the national flag, and chanting "Hong Kong independence" slogans, as well as scenes there were enraging and heart-breaking. More detestable still, some shyster politicians and black-clad rioters who advocated "mutual destruction" and vowed to oppose China and upset order in Hong Kong were willingly to act as the running dogs of anti-China forces in the western world, and even shamelessly begged western countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. Their actions had really got our hackles up. Certainly, shyster politicians of the "mutual destruction camp" are ready to do all shameful things to get political dividends and curry favour with the rioters to win their ballots.

I hope that when the Government criticizes the violent acts of "mutual destruction", it will realize that the more despicable and wanton acts of the "mutual destruction camp", the better exposure of the inadequacies of the Government in safeguarding "one country, two systems" and national security. Therefore, I hope the Government will not merely pay lip service in safeguarding "one country, two systems" and national security in the future. Moreover, the Government should not shirk its responsibilities by leaving all controversial 3126 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 issues to be handled and dealt with by the Central Government, or waiting for the Central Authorities to give a helping hand. Instead, the Administration should take proactive actions, adopt the attitude of a genuine "good fighter", and combat and stop all crimes that endanger the country and Hong Kong. This is the role that a responsible government should assume.

Deputy President, the Policy Address mentions the need to safeguard national security comprehensively. In this connection, it is incumbent upon the SAR Government to strengthen publicity and education to enhance Hong Kong people's understanding of national security and law-abiding awareness. I strongly support this point. However, the fact before us is that despite the implementation of the National Security Law for almost six months, there are still people who do not have a sense of nation. They often muddle up enforcement actions taken by the Police according to the National Security Law with suppression of freedom of speech and democracy. Worse still, some shameless overseas shyster politicians have seized the opportunity to fan the flames and even imposed unreasonable sanctions on Mainland and Hong Kong officials, in an attempt to impede and shake our country's determination to safeguard national security. Hence, I hope the Government will see clearly the seriousness of the problem and no longer act slowly. Rather, it should work at full steam to properly publicize and explain the National Security Law, so that Hong Kong people can have a correct understanding of the Law and abide by it consciously. Only in so doing can members of the public live and work in peace and contentment, and Hong Kong can do a good job in safeguarding national security.

Lastly, I must talk about the anti-epidemic work. The part that I am most dissatisfied with this Policy Address is related to the fight against the epidemic. The Government's anti-epidemic work is riddled with errors and omissions. Since many fellow Members have already mentioned the problems in their speeches earlier, I do not intend to make criticisms again now. In my opinion, the major reason for the perfunctory anti-epidemic work is that the Government has been self-opinionated and self-complacent. Among all other places in the world, Hong Kong is in the most advantageous position to fight against the epidemic. With selfless support from the country, face masks and gear were supplied to Hong Kong whenever requests were made; and when Hong Kong indicated that the testing capacity was inadequate, a Mainland testing support team was immediately deployed to Hong Kong to provide assistance. Despite having to enduring humiliation, the team provided help without hesitation. With the enormous support from the country, the SAR Government should have been LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3127 able to successfully control the epidemic in no time if it had made reference to Mainland's anti-epidemic experience. However, the senior government officials of Hong Kong just turned a blind eye to the Motherland's experience in fighting against the epidemic. Renowned Mainland experts advised Hong Kong to carry out universal testing, yet the Chief Executive said this was merely a slogan; many people called for the implementation of a "lockdown", but the Government said this was impractical. As a result, after combating the epidemic for a year, Hong Kong turned out to be the worst in controlling the epidemic amongst Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. May I ask how would members of the Hong Kong public not feel disappointed and angry?

Deputy President, I know that malicious criticisms and invectives are not conducive to fighting against the epidemic, but I really hope that the advice and criticisms from the general public and Members can make senior government officials more down-to-earth and humble. They should not be bumptious, thinking that they have already done a good job. Nor should they just pass the buck to members of the public, accusing them of experiencing anti-epidemic fatigue and failing to fully cooperate with the Government's anti-epidemic measures. In my opinion, if the Government has to control the epidemic, it should first abandon … It should not be self-complacent, but should instead listen more to the views of different experts and members of the public, and humbly identify the loopholes and deficiencies in previous anti-epidemic efforts, so that they can be promptly plugged and improved. This is the key to attain success in fighting against the epidemic. Conversely, if the Government always shifts the responsibilities onto the people and refuses to implement such "harsh measures" as compulsory universal testing and lockdown, it can never achieve "zero infection" and will eventually bring Hong Kong to a dead end.

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

Finally, I sincerely hope the Government can realize that fighting against the epidemic is tantamount to fighting a war. Since every single measure and loophole will affect people's live and death, the Government absolutely cannot act perfunctorily. The Government is not only responsible for fighting against the epidemic, but also accountable for people's lives. More important still, the Chief Executive should know that the success in fighting against the epidemic is the foundation of all grand developments. If we fail to control the epidemic, the 3128 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 good measures and wonderful development prospects depicted in the Chief Executive's Policy Address will eventually be reduced to meaningless empty talk. Therefore, I hope the Government can be resolute and demonstrate once again the qualities of a "good fighter", so that Hong Kong can succeed in fighting against the epidemic as early as possible, and the rosy picture contained in the Policy Address can soon be realized.

I so submit. Thank you, President.

MR WILSON OR (in Cantonese): President, in this year's Policy Address entitled "Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance", the Chief Executive has introduced more than 200 initiatives to outline the blueprint for the future of Hong Kong. She has also provided the direction for issues such as political, economic, housing, youth and social welfare that are of grave concern to the people of Hong Kong. I think the direction is clear and I hope that the SAR Government can really break the impasse, restore order from chaos and solve problems at root.

President, after reading the whole Policy Address, I am deeply impressed by the chapter on politics and support of the Central Government for Hong Kong, and I would like to take this opportunity to share with SAR government officials. First of all, in the Policy Address, the SAR Government has a correct understanding of the relationship between "one country" and "two systems". It describes that the Government should be determined to comprehensively and firmly act in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law. As regards the constitutional order, we must be committed to dealing the issue proactively, so as to solve the problem at root and restore order from chaos.

President, the incessant political disputes in Hong Kong in recent years can be attributed, in the final analysis, to political factors. Some political swindlers with ulterior motives have racked their brains all the time to distort "one country, two systems", promote "Hong Kong independence" in Hong Kong, make use of external forces to destroy Hong Kong and turn Hong Kong into a bridgehead of foreign forces. With the implementation of the oath-taking requirement for public officers and the National Security Law, I hope that a clear direction will be provided for compliance by the SAR Government. The Government should seize the opportunity to resolve the long-standing deep-rooted conflicts in Hong Kong, and the success of which hinges on the resolve of the SAR government officials, a requisite which I think is essential.

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The other chapter that I am particularly impressed is related to the full support of the Central Government for Hong Kong. I have read this chapter time and again. President, as Hong Kong people may be aware, Hong Kong has experienced some unprecedented challenges since the reunification: the financial turmoil, SARS, Occupy Central, "black violence" and the present epidemic. All these incidents have great impacts on Hong Kong people. And yet, come rain or shine, the Central Government has provided Hong Kong with unconditional support and selfless assistance. It has also introduced a series of supportive measures to help Hong Kong tide over all difficulties. I remember our leader once said that the Central Government fully supported all measures that were conducive to maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability and enhancing the well-being of Hong Kong people. Such examples are numerous, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Individual Visit Scheme, the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, financial measures, the deployment of a national team to Hong Kong to help build a mobile cabin hospital and conduct universal testing, and the enhancement of the boundary control points. As I often say, the country's support for Hong Kong since the reunification has been fully manifested.

President, I have an expectation. Referring to the measures and support of the Central Government for Hong Kong mentioned just now, I very much hope that the SAR Government, the Chief Executive and public officers at all levels will seize the opportunity to fully implement the initiatives. The country has already offered Hong Kong many unconditional concessions and privileges, and has helped Hong Kong restore order from chaos and solve problems at root. The SAR Government must, in implementing the initiatives, manifest the country's support for Hong Kong. Also, the country's support in addressing our political problems must be felt by Hong Kong people. I will use the phrase "wait and see" to describe my expectation of the performance of the SAR Government in this respect.

President, after discussing the above two points, I would like to talk about politics, the economy and people's livelihood. These three areas are intertwined. President, as I have often said at the district level and during different publicity campaigns, no livelihood problems are trivial. Some time ago, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong ("DAB") and I conducted a questionnaire survey on the Policy Address, and I would like to thank the major media in Hong Kong for their coverage yesterday. I noticed from the survey 3130 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 results that not all tasks undertaken by the SAR Government in the past were met with criticism. Members of the public did commend the SAR Government in three areas. First, the gradual implementation of the $2 concessionary fare for people aged between 60 and 64. Although the concession is belated, it is better late than never. Second, the extension of the 20% MTR fare rebate to March 2021. As indicated in the survey, 50% of the respondents were pleased with the extension, while 67% were pleased with the $2 concessionary fare mentioned just now. Third, the lowering of the threshold for the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme to $200 per month; 50% of the respondents were pleased with the measure.

President, to sum up the entire survey, I would like to present three remarks to the SAR Government. I have even made a cardboard. Chief Secretary, I am glad that you are now looking at me. The first remark reads "Well-planned initiatives to benefit livelihoods except unemployment assistance is missing". The Chief Secretary nods; he understands what I am going to say as he had served as the Secretary for Labour and Welfare. The above remark fully reflects the current mood of Hong Kong people, i.e. being helpless, sad and despair. Just now I said that members of the public were satisfied with some initiatives implemented by the SAR Government, but what is their most desired aspiration? The answer is the provision of unemployment assistance.

I learnt from many people in my district that they were happy about the $2 concessionary fare for people aged between 60 and 64 to be introduced by the Government. They hoped that the measure would not be delayed and opined that a timetable and a roadmap must be drawn up as early as possible. Though we finally have a timetable and a roadmap now, but does the Government know that the grass-roots people are in dire straits? I do not know if the Chief Executive is aware of this situation. Secretary Dr LAW Chi-kwong is not present today. Has he delegated someone to attend the meeting? I cannot see his delegate.

At the press conference held before the Executive Council meeting the day before yesterday, the Chief Executive said that the SAR Government had introduced a series of measures to help the unemployed. In the face of a record high unemployment rate in 16 years, the SAR Government has launched three initiatives. First, the Love Upgrading Special Scheme is implemented to provide allowance for people to pursue self-enhancement; second, more employment opportunities have been provided; and third, the application LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3131 threshold of the Special Scheme of Assistance to the Unemployed has been relaxed. There are many other measures, but they are not targeted at all. Public officers must launch targeted measure to help the unemployed who are in dire straits, living from hand to mouth or even failing to sustain their living. Secretaries of Departments and Bureau Directors, my remarks are not exaggerated at all. At present, some members of the public are making cash advances through credit cards to make ends meet. I feel sad when I hear the plight of the public during my daily visit to the districts because I also come from grass-roots family. Therefore, I hope that colleagues in the SAR Government will find ways to offer help.

DAB proposes to establish an unemployment assistance. The amount requested is neither astronomical nor excessive. We only ask the Government to provide $6,000 a month to the unemployed for a period of six months. If the Chief Secretary, especially the Secretary with an exceptionally high IQ―but he is not present now―worries that the unemployment assistance will be abused, he may "draw a line" or take some measures. Is it possible that the delay in implementing the $2 concessionary fare is attributed to the Government's fear of the measure being abused? I hope that the SAR Government will make special arrangements for special circumstances. The initiatives mentioned earlier, including the Love Upgrading Special Scheme, increase in employment opportunities and relaxation of the application threshold for the unemployment assistance under the CSSA Scheme, are all distant water that cannot put out the nearby fire. I hope the SAR government officials can genuinely help members of the public who are living in great hardship. As a matter of fact, not only the grass roots, I often highlight that the community at large is also facing the same plight. I hope that the Government will genuinely listen to views and respond to demands.

President, seeing that Under Secretary Dr CHUI Tak-yi is now present, I present my second remark to the SAR Government, i.e. "Together we strive for zero infection and implement universal testing". I have all along joined the SAR Government and members of the public in fighting against the epidemic. I also support the SAR Government. Whenever there is an outbreak, Kowloon East is the hardest hit region: the third wave of the epidemic started in Chi Wan Shan and the fourth wave in Choi Wan. Whenever there were confirmed cases, we would immediately go to the district concerned and work round the clock. People's expectation of the SAR Government is: "Together we strive for zero infection and implement universal testing".

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Survey results showed that more than 60% of the respondents considered that there was much room for improvement in the Government's anti-epidemic work. As I mentioned earlier on, the country had sent a national team to help Hong Kong conduct universal testing. Although members of the public are dissatisfied with the anti-epidemic work of the SAR Government, they are still willing to cooperate. What is missing now is the SAR Government's capability to coordinate and implement policies.

President, I think you also share my view. Many people asked me: "Wilson, how come the Government has made such a mess in holding the Lunar New Year fair and enforcing compulsory testing for buildings with confirmed cases?" I do not mean to criticize the SAR Government, but I hope that it will understand that so long as the epidemic is not contained, we will not be able to resume economic activities and various tasks will not be able to return to normal.

I often say that it is best to act swiftly. Simply put, the Government should continue to step up efforts in two areas of its anti-epidemic work and this is the voice of the general public. Secretaries of Departments and Bureau Directors, may I ask why has compulsory testing has not been conducted? Honestly speaking, members of the public did feel worried at the early stage. However, now that a year has passed, people do not want to prolong the pain and hope to expeditiously attain success in combatting the epidemic. I am not talking nonsense as the survey did ask a question on this issue. I will send the survey results to the Secretaries of Departments and Bureau Directors so that they can grasp the sentiments of members of the public who are in dire straits. They feel nervous and perplexed. Furthermore, I also hope that the Government can expeditiously introduce universal compulsory testing and "health codes". I know that the SAR Government has been working very hard, and I can see that Under Secretary Dr CHUI Tak-yi has more and more grey hair. When I first met him back then, he was the Hospital Chief Executive of United Christian Hospital and today, he is the Under Secretary. I believe he has a hard time. Please do something practical to win applause, okay?

As regards vaccination, we trust the opinion given by experts and the relevant committees. However, I hope that in respect of coordination, Secretary Patrick NIP can create a better environment in a fast, efficient and economical way. What does that mean? It means that the Government should enhance transparency so that members of the public will be timely informed of the next step, and proper arrangements should be made concerning the vaccination centres in 18 districts. Take Kowloon East as an example, Kwun Tong has a permanent LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3133 population of more than 1 million, but there is only one vaccination centre. Will the centre be packed with people, resulting in errors or omissions? If early announcement and publicity can be arranged, members the public may at least have an idea in mind. Hong Kong people are very anxious. I am also very anxious as I often ask my assistant about the work progress. Honourable colleagues, I think this is very important.

Now I would like to talk about the vaccination arrangements. Vaccines will arrive Hong Kong around Lunar New Year and I fully understand that healthcare workers, chronic patients, elderly persons and residents of residential care homes should be accorded priority in receiving vaccination. Nonetheless, I hope the Administration will think about one thing: Whenever there are confirmed cases, who stand in the frontline holding water hoses and brooms? The cleaning workers. Who keep guard on the gates? The security personnel. Who still drive buses and public transport during the epidemic? The practitioners of the public transport industry. Can the Administration also accord priority to these people in receiving vaccination? This is important and I hope the Government will adopt my views.

Seeing that Under Secretary Dr Raymond SO is now present, I now present my third remark which is related to him. The remark reads "Railways not built in Kowloon East and pledges not honoured". This remark expresses my views on the relevant chapter of the Policy Address. What I found most disappointing and saddening about this Policy Address is the fact that the SAR Government had spent 13 years conducting a three-round consultation on the environmentally friendly train system in Kowloon East. When the then Under Secretary Dr Bernard CHAN was still serving Kwun Tong, the proposed train system was eventually finalized with the concerted efforts of my mentor, the then Legislative Council Member Mr CHAN Kam-lam and the department headed by the then Secretary for Development Mrs Carrie LAM. Following some changes in the business district with Kai Tak developing into the second core business district, we hope that the traffic congestion problem in Kwun Tong can be resolved. Regrettably, after 13 years of three-round consultation, the Chief Executive told us this year that because of cost-effectiveness and environmental protection considerations, the monorail system had been shelved. President, I understand that the Government has encountered many difficulties, both in terms of cost and studies, but the present alternative proposal put forward by public officers is indeed incomprehensible. They proposed to enhance the environmentally friendly linkage, such as introducing green buses, flyovers or escalators.

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Public officers, you have visited Kwun Tong and Kowloon East, or from the daily traffic news, you will learn about the daily serious traffic congestion problem in Kwun Tong during peak hours. Yesterday, it took me 45 minutes to return to Kwun Tong after the meeting. The President adjourned the meeting at around 7:00 pm, and I left 15 minutes later after handling some work. When I arrived at Kwun Tong, it was already 8:00 pm or so. Therefore, if the environmentally friendly linkage system proposed by the Development Bureau is accepted by the Chief Executive, I can tell Members that the traffic congestion problem will aggravate in the future.

There is another question. Given that the traffic problem in Kowloon East has reached a critical point, what has the SAR Government done to alleviate the situation? Under Secretary, I am worried that the Government will once again renege on its pledge to build the East Kowloon Line ("EKL"). It has been nearly eight years since the Government proposed the construction of EKL in the Railway Development Strategy 2014, but now, EKL has disappeared without a trace. At present, Kowloon East has a permanent population of more than 1 million and a transient population of nearly 1 million. Can you imagine what will happen in Kowloon East? As a directly elected Legislative Council Member of Kowloon East, I talk to the community leaders and local representatives every day and all of them ask me to address the traffic problem in Kowloon East. An in-depth study is required to solve the problem. I hope that the Government can give us a solution by putting forward short-, medium- and long-term measures. It should not renege on its promises time and again.

As I often say, all measures must be timely. Secretary Frank CHAN told me that some trunk lines would be completed by 2026, but by then, the traffic condition might have become unbearable. Therefore, I hope that government officials will think out of the box and make early planning by formulating short-, medium- and long-term measures for Kowloon East. They should not disregard the views and ideas raised by us all along. We should not criticize for the sake of criticizing, but should put forward practicable proposals. As such, we have commissioned experts to conduct a study on the situation of Kowloon East, and the response we got was that initiatives would be launched once they were ready. I therefore hope that the Government will think more carefully.

In the face of the epidemic and economic downturn, I understand that the Government has faced great difficulties in administration. As I often say, as a person, one must first, be empathetic, and second, put oneself in others' shoes. These principles are always true. I hope that government officials will continue LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3135 to move forward with a strong sense of commitment in this difficult time. However, it is very important for them to conduct more district visits to listen to public views. I do not mind if they pay surprise visits as certain tricky problems would usually be dealt with, or "cleaned up", before the Secretaries of Departments, Bureau Director or even the Chief Executive visit the districts. I suggest that public officers should pay surprise visits, go to "Hong Kong style cafes" to listen to the views of kaifongs on the existing administration, or ride on a bus―because all Secretaries of Departments and Bureau Directors have chauffeurs―to listen to people's views on public transport policy.

President, firm determination requires strong will. I hope that my speech in this session will provide some directions so that the SAR Government will work in one mind and continue to face the present challenges.

MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): President, the Policy Address uses the words "striving ahead" to outline Hong Kong's situation under the current social environment and reiterates the SAR Government's unwavering determination in upholding the "one country, two systems" principle. The Policy Address seeks to restore Hong Kong's constitutional order and states that Hong Kong implements an executive-led system so as to clarify any misunderstanding in the community. The Policy Address also emphasizes the role and responsibility of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China in its national development plan, and guides all sectors of society to think about the direction and development of Hong Kong on the premise of "one country".

As regards economic development, the Policy Address focuses on consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's strengths. It has accepted many suggestions made by me, the Hong Kong Chinese Importers' and Exporters' Association and the business community. These suggestions include expanding the scope of the SME Export Marketing Fund to support SMEs in developing local brands, thus laying a foundation for brand development on the Mainland and in the ASEAN markets; forming the SME ReachOut service team to help SMEs understand the funding schemes of the Government and make applications in a faster and easier way; promoting the development of a one-stop service platform called GoGBA by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("HKTDC"). The platform facilitates Hong Kong businessmen and overseas companies in Hong Kong to gain access to the Greater Bay Area ("GBA") market by providing them with information (such as market information and business regulations of GBA), training and group-based consultations (such as 3136 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 opportunities to communicate with industry experts or professional consultants), as well as opportunities for holding online and offline promotional activities (such as physical exhibitions, promotional activities or e-commerce platforms). Other suggestions include setting up the Online Design Gallery to support Hong Kong businessmen in developing the Mainland market, and expediting the implementation of cross-boundary wealth management in GBA, so that Hong Kong can participate in the dual circulation development of the Mainland as soon as possible.

The SAR Government has also strengthened its support for the business sector so as to share the pressing concerns of enterprises. These initiatives are welcomed by the industries. We hope that the SAR Government can truly and effectively promote the reform of the public sector by removing barriers, cutting red tapes and expediting the pace of governance. The Government should, upon the introduction of measures, listen to the opinions of all parties, actively enforce the measures and review on a continuous basis the progress and effectiveness, so as to make timely adjustments to the policies, thereby genuinely providing enterprises with a facilitating business environment with room for development.

Speaking of the integrated development in GBA, in order to promote greater integration of Hong Kong into GBA, I suggest that the SAR Government should seek the Mainland's consent to develop a cross-border fast payment system in GBA. The People's Bank of China has already developed an online interbank payment clearing system and arranged with commercial banks to introduce mobile payment. Clients can make real-time interbank payment by inputting the name and mobile phone number of the recipient. If Hong Kong's Faster Payment System ("FPS") can be connected to the Mainland's fast payment system, it will greatly facilitate cross-border capital flow and make it more convenient for Hong Kong people to work, live and consume on the Mainland.

I suggest that Hong Kong and the Mainland use GBA as a testing ground to connect Hong Kong's FPS with the Mainland's online real-time payment system and establish a cross-border fast payment system. Under the new system, Hong Kong residents can, by inputting the name and mobile phone number of the recipient via Internet banking or mobile banking, make real-time cross-border and interbank fund transfer free of charge on the Mainland. This will enable residents of Hong Kong and of the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta to move around conveniently and expeditiously in GBA. With the barriers removed, greater integration among residents in GBA can be fostered.

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In promoting Hong Kong's participation in the development of GBA, the SAR Government is superficial information in its publicity work, failing to provide detailed and in-depth information. Hence, members of the public of Hong Kong, especially young people, cannot fully understand the specific situations, laws and regulations, as well as customs and practices of GBA. In particular, they do not understand the opportunities offered by GBA to young people of Hong Kong and the importance of GBA to Hong Kong's future development. I suggest that the SAR Government should collaborate with the relevant municipal authorities of the Mainland to establish more platforms for providing information on opportunities for employment and start-ups in GBA.

To help young people seize development opportunities in GBA, the SAR Government should, apart from implementing the existing Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme and the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, strengthen cooperation with the business community to offer a greater variety of jobs on the Mainland and provide salary subsidies to young employees in GBA. Meanwhile, the Government should coordinate with the governments of the Guangdong province and Macao to establish a one-stop platform to provide information on entrepreneurship in GBA. In addition to providing information on employment and regulations for employees, the Government should also compile information from various cities and industrial and commercial departments, such as information on company registration, taxation, industrial and commercial regulations, and step up the publicity of such platforms to motivate more young people of Hong Kong to work and start their business in GBA.

In promoting Hong Kong's participation in the development of GBA, the SAR Government should adopt the approach of promoting the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant ("DBNPS") back then. It should actively collaborate with the relevant Mainland government departments and publicize GBA to the general public of Hong Kong in a detailed, specific, impressive and practical manner, so that the public and young people of Hong Kong can understand the importance of Hong Kong's participation in the development of GBA.

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the Hong Kong community was very uncertain, doubtful and fearful about the construction of DBNPS, there were thus strong opposition and dissenting voices among the public. The Hong Kong and Mainland authorities, as well as the stakeholders participating in the construction of DBNPS, such as China Light and Power Company Limited, had kept organizing day trips for Hong Kong people to visit the site at DBNPS. 3138 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

During these visits, lots of detailed and specific information were given to demonstrate the safety of DBNPS and its benefits to the future development of Hong Kong, thus alleviating the concerns of the general public of Hong Kong. As a result, DBNPS was smoothly launched.

Speaking of the current anti-epidemic efforts, the recovery of our economy depends on the effective control of the epidemic. However, despite the efforts made, the SAR Government has been unsuccessful in fighting against the epidemic. Owing to the Government's indecisiveness and procrastination, the epidemic situation has been fluctuating and the target of "zero infection" has not been attained. Thus, a comprehensive strategy must be formulated in implementing the anti-epidemic measures in order to achieve results. The Government will administer vaccines to the public next month at the soonest to cut the transmission chain. We hope that the relevant tasks, including testing, quarantine, publicity, protection and treatment can be conducted in a well-planned manner.

To strike a balance between anti-epidemic measures and economic operation, a set of comprehensive and well-planned arrangement is indeed required. However, since the novel coronavirus epidemic is still rampant, we hope that the vaccination programme, to be implemented next month at the soonest, will be well-planned as far as possible. The vaccination programme should be complemented with the existing measures and the anti-epidemic work of the country. For example, the administration of vaccines can tie in with "health codes", immigration procedures and other related matters. I believe this will fare better than the current piecemeal approach. Only when the epidemic is finally brought under control can the border be reopened. By then, the flows of people and goods can resume and economic recovery is possible.

As regards how the transmission chain can be effectively controlled when conducting community activities, I believe interdepartmental efforts are required. We cannot merely rely on the Food and Health Bureau to fight the battle alone. Each Policy Bureau cannot work on its own without coordinating with the others, especially when it comes to administering vaccines to the public in the future. The Government must learn from experience and make proper arrangements in respect of vaccine selection, information dissemination, publicity and promotion, tracing, etc. so that administration of vaccines can be implemented in an orderly manner.

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The public are very concerned about the effectiveness of the vaccines. However, as they generally may not be able to understand the meaning behind the vaccine-related messages, and fail to get a full picture about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, they can be misled easily. In a survey conducted by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, 26.6% of the respondents indicated they would not take the initiative to receive vaccination. Among them, 47.7% were worried about the side effects of the vaccines and 16.6% were worried about the risks involved. In a survey conducted by the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, it was found that the Government's recommendations on vaccines were almost five times more influential than the advice given by doctors and family members. The Faculty of Medicine therefore opined that the Government should make preparations to provide, as early as possible, authoritative explanations on issues that were most concerned by the public, so as to dispel their doubts. Thus, the SAR Government should expeditiously make public and explain the information on vaccines, and ask experts to explain the efficacy rate of vaccines to dispel public doubts. The Government should select suitable vaccines for the public and adopt a scientific approach towards vaccination, so that more people will be willing to be vaccinated, and a higher uptake rate can be attained. The expert group has recently recommended the Government to approve a number of vaccines and I hope the relevant work can be done as soon as possible.

With regard to the operation of the Anti-epidemic Fund to assist enterprises, I reiterate that the authorities have been very sloppy. For example, not all SMEs that should be supported are covered by the Fund. Moreover, large amounts of subsidies had been provided to some companies having a booming business amid the epidemic. The employees of these companies even have to work overtime to meet the business demand. It was only after the situation was exposed by the media that these companies offered some insignificant "concessions" in return. In fact, many industries are still struggling; they are "on a drip" and will soon collapse, but they have not received any subsidy. The authorities should learn from experience and remember the lessons; they should carry out their work in a more focused and thoughtful manner in the future, so as to avoid making futile efforts. I hope the Government can listen to the strong and genuine voices of the community, so that the Anti-epidemic Fund can really serve its purpose.

President, with these remarks, I support the motion.

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MR FRANKIE YICK (in Cantonese): President, concerning the Policy Address 2020, I will speak on policies related to shipping and logistics.

In the past year, our logistics industry was hit by the China-US trade war and the novel coronavirus epidemic, which led to a continuous decrease in our cargo throughput. According to government data, as of September 2020, sea, land and air transportation have fallen by 6%, 10% and 7.5% over the same period in 2019. Thanks to the early control of the epidemic in the Mainland, economic activities can restart and the exports of goods have greatly increased. As an extrepot of the Mainland, Hong Kong has also benefited. The decline in cargo throughput at the end of 2020 is less than expected, but the current sea, land and air transport operations are facing manpower shortages due to strict mandatory quarantine measures.

As regards cross-boundary land freight transport, in the early stage of the epidemic, cross-boundary drivers were exempted from quarantine and were only required to undergo nucleic acid testing once every seven days. However, due to the unstable epidemic situation in Hong Kong, the anti-epidemic measures taken by the Mainland against cross-boundary drivers had been tightened consistently, such as cross-boundary drivers were required to undergo nucleic acid testing once every three days instead of seven days. Since the outbreak of the fourth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, a tighter measure has been implemented and these drivers are required to undergo daily testing. If there are confirmed cases at the drivers' declared place of residence in Hong Kong or at his neighbourhood, the drivers will not be allowed to enter the Mainland within 14 days. This measure has forced some drivers to suspend work. In addition, some Hong Kong cross-boundary drivers living in the Mainland cannot return home due to the Mainland's prevention and control regulations, and they can only stay at designated hotels in the Mainland. Due to long working hours and a sharp reduction in income, some drivers have decided to quit their jobs. Hence, the problem of shortage of cross-boundary drivers has aggravated due to the epidemic.

Apart from cross-boundary land freight transport, water-borne transport and river trade vessels also face the problem of insufficient manpower. River trade vessels are mainly used to carry the daily necessities of Hong Kong people such as building materials, cereals, oils and foodstuffs from the Pearl River Delta to Hong Kong. As the Mainland port authorities require crew members of river trade vessels travelling between the Mainland and Hong Kong to take nucleic acid testing after they have gone ashore on the Mainland and undergo a 14-day centralized quarantine and medical surveillance, many Mainland crew members LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3141 do not intend to work on river trade vessels operating in Hong Kong waters. Consequently, there is a serious shortage of crew members of river trade vessels. At present, river trade vessels have suspended operation one month earlier due to shortage of crew members. It is still unknown whether operation will resume after the Lunar New Year.

Although the Government plans to start vaccination for specific groups at the end of February, it is believed that the anti-epidemic measures will not be relaxed in the short term. To avoid affecting the supply of daily necessities to Hong Kong people, the Government must discuss with the Mainland how to rationalize the operation of cross-boundary sea and land transport. As a matter of fact, the logistics industry has been ignored by the Government. The four rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund had not provided support to the logistics industry; only some government fees had been reduced. In view of the huge expenses of the operators, these concessions are only a drop in the bucket.

The Employment Support Scheme launched by the Government under the Anti-epidemic Fund has offered some help to the industry. However, the Government indicated that due to shortage of fiscal reserves, it had no plan to further provide cash subsidies to industries affected by the epidemic, or such subsidies would no longer be provided. Since the Government is unable to provide financial support to the industry, I think it must help the industry rationalize its operation.

To further leverage our advantages as a regional cargo hub, the Liberal Party supports the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AA") to inject equity in the Zhuhai Airport. Currently, the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") serves destinations in about 170 countries around the world, and after AA has injected equity in the Zhuhai Airport, about 80 Mainland destinations served by the Zhuhai Airport can be integrated. It is believed that greater synergies can be created. I trust that complementing the strengths of each other will help strengthen our air transport network and make the pie of aviation services bigger.

With the economic development of the Mainland and the Asia-Pacific region and the improvement of people's living standards, there is an increasing demand for high-value goods, such as fresh food, medical supplies, wine and even some artworks. These goods require strict constant temperature control and higher warehousing requirements.

Given that the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island ("HKBCF Island") of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") is located at the landing 3142 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 point of HZMB and is close to HKIA, it is conducive to developing high-end logistics services. With reference to the experience of Korea and Holland in getting economic benefits from the development of logistics parks in proximity to the airport, the Government submitted in 2015 the preliminary proposal for the Topside Development at HKBCF Island of HZMB. One of the proposals was to reserve one third of the land parcels on HKBCF Island for logistics operation to meet the demand for high value-added logistics services.

The Government subsequently invited AA to submit proposals on the Topside Development at HKBCF Island of HZMB in 2018. The proposal of AA in July last year also included reserving part of the land parcels on HKBCF Island for the development of air cargo logistics and related supporting facilities. While the Liberal Party supported the proposal, it hoped that the Government and AA would further consult the industry on the eventual development of the land parcels so that the relevant facilities could meet the actual needs of the industry.

As for the proposed development of automated car parks on HKBCF Island, it will facilitate visitors from Guangdong and Macao driving their cars via HZMB to visit Hong Kong for sightseeing or fly out from HKIA. The "land-to-air" arrangement can increase airport capacity. In addition to increasing flights, it can also increase the cargo capacity in cabins.

In fact, since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, owing to the various levels of lockdowns and restrictions on the entry of foreigners in various places, air passenger traffic has plummeted by more than 90% and passenger flights have almost come to a standstill. As there is a substantial reduction in passenger flights which used to be very frequent, and a shortage of cargo capacity in passenger cabins, air transport costs are rising rather than declining during the epidemic. To maintain our status as an air transport hub, it is crucial to increase the frequency and coverage of flights. Therefore, increasing the source of passengers by various means not only help promote air passenger volumes, but also further enhance the competitiveness of our air cargo services. Although the third runway system of HKIA will only be commissioned in 2024 and there are three to four years to go, the Liberal Party is concerned about whether there are sufficient human resources by then. The novel coronavirus epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to the aviation industry, other aviation-related service industries, including aviation catering, aircraft maintenance, etc. are also greatly affected. Last year, the Government launched a six-month Employment Support Scheme and coupled with the relief measures introduced by AA, operators in the aviation service industry could still survive. However, as the Government will no longer LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3143 provide wage subsidies after the Employment Support Scheme ended at the end of November last year; layoffs are inevitable. Layoff has taken place or is taking place. Airline companies and the related aviation services industry must streamline their structures as the manpower establishment and scale of operation can no longer match those before the epidemic.

According to the updated forecast of the International Air Transport Association ("IATA") in November last year, the aviation industry would not return to pre-epidemic levels until 2024. As the aviation industry involves safety issues, many work types require specific training, e.g. aircraft maintenance mechanics require a long period of training and the same also applies to flight attendants and ground staff. In order to ensure that the third runway project in HKIA has sufficient human resources when it is commissioned in 2024, the Government and AA must prepare for a rainy day and get ready for the resumption of aviation services and related support industries after the epidemic and the commissioning of the third runway project in HKIA in 2024.

Hong Kong is a densely populated city with scarce land resources. There is a shortage of land for development, and the logistics industry has all along been facing land shortage problem. To open up more land, the Development Bureau will undertake studies for eight brownfield clusters as recommended by the Task Force on Land Supply. The current operations of the eight brownfield clusters include general warehouses or storage, as well as related facilities for the support of the logistics and construction industries in Hong Kong. Once decision is made to develop these eight brownfield clusters, the Liberal Party hopes that the Government can identify alternative sites for the operators of these brownfield sites, so that they can continue their operations and support our logistics and construction industries. The operators currently operating in the Hung Shui Kiu brownfield site have moved out one after another. As the multi-storey building planned by the Government for reprovisioning brownfield operations has not been completed before the clearance of the sites, a seamless handover cannot be achieved. Some operators have planned to cease business and leave. Generally speaking, once they have suspended operation, it is difficult for them to resume operation again.

I hope the Government will, in future, try its best to make seamless reprovisioning arrangements when brownfield sites are resumed for development. Regarding the ongoing initiatives, including the construction of a multi-storey building on a site in Tsing Yi for container storage and cargo handling, the development of another site in Kwai Chung for constructing a multi-storey complex for parking facility for container trucks/heavy goods vehicles, as well as 3144 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 releasing two sites by phases through public tender for developing modern logistics facilities this year, I reiterate that all industry players operating on brownfield sites cannot afford expensive rents. If the Government continues to put up sites for sale by tender and award the site to bidders offering the highest bids, the future rent will be beyond the affordability of the operators. These multi-storey buildings will then be useless and ultimately fail to solve the land shortage problem faced by the logistics industry.

Given that Hong Kong is the main entrepot of the Mainland, the China-US trade war over the past two years did have an impact on our logistics industry. In order to compensate for the loss of goods supply due to tariff increases, the Government should actively strive to sign trade agreements with more economies. A total of 15 economies, including the 10 ASEAN states, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ("RCEP") Agreement last year. About 30% of the world's total population is covered under the RCEP Agreement and over 90% of merchandise trade will eventually enjoy zero tariff treatment. Intra-regional trade is going to increase. If Hong Kong can become a RCEP member state, this will definitely bring in new business opportunities for trade and logistics in Hong Kong. Therefore, I hope that the SAR Government will strive to become a RCEP member state.

Since the promulgation of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by the Central Government in February 2019, various Central ministries have rolled out measures to facilitate Hong Kong residents to work, live and study in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area ("GBA"). To further grasp the opportunities brought by GBA to promote cross-boundary transportation, I hope the Government will strive for Central ministries' support to formulate new regulations related to GBA, so as to avoid cross-boundary commercial vehicles having to undergo two annual inspections and take out two insurances under the current practice, thereby reducing costs and enhancing our competitiveness.

With the opening of Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point ("BCP") in August last year, cargo clearance service provided at Huanggang Port, Sha Tau Kok and Man Kam To BCPs would be provided at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP, so as to implement the concept of "East in East out, West in West out". Except for live poultry and vegetables which are required to be imported via the Man Kam To BCP, cross-boundary cargo may be transported via the Shenzhen Bay BCP, Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai BCP and HZMB. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3145

Huanggang Port has the longest history and the most comprehensive supporting facilities, I hope the Government will have more discussions with the industry about how to strengthen the supporting facilities at Mainland ports.

As 80% of goods in the world are transported by water, the shipping industry has great potential for development. Every country is actively attracting shipping companies and international shippers. For example, Singapore has attracted many foreign business enterprises through different tax incentives. Although the Government has starting from last year provided tax concessions to the ship leasing and marine insurance industries, the concessions are still not enough. The Liberal Party supports the Government's initiative to commission the dedicated task force set up by the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board to study tax and other measures, with a view to providing a favourable business environment to attract more ship owners, ship management companies and merchandise traders to establish their presence in Hong Kong, thereby expanding our maritime services such as financial management, insurance claims, shipping agents, maintenance, and even sea and land transportation, mid-stream operations, supporting services for terminal operations and management etc., and further consolidating Hong Kong's position as a shipping centre in Asia.

President, following the social movement lasting six months in 2019, Hong Kong has been dealt a heavy blow by the novel coronavirus epidemic in the past year. Hong Kong has suffered a major setback. I hope the Government will expeditiously achieve the target of "zero infection" in the coming year, so that society will get back on track and economic recovery can be achieved within a short period of time. I so submit.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): President, today we are having a debate on the Motion of Thanks; the arrangement this time is slightly different from that of the past. In the past, this debate was divided into five sessions, but now we only have two sessions. For the theme of the first session, the first part is "Full Support of the Central Government", followed by "Upholding 'One Country, Two Systems'", "New Impetus to the Economy", and so on. Why do we have "Full Support of the Central Government" in the first part of our theme? Isn't it the same as saying "the Pope is Catholic"? The Central Government established the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") in accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution, so it is just right and natural for the Central Government to support Hong Kong. Why was the theme put in this way? Just now, I said "the Pope is Catholic". When opposition Members were still present 3146 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 in the Chamber, they would argue, "Don't say 'the Pope is Catholic'. That may not be true." Therefore, instead of saying "the Pope is Catholic", we now say "the sun rises in the east".

Some laws never change, so are some basic human values such as anti-war and non-violence. If something has gone wrong or has got off the right track, it does not mean that things can never be put right again. Therefore, supporting the HKSAR Government in its governance … this saying is incomplete. We should say "supporting the HKSAR Government to govern sensibly, reasonably and lawfully". This is the basic requirement for us as the Legislative Council Members of Hong Kong, and it is our basic responsibility to promote the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. I thus consider it justify for the SAR Government and the Central Government to push forward the enactment of the National Security Law and disqualify several former Members who promoted "Hong Kong independence" or failed to support the SAR Government and the Basic Law.

However, there is some food for thought here. While the opposition camp has all along misled Hong Kong people with claims like "we have to fight for democracy and freedom, we have to stage rallies and bring down the SAR Government", what is the basis of their arguments? The SAR Government should reflect on two past incidents, one is the illegal Occupy Central movement in 2014 and the other is the "black violence" incident in 2019. For most of the time, the arguments of the opposition camp are based on the inadequate livelihood measures of the SAR Government, the unfairness in constitutional reform and electoral system, as well as the absence of universal suffrage in Hong Kong. Yet, their claims always sound like what we hear in a fraud case. Some of their claims may be correct, but then they speak like fake medicine scammers, "You don't want it? I will take it! Here are $500,000. What a good deal! Don't tell me you don't want to buy it." Soon after that, another person will come up and say, "Stop. Here is $500,000. Give it to me first." This is the ploy of fake medicine scammers. While they love to say that the United States ("the US") is very democratic with its president being elected by universal suffrage and Hong Kong should adopt the system of the US, they have ignored many international statistics. For example, some magazines ranked Hong Kong the world third in terms of freedom and the US the 17th. Why should a free place like Hong Kong learn from a place with less freedom? This example indicates the differences in arguments on the point of freedom. I believe the Secretary for Justice would understand what I mean.

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Moreover, the general public in Hong Kong has begun to awake after the two violent incidents. Frankly speaking, before I became a Legislative Council Member, many of my friends and relatives―I should say a small number of them―knew nothing about the Legislative Council and the District Council. They would say, "Is another election coming? TAM Yiu-chung again? Didn't he run for election last year? Why is he running again this year?" In fact, TAM Yiu-chung was running for the District Council election that time. Hong Kong people did not know anything about democracy until the past three or four decades. The British and Americans have, however, learned about democracy for at least two or three centuries as the US has been founded for over 200 years and nearly 300 years. We know little about democracy. Yet, if we consider ourselves knowledgeable about democracy and electoral systems, and hold that we must catch up with the United Kingdom and the US politically, that is simply unrealistic. It is like what happens when the SAR Government has to introduce a new measure. We should first consider whether the people are capable of doing so. Some people asked me why there were people fighting for freedom in Hong Kong when Hong Kong was the freest place on earth. I do not know the answer either. However, because of these specious arguments and reasoning, we in the constructive camp sometimes find it hard to explain clearly to the public in a few words. That is why the Government may sometimes have to implement measures appropriate to the prevailing situation. For example, the enactment of the National Anthem Ordinance and the National Security Law aims to restore stability to Hong Kong through tougher means. Only when Hong Kong enjoys social stability can our economy further develop. I hope the SAR Government will truly reflect on the two said political incidents and realize that the opposition camp wishes to subvert the regime by exploiting livelihood issues, whereas the constructive camp wishes to collaborate with the SAR Government to improve people's livelihood. The SAR Government should understand these two arguments.

There is no such thing as a perfect government. There is always a chance for a government to make mistakes. Neither the current accountability system nor the electoral system is perfect, so is the election of the Agriculture and Fisheries ("A&F") constituency. Some people may wonder, "Steven HO, how come you describe the election of the A&F constituency in this way? Are you kidding?" In fact, for years, I have been holding the view that the election of the A&F constituency should be reformed.

First of all, when electors are in a poll station, they tend to think that they should use a chop to stamp next to my name "Steven HO" if they want to vote for 3148 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 me. But that is wrong. For the A&F constituency, electors are required to use a pen to fill in 1, 2, 3 or 4 to indicate their choice of candidate, but polling staff may sometimes forget to provide electors with a pen. When the general electors only vote once every four years, how can they remember the proper procedure? So, when they just put a stamp next to my name "Steven HO", the ballot paper became invalid. That is why the A&F constituency had as many as 10% of invalid ballot papers in the past. I hope the SAR Government, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau or the Electoral Affairs Commission will take note of this problem which warrants a reform.

Secondly, the requirements on A&F bodies should also be reformed. As the registration of a new body requires legislative amendment, this impractical practice has made the A&F constituency unable to keep pace with the development of the A&F industries. For example, organic farming, indoor controlled environment agriculture and offshore fishing are the emerging industries in the A&F sectors, but they are not yet included in the A&F constituency. Some people consider cat and dog breeding as part of the A&F industries. If this view is sound, should the Jockey Club also be considered as our trade member? As a change in the electoral system will cause political upheavals, a reform is thus pending. The SAR Government should reconsider whether something has to be done.

As for the politically accountable team, my personal view is that it should be responsible for political tasks rather than being a group of professionals assigned to handle professional or administrative tasks. For example, the former Secretary for Innovation and Technology who had already left―I am not saying that he left for heaven; I am saying that he left his position as a Director of Bureau―was a professional appointed by the Government to explain professional issues. Nevertheless, given that his position was political in nature, he had to deal with public sentiments and had to understand how the innovation and technology ("I&T") development was seen by people outside the information technology and the I&T industries. His job was to engage the people. I hope that all politically accountable officials present right now will see this point and hence have more communication, interaction and reflection in the fight against the epidemic.

Regarding the recent issue concerning the Lunar New Year ("LNY") fairs, I know Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN had worked very hard and had made two difficult decisions. The first one was, of course, to cancel the LNY fairs. If it LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3149 was possible to hold the LNY fairs, why would one ask for trouble? After cancelling the LNY fairs, she made another difficult decision to resume them. If she could have insisted on her first decision, she would not have resumed the fairs. But the truth was, she could not do so. Eventually, the Secretary made the right decision but came under political pressure at the same time. In the past couple of days, we received many calls asking our views on this issue and whether the Secretary had made a mistake. No doubt she made a mistake, but she has corrected it and showed her willingness to shoulder the responsibility for her decision.

As Hong Kong is fighting against the epidemic, sometimes we should cooperate with the Government. No local industries or citizens can distance themselves from what is happening in Hong Kong. They cannot demand all their interests be safeguarded and everything be done to their liking. Therefore, I have asked local farmers to compromise and tide over this difficult period with Hong Kong.

I know people criticize the SAR high-ranking officials, including the politically accountable officials, Permanent Secretaries and those assisting the Directors of Bureaux in formulating policy, saying that they work behind closed doors in air-conditioned rooms. Such kind of situation does exist; however, after they have taken on board our views, we should let them off. That is because it is not the time for accusation. We should not behave like Donald TRUMP of the United States. He has torn the community apart by refusing to admit losing the election. We should consider whether accusation and accountability will do good to society at this moment. If the answer is in the affirmative, I will surely insist on holding them accountable. Yet, if my accusations will only make things worse but not better, isn't it better for me to change my viewpoint?

Some people said, "Steven HO, you did a good job on the issue of the LNY fairs." In fact, I had to take the blame and criticism too. I am aware that not every farmer is happy with the arrangement for the LNY fairs. However, for those (including the Secretary) who have contributed to the holding of the fairs under this difficult situation, I think they had made a responsible yet difficult decision. Therefore, as a Member, I would like to thank the SAR Government and give them credit. Of course, someone berated me for helping the SAR Government, for they thought that the problem was of the own making of the Government. Yet, would things get better if I just make criticisms without 3150 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 offering any help? We do not want to tear society apart; we just want to see that the Government organizes the LNY fairs properly without compromising its anti-epidemic efforts. Criticizing the Government will not do any good. Right now, the problems with the LNY fairs are yet to be solved. In case the number of confirmed cases later rockets to over 1 000, will all the activities in Hong Kong be called off? I once said to flower farmers and my trade that if the suspension of all activities in Hong Kong was conducive to fighting against the epidemic, by then I would only have to advise the Government on how to safeguard the livelihood of trade members and redevelop the industry. That might be easier for me.

I hope the SAR Government will learn a lesson in its fight against the epidemic. In particular, it should improve its consultation. To be honest, I was not consulted about the cancellation of the LNY fairs. I learned it from the news. If the authorities had asked for my views, I could have at least given them my personal views. My views were not perfect, but the authorities should at least give them a thought, right? Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN is not the only one failing to consult, other Directors of Bureaux have the same problem too. If, under the current mechanism, government officials are worried that a phone call to seek Members' advice may lead to divulgence of confidential information, will the Government consider setting up a new consultation mechanism, under which district consultants can be engaged with minimal resources? The district consultants shall be bound by confidentiality obligations, and they can be paid by a monthly allowance of $2,000 or $3,000. As these public offices are not well-paid, they should not be viewed as political payoffs. The Government only has to offer nominal transport allowance to engage consultants who are down-to-earth and familiar with local issues. For example, an official may ask his consultant, "Mr CHAN, what do you think if I announce today my decision to cancel the LNY fairs? Please keep it to yourself." The consultant can then provide the official with his professional views. Given that each Bureau only has to engage several such consultants, the resources used will be insignificant. But, in return, the Government can take on board the voices of people at the lowest strata of the community when devising anti-epidemic policy and other new policies. Will the Government consider this suggestion?

It has been almost 30 years since the reunification. In the past, the appointment of civil servants laid more emphasis on language proficiency. I used the word "more" and I did not mean to say that civil servants had no other skills. Candidates with better language proficiency definitely had an advantage. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3151

After the reunification, with the departure of some high-ranking officials, their subordinates were promoted very quickly, but these newly-promoted officials might not be as competent as their predecessors in the British Hong Kong era, especially in terms of political sense. As a result, people started to have the impression that the SAR Government is getting increasingly bureaucratic. If the officials are aware of their own incompetency, they should seek improvement. I am not criticizing them, but if they are aware of their incompetency, isn't it a good idea to consider enhancing the consultation structure so as to bring in a new mindset?

Now, we all know that the District Council has become increasing weak in performing its functions, though not to the extent of not being able to perform at all. When the old channel of consultation, i.e. the District Council, is blocked, the SAR Government should find a new way out, so that members of the public will feel safe to follow the Government and need not worry about "tailgating". I am often warned against "tailgating", and in reply, I said, "If the Government is right, I will follow it; if not, I will find my own way and handle the follow-up work." This time, the row over the LNY fairs is just like other problems facing the A&F sector in the past. There are always criticisms, but this is a not big deal, because for me, as a person or as a Member, my prime concern is that I have a clear conscience before myself and others.

Lastly, I would like to give a special reminder to the SAR Government in this session. I do not think all SAR government officials or Directors of Bureaux can recite the Basic Law. However, as the representative of the A&F sector, I suggest them familiarizing themselves with Article 119, which requires the SAR Government to formulate policies for various trades, including A&F. Let us try to recall: Have the A&F policies been truly appropriate over the years. The Basic Law requires the formulation of appropriate, and not ordinary, A&F policies. Although the Policy Address has mentioned the A&F industries, some of the initiatives, such as establishing an Agricultural Park, were indeed proposed by the former Chief Executive. My point here is that while land development will certainly impact the A&F industries, are the relevant policies appropriate? Some ordinances have remained unchanged for decades and probably become obsolete. For example, the compensation for a well still stands at some $20,000. If I give you $200,000, can you build me a well? No, you cannot. As for the compensation for dead chicken, it remains low at $30 each.

The aforesaid issues, though simple, will cause public grievances. When there are grievances, those who have left the Legislative Council will play on the 3152 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 grievances to attack the Government. They are really good at this. However, there is nothing I can help as the SAR Government is really slow in making legislative amendment. Regarding the government policies or bills introduced to the Legislative Council, government officials and ordinary citizens may not see eye to eye on what is important. Even though members of the public are not as intelligent as government officials, they still care about having a better life. Improvement in people's livelihood should thus be the ultimate goal of a government to bring its people a peaceful and happy life. In the report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President XI also talked about the pursuit of a better life. Yet, if people always find the roads damaged and only receive a compensation of $30 for each dead chicken, and no changes have been made for 20 years, they will definitely have grievances. In view of this, will the Government consider reprioritizing its bills or legislative amendments? Though the future development of Hong Kong's infrastructure is important, members of public may not be so far-sighted. The skill of cutting a cake, i.e. weighing the priority of issues and the distribution of resources, is a political skill that must be mastered by government officials. Directors of Bureaux are politically accountable officials as well as the highest officials in their respective policy areas. If they cannot master the skill, Chief Secretary Matthew CHEUNG should give a helping help, so as to pacify the people. By then, the Government can do little to achieve much.

With these remarks, President, I hope the SAR Government will learn a lesson.

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, novel coronavirus pneumonia is raging around the world and Hong Kong is not spared. Hong Kong has experienced four epidemic waves since the first case was recorded in January last year. There are fluctuations in the number of daily confirmed cases, with no signs for a significant reduction in the number of cases. It cannot be denied that the Government has made remarkable anti-epidemic efforts in the past. It managed to improve the testing capacity and volume, enhance the tracking of infected persons, improve epidemic prevention and control at the border and develop the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile app. Of course, Hong Kong relies on the strong support of the Central Government in fighting against the epidemic, such as implementing the Universal Community Testing Programme, building temporary hospitals, and making commitments on the supply of vaccines. All these provide important impetus to the local anti-epidemic work.

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The Policy Address proposes to achieve the target of "zero infection" and to resume travelling between the two places at an early date. This is the anti-epidemic target of the SAR Government. However, there are doubts as to whether the Government can successfully adopt the "suppress and lift" strategy in epidemic prevention and control, and make timely adjustments in response to the changes in the epidemic situation so as to guard against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections. In fact, the numbers of local confirmed cases still hit double and triple digits, without any sign of a significant decline. Hong-Kong imported cases have occasionally been detected in Shenzhen. When compared with the effective performance of the Mainland and Macao, our performance is barely satisfactory. It is difficult to make the governments of neighbouring places feel at ease, and subsequently relax the quarantine restrictions on Hong Kong people and reopen the border to facilitate the smooth flow of people as requested by the SAR Government.

It is true that many members of the community have made brilliant suggestions on epidemic prevention and control, hoping to help the Government achieve the target of "zero infection" as soon as possible. However, very often the Government has not seriously considered these suggestions or has been slow in its response. For example, at the onset of the epidemic, I suggested that the Government should set up testing stations and laboratories at all boundary control points, so that rapid tests could be conducted on inbound travellers, thereby stopping the importation of cases. Yet, the Government only set up a temporary testing centre at the Airport in March last year, two months after the onset of the epidemic. Moreover, some people suggested long ago that the Government should follow the practice of the Mainland and designate quarantine hotels for inbound travellers, but the Government only implemented the relevant arrangement late last year. In the past, many people criticized about the inadequate quarantine measures and the failure to transfer close contacts to quarantine centres in time. The Government only rushed to remedy the situation after a close contact passed away while waiting for transfer to a quarantine centre.

The pro-establishment camp has repeatedly proposed to implement universal compulsory testing, to be complement with a lockdown. The Government has not accepted the proposal and no response has been made. As the saying goes, "A bamboo stick can easily be bent but a bundle of them will make bending and breaking difficult". While it is the bounden duty of the Government to fight against the epidemic, we cannot merely rely on the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health ("DH") to do the work. I 3154 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 suggested some time ago that the Government should mobilize some civil servants (such as immigration or customs officers) who have been left idle due to the epidemic, to provide help. Volunteers should also be recruited. The Government has only responded to this suggestion at a very late stage. It has recently asked the Immigration Department and the Customs and Excise Department to deploy staff to assist DH in tracing the infected persons. This is a good start in mobilizing government staff to fight against the epidemic.

In addition to internal deployment of staff, the Government should also consider using community resources such as the Civil Aid Services and the Auxiliary Medical Services to assist in the anti-epidemic work. In fact, many people in the community are very enthusiastic and would like to offer some help to fight against the epidemic, so that Hong Kong can navigate through the epidemic as early as possible. For instance, at the outset of the epidemic, there was a shortage of protective items such as face masks and disinfectants. Many leaders of community groups and members of the community had made efforts to procure these items from various places and distribute them to people of different social strata. I believe that if the Government has indicated the need to get help, community groups and members of the public are very willing to offer help in epidemic prevention and control.

Looking forward to 2021, although different novel coronavirus pneumonia vaccines have successively been launched on the market and the Government will soon implement a territory-wide vaccination programme, we cannot rely on vaccines alone to achieve the target of "zero infection". It is important to guard against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections. The Government must learn lessons from the past, compare the successful experience of neighbouring regions including the Mainland, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, seek continuous improvements and improve its anti-epidemic work, so as to achieve the target of "zero infection" and reopen the border.

In order to reduce the risk of spreading the epidemic, the Government has repeatedly tightened social distancing measures, such as implementing the "no-gathering order", prohibiting dine-in services in catering premises in the evening, closing venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and requiring cinemas, sports premises and fitness centres to close for business, as well as suspending classes, etc. All these measures are understandable and appropriate. The Government has also provided subsidies under four rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund. Amid the epidemic, various LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3155 industries and sectors have been affected to varying degrees. The tourism, catering and retail industries have been directly hit, but these industries have received huge and targeted subsidies under four rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund. To our regret, the problem does not lie in insufficient subsidies but in their unequal distribution. There are still many industries or industry players directly or indirectly affected by the epidemic but have been neglected by the Fund. Many industries feel aggrieved at not being to benefit from the Fund.

In fact, some China-Hong Kong cross-boundary coach companies, marketing companies, music instrument shops, laundry shops, employment agencies, etc. have been affected by the epidemic, the travel restrictions and the "no-gathering order". Yet, the four rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund have not specifically provided subsidies for them. Some industries are relatively lucky as they have received some subsidies after some hard work. Examples of such industries include dishwashing workshops, pyrotechnics special effects technicians, concert organizers, etc. The one-off subsidies offered are just better than none. When designing the subsidy schemes and drawing up the application criteria, the Government often takes administrative convenience into consideration and uses the existing licensing system and Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") accounts to identify the beneficiaries. Under this practice, many trades, job types, freelancers and self-employed persons have been excluded from the subsidy scheme. In particular, for the sectors I represent, many people work as freelancers and they may not necessarily have MPF accounts. I have repeatedly urged the Government to relax the requirements in processing the applications for assistance submitted by the members of the sports and performing arts sectors. The practitioners can apply for assistance by providing simple proof of previous employment in the sector. The Government refused on the excuse that verification is difficult. Consequently, the practitioners of these sectors have been ignored.

Under the harsh epidemic situation, many industry players are unwilling to beg for government support. They want to be self-reliant and earn their own living. I have recently conducted an online questionnaire survey and interviewed more than 500 industry players. More than 80% of the respondents considered that reopening venues was the best way to help them cope with the current difficulties. Recently, the Hong Kong Theatre Association has also written to the Chief Executive and the Director of Bureau concerned, hoping that the Government would allow the reopening of theatres during the Lunar New Year after implementing a series of anti-epidemic measures.

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The industries asked: While many people wearing face masks are allowed to travel on buses and MTR each day, why cinemas are required to suspend business notwithstanding the alternate seating arrangement? While members of the public are allowed to dine at the same table without face masks, why is it necessary to prohibit sports activities such as tennis, table tennis and badminton, in which participants can keep considerable distance from each other? While many shopping malls are crowded with people on holidays, fitness centres and places of entertainment are still required to suspend business. All these are very puzzling. How did the Government lay down the standards for social distancing measures? The strangest thing is that while the Government decided to cancel the Lunar New Year fairs and later bowed to pressure and enabled the Lunar New Year fairs to be held, the Government was curiously reluctant to reopen various establishments for business and public use. Is it possible that the Lunar New Year fairs, which involve tens of thousands of visitors and transactions, pose a lower risk than a match with 22 players on the same pitch?

Since the epidemic outbreak, cinemas have been required to suspend business for over 140 days. Although the Government has provided subsidies for cinemas, the subsidies are far from adequate to cover the huge rental and labour costs. Two cinemas have recently closed down. If the reopening of cinemas is endlessly delayed again, I believe successive closures are foreseeable. Other industries such as fitness centres, sports organizations and performing groups are also facing the same problem. The industries and I have repeatedly criticized the Anti-epidemic Fund for its inadequate support and feeble efforts. Under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, a subsidy of $40 million was provided to the local printing and publishing sector for participation in the Hong Kong Book Fair, but the event was postponed twice due to the epidemic and it is still uncertain whether it can be held in July this year. Under the current economic environment, some sectors, especially small and medium enterprises, may actually be unable to make it through till July this year. I have repeatedly urged the Government to carefully consider the prevalent situation and flexibly handle the funding applications, so that timely assistance can be provided for industries to tide over the immediate difficulties. However, all these efforts were in vain. President, I do not want to go into too much detail about the anti-epidemic measures, but I find it necessary to highlight my wish that the Government will make improvements. Of course, I think there is still room for improvement in a range of measures.

Next, I would like to talk about the economy. The Policy Address goes into great lengths to describe the challenges facing the Hong Kong economy and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3157 gives a detailed explanation of "one country, two systems". I think the two aspects are closely related. The Hong Kong economy has been hard hit over the years. External factors, mainly the China-United States ("US") trade war, have caused the relations between China and Europe and the US to take a dramatic turn, which directly and indirectly created uncertainties for the Hong Kong economy. In addition, the series of social movements and violent protests arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments have dealt a blow to the Hong Kong economy and the after-effects still ripple on. Unfortunately, coupled with the shrinking economy and rising unemployment rate caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, Hong Kong's economy has experienced an unprecedented challenge. Under such circumstances, the SAR Government is obliged to address these issues, so as to restore public confidence and bring Hong Kong out of its predicament as soon as possible.

As the saying goes, "every crisis is an opportunity". The imposition of sanctions by Western countries, mainly the US, happens to create an opportunity for overseas enterprises to relocate their operations back to Hong Kong. For example, listed companies are coming back to apply for listing in Hong Kong, and a large number of high-end talents, especially research talents, are trying to take every possible means to return to Hong Kong. The SAR Government should seize the opportunities and introduce targeted policies and measures in a timely manner to receive these returning talents and enterprises, so as to promote the development of innovation and technology, financial services and other industries. However, as far as I see, the Policy Address does not say much about this.

How to leverage the unique advantages of "one country, two systems" and actively integrate into the overall development of our country to seek support from the Central Authorities is an important aspect of the Policy Address concerning local economic development. To help Hong Kong integrate into the overall development of our country, we must better safeguard the "one country, two systems" principle in order to bid farewell to disputes and relaunch with a clean slate. Therefore, it is important to have a correct understanding of "one country, two systems" and to respond positively to all kinds of misconceptions.

The Policy Address this year has set out in detail the background and underlying principles of "one country, two systems", and has clearly pointed out some fundamental problems facing Hong Kong, such as the community's inadequate understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law, and the need for 3158 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 some people to enhance their concept of "one country", so as to restore order from chaos. Although some people pointed out that Hong Kong's role in the overall development of the country has diminished terribly compared to the past, I would like to stress that Hong Kong can still play an extremely important role for the country.

From a macro perspective, there are still many outstanding issues concerning the China-US relations. As regards the future situation, suppressing China's development is already a consensus between the Democratic and Republican parties and the main theme of the US' strategy. Fortunately, China has seized the golden opportunity of their friendly relations over the past 40 years to promote its rapid development. Of course, a friendly relation should not be taken for granted. Today, I think China has successfully climbed up the ladder, even if the US were to kick down the ladder, we need not get into panic or put too much effort into exploring how to restore the relations between China and the US because sometimes things just cannot be changed by subjective will. Our present concern is how China can continue with its initiatives, foster Sino-Russian trade relations, promote friendly cooperation with the Middle East, follow up the trade agreement between China and Europe, seek to support and develop the Belt and Road initiatives, and how Hong Kong can play a role in all these aspects.

With the US' global hegemony coming to an end, I think the great revival of the Chinese nation is just around the corner. However, we must be careful not to be hurt by the collapse of the US which may happen at any time. For example, the collapse of the US may have an impact on Hong Kong, and Hong Kong will need to find a role to play in the new international environment and situation.

Hong Kong still enjoys the rule of law, a free market and a highly international regime, as well as the unique advantages of "one country, two systems". As an international financial centre, an aviation hub with a pool of professional talents, Hong Kong can actually assist Mainland enterprises and capital to go global, promote the internationalization and digitization of Renminbi in line with the national policy, fully apply block chain technology to promote digital economy, and so on. In addition, participating in the country's internal circulation and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will not only boost the economy, but also greatly improve the livelihood of Hong Kong people. However, some operational arrangements LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3159 such as immigration clearance, as well as livelihood, employment, education and elderly care in the Mainland are the pressing issues to be dealt with.

In light of the fast pace of digitization and electronification in the Mainland in recent years, the SAR Government should take the initiative to approach Mainland authorities for collaboration, such as developing mobile phone applications and various technological products, so as to provide quick and convenient channels through smart phone applications and digital technology for complete mutual access between Mainland and Hong Kong, thereby facilitating social integration between the two places in daily lives.

Some members of the public are concerned about personal privacy. Some even feel worried about the use of the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application in Hong Kong. I would like to point out that the collection and use of data is very different today compared to 5 or 10 years ago. We should not be restrained by the concept of privacy and hesitate to move forward. We shall be well-prepared for our rapidly evolving world in the future. Given that Hong Kong is falling behind other smart cities in the world and the Mainland in many aspects, we should no longer be constrained by the overly stringent and outdated data security and privacy standards, which hinder the advancement of creative technology and data openness. While we should adequately protect personal data, we should also consider how to strike a balance, so as not to delay the development of a smart city and the free flow of information in the data era; otherwise, it will not only hinder Hong Kong's integration into the Greater Bay Area, but also hinder Hong Kong's own development.

President, I so submit.

MR VINCENT CHENG (in Cantonese): President, this Council is having a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Policy Address today. This year's situation is very different from last year's. Under the influence of "black violence" arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments, the "mutual destruction camp" and "Hong Kong independence camp" were prevalent last year, resulting in a highly unstable situation in society. Subsequently, with the support of the Central Authorities, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the National Security Law") was promulgated in July last year, and social stability has since been restored.

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Obviously, countries led by the United States have continued to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs by imposing sanctions and bullying, while the "mutual destruction camp" outside Hong Kong has been fanning the flames. However, in my view, Hong Kong belongs to China and it is an inseparable part of our country. As long as we remain united and truly uphold the original intent of "one country, two systems", we will be able to guard against those outrageous attempts to seize power, interfere in and undermine the foundations of our society.

With 23 years passed since Hong Kong's reunification with China, this coming July will mark the 24th anniversary, or nearly a quarter of a century, of the handover. It is incumbent on the Special Administrative Region ("SAR") Government to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, whether by means of publicity, monitoring or law enforcement. I suggest that the authorities put in place a more comprehensive plan and action agenda for promoting national security and enhancing public understanding of the National Security Law. The authorities should also take a firm stance and allocate more resources to establish a comprehensive system for safeguarding national security in order to enforce the National Security Law more effectively.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR MA FUNG-KWOK, took the Chair)

However, as you can imagine, some people in our society have been cooperating with external forces by engaging in confrontational activities and tactics. In view of this, we must take countermeasures to prevent those who go against the overall interests of our country and Hong Kong from continuously spreading fallacious arguments and poisoning our next generation by "brainwashing" them. The Government must act in a prompt, forceful and targeted manner and be ready to fight back and debunk their lies in no time. Members of the public should also identify the motives behind the actions of the defiant people. The interference by so many foreign countries involves political jockeying among different countries.

In my view, the Government should step up the publicity on the National Security Law in more areas while promoting the sense of national identity at the same time. Regarding the Basic Law, the Government should expeditiously reintroduce national education in order to incorporate curriculum on national conditions and the National Security Law as soon as possible. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong ("DAB") supports the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3161

Government's move to require all civil servants to take an oath and sign a declaration that they will uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to SAR, be dedicated to their duties, and be responsible to the SAR Government. District Council members, being public officers, should also be covered by the oath-taking legislation. It is also a very reasonable arrangement to enhance the oath-taking requirement for public officers.

In the meantime, since the outbreak of COVID-19 early last year, Hong Kong has been battling the epidemic of the century for a whole year. In retrospect, this period of time has passed very slowly, and the impact on the Hong Kong economy and the public has been unprecedented. The latest unemployment rate has reached 6.6%, meaning that 245 000 people are unemployed, a record high since the SARS epidemic. As the Lunar New Year is approaching, in the absence of another tranche of Employment Support Scheme, a new wave of layoffs and business closures is expected, and the unemployment rate may rise to 7% in any time. I believe that the current situation has weighed very heavily on our mind.

The theme of the Chief Executive's Policy Address is "Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance". In fact, all people have been trying hard to cope with the epidemic of the century, particularly the SAR Government. As pointed out by many colleagues today, it is necessary for the Government to break through its rigid and bureaucratic framework, ensure that its administration keeps pace with public sentiments, and rescue both enterprises and the unemployed. I would like to reiterate that all political parties in the Legislative Council support the introduction of a temporary, half-yearly unemployment relief fund, under which our party DAB proposes a grant of $6,000 per person. On the basis of the latest unemployed population of 240 000 people, the total expenditure will only be about $8 billion to $10 billion, which is definitely not an astronomical sum. I hope that the Government will provide support by tapping into its reserves or other funds. While the Chief Executive has recently dismissed the proposal as infeasible, can the Government reconsider carefully whether the proposal is really infeasible? Can the Government meet with pro-establishment political parties for a discussion on any feasible solution?

Before the Policy Address was announced in November last year, DAB had already put forward a number of proposals in as early as September, such as requesting the SAR Government to improve its governance efficiency and enhance communication with various political parties in the Legislative Council. During the past six months, has any progress been made in our communication? Let me cite a few examples of what I consider to be inadequate communication. 3162 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

The proposal of offering $2 fare concessions to elderly people aged 60 to 64 was actually put forward by the Chief Executive early last year, i.e. 2020. However, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Dr LAW said just now that the concession scheme would not be launched until next year, exactly two years after the announcement of the proposal. It is indeed difficult for the Government to explain to the public why it takes two years to implement a policy, not to mention that the relevant scheme has already been in place. A member of the public has asked me why the Government has taken so much time to launch an Elder Octopus policy. Claiming that he could apply for a new Elder Octopus card in just five seconds with his mobile phone, he wondered why it would take the Government as long as two years to do so, and why it was necessary to set up a new system. We in the pro-establishment camp have repeatedly pointed out in the past the need for the Government to enhance communication. Besides, has the Secretary ever taken heed of our suggestion to explore a feasible approach? Worse still, the Secretary has recently told the public that he might consider raising the concessionary fare to $3. Does the Government care about its public image after all? Has our communication been inadequate in any way?

Another example is the belated announcement of the decision to cancel the 2021 Lunar New Year fair. Mr Steven HO has also talked about the issue at length just now. With the Lunar New Year drawing near, the Government made the above decision without any prior consultation, sparking worries that crowds of people would flock to the Flower Market to buy flowers. Fortunately, after some communication with Mr Steven HO and flower farmers, the Government decided to resume the fair, although the scale of markets would be reduced by half. Are there areas that the Government could have done better in this case? Have any frontline law enforcement officers slacked off by trying to brush the matter aside and taking their hands off the matter? I would like to give them a reminder. That being said, the Government has taken the right step by rectifying its mistake in a timely manner. I have always been reminding myself as well. Although we have different roles, we must put ourselves in the shoes of public officers and empathize with them.

In her Policy Address, the Chief Executive mentioned the need for public sector reform with a view to implementing initiatives that could bring benefits and convenience to the public. Amid the epidemic, the economy has experienced negative growth for the past two years. People have suffered from a significant drop in their income, and some have even become unemployed. Operating under such a hostile environment, many sectors must tighten their belts now. I have recently heard that many enterprises are on the verge of closing down, whereas some small businesses and traders also have to wind down their LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3163 operation. People affected include those working in guesthouses, the tourism and the performing arts sectors. Mr MA Fung-kwok also mentioned the performing arts sector just now. Many people working in the catering and construction industries have also been out of work. Many affected families have been telling us about their plight. They have been working extremely hard, striving for survival on their own. However, they have been left out from the first three rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund. Should we just leave them sink or swim on their own, without offering them any help regardless of the development of the epidemic? While the Financial Secretary has projected a huge budget deficit for this year, we can still tap into our fiscal reserves and the revenue from other funds. Is it really impossible to provide these people with any support whatsoever?

In her Policy Address, the Chief Executive has also proposed some initiatives, including supporting people in need to deal with mental health problems. In my view, this proposal is fairly unusual. The Government is aware that many families are possibly suffering from mental health problems. The Government has finally decided to draw $300 million from the Beat Drugs Fund to provide support. After all, how is mental health related to the Beat Drugs Fund? We have subsequently learnt that the Chief Executive had intended to explore using different funds to provide support to the public. The Beat Drugs Fund has thus been used to support people with mental health problems. This is actually a desirable move. Will the SAR Government further consider if other long-standing funds can be used to provide support to people in need? Let me cite a simple example. The Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme targets the convention and exhibition industry which we are going to discuss in the next session. However, the scheme will not be reactivated until exhibitions resume. The Secretaries are also in the Chamber now. Does the Government have any fund available to support the convention and exhibition industry in the interim? I hope the SAR Government will mull over this question.

Next, I would like to talk about another issue that I am equally concerned about, namely the work to prevent and combat the epidemic. Deputy President, as you know, I have recently been following up the issues concerning the area around Reclamation Street and Jordan. I am therefore very familiar with the situation there. In fact, the Chief Executive has also highlighted in the Policy Address that a multi-pronged approach is required to ride out the epidemic and achieve the target of "zero infection". The current epidemic situation has been fluctuating. Apart from the cases in some buildings, there were recently localized outbreaks in Yau Ma Tei and Jordon caused by workers from 3164 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 construction sites on the Central Kowloon Route. Two days ago, the Government delineated a specified area in Sham Shui Po for compulsory testing. In my view, all of these initiatives are important steps forward.

The outbreak of the epidemic is devastating and unprecedented. Members of the public are now in dire straits. I hope that the Directors of Bureaux and Secretaries of Departments will not mind my bluntness in saying that it is understandable for the public to blame the Government. Being stranded in their subdivided units every day, members of the public cannot do anything except watch television. As they cannot go anywhere, life has been rather difficult for them. We relate strongly to how they feel sometimes.

I will return to the case of Reclamation Street. Initially, the Government said that it would only conduct compulsory testing on units at 20 to 24 Reclamation Street. In fact, as I said publicly back then, pipes in old buildings were connected in a haphazard way due to the presence of numerous subdivided units. If virus is detected in sewage or if environmental risk is identified, the Government should not only conduct compulsory testing but also put residents in quarantine. It is not reasonable to confine residents to a building where sewage problem is identified. If only a lockdown or compulsory testing is imposed, people who have not contracted the disease will also be at risk.

It is the end of January now. At the same time last year, the Diamond Princess incident took place. Back then, the passengers on board racked their brain every day trying to find ways to leave. The situation was actually similar to that of the buildings with confirmed COVID-19 cases at present. The Government has subsequently sent staff to inspect the drainage of those buildings and replaced compulsory testing with quarantine by sending residents to the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre. In my view, this was the right thing to do. Subsequently, the Government has also suggested that residents in the designated area should test for COVID-19, including voluntary testing. This was also an improvement. About 20 000 people were tested at that time; the Secretary concerned might provide the relevant figure to the public later. There may be more than 20 000 residents in the designated area. Assuming that there are about 22 000 people, if 20 000 of them have undergone testing, the testing in the designated area has proven to be successful, and the experience has been extremely significant.

However, I think there is still room for improvement. To help combat the epidemic, the Government has significantly increased the number of mobile testing vehicles. Nevertheless, I think there is still room for improvement in the operation. For example, some residents of subdivided units, who had left their LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3165 home without returning, might have slipped through the net. Have all the residents of Reclamation Street been sent to Penny's Bay for quarantine? The second problem is lax enforcement of law. I have witnessed some law enforcement officers wondering whether residents should be allowed to enter the building. Residents had been allowed to enter and leave freely, particularly on the first two days. Third, the Government should be more proactive in communicating with ethnic minorities. I hope that the Government will learn from this experience that it is most important to implement epidemic prevention work quickly. As a number of colleagues have pointed out today, policies should be forward-looking rather than lagging behind. Therefore, I hope the Secretaries can do us a favour. I have learnt that the Government has already asked an interdisciplinary group of the University of Hong Kong and the Environmental Protection Department to inspect sewage drains. This is an excellent way of handling the situation. However, can the Government put in place a mechanism after water testing? At present, residents must undergo compulsory tests if virus is found in drains after several tests. Should this really happen, can the Government evacuate residents in the neighbourhood first? In fact, there are usually one to two hundred residents, rather than thousands of people, living in tenement buildings. Should any problem arise in a building, the Government should impose mandatory evacuation to get residents out of harm's way safely, instead of requiring them to stay while telling them that the sewage in their building is toxic. It is more desirable for the Government to evacuate the residents mandatorily. I hope that the Secretary will take my view on board.

In addition, I would like to talk about the testing drive in designated areas in Sham Shui Po. As I mentioned just now, I think this is a forward-looking move. I was at the scene yesterday morning and evening. I noticed that the response was quite good as many Sham Shui Po residents were very willing to test for COVID-19. Some residents told me that although they did not live in the buildings under compulsory quarantine, for their peace of mind and for the sake of their families and friends, they were willing to be tested. This is an excellent example which the Secretary may take into consideration. In fact, the community is now more receptive to testing. Although we are very tired after combating COVID-19 for such a long time, we are willing to take one step further. I therefore have confidence in the testing drive. The Government has also learnt from the experience of delineating designated areas for testing this time. The Secretary concerned may tell us statistics on COVID-19 testing later. As far as I understand it, about 2 000 to 3 000 people showed up for the testing yesterday. Can the Government come up with more ways to encourage more people to go for testing?

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Frankly speaking, the Government has already opened a gateway. In fact, the designated area delineated by the Government for testing is not small. There may be about 100 000 residents living in the designated area, but not all of them are aware of the testing arrangement. Will the Government do more publicity work through the District Offices ("DOs")? I have also driven around the neighbourhood and broadcast my announcement with loudspeaker to urge people to take the tests. Will DOs go the extra mile and take one more step? For example, DO's liaison officers may call various owners' corporations and encourage residents to participate in testing so as to create an atmosphere of universal testing. This will help establish a mechanism for testing in designated areas whereby the successful experience of the recent testing can be replicated in other designated areas.

Based on previous surveys, DAB found that 50% of the respondents agreed that universal compulsory testing is the next step forward in the fight against the epidemic. The Secretaries and a number of Honourable colleagues have also reiterated the difficulty of implementing territory-wide universal testing. I hope that the Secretaries will establish a sound mechanism based on the experiences of recent testing in designated areas, and make further enhancement and step up publicity, so that this system can operate more smoothly.

Deputy President, lastly, I would like to talk briefly about economic recovery. The Financial Secretary has already forecasted that the local economy probably would not have the momentum to recover until the second half of the year, subject to the precondition that epidemic prevention is done properly, and sufficient people have been vaccinated. In fact, as mentioned by a number of Honourable colleagues yesterday, the tourism industry, for example, will need some time to restructure business operations before it can recover. Many guesthouses in Hong Kong have already closed down because it is not easy to sustain. We have been discussing transitional housing with the Secretaries who are in the Chamber now. Will the Government consider converting guesthouses and hotels into transitional housing? I hope that the Government can help speed up the recovery process and discuss with various sectors on restructuring business operations. I consider these efforts to be extremely significant.

Dr Bernard CHAN, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, is in the Chamber now. The situation of the Ocean Park, which is now under discussion, is a case in point. The Ocean Park is struggling to find ways to restructure its business operations. The Government also knows that it must find some ways to help this "white elephant" either split up or expand. The Government has actually moved in the right direction by assisting the Ocean LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3167

Park. Apart from the Ocean Park, the Secretaries are well advised to assist the Chief Executive in figuring out how to assist other industries. While the Ocean Park has been providing livelihood for thousands of employees, the guesthouse sector is also providing livelihood to numerous people, and so is the cultural and performing arts sector. As I have often said, I feel really heartbroken whenever I pass by the Xiqu Centre. No one is visiting such a beautiful Xiqu Centre. How can this problem be resolved after all?

With Hong Kong people's "Lion Rock Spirit", we have overcome difficult challenges repeatedly. In the face of adversity, we can cope with flexibility. We will not apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance hastily, nor do we incline to rely on government support. The grass roots are now under considerable pressure. How can the Government carry out reforms, including a review of the taxation system and accelerated public housing construction, in the medium and long run in order to redistribute our resources? To help the poor people, I also hope that the Government will implement rent allowance in future, such as tenancy control of subdivided units.

On the other hand, we must also prepare for the economic recovery in the second half of the year. In the face of the epidemic, different sectors have expressed the hope that the Government will provide them with assistance in various aspects as far as practicable. The Policy Address has specifically mentioned cooperation in the Greater Bay Area ("GBA"), which is also a proposal that DAB has been advocating. During the recent Christmas holidays, I have heard many friends talking about GBA. In view of government publicity of the development of GBA, many local business owners have also indicated that they would like to give it a try, but they have been searching around in vain. In my view, the Government has not made sufficient efforts in providing an easier access to GBA.

It is certainly desirable for the Government to introduce more than 10 policies for the benefit of Hong Kong people in the Policy Address. Nevertheless, as far as business owners are concerned, the existing policies are actually rather diverse. As I have told Under Secretary Dr Bernard CHAN, while business owners may apply for certain funds through the Hong Kong Productivity Council or other funds offered by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("HKTDC"), they seem to have failed to enter GBA. How can we encourage business operators who have been doing well in Hong Kong to take a step forward and explore new business opportunities in GBA? I hope that the SAR Government will provide them with assistance in this regard. As far as I know, HKTDC is one possible channel for them, but I have not seen 3168 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 much work done by HKTDC on the Internet. I therefore hope that the Government will actively promote the relevant policies.

Lastly, I will support the Policy Address and hope that the various policies therein can be implemented as soon as possible. I will speak on housing and manpower policies in the next session.

Thank you, Deputy President.

MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Chief Executive has stated at the beginning of the Policy Address that the Government will strive ahead and lead Hong Kong out of the impasse. After experiencing various disturbances over the past two years, Hong Kong indeed has to think about how to get out of the impasse with renewed perseverance. However, we cannot live on vain hopes. At this time when the epidemic is yet to end, the Policy Address has devoted a lot of coverage to talk about Hong Kong's long-term development plan, but has not provided effective measures to ease the present hardships of the public. This is disappointing.

Let me take the aviation industry as an example. Before the delivery of the Policy Address, the Chief Executive disclosed that there would be measures to help the aviation industry recover, many practitioners thus had high hopes. However, regarding the initiatives announced in the Policy Address, including the construction of the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy by the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") and the Zhuhai Airport, the development of the SKYCITY and the Airport City Link, etc., they just focus on the long-term development of HKIA. I agree that Hong Kong needs to consolidate its existing advantages, including its status as an international aviation hub. However, impacted by the epidemic, HKIA's business has yet to be recovered. Hence, the pressing task is to provide contingency support to the industry (including the practitioners). Although the Government and the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AAHK") provided support to some airlines and logistics services companies last year, various companies, including the Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, still laid off their employees in batches. For those employees who are fortunate enough to keep their jobs, they have to accept a new pay structure with low basic salary and no overtime allowance. They also have to accept the arrangement of taking no-pay leave, etc. Consequently, their income has dropped significantly, hardly enough to maintain a living.

At the end of last year, the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions ("FLU") to which I belong conducted a survey on the incomes and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3169 savings of employees in the aviation industry under the impact of the epidemic. It was found that half of the respondents had their income substantially reduced by 30% to 50%, and some only had enough money to pay their living expenses for one to three months. In this connection, FLU had requested the Government and AAHK to follow the practice of the construction industry by allocating funds to provide anti-epidemic allowances to airport staff. Regrettably, this request had not been taken seriously. Airport staff, be they professionals or frontline personnel, are important assets of the aviation industry. Therefore, if the Government only talks about future planning but does not care about the important manpower resources that support the operation of the airport, the aviation industry of Hong Kong cannot be revived.

Deputy President, regarding labour policy, the Policy Address states that the proposal to align the holidays will be implemented. The Government finally responds to the aspiration that the labour sector has strived for years. However, during the alignment process, only one holiday day will be increased every two years, meaning that it will take 10 years to implement the proposal. This is really inconceivable. May I ask how many 10 years do we have in our lifetime to tolerate this procrastination policy of the Government? For the labour sector, their greatest disappointment is that the Policy Address has not responded to the demand of the whole society by providing direct subsidy to the unemployed. Last year, the Government adopted some indirect means such as the Employment Support Scheme, employee retraining courses, etc. to alleviate the worsening unemployment. Yet, it has been proven by facts that the measures were ineffective. Since August 2019, the local unemployment rate has risen continuously. The number of unemployed persons has doubled from 120 000 to 240 000, and the number of underemployed persons has also increased substantially from 40 000 to 130 000. The Chief Executive has emphasized time and again that the current-term Government is committed to building a caring community and looking after the underprivileged. The recurrent government expenditure on social welfare has increased from $65.3 billion in 2017-2018 to $93.9 billion in 2020-2021, with an average annual increase of 12.9%. However, does the increase in expenditure mean that the money is properly spent? Moreover, given that the novel coronavirus is now raging on, people are indeed worried, and they query whether the policies can be more targeted and more effective in solving the hardship of the general public.

FLU held a press conference last December under the theme "support catering workers". At the press conference, it was revealed that workers were forced to take no-pay leave indefinitely due to the fourth wave of the epidemic. Employees once again suffered from a heavy blow. As some of them had 3170 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 depleted all their savings, they had to live on loans. Moreover, as the authorities firmly refused to provide direct support to employees in several rounds of relief measures, employees were even more helpless and discontented. The Government has time and again refused to provide unemployment loan fund or unemployment assistance on the grounds that unemployed workers may apply for the Special Scheme of Assistance to the Unemployed under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme.

In fact, although the Government has relaxed the asset limits for able-bodied CSSA applicants by 100%, and allowed the total cash value of insurance policies of able-bodied CSSA applicants or recipients be disregarded as assets for a period of one year, many employees opine that the application threshold is still too high. As for disregarding cash value of insurance policies as assets, the authorities estimated that several thousand people will benefit. This can hardly meet the actual need.

At present, the number of unemployed persons has significantly increased to 245 000. However, as of November 2020, there are less than 20 000 CSSA unemployment cases. It can thus be seen that the unemployment support under CSSA is utterly inadequate. The Government must formulate more targeted and effective measures to help employees weather the storm. I have repeatedly suggested the Government to set up an unemployment loan fund. I hope the Government will seriously consider my suggestion.

Besides, the Policy Address mentions that the Short-term Food Assistance Service Projects ("STFASPs") will be regularized. I am delighted to see this move. According to the Social Welfare Department, the number of applications for STFASPs has already reached 12 534 in the first eight months of 2020, which means an increase of 52% over the same period of last year. It can thus be seen that there are practical demands for STFASPs. However, STFASPs will only be made permanent from August this year. I hope the Government can be flexible in dealing with the existing STFASPs and speed up the pace of regularization.

Deputy President, in respect of anti-epidemic measures, the Government has performed poorly as the policies often lag behind the epidemic development and the measures are riddled with flaws and omissions. I am not going to repeat the criticisms raised by the community. For the next step, the Government is going to implement the vaccination programme on an extensive scale. Given that the information on vaccines is confusing and political factors are involved, if the Government wants to effectively administer vaccines, the health authorities must, internally, maintain good coordination and externally, enhance the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3171 transparency of information and make timely clarification of false information spreading in the community. Being open and transparent is the most basic rule in governance, yet it may be an extravagant demand for the SAR Government.

Deputy President, civil servants are duty-bound to execute government policies. After assuming office, civil servants have to discharge their duties, even if they are unwilling to do so or have to face great difficulties. The decision to implement the oath-taking requirement on civil servants is made and settled. Although the Civil Service Bureau has consulted major civil service staff unions and provides a one-month period for civil servants to sign a declaration, I hope the Bureau will handle the oath-taking of civil servants in a lenient way. While it is important to safeguard national sovereignty and allegiance to the SAR Government, I hope that oath-taking will not be used as a tool to control civil service staff unions. If civil servants are often taken to task, not only will the morale of the entire civil service team be affected, but also the quality of service.

Regarding the grade structure review for disciplined services, it was originally scheduled to be completed last year. However, owing to the epidemic, meetings between the staff and management sides had to be postponed, thus slowing down the progress of the grade structure review. I hope the Government can speed up the review progress. Furthermore, the target of grade structure review should not be restricted to disciplined services, but should also apply to various departments. The reason is that all people serving the SAR Government should be treated equally.

Lastly, the Pilot Scheme on Civil Service Chinese Medicine Clinics ("the Pilot Scheme") has been implemented for a year. I am pleased to see that the Government is taking the initiative to conduct a review. The Government has been collecting feedback on the Pilot Scheme from service users through questionnaire since August last year, yet the decision on whether service capacity will be increased will be made next year. This falls short of the expectation of those civil servants who look forward to receiving Chinese medicine services. Many civil servants told me that they failed to make an appointment with the Civil Service Chinese medicine clinics despite making 10 calls. This reflects that the demand is very great. I hope the Government can speed up its review and give a specific timetable on providing Civil Service Chinese medicine clinics in each of the 18 districts across the territory.

Deputy President, I so submit.

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DR PIERRE CHAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it was rare that no motion of thanks on the policy address was moved in the last legislative session. We did not have the opportunity to debate on such a motion and the entire legislative session ended in uproar. Now we can debate in this Chamber not because the electors have voted for us again, but because the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced that the tenure of Members of the Legislative Council would be extended for at least one year after the Chief Executive, using the coronavirus disease as an excuse, postponed the Legislative Council Election originally scheduled on 6 September last year for a year,. Subsequently, given that four pro-democracy Members were disqualified by the Government, all pro-democracy Members resigned. Thus, only 43 Members, including the Deputy President, are left in the Legislative Council. We must admit that the current Legislative Council may not be sufficiently representative. Without any dissenting voices, the Chief Executive can read out the 2020 Policy Address in this Chamber as she did before; and we can debate on the Motion of Thanks as usual. However, does it mean that the deep-rooted social conflicts have been alleviated? Does it mean that the severe social rift created in 2019 has been mended? The answers are obviously in the negative.

I have to remind the Chief Executive and the public officers that no matter how unpleasing to their ears the dissenting voices were, voices of the disqualified and the resigned Members represented the opinions of the majority of voters. Those voters make up about half (or they will say 40%) of the total voters in Hong Kong; can we treat them as non-existent? Those voters are Hong Kong people, and they are the people we serve. At present, many members of the public have lost confidence in the future of Hong Kong, and more and more people want to emigrate. As the authority which has the most resources, the Government has an undeniable responsibility to solve problems. However, regrettably, the Policy Address has not prescribed the right medicine to address various kinds of public discontent with the Government and the people's loss of confidence in the future.

In the opinion of the public, this Policy Address has missed the pass mark. This comment is not made by me. The Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute conducted an opinion survey after the Chief Executive delivered the Policy Address on 25 November last year. The results showed that 64% of the people were dissatisfied with the Policy Address and 19% were satisfied. You may say that the results of the survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute are inaccurate. Let us then look at the results of a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of The LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3173

Chinese University of Hong Kong. They showed that 59%, i.e. close to 60%, of the people were dissatisfied with the Policy Address, and only 10% were satisfied.

As a Member representing the medical sector, I would take this opportunity to express some views on the parts of the Policy Address with which I am concerned. In the last policy address, the Chief Executive said nothing about the healthcare personnel's dedication to their duties and insistence on taking care of injured persons, patients, police officers or anyone in a professional and impartial manner in the movement of opposition to the proposed legislative amendments or the incidents in 2019. This year, the Chief Executive finally acknowledged in paragraph 31 of the Policy Address, under the heading "Together, We Fight the Virus", the unremitting efforts and contributions of the local healthcare personnel. Apart from expressing my gratitude to healthcare personnel, I would also like to thank government departments, the Centre for Health Protection, the Hospital Authority and everyone who have helped in fighting against the epidemic. I have noticed that the whole world, except Hong Kong, has commended healthcare personnel. The whole world expresses the need to support healthcare personnel because they cannot hold on any longer. In all places of the world, once there is an epidemic outbreak, the hospital system will collapse. When resources (including ventilators) in hospitals become insufficient, the authorities will have to decide which patients should use the resources and which of them should not. On the other hand, if there is a large-scale outbreak in hospital, the consequences will be very serious.

Hong Kong is a very unusual place. Although we have experienced fluctuating epidemic conditions, the situation in Hong Kong is neither the best nor the worst when compared with Europe and the United States where the epidemic is out of control. The rate of confirmed cases in Hong Kong is much lower and the mortality rate is also lower. The main reasons are that most Hong Kong people ignored the remarks made by someone a year ago; they realized long ago the need to maintain good personal hygiene, including correctly wearing surgical masks, washing hands frequently, keeping homes clean and observing social distancing. Healthcare personnel, on the other hand, spare no effort in providing treatment and taking anti-epidemic measures.

However, if we compare Hong Kong to our neighbouring areas where the epidemic has been under continuous control and the diagnostic and mortality rates are low, such as Taiwan, Macao and some provinces of China which I have 3174 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 mentioned many times before, the Hong Kong Government must learn and review seriously. In Macao, the cumulative number of confirmed cases was 46 as at 18 January, all of which were imported cases; no healthcare personnel had been infected and there was not a single case of death. In Taiwan, the cumulative number of confirmed cases was 862 as at 18 January, among which 61 were local cases and 7 deaths were recorded. In Hong Kong, more than 100 confirmed cases were recorded on 18 January, and tens of confirmed cases were still recorded in each of the past few days; many of the cases involved unknown sources of infection. As at 18 January, the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded in Hong Kong was 9 664. I believe the number will exceed 10 000 in a few days. In addition, 163 deaths were recorded. The numbers of confirmed cases and deaths in both Macao and Taiwan are lower than Hong Kong mainly because Macao and Taiwan have, at the outset of the epidemic, implemented watertight measures in respect of cross-boundary control, prevention and quarantine.

When we say a place has implemented watertight measures, we do not mean it has zero infection, but the sources of imported cases can be identified and blocked, and the quarantine measures are properly carried out such that the epidemic will not spread in the local community or districts. Nowadays, if we go to the Mainland, we have to go through very strict quarantine procedures. We are not suggesting that walls should be built around Hong Kong to block anyone from entering and leaving. When we say "zero infection" or "zero case" has been recorded, we do not mean there is no case at all, it just means that there is no local case. Good anti-epidemic measures do not involve building walls; thus, one should not advance a straw man fallacy or distort the meaning of words.

On 28 January last year when the epidemic just started, I wrote to the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Secretary for Food and Health, suggesting that the Government should refer to the practices of Macao and Taiwan and consider implementing new anti-epidemic measures at boundary control points of Hong Kong. However, the Government has either been too slow in implementing cross-boundary control measures or "border-closing" measures as expected by many people, or the measures implemented are not comprehensive enough. Moreover, many exemptions have been granted. Compared with other places where watertight anti-epidemic measures are implemented at boundary control points, it can be said that our measures implemented last year were full of loopholes. Shouldn't the Government be more humble and draw reference from the successful anti-epidemic experience of others places, including LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3175 implementing anti-epidemic measures at boundary control points, so that it can do a better job in fighting against the epidemic?

Paragraph 31 of the Policy Address states that "[t]he HKSAR Government would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to each and every one who has joined the fight against the epidemic". Paragraph 33 says, "every decision we made is based on science, expert advice and the information available to us at the time, and that political considerations have never come into play". Paragraph 35 says, "It is essential for us to take all necessary measures to strengthen epidemic control by guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections … On guarding against the importation of cases, the Government has tightened cross-boundary control measures comprehensively … we mandate high-risk groups to undergo virus tests, and will provide voluntary virus testing service for people without symptoms on a wider scale". The Chief Executive has not mentioned universal compulsory testing. She said that compulsory testing should be done in a targeted manner, instead of aimlessly across the territory.

The wordings used in the Policy Address or by the Government aroused strong feelings in us. Soon after the remark of "guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections" was made, resurgence of infections occurred. I hope that the Government can learn a lesson from the bitter experience and strive to do a good job in fighting against the epidemic as it has promised.

Last year, I believed that we could overcome the epidemic; I also have the same belief this year. Several pandemics that happened in history had been overcome. I firmly believe that this pandemic will be overcome one day. I sincerely hope that the Government and the people can fight against the epidemic together instead of attacking one another; those are my sincere words. I know that the fight against the epidemic is very difficult and we may not have a full picture of many issues. However, since the Government controls the resources, it is only natural that the public has expectations of our public officers.

When the Government responded to my question last year, it said that as at 25 October, 62 confirmed cases involving our colleagues working in public and private healthcare institutions were recorded. However, the Policy Address did not mention strengthening the protection of healthcare personnel. At present, we still have colleagues working in different healthcare institutions confirmed to 3176 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 have been infected. As at 17 January this year, another 51 people have been infected. I urge the authorities to expeditiously include the Coronavirus Disease 2019 as one of the diseases specified in the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, so as to ensure that members of the healthcare sector can be duly compensated for contracting the disease in the course of employment.

Why are we so concerned in this regard? At about the same time last year, we urged the authorities to dispatch N95 surgical masks to healthcare personnel, but my supervisor or one of the middle-management staff said that healthcare personnel did not need to wear N95 masks or it was not necessary to wear N95 masks when carrying out certain procedures. Subsequently, when it was confirmed that a colleague had been infected, the management staff suggested that the colleague might be infected while taking the MTR or on the street instead of during work. The reasons suggested or the remarks made by some management staff were very discouraging to frontline staff. I hope that the authorities understand that such incidents had happened and the problems can be rectified.

Besides, private doctors and dentists who provide primary healthcare services are standing at the forefront in fighting against the epidemic. They have to face not only health risks, but also operation difficulties. Regrettably, no special support measures are provided for medical and dental clinics in the Policy Address or the three rounds of the Anti-epidemic Fund. We are indeed disappointed.

This year's Policy Address devotes less coverage on healthcare policies than last year's, and the contents are more or less the same, such as the part on district health centres ("DHCs") and support for patients with uncommon disorders. I would like to reiterate, the Government's failure to include family doctors as a core team of the primary healthcare system is a policy error. The Government has injected hundreds of millions of dollars in DHCs, hoping that they can help in disease prevention. Yet, the Government has not made good use of DHCs which have been completed, e.g. the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre. In the past year, we have clearly noticed who have worked hard in fighting against the epidemic and who have not. We have done what can be done by us. The authorities once said at a meeting of the Finance Committee that e-commerce was booming and it should be vigorously promoted. In 2019 and 2020, many people have worked from home to prevent the disease from spreading. Many software, such as Zoom, have emerged and are thus widely LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3177 used. Another example is that the stock prices of some online shopping services have risen by four times. If these developments are conductive to fighting against the epidemic, they have already played their parts.

In the process of fighting against the epidemic, DHCs do not have a role to play, at least not that I have noticed. For example, testing is coordinated by the Civil Service Bureau; and DHCs will not be involved in administering the vaccines in future. I hope the public officers can consider this issue; and here we are talking about the role of DHCs in disease prevention, not treatment.

After the social movement which took place two years ago, many Hong Kong people have suffered from emotional problems of varying degrees. Some young people are distressed for they find that their core values have been shaken. They have lost confidence in public institutions and refused to receive psychological or psychiatric services from these institutions, but private professional services are expensive. The Government must find ways to strengthen mental health services, so that psychiatrists, social workers, and clinical psychologists can provide treatment to these people or reach out to the community by participating in prevention work, so as to reduce cases from the upstream, and identify at an early stage people who need help, including youngsters, elders and people from different strata.

I will now talk about the requirement for civil servants to swear to confirm that they will uphold the Basic Law and be responsible to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In the statement issued on 15 January, the Government says that if a civil servant commits a misconduct which involves a breach of the oath or declaration, the Government will take appropriate disciplinary action(s) against the officer for the misconduct committed in accordance with the established mechanism. I really hope that this will not be a knife held to the throat of civil servants, which will affect their freedom of speech and thought in their free time.

Finally, I would like to say that healthcare personnel in Hong Kong are doing their best to fight against the epidemic and treat patients. I hope that different stakeholders in society, especially those in power, will not "pull down the bridge after crossing the river" by settling accounts with healthcare personnel or waging Cultural Revolution-style denunciation against them. During the multiple waves of the epidemic, I hope that the public can put aside their political 3178 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 differences and fight the virus together. After delivering this speech, I will return to the hospital to work in the afternoon. I return to the hospital each week to work with my colleagues through thick and thin, and this practice has not changed in the past year. The public and Members of the Legislative Council have expectations of the Government; they hope the Government will do better. I hope that everyone will work together to overcome the epidemic. I am convinced that any pandemic will come to an end one day.

I so submit.

MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I speak to call for the enactment of a dedicated ordinance to combat fake news and misinformation. This task is vital not only to national security and epidemic control but also to the future administration of the Government.

Deputy President, to start with, I would like to first respond to the speech just given by Dr CHAN. Epidemics can be overcome, considering human successes in history. For example, the TRUMP's "epidemic" is over after the end of his term of office. I am, however, deeply worried that fake news, misinformation and rumour-mongering will always be around.

There is an adage saying that "rumours stop at the wise". In the old days, rumours were merely gossip in the community spread by word of mouth that could not get far. By contrast, in a modern society where there are newspapers, television and other broadcasting media, rumours are no longer the talks of the town but can reach the masses more easily and broadly. Thanks to the power of the Internet, rumours are now spreading at a dangerous rate to pose global threats. Countries around the world are thus working hard on cybersecurity. Therefore, it will be overly optimistic, or "Buddha-like" in modern slang, for us to say "rumours stop at the wise" these days. Some people may argue that the enhancement of the overall education level, understanding and sensibility can scotch rumours, but I consider this view too naïve because it has neglected the fact that some spread rumours to …

(Mrs Regina IP indicated her wish to raise a point of order)

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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mrs Regina IP, what is your point of order?

MRS REGINA IP (in Cantonese): We are now having a debate on the Policy Address. The Chief Executive has written to remind Members that we should mind the content of our speech. So, is it appropriate for a Member to promote his legislative proposal in this debate session?

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr KWOK Wai-keung, please explain how your speech is directly relevant to the Policy Address.

MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as I said at the beginning, my speech is about national security, the reasons why the anti-epidemic task is laden with obstacles and the challenges of improving national security and epidemic control.

Deputy President, may I continue with my speech?

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr KWOK Wai-keung, please continue with your speech.

MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Cantonese): Thank you, Deputy President. As I said earlier, some rumour-mongers may take the initiative to spread rumours in return for favours. Generally speaking, there are several types of rumour-mongers. Those who chase after personal gains and aim to pocket money fall into the first category. A case in point is the crowdfunding organizers who claimed to fund raise for protest but eventually fled overseas to live merrily. Second, egoists in the broad sense. All they want is to catch people's eye and get public attention. The Hong Kong's KIM Jong-un impersonator, the person involved in the San Uk Ling Holding Centre incident, is an example. As for the third and fourth types of rumour-mongers, they look for group interests and may smear or retaliate against their opponents. Those who advocated "35+" belong to this category.

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When people deliberately start and spread rumours, are those who believe the rumours a bit dumb? I do not think so. According to some scholars, people may become irrational and believe in rumours when they are anxious, panic-stricken and angry. If the issue involved is overly sensitive, rumours can easily be spread widely to vent anger. In this situation, members of the public often do not want to communicate rationally and may even actively spread rumours which are known to be false. Take the case of the "31 August" incident as an example. As some people have kept spreading this rumour knowing that it is false; consequently, this incident alone has haunted Hong Kong for a year. This case also explains the meaning of "post-truth era". In the "post-truth era", members of the public consider the trustworthiness of each source of information based on their own preferences and personal will. As such, how can our society be stable? How can we concentrate on epidemic control? If other Members are interested in this topic, please refer to the article entitled "Will rumours really stop spreading when they reach the wise?", which was published in April 2016. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions also conducted a public opinion survey in September 2020 on the top 10 rumours. Members may search online for the survey findings. I am not going to explain the details here.

From the above, we can see that it is "Buddha-like" to say that "rumours stop at the wise". We do not want the SAR Government to be "Buddha-like". It should step up its efforts not only to fight against the epidemic but also to combat the spread of misinformation. For those who still believe that "rumours stop at the wise", they may draw reference from what happened overseas. In the United Kingdom, some 5G base stations were sabotaged owing to the conspiracy theories that those stations would suppress the human immune system against the novel coronavirus or might even spread the virus. In the United States, the saying that injection of cleaning agents could prevent and treat the coronavirus disease has led to an increase in the number of cases relating to the misuse of cleaning agents.

Moreover, I was really saddened by the situation concerning universal testing. As we may recall, when our country deployed its officers to Hong Kong last summer to assist in the universal testing, rumours had it that the test would cause great pain and serious discomfort. There was also a picture showing a straight sampling rod going through the nose into the throat. As people were led by their feeling of pain, they failed to realize that a straight rod could never get through the nose into the throat. They failed to think rationally whether the claim was right or wrong but were misled by their subjective feelings to believe LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3181 the rumour. Consequently, their unwise decision undermined the effectiveness of universal testing.

Dr TEDROS, Director-General of the World Health Organization ("WHO"), also pointed out that while the fight against the novel coronavirus was undoubtedly important at the moment, the misinformation about the epidemic was spreading faster than the virus itself, making their job more daunting. That was the view of the Director-General of WHO. In addition, The Guardian―which I believe is the newspaper of WHO―quoted an epidemiologist surnamed KUCHARSKI, who demanded modern society to treat the novel coronavirus seriously as it treated misinformation as they both had profound impacts.

As we all know, misinformation can spread faster and is more lethal than viruses. Worse still, herd immunity can hardly be developed against misinformation. So, what should we do about misinformation? Before discussion, we should first decide whether misinformation is protected by freedom of speech. Personally, I do not think so, but some may argue otherwise. However, I do not share their view. Our existing laws are seriously defective and filled with loopholes. What are the laws currently used to prosecute rumour-mongers disseminating misinformation? They include section 28 of the Public Order Ordinance, section 20(b) of the Summary Offences Ordinance, section 89 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance and section 161 "Access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent" of the Crimes Ordinance, but the penalties in these ordinances are too low and lenient. Even worse, the prosecution threshold is so high that prosecutors are required to prove that the rumour in question has caused another person to commit a substantive crime before they can institute a prosecution. Owing to the light penalty for rumour-mongering, false information, fake news and misinformation had run rife in the days of "black violence", resulting in Hong Kong being ravaged.

It is crystal clear that the various kinds of misinformation about vaccines has discouraged members of the public from receiving vaccination. The whole situation is just like what happened to the universal testing programme that I mentioned earlier. At that time, though caring Chinese officers came to Hong Kong to assist in the testing, the proliferation of rumours had … in fact, the goal back then was to have everyone in Hong Kong tested. Unfortunately, tons of fake news and false information hindered the success of Hong Kong's universal testing programme and made an adverse impact on our future testing. When we now demand a mandatory testing, the SAR Government does not seem to have 3182 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 the confidence, courage and capability to do so because it had missed the golden opportunity to gain the necessary experience in the universal testing programme. That was why it is now hard for the anti-epidemic efforts to proceed.

Deputy President, Singapore, our neighbouring country, has already enacted legislation against misinformation. As for Germany and France, which are farther away from Hong Kong, they also have similar legislation in place. I will not elaborate too much but will just highlight a few points. Firstly, self-censorship should be required for online platforms. In case of blatant rumours, online platforms should take action to deal with the rumours by themselves. I consider it a bounden duty of online platforms. Secondly, the Government should clarify rumours more quickly. While it did clarify rumours in the past, the clarification should come earlier. Thirdly, this point is crucial, that is, a judicial procedure should be established for urgent hearing of disputes and a ruling should be made within 48 hours as rumours will go viral online. Failing to make an urgent ruling may render a prompt clarification impossible.

Lastly, I would like to say that Hong Kong should consider adopting a real-name registration programme in addition to drawing reference from the aforesaid overseas legislation. As we all know, real names are used in the Mainland for phone registration to allow accurate calculation of usage and ensure that all users who spread or disseminate information are real people so as to guard against fake accounts. Will this work in Hong Kong? In my view, only when the SAR Government is willing to face squarely the issue of misinformation and fake news, enact a dedicated ordinance and take adequate preventive measures can it ensure that Hong Kong can attain a stable development, safeguard cybersecurity (which is also national security) and avoid anti-epidemic efforts being side-tracked. As such, Hong Kong can get out of the impasse of failing to make any achievements.

I so submit. Thank you, Deputy President.

MR CHAN HAN-PAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, a few days ago, the Chief Executive wrote to us, informing us that public officers would soon be required to take an oath to improve the election mechanisms, and a bill to amend the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance would be expeditiously presented to the Legislative Council.

In fact, oath-taking by public officers is very important. Considering Hong Kong's situation and the incidents that occurred over the past few years, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3183

Members will have a good understanding of the importance of oath-taking by public officers and the current election systems. We think it is necessary to reform the oath-taking process and the election systems. In fact, our election systems are full of loopholes which can easily be manipulated by foreign powers to affect the future of this place. Only by reforming the election systems can the society return to the right path. It seems that this is the only way out.

In the past, our election systems were riddled with loopholes. As we failed to enact legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law and had not enacted the National Security Law, Hong Kong has become a place where people could wreak havoc. For example, foreign powers could manipulate their spokesman in Hong Kong at any time. In the past, when some Legislative Council Members collaborated or communicated with overseas countries, they did so secretively. However, in the recent few years, the situation of some Members colluding with foreign powers or being subjected to the manipulation of overseas forces has become a norm, and such acts have even been conducted openly. In our view, the Legislative Council is incurably sick.

In the past, some people went to the United States ("US") to plead for imposing sanctions on Hong Kong, but they were actually unimportant persons. Some others went to the US to attend meetings and had changed completely after their return to Hong Kong. In fact, these people served as Members for the purpose of pushing Hong Kong and the country down the cliff. Such a ridiculous situation did happen in the legislature of Hong Kong. In the election held last year, some people frankly admitted that they stood for the election to achieve "35+" majority in the Legislative Council. That was not a remark uttered by an academic in his ivory tower, but a conspiracy with action plans and participants. I will not describe this as a conspiracy, but a strategy to usurp power in Hong Kong and then push Hong Kong down a bottomless abyss, with the intent of paralysing the Government and showing the world that the country cannot control Hong Kong. Under such circumstances, if the country still does nothing, or if Hong Kong continues to tolerate the misdeeds of these people, they have not lived up to the expectations of all Hong Kong people.

Let us review what had happened in the Legislative Council. The behavior of some Members when taking the oath in this Council was evident to all. A Member wore a "Hong Kong independence" flag over his shoulders while taking the oath and indicated that he would bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and uphold the Basic Law. Would you believe 3184 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 in the words of that Member? As a result, he was disqualified. Surprisingly, some people said that it was wrong to disqualify those Members and they took the matter to the court. In the end, the court ruled that those Members should be disqualified. The fact that the Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal reflected that Hong Kong is indeed a very strange place.

On the first day when the riots occurred in 2019, some former Legislative Council Members appeared in Admiralty at the scene where roads were blocked. They broadcast the incident live with some foreigners. This showed that money and passports were ready. No problem. When people who blatantly colluded with foreign powers could serve as Legislative Council Members, the loopholes in our election systems are really serious.

Since the occurrence of the riots, foreign powers such as the US have, more than once, expressed support for the rioters and even given them asylum. When the Hong Kong Police made arrests and enforced the law, the foreign powers said that they had to sanction our police officers. I think the US or the powers concerned have acted most outrageously. Since the Legislative Council Complex was damaged last year, only a small number of Hong Kong people have been arrested so far; but in the US, all law breakers were arrested in just a few days. How can Hong Kong not introduce any reform?

We cannot refrain from stopping rioters for fear of sanction. Our election systems have already been exploited by others. If reform is not made, history will repeat itself. If we continue to tolerate disorder in Hong Kong, we have failed to be accountable to the public and to history.

Looking back, the 2019 District Council ("DC") Election was held under threats of violence. Back then, some candidates suffered threats to their personal safety. For example, there were incidents of a Member of this Council being assaulted; a candidate being attacked by petrol bombs; some of our DC Offices being vandalized and set on fire. One of our offices had even been set alight 13 times. A member of the public was beaten up on the street for expressing different views. On the election day, some people strategically interrupted the election by launching the so-called "Stuck with you" campaign. What kind of DCs would be returned under these circumstances? Some DC Members sing the "Hong Kong independence" song at DC meetings and they have been striving for "Hong Kong independence" all along. These people are incumbent DC Members and they commit such acts blatantly. If we require LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3185 them to take the oath and they indicate that they will respect and uphold the Basic Law, will you believe? Thus, I think oath-taking by DC Members is only a basic requirement. This should be done and must be done.

Recently, we have conveyed to the Government our views on monitoring DCs. We hope that DC Members can take the oath as soon as possible, and the scope of oath-taking should actually be extended to other public officers. I hope the Government can take immediate action.

In fact, when President XI visited Hong Kong in 2017, he set four bottom lines for compliance by Hong Kong people. If we do not cross these bottom lines, we can actually continue to do what we want to do. However, the Central Authorities will not allow anyone to cross the bottom lines, including challenging the sovereignty, national security or the authority of the country; challenging the authority of the Basic Law, or using Hong Kong to infiltrate and subvert the Mainland. I believe many members of the public still vividly remember these scenes. Should we allow the Legislative Council to become a place for assisting people to cross or even challenge these bottom lines? Thus, reforms of DCs and this Council are inevitable.

Today, the SAR Government has to deal with a myriad of problems, including governance, the epidemic, social dissension, etc. I believe these problems can be solved in a gradual manner. However, if the Government has done some work, but members of the public do not know or understand what has been done, or sometimes the work done has been distorted, then the problem is very serious. The Government should find out why members of the public do not know or understand what has been done, or why the work concerned has even been distorted. The reason is that the public service broadcaster opposes the Government. The broadcaster does nothing to publicize government policies, but stands against the Government, causing more chaos in society. I believe the relevant officials understand which broadcaster I am referring to and actions should be taken to deal with it. Should the Government still allocate $1 billion to that broadcaster each year? Should the broadcaster be allowed to stand against the Government and do nothing to help the public understand the Government's policies? Actually members of the public may find the publicity of government policy difficult to understand or even confusing; if the Government's broadcaster adopts an opposing stand, the situation will become more chaotic and the Government has to bear greater burden.

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Recently, I have been working hard to perform my duty by watching online the relevant programmes of that broadcaster. After watching the programmes, I asked myself why taxpayers' money should be wasted in supporting the broadcaster. In one episode of a programme shot in Kenya, the theme is how China implements the Belt and Road Initiative. However, instead of explaining the policies concerned, the episode focuses on depicting the criticisms made by the local opposition camp against the Belt and Road Initiative. The opposition camp criticized that after building the electricity plant, the bay environment was affected, fish became unpalatable and the country was in heavy debt. The broadcaster took the trouble to do a shooting at a place thousands of miles away from Hong Kong, but why was it that the views presented were not fair and objective? Why didn't the broadcaster invite some people to appear on the episode to explain the reasons for implementing the measures? Not even one local government official was invited to give an explanation in the episode. That is the work of the Government's broadcaster, it is constantly provoking hatred.

According to President XI, one of the four bottom lines that cannot be crossed is challenging the authority of the Central Authorities. What is the broadcaster doing? If the broadcaster publicizes national policy or the Basic Law, it is fine. But should the Government allocate so much money to that broadcaster for producing such kind of programme? Thus, I hope the officials concerned will remember that "a government official who shirks his responsibilities will live a shameful life". I hope they will properly handle the problem concerning that broadcaster. As regards whether the broadcaster should be maintained or otherwise, I will leave them to decide. However, I hope the officials will understand that during this chaotic time, the public needs to understand more about the governance and the policies of the Government.

I now talk about the epidemic. The epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to all trades and industries. I believe that the bleak winter of unemployment will soon arrive in Hong Kong. As regards the Government's performance, I think we have made our own fair comments. The many issues faced by Hong Kong have brought both difficulties and opportunities for government officials to display their abilities. Nevertheless, although many officials have worked very hard over the past year, the public still do not see that the Government is united and has made proper commands.

As far as universal testing is concerned, we have conducted a poll. The results show that 71% of the public believe that universal testing is necessary. If the demand for universal testing is interpreted as a wish, members of the public LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3187 have clearly stated their wish that the Government should tackle the epidemic in a more careful, expeditious and decisive way. Unfortunately, we fail to see that the Government is united and is ready to battle against the epidemic. Instead, we have found many loopholes policy-wise. As early as September last year, given the seriousness of the epidemic in foreign countries, we had raised our concern about the risks of people arriving in Hong Kong from overseas carrying their suitcases and taking buses or the MTR together with other Hong Kong people. Moreover, the authorities allowed these people to go home two hours after their arrival. Thus, they could have a haircut or a meal before returning home. Was this arrangement appropriate? We suggested that the Government should escort these people home using designated vehicles, but this measure was only implemented last month. Therefore, sometimes we are very annoyed for the Government has failed to implement our suggestions immediately. The Government really lacks awareness.

In addition, the Government has recently started to conduct community testing. In fact, we have asked the Government to conduct community testing months ago. If two or more confirmed cases are found in a certain housing estate or building, the residents of the entire building should be tested; or if there is capacity, the Government should require the residents of the entire housing estate to be tested. I believe I have put forward these suggestions no fewer than three times in this Council, but the Government has only recently begun to do so. I certainly understand that the Government has limited testing capacity and manpower, but if it really wants to achieve "zero infection" at the outset and not coexist with the virus, these efforts cannot be spared.

Strengthening testing capacity is another issue. At present, the daily number of tests conducted by the Government is―if the number I read out is wrong, will the Secretary please correct me―about 100 000, and the test results will only be available two days later. If someone who lived in a subdivided unit went out after being tested, could we know whom he had contacted in the two days while waiting for the results? Could we know whom he met and had meals together? Has the Government asked the person in question to record the places he has visited, and even advised him not to go out during those two days? No.

Besides, there are a number of detailed arrangements of the entire testing process that have to be considered. Of course, I do not want to go into the trivial details, but the problems of the anti-epidemic measures in Hong Kong lie with the details. For example, if all residents of a building are required to stay in a 3188 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 quarantine centre for 14 days, should their residence be cleaned? Certainly, but it seems that the Government has not made any arrangements. Hence, in the past few days, I kept telling the Government that the cleaning company of the housing estate anxiously wanted to know if the Government could ask the residents for their keys, so that the company would arrange disinfection. Hence, when residents return home after the quarantine, they will not be affected by the virus.

Today is the third day that the cleaning company approached me. It asks me each day if I can get the keys. However, we do not know which government department we should approach or how we can get the keys. It is actually a very simple task, but we cannot get it done. When residents return to their homes, their units have not been cleaned and disinfected; should they stay there? The situation will be very chaotic then. These problems may seem trivial, but they reflect that the Government has not considered some practical issues and details in carrying out quarantine and anti-epidemic work.

Furthermore, we know that the Government has been publishing a list of restaurants visited by persons confirmed to be infected and urged the public not to go there. However, do employees of these restaurants have to be mandatorily quarantined? It will be good if the employees are required to undergo compulsory testing, but the Government has not made this requirement. Besides, have the restaurants been disinfected? The Government pays no attention to this. Have the employees been tested? The Government does not know. Do the restaurants in question have to close for 14 days? No one cares. That is why many people are worried. Yesterday, a member of the public came to my office. He said that an employee of his restaurant was infected, but the restaurant continued to operate. While the infected employee was hospitalized, other employees worked as usual, and no follow-up actions had been taken by the Government. I said to him that perhaps the Government did not consider him a close contact. How come the co-workers of the infected employee are not close contacts? What has gone wrong? These problems illustrate that the Government's anti-epidemic work is ineffective and fails to address the practical situations.

Let me give another example. There are many regulations under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599), including Cap. 599I which requires a person taking a public transport carrier or a ferry vessel to wear a mask. Although there is such a requirement, passengers can eat or drink when necessary. Thus, some people eat and drink on board a ferry, causing great LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3189 concern to other passengers. When staff of the ferry asks these people not to eat or drink, they say that eating is allowed by law. Since the legal provisions fail to address the practical situations, the public cannot build confidence.

Mr Vincent CHENG mentioned a very serious situation of people living in subdivided units being infected. I once held up a placard in this Chamber to show public officers the dilapidated foul sewers and drains in old districts. The last large-scale maintenance was done during the SARS period. As I served the community in 2003, I had a clear picture about the bold measures taken by the Government back then. The Government required all foul sewers in old districts to be channelled underground, and no effluent should be discharged above ground level. A mechanism was also established to allow mandatory entry into residential premises to carry out maintenance. After 17 years, the sewers and drains in old districts have become dilapidated. If one goes to the old districts, he will see water dripping in many places, small trees growing out of the drains, etc. This shows that we have not learnt from the experience of SARS and the responsible government departments have not paid attention to enforce the regulations. The Government holds a territory-wide cleaning campaign every year which is nothing but a mere formality. I hope the problems which occur in old districts today will end and will not bring out more problems. However, let me tell the Government, the deplorable condition in the old district is really a time bomb during the epidemic in Hong Kong. I think we should count ourselves lucky that the bomb has exploded only recently. I also wish those who are infected a speedy recovery.

Furthermore, I would like to discuss the issue concerning work from home. In order to reduce the flow of people and prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Government has instructed civil servants to work from home; but can the Government make the pledge that this arrangement will not affect the lives of the public? If the Government can make such a pledge, I believe the public will not mind civil servants working from home during the epidemic. The Legislative Council, for example, has made alternative arrangements to hold online meetings. I believe the work of the Legislative Council will not be affected and the arrangements are acceptable. However, if members of the public are affected by civil servants working from home, the matter will be very serious. For instance, a member of the public wants to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, it implies that he has great financial difficulties. But unfortunately, he has to wait for days to make the application. Someone has even waited for a whole month. What would happen if the applicant has no money to buy food? 3190 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

In another case, some drivers want to apply for vehicle licence for their work, but sorry, they too have to wait for a long time. These kinds of situations really affect the lives of the public.

It is not wrong for civil servants to work from home, but can a pledge be made that this arrangement will not affect the lives of the public? Are civil servants really working from home? If their computers do not have access to the Internet, or if they cannot check their work email, it means they cannot work. Are they working from home, or are they actually resting at home to avoid being infected? The Government really has to think of a balanced approach so that the public will not be affected. Even the work of civil servants are not required, people will query why civil servants should be employed since no one will be affected without their service. It would be better not to employ so many people, wouldn't it? Thus, if civil servants genuinely care about the public and are helping them while working from home, I believe the public will understand; but if the arrangement will seriously affect the normal lives of the public who have to make a living, I think the problem is very serious.

Next, I would talk about vaccine administration. Some public officers told me that the Government is ready to start the work. I think administering the novel coronavirus vaccine will be the biggest challenge for the Government in 2021. As more and more people in foreign countries are vaccinated, news of serious side effects will inevitably appear. If members of the public learn about a lot of negative news, how confident will they be in getting vaccinated? Therefore, this is a tough test. If the Government fails in this information battle, many people may not be confident enough to get vaccinated. If the Mainland continues to close its borders on us, how can Hong Kong people resume their normal lives? I really hope that the Government is ready to fight this information battle.

The Sinovac Biotech (Hong Kong) Limited ("Sinovac") vaccine purchased by the Government has come under severe criticism before shipment. We know that vaccines produced by the Mainland will definitely be criticized in Hong Kong. However, another vaccine developed by Sinopharm Group is highly acclaimed. Is it because people praise the vaccine not being procured by the Government? I do not think that is the reason. The reason is that the administration of Sinopharm vaccine on the Mainland has proven, by real figures, to be very effective. In order to enhance public confidence, will the Government consider making efforts to purchase Sinopharm vaccines from the Mainland, so LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3191 that there will be a sufficient supply of vaccines for the public to choose from and get vaccinated? As long as our uptake rate exceeds 60%, the epidemic will at least be basically controlled. However, if we cannot enhance public confidence in vaccination, I believe problems will occur.

As the manpower of our public healthcare sector is insufficient, does the Government have any plans to enlist the help of private doctors in administering the vaccines? Private doctors may be concerned about the terms and responsibilities involved, but such details have yet to be released. Some private doctors even told us that they did not know the details. When doctors do not know the details, they cannot answer any enquiries from the public. Thus, public confidence in vaccination will be greatly reduced. Therefore, this information battle is very important.

Next, I would like to discuss transport problems. The infrastructure-led approach, adopted by the Government in the past, is an excellent policy, but from the practical point of view, the approach is actually a myth which cannot be implemented. We mentioned earlier the Tuen Mun Western Bypass project, which has now become the Tuen Mun Bypass project. The project of Tuen Mun Bypass or Tuen Mun Western Bypass is designed to cope with the traffic flow of the recently commissioned Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel ("TM-CLK Tunnel"), so as to prevent traffic congestion in Tuen Mun. Traffic was just slightly congested after the commissioning of TM-CLK Tunnel. This situation has only lasted a few days for the Airport is not operating normally at present. When the Airport resumes normal operation, the traffic conditions in Tuen Mun will be greatly tested. The Tuen Mun Western Bypass project, which has now become the Tuen Mun Bypass project, may only be completed in 2036. In other words, residents in Tuen Mun will probably have to face severe traffic conditions before 2036.

Although many people live in the area between Yuen Long and North District, the local transport infrastructure has not yet been completed. When transport infrastructure is not completed, the Government will be greatly restricted in its housing construction. When there is inadequate housing supply for the public, property prices will soar. Thus, in the final analysis, everything is related to transport infrastructure; but the proposal on Route 11 has not yet been submitted to the Legislative Council. We have to wait till 2036 for the completion of the project. In the meantime, while people will continue to move into many districts in the area, the development plan of Hung Shui Kiu Station 3192 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 has not yet been submitted to the Legislative Council for discussion. The Northern Link project discussed recently is also remarkable in the sense that the proposal was put forward nearly 20 years ago, and after 10 years of waiting, it is now announced that the project will only be completed 13 years later. However, in the next few years, people will move into Kwu Tung, how should the transport problems be dealt with thereafter? That is why we say that the infrastructure-led approach is just a myth.

The Northern Link proposal has given rise to another problem, namely, infrastructure costs. The Northern Link is only some 10 km long, but the estimated cost is $62 billion, which means the railway line costs $6 billion per kilometre. This is the most expensive railway in the world. Nowhere else is infrastructure more costly than Hong Kong. Why is our estimated cost so expensive? We cannot help but reflect on the problems of the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"). MTRCL made an offer to the Government and the Government certainly has to negotiate with MTRCL on the cost. However, MTRCL's position is that it is a monopoly and it has the support of government policy because railway is the backbone of the public transport system. Thus, our transport policy has enabled MTRCL to gain the upper hand. Furthermore, the MTR is a large-scale transport carrier with the highest passenger capacity. We are all aware of the fact that the MTR is closely related to people's daily lives. However, we have to consider why our infrastructure is so costly. Is it because there is no competition?

Recently, I find that the morale of MTRCL staff is low, as manifested from their responses during meetings and their way of handling matters. Probably that is because they have been criticized or berated by society for their blunders in the past. Or, is it because the culture of MTRCL can no longer adapt to the changes of the times, or is it because the staff lacks motivation in the absence of market competition? Thus, I hope that the Government, being the biggest shareholder of MTRCL, will carefully consider the problems of MTRCL and introduce reforms via the new department to be established with the special task of monitoring railway matters. In this way, our railway will become the railway of Hong Kong people and our railway infrastructure can be built expeditiously with reasonable costs.

Finally, I would like to point out that since we Members have more contacts with the people, we have quicker access to information and thus, we can easily identify the loopholes in government policies. While we have to perform LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3193 our duty to point out the problems to the Government, we also hope that the Government will not make mistakes, and moreover, people's lives will not be adversely affected by various government measures. However, what is the Government's attitude towards Members? I hope that the Legislative Council and its Members will communicate more frequently and freely with the Government. We should show mutual respect. I think this will be conducive to the public and to fighting against the epidemic.

Deputy President, I so submit.

MR WONG KWOK-KIN (in Cantonese): Deputy President. The Chief Executive delivers a policy address every year, but the Policy Address this year seems to have attracted special attention, because Hong Kong has experienced unprecedentedly severe challenges over the past one and a half years. First, external forces had exploited the disturbances arising from the proposed legislative amendments in Hong Kong to stir up social unrest, challenging the governance of the regime, undermining social stability, hurting the local economy, and even jeopardizing the daily life and personal safety of the public. The social unrest was then followed by the onslaught of the epidemic, which has posed a serious threat to public health and life. Hong Kong's economy has also been brought to a standstill with soaring unemployment rate. So far, the epidemic has not eased off, which is a cause for concern. The comments of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions ("FTU") on the Policy Address this year are: "moving in the right direction entrusted with an arduous task; people's imminent hardship yet to be relieved". As we approve of the directions of the Policy Address and opine that the Policy Address has met social expectation, we will give our support.

Deputy President, when compared with the policy addresses in previous years, this year's Policy Address touches more on constitutional issues, including implementing The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, taking forward oath-taking by public officers, as well as rebuilding the spirit of the rule of law. It can be said that the Government has responded explicitly to "black violence" and "mutual destruction" which started to plague Hong Kong two years ago. In this Policy Address, the Chief Executive has displayed her political courage, which merits affirmation. In fact, with the support from the Central Government for Hong Kong, and coupled with the active cooperation of the SAR Government, the political unrest in Hong Kong has started to ease, and external 3194 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 forces have also exercised some restraints. Therefore, it is time for the Government to realize "one country, two systems" in the political system and deal with issues such as sense of national identity at root, thereby rectifying the concepts and thinking that have been misled by the opposition camp for years, and enhancing Hong Kong people's understanding of our country's Constitution, the Basic Law, "one country, two systems", and so on.

Frankly speaking, it is not sufficient to merely implement these measures through legal means. More importantly, the Government must promote these measures through education. It has to enhance Hong Kong people's awareness, and explain to them with evidence, so as to gain their understanding and support. For instance, after the reunification, Hong Kong people's concepts about the history of the country, the system of the country, national sentiments, etc., have become increasingly blurred. With only half-baked knowledge, the new generation has a biased understanding of "one country, two systems" and an incorrect understanding of the positioning and role of Hong Kong in the country. They have been incited and exploited by external forces, thinking that "Hong Kong independence" is feasible, and "mutual destruction" with the country is one of the ways out. Finally, "black violence" erupted one and a half years ago. For this reason, the Government must enhance guidance and education, especially in respect of political and constitutional aspects, so that members of the public can understand the unique identity and role of Hong Kong in the country. Only in this way will Hong Kong be refrained from being a weak link of China's national security again.

Deputy President, let us talk about people's livelihood. Of course, presently members of the public are most eager to navigate through the epidemic, because we can only talk about revitalizing the economy and restoring jobs after we have got out of the impasse. While our neighbours Macao and the Mainland have succeeded in fighting against the epidemic and bringing life back to normal, Hong Kong has remained sluggish in fighting the virus, taking three steps forward and two steps back. Being affected by waves of outbreak, members of the public have become fed up with the anti-epidemic measures and are increasingly dissatisfied. Frankly speaking, the biggest problem of Hong Kong in fighting against the epidemic lies with its unrealistic anti-epidemic measures, which are not stringent enough when stringent measures are required and not loose enough when loose measures are required. Sometimes, the Government hastily introduces some measures, and then hurriedly makes a U-turn when the epidemic rebounds, making members of the public at a loss as to what to do.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3195

Let me illustrate by citing the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application as an example. The Government has introduced this application with the aim of facilitating the tracing of virus spreaders. This measure, which is adopted in many regions to fight the virus, aims at enabling members of the public to go to different premises and continue their economic activities at ease amid the epidemic. The Government introduced this application after nearly one year's preparation, and the privacy issue involved has also been dealt with. However, since its introduction, public response has been lukewarm. As at early this month, only 430 000 person-download-times were recorded, and the number of users was even smaller. As a result, some anti-epidemic measures continue to be implemented across the board, such as closing business premises and prohibiting dine-in services in restaurants in the evening, thereby undermining the operation of the relevant industries. Obviously, these measures will end in a complete failure. Why didn't the Government exert more force by mandatorily linking the "LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application to the opening of business premises and dining-in services in restaurants? If the implementation of the application is mandatory, members of the public will consciously check into shopping malls and catering businesses by scanning the venue QR code. In this way, the public, commercial tenants and the Government can be protected from the virus and the application can serve a useful purpose. Now, the Government takes no action, resulting in the application almost failing to serve its purpose. As the Government has too many concerns and has imposed excessive self-constraints in implementing the application, it is caught in a dilemma.

Deputy President, another evidence to illustrate the Government's lack of determination in fighting the virus is its failure to formulate anti-epidemic standards and levels. In fact, many regions have already established a classification system for the epidemic. For instance, the United Kingdom has adopted a three-tier alert system, with each tier specifying how social distancing measures will be tightened and which business premises will suspend operation. More importantly, the public know in advance details of the tiers and criteria, such as the rate of confirmed cases, the number of confirmed cases, and the capacity of the healthcare system. They can thus anticipate the actions to be taken. Similarly, South Korea has also developed a clear three-tier anti-epidemic system, and adjustment will be made based on the number of new confirmed case on a single day, the number of cases of unknown sources, the clusters of cases, and the utilization rates of hospital beds and quarantine facilities. As for relaxing the anti-epidemic measures, Singapore has a distinct three-stage procedure for relaxing restrictions in response to the epidemic 3196 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 conditions. With this orderly system, the public will have a goal for supporting the fight against the epidemic.

Unfortunately, after combatting the epidemic for one year, the Government has yet to develop a set of anti-epidemic standards. Whenever people complain, the Government will slightly relax the measures. Then, other industries will also complain for not being included in the relaxed measure. When the epidemic rebounds, experts will once again ask the Government to tighten the anti-epidemic measures from the perspective of preventing the disease. In this way, the cycle goes on and on. In fact, if the Government fights against the epidemic in an orderly and confident manner with justifications, the work can be more effective and fruitful and better responses can be attained. In our opinion, the Government seems to lack confidence, resulting in this situation of neither fish nor fowl. I hope the Government can really "strive ahead", as suggested in the title of the Policy Address, in fighting against the epidemic, so that the number of confirmed cases can be controlled systematically in society to meet the objectives set.

Deputy President, apart from fighting against the epidemic, the Government also needs to maintain the economic heat. In the Policy Address, many proposals have been put forward in the economic aspects. These proposals are long-term goals and visions, for example, Hong Kong-Zhuhai airport cooperation, developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub, complementing the initiatives of the National 14th Five-Year Plan and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and so on. These are the long-term solutions for the economic development of Hong Kong, and the Government must and should strive ahead in this direction. However, for many members of the public, resolving the current economic predicament is a matter of utmost importance, as "black violence" and the epidemic have dealt a devastating blow to Hong Kong's pillar industries, such as tourism, retail and service industries. So, speedy recovery and restructuring of Hong Kong must rely on the Government's efforts.

Last year, FTU requested the Government to issue consumption vouchers to boost the economy and sustain the domestic economy. Nevertheless, the Government has not made any responses after one year. The GDP of Hong Kong has declined by 6.1%, heading into an economic recession for two years in a row. Hong Kong has slid into the most serious recession since reunification, even worse than the time when Hong Kong experienced the Asian financial crisis LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3197 and SARS. Moreover, owing to the current severe local and international economic situations, it is very difficult for the Hong Kong economy to rebound. Therefore, if the Government does not have any practical ways or resources to assist the public and support the economy, our economy may probably sink into a continuous recession, and the life of grass-roots wage earners will really be miserable by then.

Apart from requesting the Government to issue consumption vouchers, FTU has also suggested the Government introduce welfare-to-work measures to create more job opportunities, as in the case of the Government's strong support for employment during SARS. As aviation, retail and catering service industries, etc., have employed more labour force, the Government must provide more appropriate support for these industries, and in particular, speedy actions should be taken on training to facilitate restructuring and job changing. FTU has earlier established a one-stop service platform for providing rolling information on job vacancies of different industries. Can the Labour Department strengthen its support in this respect like us? In the meantime, can the scale and courses of the retraining programme be more down-to-earth and better cater for the future economic needs? Besides, can the Government expedite the progress of industry transformation and reindustrialization, so that wage earners, especially youngsters, can have more choices and job opportunities?

Deputy President, as I recall, the Government made a lot of efforts in reviving the economy after SARS, including setting up the Economic Relaunch Working Group to revitalize the economy through cooperation among government officials, commercial sectors and members of the public. As the impact of this epidemic on Hong Kong is more severe and prolonged than that of SARS, the Government should made more efforts and widen the scale in mustering forces to revitalize the economy. Apart from mustering various forces within Hong Kong, the Government needs to cooperate with other countries and neighbouring regions to jointly revitalize the economies on a regional level, so as to achieve a win-win situation.

Earlier, FTU suggested that the Government should set up a new launching committee to strategically deal with issues such as reviving the economy, reforming industry structures and reindustrialization. These are the key tasks that the Government has to plan for and implement this year. Of course, concerning the protection for wage earners, including introducing immediately emergency unemployment cash allowances, enhancing training, increasing the 3198 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 amount of subsidy, relaxing the eligibility for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and working family allowances, as well as providing direct support for individual industries, FTU will continue to strive for such protection, and will also raise the aspirations concerned, because these measures can genuinely support wage earners and low-income families, and meet the urgent demands of the public under the epidemic. If members of the public are now living in dire poverty, the talk about how the economy will revive or move forward in the future is like drawing a cake to satisfy their hunger, which is totally impractical. Therefore, while I agree that the Government needs to manage public finances prudently, it also has to spend money where necessary. In particular, when members of the public are in great distress, the Government should readily use reserves to save them, so that they can still see future, hope and goals under the economic predicament.

Deputy President, from the Policy Address and the Chief Executive's letter to Legislative Council Members, we can see that the Chief Executive has the fighting spirit, impetus and determination to cope with the epidemic and the future of Hong Kong. Therefore, FTU will support the Policy Address. However, if the Government wants the public to recognize the efforts described in the Policy Address, the crux is to control the outbreak, revitalize the economy, render appropriate support for the unemployed and meet the urgent needs of the people. I hope the Chief Executive and government officials will, in striving ahead, make their best endeavours to make up for its lack of experience in the past, so that the public can see the Government's sophistication and outstanding performance under the epidemic.

Deputy President, I so submit and support the Motion of Thanks.

MS ELIZABETH QUAT (in Cantonese): Deputy President, Hong Kong is now facing an unprecedented dilemma. I think we have all noticed that the political situation in Hong Kong has rapidly deteriorated in recent years. Although "black violence" is not raging today and society has become more tranquil, it is still in turmoil.

Dissension within society has never been so serious, coupled with the fluctuating epidemic situation and economic downturn, Hong Kong is now in a predicament, and Hong Kong people have not found a way out. Moreover, with rapid changes in the foreign political situation, we have recently noticed that LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3199 foreign forces have joined hands to suppress the development of our country. Many foreign forces have used Hong Kong as a platform to disseminate anti-China information, pushing some Hong Kong people towards the verge of "Hong Kong independence". They have made use of some "dark yellow" media in Hong Kong to continuously publicize distorted values, and magnify infinitely democracy, freedom, justice, human rights, and even totalitarianism in the West. For them, democracy, freedom, justice and human rights override national security and social security.

Some dignitaries, legal professionals and even former Legislative Council Members of the "mutual destruction camp" have used the Legislative Council as a platform and their reputation in society to promote seriously distorted values, such as civil disobedience, achieving justice by violating the law, imprisonment makes one's life more exciting, etc. They have worked hand in glove with western politicians. When Hong Kong was ravaged by "black violence", many people's lives were threatened, innocent people were harmed and shops were vandalized. Nevertheless, some western politicians remarked that it was a beautiful scene. They put Hong Kong on the international stage and used Hong Kong to suppress the development of our country. At present, the most pressing need of Hong Kong is to defend and uphold "one country, two systems".

The Chief Executive has emphasized "striving ahead with renewed perseverance". I believe renewed perseverance means that Hong Kong must undergo changes apart from adhering to "one country, two systems". Have the problems of Hong Kong just appeared? I have recently reviewed many opinion polls and documents and found that Hong Kong was not what it is now. In the past, Hong Kong was not so torn apart. We are most saddened to learn that more than 10 000 people have been arrested in the riots arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendment, and among them, 40% are students and about 2 000 of them are primary and secondary students. We notice that these people and many others who had participated in the riots harbour hatred against the country and have anti-government sentiments. They even think that "Hong Kong independence" is feasible, and "mutual destruction" must be enforced to achieve the so-called democracy, freedom and justice.

Let us look at the opinion polls in the past. For example, as revealed in the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009, the world's largest international study on students, 80% of Secondary Two students in Hong Kong indicated that they loved the country, and 79% said that they were proud being 3200 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Chinese. What happened at that time? The Beijing Olympic Games were held in 2008 and the Wenchuan earthquake happened the same year. The grand Olympic Games made Hong Kong people extremely proud of being Chinese. Hong Kong people also shared the anguish of those affected by the Wenchuan earthquake and made huge donations for disaster relief. Since the reunification, our sense of national identity was highest in 2008. What happened between 2008 and 2020? Why have there been significant changes?

Looking back, a lot happened in Hong Kong and the most significant event was certainly the illegal Occupy Central movement in 2014. At the outset of the incident, there were numerous tents outside the Legislative Council Complex and the place was packed with people every day. At that time, traffic in Hong Kong was paralysed and society came to a halt. When I spoke in the Legislative Council, I pointed out that Hong Kong was defeated. When the idea of illegal Occupy Central was planted in the mind of some youngsters and some Hong Kong people, Hong Kong has, since then, become divided.

Nonetheless, the problem has not been solved since 2014. The foreign forces I mentioned have kept publicizing fake news, and inciting opposition against China and hatred against the Government through different media. On university campuses, some people have become more and more reckless; they put up anti-China and anti-government slogans in all places. Have we handled the situation? No. Some media have continued to disseminate anti-China and anti-government messages, as well as fake news and false information. Have we handled the situation? No. In addition, Radio Television Hong Kong, funded by the Hong Kong Government and taxpayers, has become more and more unchecked and outrageous. I have received numerous complaints from the public, saying that some phone-in programmes are really biased and disseminate anti-China and anti-government messages. Upon receipt of these complaints, we have raised questions in the Legislative Council. Yet, has the Government handled the situation? No.

Some Legislative Council Members of the "mutual destruction camp" had been using the Legislative Council as a platform to keep repeating, like recorders, the obvious fake news and false information in the Chamber. For example, though no one died in the "31 August" incident, they insisted that someone died. Have we handled the situation? No. Therefore, more and more Hong Kong people have lost their hope and they thought that "mutual destruction" might be LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3201 necessary. This is a very grave problem, but it has not been handled because people condoned the problem and pretended that it did not exist. They have adopted an ostrich policy and swept the problem under the carpet.

In 2019, riots broke out in Hong Kong amidst disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendment and Hong Kong was in a precarious situation. Many politicians blatantly colluded with foreign forces and interfered in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs. Some foreign politicians distorted the facts, reversed right and wrong, and beautified acts of violence as heroic deeds. The world has really changed drastically; the secretive deeds in the past have surfaced. The Central Government finally lost its patience; and in order to fully support Hong Kong and continue to maintain "one country, two systems", the Central Government implemented the National Security Law in Hong Kong. I fully agree that this is a fundamental policy for safeguarding national security and an essential measure for maintaining "one country, two systems" and bringing order out of chaos in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, I think the Government must enact laws on its own in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law to further combat riots and "Hong Kong independence" advocates.

It is true that we need not do anything after the enactment of the National Security Law? Certainly not. Many foreign forces continue to voice support for the "mutual destruction camp". In fact, Hong Kong still has many problems, such as the election system must be reformed. The current election system is riddled with loopholes. As no restrictions have been set, national security and social prosperity will be greatly threatened. For many years, people opposing China and upsetting order in Hong Kong, advocates of "Hong Kong independence" and self-determination could stand for election and even become Legislative Council Members. Furthermore, the District Council ("DC") Election held on 24 November 2019 was completely unfair, unjust and unsafe. Supporters of "Hong Kong independence" and even rioters could stand for election and even become DC members, resulting in DCs being unable to perform their functions today. In addition, members of the "mutual destruction camp" led by Benny TAI proposed the so-called 10 steps to "mutual destruction" and the "35+" scheme, trying to determine, through illegal primary election, the candidates to stand for the Legislative Council Election. Their target was to paralyse government administration and seize power. These incidents that had happened or are happening in Hong Kong are gradually eroding Hong Kong. These schemes are not just empty talks and do not only involve Hong Kong 3202 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 people. We can see the shadows of foreign forces, interfering in and manipulating Hong Kong to bring about a colour revolution.

Deputy President, may I ask which country in the world will allow persons who do not identify with the country, deliberate stand against the government, and even attempt to subvert state power and collude with foreign forces to win in the election and even lead the state organs? No country in the world will tolerate such acts. Therefore, our country has reminded us afresh that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. People who love the Motherland and Hong Kong should govern Hong Kong, while people who oppose China and upset the order of Hong Kong should be ousted. Without doubt, these principles and bottom lines must be followed in the elections of Hong Kong. Therefore, the election system must be reformed and we must strictly adhere to our role as the gatekeeper. We must not allow people who oppose China and upset the order of Hong Kong, collude with foreign forces and support "Hong Kong independence" to become eligible candidates. We must also change the current election methods to prevent anyone from using our election platform and the Legislative Council to endanger national security. These are the tasks that we must undertake.

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

In addition, as I said earlier, these people often publicize achieving justice by violating the law and civil disobedience. They tell young people that they are acting for justice, that they will not be guilty for acts of civil disobedience and that they will be sentenced lightly and there is also a protective umbrella. But as we all know, everyone is equal before the law, the rule of law is the core value of Hong Kong that must be defended and the Judiciary must also manifest justice. Hence, President, I have repeatedly stated that Hong Kong must continue to move forward and judicial reform must be conducted. Secretary for Justice Teresa CHENG is present today. I am not directing against her, nor do I think there is anything wrong with judicial independence in Hong Kong. There is nothing wrong with judicial independence and judges must not be interfered when hearing cases and they must uphold fairness without bias. Judges can have their own political views but when adjudicating cases, they cannot show favour to a certain "colour" and cannot have a political stance. But is this the case at present?

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We have received numerous complaints about the problem of sentencing. How come different judgments are made in similar cases? Can judges make judgments as they like? How can some judges make certain comments? In the Judiciary's reply, we are told that if we find problems with the sentencing of judges, the best approach is to lodge an appeal. However, not all cases can be appealed. The Secretary for Justice is present. Even if the defendant appeals against the original sentence, the fact that some people get a light sentence or the remarks made by some judges has already conveyed a very dangerous message to the community. Even if the Court of Appeal overturns the original sentence, the message conveyed cannot be changed, the sentence fails to give an deterrent effect and justice cannot be manifested. Some judges who make mistakes repeatedly have even been promoted. Complaints have not been accepted because they must be investigated and handled by judges of a higher level of court. Members of the community thus consider that this approach is unfair and they think that there are problems with our judicial system. If our judicial system fails to maintain credibility and is not trusted by the public, the foundation of the rule of law in Hong Kong will be shaken. Hence, we have proposed a judicial reform. Other places are facing the same problem. When the judicial institution is no longer trusted by the people, it should find ways to maintain people's confidence; therefore, other places have set up sentencing committee, judiciary monitoring committee, etc. The Hong Kong Government should conduct studies on the reform. Why should the Government immediately shut the door and refuse to consider the proposal?

Moreover, over the past couple of days we have learnt about the incident concerning Secretary for Justice's appointment of David PERRY as a prosecutor. From this incident, we can see that although the United Kingdom has often sanctimoniously talked about how it safeguards judicial independence and fairness, it has nonetheless exerted pressure on the barrister and blatantly interfered with Hong Kong's judicial affairs. If that works, other overseas judges in Hong Kong may also face the same pressure in future. Does the Government need to rethink its appointment of judges and overseas judges? Should the Government nurture more local judges? Should local judicial officers acquire a deeper understanding and knowledge of the country, the country's Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law? They should. Why can't judicial reform be considered and carried out? For this reason, we keep proposing judicial reform. If the Government keeps refusing to conduct reform or listen to views, the general public will be disappointed.

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Apart from reforming the election system and the judicial system, the mentality and work practices of government officials need to be reformed as well. Today, I can see that some Hong Kong government officials still adopt an attitude of doing things in their own manner and standing aloof from matters of no personal interests; each government department only attends to its own matters to avoid bearing responsibilities. Please do not mistake me for criticizing Hong Kong civil servants. Chief Secretary, in fact, I opine that the Hong Kong civil service is the best in the world. Many civil servants are capable and committed to serving Hong Kong. However, some bad old practices of the Government die hard. As we always say, nothing can be done if a matter involves more than one government department as it is almost impossible for government departments to coordinate among themselves over a matter. Over these few years, we have talked about these problems every day. What are the problems which are most evident today? When the Government carries out the anti-epidemic work and combats "black violence", is the Government addressing these most difficult problems in Hong Kong as a whole team? Are they fighting this battle together? We all feel that in the face of "black violence", the Chief Executive is like fighting alone. Are all members in the Government fighting the battle together with the Chief Executive and clarifying rumours for her? As the Chief Executive has also said, it seems that nobody, except the Police Force, is backing her.

When the Police Force keeps being abused verbally, challenged, harmed, bullied and doxxed, how many government officials, except those from the disciplinary forces, stand up for the Police Force? We cannot see any one of them. Regarding the current anti-epidemic work, the country has adopted a war mentality in carrying out its anti-epidemic work, with all the people working with concerted efforts. What about the Hong Kong Government? As Members, we have been virtually exhausted in urging the Government to carry out the anti-epidemic work and negotiating with the Government to do the work together. How many government departments do we need to communicate with before something can be done? Why do government officials today often give people an impression that their policies are detached from reality and formulated behind closed doors?

As government officials, they should know that governance should be people-oriented. As parents to the people, government officials should address the pressing needs of the public, but why have they failed to do so? I greatly respect every government official, because they are willing to devote a lot of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3205 energy, time and continuous strenuous efforts to their work. Despite their efforts, they are still criticized by many members of the public. There must be reasons for that. As we have said earlier, one of the reasons is the lack of coordination among government departments; another reason is the lack of communication between the Government and members of the public.

As we know, some people, especially foreign forces and some local forces, have intended to attack the Government's governance. No matter what the Government does, they always say the Government is in the wrong; when the Government does its jobs well, they will not give compliments; when the Government commits some mistakes, they will keep making an issue of the mistakes, and even smear the Government by using some fake news and misinformation. What has the Government done? We have proposed that the Government should combat such fake news and misinformation, as well as reform the Radio Television Hong Kong to allow the Government to have at least one platform for explaining its policies. We have proposed that every government department should designate a person for monitoring online fake news and misinformation, and make immediate responses. Has the Government done so? The Government has only implemented some measures. Recently, the Police Force has directly communicated with members of the public more frequently and done more publicity work. It has repeatedly attempted to rebuild communication with members of the public using different platforms, so that the public can better understand the work of the Police Force. I commend the Police Force for doing so. However, it is my hope that not only the Police Force but every government department will enhance its communication with members of the public.

As Members, we keep communicating with members of the public day and night. Every day, our phones keep ringing, and we receive innumerable messages. We communicate with the public directly but not indirectly. The Government should think about how to enhance communication with the public so as to combat fake news and misinformation, debunk rumours and publicize the Government's work. I think these are all very important.

Besides, regarding the civil service's innovative thinking and optimal use of technology, Chief Secretary and President, I have talked about these issues many times and will not repeat here. Yet, I would like to reiterate that a smart government is required for promoting a smart city. All government officials must make good use of technology in order to get the job done in this regard. 3206 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Today, the greatest hope of Hong Kong citizens is, of course, to succeed in fighting against the epidemic, achieving "zero infection", resuming cross-border travel and revitalizing the economy.

Interestingly, the Chief Executive has pointed out in paragraph 5 of her Policy Address that "on the other hand, we have seen a quick rebound in the economy of our country as a result of its vigorous efforts in putting the epidemic under control. Set to be the only major economy to record growth in 2020, the Mainland has put forward a new development pattern of domestic and international dual circulation. Benefiting from its proximity to the Mainland and the Central Government's long-standing support under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, Hong Kong's economic development will be given new impetus. It can continue to capitalize on its strengths to serve the country's needs with proactive participation in the domestic and international dual circulation as well as better integration into the overall national development". This has reflected how the Central Government fully supports Hong Kong.

Since each government official and the Chief Executive have seen "a quick rebound in the economy of our country as a result of its vigorous efforts in putting the epidemic under control", why is it that Hong Kong cannot follow suit? I find it very strange. After one year's discussion of the epidemic, if the Government, in the first few months of last year, adopted the current progressive method of taking two steps forward and three steps back by balancing the interests of different parties, the public could still tolerate. However, one year has passed, the Government is still adopting the same method. Why has the Government not paid more vigorous efforts in putting the epidemic under control? As many members of the public have also said, the Government should implement the mandatory universal testing and the health code system, just as the saying goes "better a little loss than a long sorrow". If the country can test 10 million people in a city repeatedly within seven days, why can't Hong Kong do so? Is the quality of Hong Kong citizens really that low? Why doesn't Hong Kong follow a good model, but instead insist on using its own model, which has been met with complaints from the public because they think there are problems with the model.

Today, we have pointed out repeatedly that micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises are at the end of their rope. Many members of the public are unemployed. Even with credit card borrowing, they will fail to make ends meet soon. How can the Government give them further support? In LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3207 particular, for people who are forced to close or suspend their business, how can the Government support them? Some industries have been doing well in disease prevention. Seeing that people from the beauty industry have been doing a very good job in this respect, the Chief Secretary intended to allow the industry to resume business two days ago. The beauty industry would do whatever the Government requested. Unexpectedly, the epidemic has rebounded with more than 100 confirmed cases. The Government was scared and thought it was better not to allow the beauty industry to resume business. Now, the industry is asked to wait for one more week.

Some industries, such as the marine bunkering industry, are not really related to the spread of the virus. Despite having zero contact with people and having nearly no risk of spreading the virus, the marine bunkering industry has not been allowed by the Government to operate. While members of the public will accept whatever help the Government offers, they understand that the Government cannot assist and help them endlessly. What they want most is to become self-supporting by resuming their business. As long as they are allowed to resume their business, they can pay their staff and earn money for paying rent; otherwise, how can they tide over the Lunar New Year? We have already exhausted ourselves in discussing with the Government on the provision of unemployment assistance, but the Government still has not consented. One year ago, the Government said that a system was not in place to provide unemployment assistance. One year has passed, the Government still gives the same reason. How can the Government address the pressing needs of people in this way? Members of the public are certainly angry and unhappy, as many problems have remained unresolved.

Take the healthcare problem as an example. The shortage of doctors has already been reflected by figures. The Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") is vested with excessive power. The Government has put the life of over 7 million Hong Kong people into the hands of MCHK by allowing MCHK to decide whether qualified professional overseas doctors can be recruited to work in Hong Kong. Is there something wrong? Why must the Government allow MCHK to do so? Is it afraid of MCHK, is it shirking its responsibilities, or not paying enough attention to the lives of the public? In the districts, the elderly who cannot see well and have pain in their knees have to wait three years before getting treatment; for those who have mental problems, unless they say they will commit suicide tomorrow, they will have to wait for years before being treated by psychiatrists. What has become of the society of Hong Kong? 3208 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Although all people can see that MCHK is obviously vested with excessive power and exercises protectionism, the Government has done nothing about the situation. Should the Government be ashamed of itself as it has failed to live up to the expectations of the citizens of Hong Kong?

President, finally, I wish to talk about youngsters. A significant portion of the Chief Executive's 2017 Policy Address is dedicated to youth policy, but great progress has not been seen over the years. The part on youth development in the Policy Address this year has been set out from paragraph 161 to paragraph 164, mainly about the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, youth entrepreneurship, etc. Many youngsters have relayed to me that they do not think the Government understands and attaches great importance to youth development and problems. Some youngsters do not think that they can definitely make a living in the Greater Bay Area after being pushed there. As I have been engaging in business and technology sectors, I certainly support the Government's vigorous development of innovation and technology to tie in with the country's development policy, in the hope of having more room for development in the Greater Bay Area. However, do all youngsters understand this? The problem of youth unemployment, which was already very serious, has now become more severe, but can the problem be resolved by pushing youngsters to the Greater Bay Area? The Government does not think so, but has the Government clearly explained to youngsters in which aspects it can help them? Nowadays, graduation means unemployment, because tertiary students cannot find the jobs they desire or the jobs that match their qualifications. Many youngsters think that their jobs do not match their qualifications, and that the industry structure is too unitary, making them unable to find the jobs they desire.

Moreover, what youngsters want is private space. However, as flats are small in Hong Kong, how can they have their own private space? Living in subdivided units is the only way out for youngsters, as it is virtually impossible for them to buy their own homes. So, youngsters feel hopeless. How can we give youngsters in Hong Kong more hope? I think the Government has not done enough in respect of youth policy, study on youth problem and youth development, and the whole community has not given enough care for youngsters.

Many people consider that youngsters of this generation are "black-clad rioters" and want to give them up. I disagree as we can never give up youngsters in Hong Kong. However, we must make them put aside their hatred LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3209 and rekindle their hope in Hong Kong. We hope that Hong Kong people will no longer be divided by "colour" and that they can end the impasse, regain respect, harmony, kindness and love, so that everyone in Hong Kong can live and work in peace and contentment. I believe if we can really unite as one, Hong Kong can be relaunched. (The buzzer sounded)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Elizabeth QUAT, please stop speaking.

MR CHAN HAK-KAN (in Cantonese): President, we have debated the Motion of Thanks on the Policy Address for almost a day. Over the past 10 hours or so, many Honourable colleagues have spoken on themes such as "One Country, Two Systems", "Navigating through the Epidemic" and "New Impetus to the Economy". Some other issues, including "Building a Liveable City" and "Continuously Improving People's Livelihood", will also be debated later. Members have provided many constructive opinions when they speak on the specific initiatives in this Policy Address, and I hope the Government will improve the livelihood and well-being of Hong Kong people in different ways, such as hardware and policy enhancement.

With regard to this Policy Address, I think our debate should revolve around one central principle, i.e. "to bring happiness to the people" as advocated by President XI Jinping in his report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. All our future policies and infrastructure development should rest upon this principle, which is actually the goal, or the ultimate mission, of all governments and political parties on earth. Therefore, my main concern in reviewing this Policy Address is whether the policy initiatives, as well as the officials' performance in the relevant period, can bring happiness to the people. The word "happiness" is also found on this leaflet in my hand. Bringing joy and happiness to the people should hence be the top priority of the Government.

I am not sure if government officials are aware of the World Happiness Report published in recent years. If the answer is in the affirmative, they should pay attention to the ranking of Hong Kong, which went down year after year. Of course, "black violence" and epidemic plaguing Hong Kong over the past one to two years have made Hong Kong people sad. However, these reasons aside, has the Government's administration brought joy and happiness to the people?

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In my following discussion, I will talk about, first, law and order; and second, the epidemic, which has been discussed by many of my Honourable colleagues earlier. These two issues have certainly dealt a great blow to Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood. Regarding the epidemic, though it has affected the livelihood of many people, I believe we can eventually tide over it with the efforts made by Hong Kong people and the support of the Government. Many people look forward to the expeditious arrival of the vaccines for early injection as they believe that vaccination can put the epidemic under control.

The impact of "black violence" will, however, go beyond a year or two. While there are vaccines to kill viruses in an epidemic, there is no panacea to remove the poison in one's mind. Once a person is mentally misguided to do wrong, it will take a long time to get him back on track. This is the worst problem left behind by "black violence". Over the past period of time, a small number of Hong Kong people had seriously misunderstood "one country, two systems". They waved the "Hong Kong Independence" flag and stormed the Central Government's offices in Hong Kong; they vowed to get "35+" seats in the Council with the aim of seizing the jurisdiction over SAR and paralysing the Government; they wanted the Chief Executive to step down; they asked foreign powers to interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs. All these acts threatened national security, undermined "one country, two systems", and violated the Constitution and the Basic Law. While "black violence" stemmed from political problems rather than livelihood issues, the SAR Government did not seem to have put sufficient attention on the relevant political problems in the past.

In a livable city, law and order is a requisite for people to live in peace and contentment. When society is stable and crime rate is low, people will feel safe about their life and property. "Black violence" had, however, made many people and businesses feel unsafe. Let us review what had happened. Six months ago, people were in a state of fear. Shop owners feared that their "wrong" comments would lead to boycott or shop vandalism, while members of the public feared of vigilante attacks for making "wrong" comments on the streets. Today, this fear was away from Hong Kong, but on the other side of the world―the United States―the people there are feeling what we felt a year ago in the days of "black violence". Hong Kong is definitely luckier for we have the support of the Central Government. Thanks to the National Security Law, "black violence" was ended and social stability restored. This law has proved to be necessary and important for building a livable city and bringing happiness to the people.

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Despite the reduction in street violence, some people have told us that they think the public order is not as good as it used to be before the occurrence of "black violence". From the Police's figures, we can see a surge in serious criminal offences after excluding those relating to "black violence". Given that the Police had to deploy a lot of manpower and resources to deal with "black violence", criminals had taken advantage of this situation. Crimes such as robbery, Internet fraud, naked chat and youth delinquency are on the rise. As such, how can the Government make people feel at ease and safe in Hong Kong? More police officers should be deployed to patrol the streets. If members of the public often see police officers enforcing the laws, they will believe that Hong Kong is safe again. I am sure Secretary John LEE is well aware of the many detailed arrangements involved. For example, other disciplined forces should strengthen their support to the Police, Special Constables should be appointed, and more auxiliary police officers should be deployed to assist regular officers in their duties. Many of my Honourable colleagues have already put forward proposals of this kind.

The epidemic situation is another problem that has upset the public. A possible reason for the volatility of the epidemic is that Hong Kong's anti-epidemic efforts are insufficient and incomplete. I understand the difficulty of the Government. If the anti-epidemic measures are too stringent, commercial activities may be affected, causing inconvenience to people's lives. However, if the anti-epidemic measures are too lenient, the epidemic may rebound and the number of confirmed cases may possibly increase by geometric progression. If the middle-of-the-road approach is taken, the Government may end up pleasing no one. I fully understand the difficulties faced by Secretary Prof Sophia CHAN. Yet, the Government must be decisive in the fight against the epidemic. Being in two minds can never solve the epidemic.

The recent arrangement for the Lunar New Year fairs is a case in point. I hear people say every day, "Mr CHAN, can you tell the Government 'it is better to endure short-term pain than prolong the agony'? The Government should adopt more stringent measures. Let's have universal testing! We can then clear all cases quickly, and that is certainly better than trying to 'outlive' the virus." I know the Chief Executive has already given her views on universal testing, but has the Government, being the leader of the anti-epidemic efforts, drawn up a timetable for achieving "zero infection" or set any targets on achieving this goal? Until now, I do not know when we can achieve "zero infection". In the absence 3212 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 of a target, how can the Government assess whether its policy has succeeded or failed? How can it know whether there are any inadequacies in its work so that it has to put in more efforts and take extra steps? Right now, the Government is conducting community testing in a small scale. I hope that will help mitigate the spread of coronavirus in the community, but a more important question is: How will the Government arrange public vaccination after Hong Kong has got the vaccines? Can the frequent travellers between the Mainland and Hong Kong be exempted from the 14-day quarantine requirement in the Mainland after vaccination to reduce the time cost of travelling between the two places? This is the wish of many people.

Underemployment is another issue relating to the epidemic and the sense of happiness. As we all know, the unemployment rate has peaked again. I really do not want to tell how high it is. The SAR Government is known to have spent handsomely on assisting the business sector and the community. It paid out a lot of money for the first to the fourth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, but most of the money went to help employers or organizations. Individuals did not get much from the Government. However, when we complain to the Government of the high unemployment and underemployment rates, it will say that the unemployed people should go find a new job or apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA"). A new security guard has reported duty in the building that I live. He is probably younger than me. When I asked him why he came to work as a security guard, he told me that he had been laid off by a hotel. Then, I asked about his previous salary and he said that he used to earn $30,000 to $40,000 per month but his current salary was only $17,000. While young people like him are willing to accept a pay cut to make ends meet, there is hardly any way for lower-class people or unskilled workers to find another job. When a young man who used to make $30,000 to $40,000 per month has humbled himself to work as a building attendant for a monthly salary of $17,000, what happens to his predecessor who used to earn $17,000 a month? He is of course forced to accept an even lower-paid job. That is more than natural.

Because of underemployment and unemployment, members of the public have a lower quality of life and become less happy. They need the SAR Government to help them out in this difficult time. In the past, the Government might address this situation by giving out free tickets for people to have fun in the Ocean Park or Disneyland, but will this trick work now? Absolutely not. We have earnestly asked the Government to provide short-term unemployment assistance, but its reply is that the unemployed should apply for CSSA. I must LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3213 tell the Government that many people in Hong Kong have a strong will to earn their own living. Their self-dignity stops them from receiving contemptuous handouts. To them, applying for CSSA is tantamount to giving up their dignity and happiness for money. This is the label which has long been put on CSSA recipients. Many unemployed people say that they have to borrow money from friends to get by. If they cannot get loans from friends, they will have to live on credit cards. They are biting a bullet in this tough time. I am not sure if government officials understand that the purpose of introducing unemployment assistance is to distinguish short-term unemployed people from CSSA recipients so that the former will not have the feeling that they have to give up self-dignity and sense of happiness in order to obtain government reliefs. By taking one more step, the Government can actually make people feel much better, and that is how happiness is created.

For the general public, the sense of happiness comes from getting some love and care. That was why many people were overjoyed after learning that the Chief Executive would implement the $2 transport fare concession scheme for people aged 60 or above, thinking that the Government cared about them. When the Donald TSANG Government first introduced this policy, many elderly people were delighted because they could feel the Government's care. They did not actually care about the petty $2 fare concession. However, the Government now alleges the $2 fare concession may be abused, saying that there is a loophole to be plugged. The tons of excuses give people an impression that the Government is playing the delaying tactics. As I tend to think well of others, I would not say that the Government is trying to procrastinate for failing to plug the loophole will indeed waste a lot of money. Unfortunately, the Secretary has recently said that providing the $2 fare concession involved huge financial commitment, and hence the concessionary fare might later be revised upwards from $2 to $3 or $2.5. A friend of mine will soon turn 60 to become eligible for the $2 fare concession. He sent me a message earlier, saying, "Mr CHAN, please tell the Government not to mistakenly think that I care about the $2 fare concession. Why would I care about getting 50 cents or $1? The fare concession only makes me feel that the Government cares for me and recognizes my contribution to society in the past. But now, the Government hems and haws; it pays lip service without the intent to provide a mere $2 fare concession and cooks up loads of excuses." The behaviour of the Government is really upsetting. Owing to this petty $2 fare concession, members of the public are less happy and consider that the Government is indifferent to them.

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This is just one of the examples, and there are many others. For instance, people who retire at 60 have to meet many of their daily expenses out of their own pocket. They can neither withdraw their Mandatory Provident Fund benefits nor apply for welfare benefits before the age of 65. The Government can actually make many people happy, especially the silver-haired group, simply by lowering the welfare thresholds. Yet, whenever the Government is asked to do so, it will repeat its concern over the huge financial commitment. I absolutely see its point, considering that the Government is duty-bound to balance its budget. But how should the Government make use of the money available to improve people's livelihood, and create a sense of happiness for the people? How should government officials "bring happiness to the people" as suggested by President XI Jinping?

President, I am quite interested in the history of the Qing and Ming dynasties. Recently, I have been reading the history of the Ming Dynasty after I finished reading that of the Qing Dynasty. In the second year of the Hongzhi reign period of Emperor Xiaozong, a serious flood occurred in southern China. The Ministry of the Revenue wrote to the Emperor to ask for tax waivers for the south. In the paper, it was written, "The superiors should get less to benefit the inferiors in a bad year." In other words, when the economy is weak and the people suffer, the government should "get less", which can be interpreted as a pay cut for officials. Meanwhile, the government should "benefit the inferiors" by increasing welfare. Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty was relatively enlightened so that he said OK to all proposals in the paper. Of course, he did not write "OK" in reply. He approved all the requests. In telling this story, I do not mean to ask the Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux to have a pay cut because they have already done so to set an example, right? Also, pay cut has nothing more than symbolic meaning. What I hope is that government officials will work harder to "benefit the people" instead of being complacent about a handful of relief measures. Government officials should never adopt this attitude.

In recent days, I have heard a Director of Bureau saying that the unemployed population in Hong Kong increased by 1 500 persons was "no big deal". President, there is nothing wrong with this statement literally. The problem was that he used the words "no big deal" at the end of the sentence. What does that mean? The words "no big deal" have reflected and betrayed his inner thought that unemployment is just a trivial matter. It is no big deal for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3215

1 500 people to have lost their job, and the Government is not concerned about the income loss of 1 500 families.

I do not expect government officials to have the traditional Chinese virtues or the noble spirit of parental officials to love the people like their own children. But how can they take the hardships and sufferings of the people frivolously or lightly? This Director of Bureau has a high IQ, outsmarting all of us here. However, when we criticize him for his deficiencies at work and ask why the poor population is on the rise, he will say that the poverty line and poverty figures are "no big deal" as they are the tools for attacking the Government. When we ask if there can be more welfare benefits for the elderly, he will talk about the huge financial burden. When we ask if there can be some short-term unemployment assistance, he will tell the unemployed people to apply for CSSA.

I do understand that the Government has to spend rationally to maintain fiscal balance. Yet, if decision-making is solely dominated by rationality or numbers, why do we still need to have Directors of Bureaux in times of technological advancement in artificial intelligence? That is because human beings have compassion and empathy. If the Director of Bureau in charge of welfare and labour affairs has no empathy and merely talks about numbers in his callous responses, he is only good at studies despite his high IQ of 160, and that is "no big deal". He can never "bring happiness to the people" as requested by President XI.

President, I told the aforesaid historical story to remind government officials not to be callous in formulating policy. They should be more empathetic in order to bring happiness to the people. Thank you, President.

MR ABRAHAM SHEK: President, first, I would like to thank the Chief Secretary for Administration, Financial Secretary and Secretary for Justice and all the government officials for lending us their ears to this three-day debate. Unfortunately, just look around. Their kind and conscious efforts are not being reciprocated by Members across the floor, and for that, I apologize.

Let me start my speech with the big picture. I will tackle the specifics of the Policy Address later. 2020 was branded the worst year for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR"); 2021 does not offer much ground for optimism either. HKSAR has never been so isolated in the global arena. Hong 3216 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Kong, definitely and truly, is an island. Fortunately, we are backed by the peninsula with our Motherland behind. Our economic outlook has died. It has been reported that people are quitting the city in droves. Three rounds of relief efforts costing up to $300 billion have come and gone, but we are worse than where we left off in 2020. Hong Kong is undeniably in the midst of a confidence crisis and the economic doldrums.

Residents have continued to suffer since the Chief Executive ("CE")'s Policy Address to this Council last November. President, the unemployment rate is edging up to 6.7% and is very likely to go higher. Gyms, beauty parlours, massage parlours, education centres, retail outlets, bars, restaurants and many others are on the verge of collapse. If they have not folded yet, those who can hang on to their jobs are often required to go on no pay leave or have their wages slashed. As the Financial Secretary admitted in his latest blog, the worst has yet to come in the year of the Ox.

However, officials are in no mood for offering further substantial relief initiatives, and I understand that. Another round of assistance under the unemployment support scheme has been ruled out. Calls for an emergency fund for the jobless have gone unheeded. The average families in Hong Kong are suffering in plain sight. Our leaders somehow fail to see the urgency. They do not hear the collective cry for help; they do not feel the pain. They simply sit on their hands inside their bureaucratic cocoons. Job security and benefits that go hovered are not protected. Not a single political appointee has been held accountable for the social turmoil and the many missteps in the fight against the epidemic. The monthly salaries, President, are always punctual. They are more eager in saving Ocean Park than alleviating the suffering of the 250 000 unemployed, and those on the verge of bankruptcies. We need to save people, not the park. Where is our Hong Kong's rescue plan for the present and the post-COVID-19? Singapore has it; other places have it. I have seen politics in action up-close for nearly half a century. Let me remind our top officials that cogent and popular policies start with heart; without empathy, works are empty.

Now, I would like to talk about the revival of Hong Kong economy. Now that the vaccine against the coronavirus is on the way, there is a glimmer of hope. We should start thinking and thinking ahead to put Hong Kong back on track and back on the map. Last summer, the Information Services Department awarded US$6.3 million to a public relations firm clouded in controversies over its work LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3217 for Saudi Arabia. We have yet to see whether the foreign spin doctors' game plan for Hong Kong is worth their salt.

Meanwhile, the attempts in this regard so far have at best been feeble. "Brand Hong Kong" has advertised about how wonderful our supply chain is and how CE and her adviser in chief had a cordial exchange over high tea on social media. The Chief Secretary for Administration has written to the Washington Post to protest against the American sanctions. This is hardly any coordination behind those apparently isolated haphazard PR moves.

Since the National Security Law was passed and in place last June, law and order has been, by and large, restored. Thanks to the Police, there is hardly any mass protest, let alone organized violence on the street. Nevertheless, absence of confrontation on the surface alone is not enough to put Hong Kong back on its feet. Efforts to reboot Hong Kong will have to be grounded on an authentic process of social conciliation. It will be a waste of time to ask the world to reinvest in Hong Kong and to come to Hong Kong while Hongkongers are not convinced about our own future.

The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong has looked into the issue. Almost half of the nearly 2 000 residents they interviewed deem CE's earlier dialogue sessions with the public as having zero effect in easing social grievances. Her engagement attempts were rated at an average of just 2.5 out of a scale of 10. Ironically, President, the research was funded by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office ("PICO") which was a baby of CE's inaugural Policy Address in 2017.

Another PICO sponsored survey indicated almost 90% of our high school students do not trust the Administration. It is really sad to see this. Similar studies abound. A Chinese University poll revealed that an alarming 44% of our residents would emigrate if they had the chance. I hope this is also wrong. Some 50% have set in motion their migration plans. Our social scientists have done their bit to sound the alarm. Nobody in the Administration has responded. None of the policy secretaries has stepped forward to take responsibility.

CE's silence in the Policy Address on how to re-connect with the people, especially the young, is definite. She said it was not the right time to tackle electoral reform, which is another political problem. There is never a perfect 3218 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 timing. The best time is now. Give us certainty, give us stability, and give us harmony. We must give residents of all political stripes a real sense of belonging and ownership in Hong Kong. There are many ways to do so. Obliging companies to create 2 000 temporary government subsidized jobs in the Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong youngsters for 18 months is not one of them.

Once international travel more or less resumes normal, CE and our de facto ambassadors should be busy visiting major international partners to dispel political rumours, clear misconceptions and re-instil investors' confidence. And action plans need to be devised as soon as possible, so that they can be activated anytime.

Like it or not, it is no longer viable for CE and some other high officials to visit our key trading partners in the world. Some forward thinking is needed to attend to practical issues. Who else has the standing to step into her shoes to lead our revival campaign, particularly in the West? I do not have a crystal ball. President, whether BIDEN would be as hostile as his predecessor is anybody's guess, but I am certain that sanctions and counter-sanctions are bound to set Hong Kong on a path of harm and decline. We must break this vicious circle.

How exactly can this be done is beyond me. In any case, initiatives to restore SAR's image must be premised on a more harmonized Hong Kong society. It is a fact of life that no guest would like to visit a bickering dysfunctional home like ours at the moment. Multiple social indicators have informed us that Hong Kong is far from having recovered politically since 2019. It is CE's duty to chart out a healing process. She and she alone is in a position to do so. The following proposed domestic policies I believe are steps in the right direction. They will show that the top echelon of power is prepared to see things from the perspective of the people.

Now, I turn to the issue of housing, apart from politics which we had more than enough. Housing is a top-of-mind social concern. A decent home will bring a long way in cultivating residents' sense of attachment. The Government's approach has unfortunately remained piecemeal. CE is intended on building a so-called housing ladder to help residents to move from one round to the other, instead of making it easier for the needy to get onto the first round of the ladder. The Government has offered to create one more round at the bottom. The Government is committed to providing rent subsidies and 15 000 transitional housing units within three years for those on the Housing Authority waiting list. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3219

Such stopgap projects are welcomed and are meant to last for only a few years each until the private landowners take back the sites. The issues of shortening the waiting time of 5.6 years and the inadequate supply of housing rental units have left unfulfilled.

The last time I checked the queue for public rental units have, to no surprise, lengthened. There are over 154 000 general applicants for rental housing and another 103 000 non-elderly one-person applicants under the Quota and Points System. The average waiting time for general applicants as I said earlier is 5.6 years, and there is no likelihood that it will be shortened. An extra 5 000 transitional housing units a year is hardly a solution. A more direct and effective approach to boost housing mobility is to resuscitate the sluggish second-hand property market. There are two ways to do so.

First, lift the loan-to-value cap. At present, a potential home buyer without a mortgage insurance plan can only be given a loan of 60% of the property value or a maximum of $5 million. The ratio will be lowered to no more than 30%. If the price of flat is above $10 million, there is a restriction to make it difficult for families to climb up the housing ladder by purchasing their first private flats. The cap was last relaxed in August 2020. There is room for the loan-to-value ratio to be more accommodating to facilitate down payment and help those who cannot afford to buy their own homes.

Second, cancel the special stamp duty measures ("辣招") (Translation: "curb" measures). CE is keen to keep the Ad Valorem Stamp Duty, Special Stamp Duty, and Buyer's Stamp Duty, which were introduced as cooling measures a decade ago. She mentioned that the private units were still beyond the reach of the average family. That is true. What constituted this fact is, whether we like it or not, firstly the high land price policy, secondly the Government's measures, and thirdly the low interest rates.

A few days ago, the Hong Kong University business school published an economic policy green paper. Behind the document are some of the best economic brains in town. Leveraging on their empirical expertise, they have highlighted the side effects of the various "辣招" on residential property transactions. Thank you, Financial Secretary, for lifting the " 辣招" on non-residential property transactions recently in the market. Such stamp duties have suppressed short-term supply in the market yet failed to have any cooling 3220 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 effect as intended by the Government. Instead, they suggested that the rates on residential units could be increased with exemption for local residents. I am tempted to say: "Great minds think alike". In 2019, the annual transaction for housing, including first- and second-hand, was 150 000 units; the 2020 figure was 60 000 units, including both first- and second-hand. There has been a drastic fall in supply, suggesting that the duties have pushed all the attempts to supply flats in Hong Kong to zero. The special duties have made it much better for people to own their first homes. The outdated duties have stifled the private market. I have been telling the Government the same over the years since 2010, only to be snubbed and ignored. While I can take it, it is worse than talking to a brick wall. These market restrictions have become counterproductive in keeping the so-called "housing ladder" unobstructed. To revitalize the market, the various duties should preferably be relaxed, perhaps in phases. The stamp duties for residential properties costing $10 million or above should be freezed, and eventually they should be ditched. Instead of imposing artificial hurdles, officials should set their eyes on a steady supply of subsidized rental housing units and leave private transactions to the devices of the market forces.

I also concur with Hong Kong University professors on reactivating the connection between the public housing market and the private one. This can be done through privatizing public rental housing by selling all the rental housing units to tenants, thereby making them responsible and giving them that sense of ownership.

Now, I look into another aspect, land supply. If official projections are reliable, we will need 330 hectares to build 316 000 public housing units over the next decade. The Secretary for Transport and Housing has done much work, for which we are thankful, but it is a scramble to meet the demand. The Government has opted to take away one fifth of the Fanling Golf Course, as far as I remember, to make room for public housing. Construction is scheduled for completion by 2029, providing 9 000 public housing flats. This is tantamount to less than 3% of the target. But a 110-year-old sport heritage is doomed to be mutilated irreversibly in the process. It is a typical government policy of neither here nor there.

Hong Kong has a land area of 1 111 sq km, or 110 000 hectares, of which woodlands, shrubland, grassland and wetland have made up 75% of our land. Green belt sites with biodiversity and environmental values should, of course, be LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3221 preserved. However, sites at the fringe of the remaining green areas should be tabbed for public housing. Where were the plans under the famous "C Y LEUNG scheme" utilizing the fringe of green country parks for building over 20 000 or 30 000 housing units? The scheme has been abandoned at the minute when CE took office. Why? Please explain to the public. Coupled with the 720 hectares of "brownfield" clusters, which have yet to have a development timetable, there should be ample supply of land to see us through the next few decades, possibly until the Lantau Tomorrow Vision is materialized to meet further demands.

Now, President, I still have time. I look into transport. The MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") has extended the 20% fare discount for three months until March. I thank the Secretary for that. The Government will continue to subsidize up to one third of $400 per month of individual transport expenses in excess of $200. The arrangements are meant to alleviate the public burden of transport expenses during the epidemic. CE has announced the concession with a degree of pride. Thanks to her. Despite the social unrest, MTRCL has chalked up a revenue of $19.94 billion from its Hong Kong transport operations in 2019, representing a 2.3% increase. That is substantial in today's climate. Its fare hikes are not overseen by either the Legislative Council or the Executive Council. Instead, the company is entitled to a direct-drive formula on the basis of the Composite Consumer Price Index, the Nominal Wage Index, and a predetermined productivity factor. The end result is that fares have only one direction to go. They are always going up but never going down.

Under the wing of the Government, the rail system has become the dominant mode of mass transit in monopoly. MTRCL itself has gone into an independent empire, at the cost of the Government going over budget and overtime in some of the major rail projects. The Government is a 75% shareholder of MTRCL, which is listed on the local exchange. Officials assigned to MTRCL's Board of Directors have been outnumbered, thus failing to prevent the many delays and overspending in major rail development projects. A case in point is the construction of the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. The fixed-price contract of $8 billion has ended up costing us over $16 billion and a three-year delay. Temporary discounts and subsidies during the pandemic are a quick fix for a few months. What the people want is to "put the genie back into the bottle" once and for all. Secretary, MTRCL's market capitalization is 3222 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 estimated at $277 billion. A government buyback would cost approximately $16 billion, which could be financed through a spin-off of MTRCL's properties and also through debt financing. Our Secretary could actually act as a guide in doing this. This, I think, will be value for money to showcase the Government's commitment to people's livelihood in the uncertain times now and in the future.

Next, I would like to touch on the $2 transport fare concession scheme ("$2 scheme") for the elderly aged 60 to 64. I applaud the extension of the $2 scheme to cover those aged between 60 and 64. However, like many other well-intended policies of this Administration, the scheme has come with a glitch. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare has told us that the extension would not be in place at least until early next year. This will be two years after the proposal had been made. Personalized Octopus card with users' photo will be issued to each of the 600 000 senior citizens who stand to benefit. The bureaucracy needs a year to get it done, hence the delay. This is an affront to the long established honour system, which relies primarily on the integrity of those concerned. The principle has been working well in so many areas in the public domain. Public officers' declaration of fiduciary duties is an example. If every submission of declaration is to be cross-checked against dishonesty, the entire government machinery would have been bogged down. Abuses cannot be avoided in any system. The question is whether countermeasures are worth the time and administrative costs. Random spot checks on the elderly and reasonable penalties shall suffice. The $2 scheme should be implemented without further delay. If officials insist that cards with personal photos still be issued as planned, a grace period of one year or so should be offered. This benefit will go a long way toward earning the goodwill of the elderly and improving the younger generations' perception. In any case, trust is a two-way street. If officials treat citizens with suspicion and without respect, they too will end up being mistrusted.

Now, in the presence of the Secretary for Justice, I would like to talk about the Nina WANG's charity fund, the Chinachem Charitable Foundation. Officials' times and energy will be put to better use if they look for additional means and resources to see the territory through the economic downturn. I have the late Nina WANG's estate in mind. The estate comprises the assets under the umbrella of the Chinachem Group. As at last 30 September, the Group was valued at $141 billion. From 2018 to 2020, Chinachem Group has made a donation for charitable purposes at an aggregate sum of $26.6 million. Last year alone, the donation was $5 million. In contrast, the fee for administrators of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3223 estate is stunning, which is $6 million a year. That is not proportional. The ratio of donation to the administration cost is, to put it mildly, disturbing. The Secretary for Justice is the legal guardian of charitable interests. She was asked in this Chamber about the undesirable status of WANG's estate. She is obviously reluctant to intervene. Understandably, under normal circumstances, charities should be left to operate under their respective governing articles. According to the Secretary for Justice, except otherwise prescribed by law, or ordered by the court, charities may operate autonomously and decide how they would inform the public about their operations. The case on hand is far from being normal. The estate could have been a major funding source to supplement the government's relief packages. If a new law is needed to empower the authority to assume a proactive role, I can guarantee the Secretary for Justice that my fellow legislators will extend our full cooperation to make it happen. Let this charity do charitable work in helping the 250 000 unemployed citizens.

Now, I am running out of time. I would just like to touch on the Budget. Nowadays, it is trendy to say the term "stay true to one's original aspirations". Whatever these aspirations are, they have been clouded by the present political uncertainties, economic doldrums, challenges to the rule of law, and, as some may add, the erosion of our society's core values. One would look for vision and leadership at such a political juncture. This Policy Address should have expounded on ways to boost morale and confidence. I am sorry to confess I am disappointed. I hope the upcoming Budget can make up for some of the lost ground in the 167-paragraph policy blueprint. The Financial Secretary has stressed himself as the master chef asking for suggestions for the next dish. I have just set out mine in the above paragraph. If adopted, I believe it will be more conducive to sending the right signal to the people that the Government cares, and I believe they do care. The Financial Secretary is a selfless man given his humble background. I hope he would be more sensitive to the needs of the needy. We will know soon enough whether he could live up to the case of the people and for the people.

President, my time is coming up. I support the motion to thank CE for working very hard for Hong Kong. But one could only wish that she could also work smarter as well to help us and lead us in coping with the new realities, both local and global. Thank you.

3224 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): President, perhaps I should first respond to the remarks made by Mr Abraham SHEK just now. He said that there were many public officers present, but Members did not seem to reciprocate as they had not proactively responded to the high attendance of public officers. I can nonetheless assure various public officers that many Members are watching the live broadcast in their offices. Owing to the epidemic, Members, including me, have been watching the live broadcast of the meeting in their offices, so Mr Abraham SHEK did not have to worry too much about this.

Secondly, just now Mr Abraham SHEK mentioned the Chinachem Foundation. Please allow me to say a few words about the issue. I fully support Mr Abraham SHEK's saying that enactment of legislation may be the simplest and fastest solution as the matter has become ridiculously messy. Recently, there is another lawsuit seeking to recover $400 million management fees, which is blatant collusion. In the historical fiction we read when we were small, the world's largest gemstones tended to have a jinx or spell and whoever touched them would die. Similarly, over the years, whoever used the Foundation's money did not have a happy ending, probably because some ill-gotten gains were involved. Anyhow, the whole matter is ridiculous. I hope that the Secretary for Justice will take up the matter and stop it from becoming more ridiculous.

As a matter of fact, not only the management conspired to defraud, but there are also problems with the certified public accountants or auditors. I do not want to overly abuse the privileges conferred on me by the Legislative Council because such remarks, if are not made at the meetings of the Legislative Council, may cause problems. And yet, I am not worried at all as the accusations made by me are fully justified even if they are made outside the meeting. The entire matter is ridiculous.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MS STARRY LEE, took the Chair)

Deputy President, welcome back. The delivery of the Policy Address was postponed to December and more than a month has passed. The part on epidemic is outdated as the situation is now more severe than the time the Policy Address was delivered. I will elaborate further when I have the opportunity later, but now I would like to talk about the present situation. When compared LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3225 with other places of the world, Hong Kong does not perform too bad in its anti-epidemic work because at least we do not rank first in terms of the numbers of deaths and confirmed cases. The saddest thing about Hong Kong is that before the outbreak of the epidemic, we had been plagued by man-made disaster for one whole year and was seriously weakened. Some people said that they were pleased to see what had happened in the United States; certainly this is not what we wish to see. However, Hong Kong is one of the places in the world that has suffered from both natural and man-made disasters at the same time. We do not have a chance to take a break for two consecutive years. Therefore, members of the public do have expectations for the Policy Address. They hope that in the wake of the unprecedented natural and man-made disasters, they have a chance to take a break and see light at the end of the tunnel, or in the words of Mr CHAN Hak-kan said earlier, have "a sense of happiness".

Although the delivery of the Policy Address has been postponed for more than one month, it has apparently failed to let members of the public, especially the grassroots and even the middle-class people, see light at the end of the tunnel. At the first Question and Answer Session after the delivery of the Policy Address, I directly pointed out to the Chief Executive that this Policy Address merely focused on vision but disregarded the present situation; it only had future tense but no present tense. I would like to stand by my view again. It seems that we are living in a parallel universe and are unaware of what has happened in society. Yet, if we just look at investments in the securities market, we can see there are indeed serious problems. The people with whom we come into contact each day are different from the "No big deal Secretary" mentioned by Mr CHAN Hak-kan half-jokingly just now. The latter may completely fail to sense the problem because he is probably too rational, lacking a sense of sensibility and empathy.

I notice that when the Chief Executive talked about the epidemic in the Policy Address or at the Question and Answer Session, she often stressed that actions should be taken based on data and science. While this kind of rational policy analysis is essential, as the administer in the highest position, she cannot, in any case, say that she will not talk about politics. Politics is everything. If she is so afraid of politics―we all know that this may not be the case―if she wants to be "clean" and dares not talk about politics, this will certainly give rise to problems. In fact, everyone in this world talks about politics, and the handling of all matters is related to politics. Even popular sentiment is related to politics. If she refuses to talk about politics, fails to understand how people think and fails to make people feel that she has empathy, she is unfit to be the 3226 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Chief Executive or even unfit to be a high-ranking official. The reason is that it is impossible not to talk about politics. Policies that have no packaging and do not involve politics are not good policies, and it is just that simple.

I strongly agree with the remarks made by Mr CHAN Hak-kan, but he has already left the Chamber. I share his feeling. We do not work from home; we have personal contacts with the public and we get involved in getting the work done. We have seen a lot of things and have very often received a lot of calls. Some middle-class people called me, saying in tears that they have lost their job and were at a loss. They did not call to talk about system integrity. Secretary HUI, you always mention the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") and I will discuss with you later. The Secretary often stressed the importance of maintaining the integrity of the retirement system. While we understand the rational argument, we cannot stick to our rational approach at this unusual time as members of the public fail to get it.

Civil servants enjoy high salaries paid on time. When they work from home, people will assume that they do not have to work. I know that senior officials now present at the meeting certainly have to work because they are responsible for formulating policy. However, some high-ranking personnel or even professionals, including me, never have to worry about not having work to do, because for years, our mind has been working 24 hours a day. We have to undertake our own responsibilities and thus need not worry at all. For many middle level civil servants, however, work from home is tantamount to doing nothing. The worst thing is that the general public who have lost their jobs and are at a loss may find the civil servants too divorced from reality.

I hope that the above remarks will not beat up too many civil servants. That is not my intent, I just want to tell Members about my feelings. We must be very sensitive in this respect; we cannot refrain from talking about politics as it is part of popular sentiment. When we talk about policies and rationality, we also have to take politics into consideration, as politics is human nature. It contains the concept "the superiors get less to benefit the inferiors" as mentioned by Mr CHAN Hak-kan earlier on. I very much agree with this. At this time, the Government should make people feel that "the superiors get less to benefit the inferiors", at least in terms of words, deeds and perception.

Deputy President, sorry, seven minutes have passed but I am still talking about this issue. I will now talk about the public opinion survey. My colleague prepared some figures for me and I will go through them very quickly. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3227

As pointed out by many colleagues yesterday and just now, 64% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the Policy Address with a score of only 27.2. I need not say too much, sorry, the score is a record low. On the contrary, according to a survey report on our country published by the Harvard University, in the eight consecutive surveys conducted between 2003 and 2016, the average rating of Chinese citizens' satisfaction with the government is 93.1%. I believe the whole world was taken aback and wondered if it was a fabrication. Fortunately, it was a survey conducted by the Harvard University and was a long-term one, otherwise it would be accused of fabrication. The rating of Hong Kong is so low, what can we do?

Let me talk about my constituency of Kowloon East now. I am very glad that the Policy Address has discussed at great length about the success of the project entitled "Energizing Kowloon East". This project will be used as a blueprint for the "Invigorating Island South" initiative. Since Hong Kong Island East is part of my District Council constituency and Kowloon East is my base, so do allow me to talk about these initiatives. I wonder if some sort of packaging is required to hide the wrongdoings and praise the good deeds, but Kowloon East is indeed not a successful example. "Energizing Kowloon East" has become "Wriggling Kowloon East" while "Invigorating Island South" may turn out to be "Packing Island South with people" as these two initiatives are not going to bring about good outcome.

Let me start with Kowloon East. We have always hoped that Kowloon East, including Kwun Tong, would be transformed into an alternative CBD with the construction of, inter alia, an elevated system. Not only has the development failed to bring any good results so far, but the situation has even become worse and worse. Let me quote some of the comments posted online that are less divorced from reality, such as "a paradise of abominable food", "a hell for workers" and "I don't want to work in Kwun Tong ever again". Although some of them may be jokes, I do not want to see anyone over-emphasising Kowloon East as a successful example because the situation is indeed very tragic. I am not going to talk about how tragic it is for the time being, but I just want to borrow the pet phrase uttered by a talented friend of mine, that is, "come on"―Bro, don't do that.

The Government had invested heavily on the cruise terminal, but we once ridiculed that the terminal was "Siberia in Kowloon East", and it still has not achieved any benefits so far. I had previously proposed the construction of a 3228 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 pedestrian bridge, but I learnt from recent news reports that there would be a new project in Kowloon East. I am afraid that this will become empty talk again because nothing can be done if the obstacle posed by the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance is not properly dealt with by proposing amendments. If there is a need to resume land, I suggest that the location should not be too far away because just as Mr Abraham SHEK has said, this may involve a lot of land policies. The Government may consider the Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter, which is a readily available location where housing construction can commence right away. If the proposal is accepted, I trust that the entire Kowloon East will be invigorated immediately and land supply in the short, medium and long term will be increased. As for other plans such as the Public Private Partnership Programme, I do not think there is enough time for a discussion today. If there is an opportunity, I will talk about some of my views and opinions on the Lantau Tomorrow Project.

I will now move on to another topic which I have pursued time and again, and Members may probably expect it to be the MPF issue. As a matter of fact, apart from the MPF issue, the issue that people are most concerned of late is payment of tax because on top of tax payment, taxpayers are also required to pay provisional tax. I know that the Government's line to take is that members of the public can apply for deferment of provisional tax payment, but even the civil service, disciplined services and other civilian grades having "iron rice bowls" wish to receive special tax concessions. This goes back again to the concept of "the superiors get less to benefit the inferiors" mentioned by Mr CHAN Hak-kan earlier on.

I understand that not all civil servants are well off, and some of them may not be able to make ends meet. But if even civil servants complain about their plight saying that they now have nothing but "iron rice bowls" and their wives or children have been laid off, then please think, what about the numerous families that do not have "iron rice bowls"? It has also been said that civil servants are more willing to spend upon receiving their wages. This has again turned into a political question, and that is, are civil servants perceived to be more willing to spend after they received wages and is it that only their money is money? Are workers in the private sector reluctant to spend the money they received? Or are they not so lucky? Politically, these are issues that must be taken into consideration. The Chief Executive said she did not like politics and regarded herself as merely an administrative staff; this is terrible.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3229

Deputy President, I am sorry, I must switch to another topic right away due to time constraint. The Government has spent a considerable sum of money on anti-epidemic work, but members of the public do not feel the Government's effort. We are almost at the end of our tether―perhaps not actually at the end, but the Government thinks that it is and has therefore refused to inject more funds and hand out cash again.

I would like to thank Deputy President's political party for its continued support for the MPF issue. I fully understand that public officers are obliged to maintain the integrity and original intent of the MPF System, but they should first consider how to help people tide over the current difficulties as many people are now living in great hardship. At this time, if the Government still refuses to be a bit more lenient and help the public, I can only say that the authorities are completely ignorant of the plight of the lower classes. Members may have learnt from recent news reports that EGL Tours laid off nearly 120 employees. No one criticized the employer for he had set aside $20 million as severance payment. On the contrary, though the Government has injected $300 billion to $400 billion, it has been severely criticized. Why is that so? The reason is that the Government has done a poor job, or it does not know how to get the work done properly. Rationality is all that matters in its words and deeds, and it is as simple as that.

I now want to provide more information about my few demands because I am running out of time. At present, each MPF account has an average of $246,000. If the Government allows the withdrawal of the MPF benefits, then each MPF scheme member will have more than $100,000 at their disposal. Furthermore, the Government can help people buy their first home by, for example, providing loan guarantees; paying their MPF contributions for six months; granting tax, government rent and rates concessions as well as exempting the unemployed from stamp duty levied on property transactions. Of course, I do not have the wild wish that the Government will hand out cash. I just want to tell the Government, at this critical time when conditions are so miserable, it needs to think out of the box when formulating policies and measures. I am afraid that being too rational or politically clean is not an appropriate approach.

Deputy President, I am sorry, I have been scaring myself. I find out now that I can speak for 30 minutes. Let me wipe my sweat off and then with my speech. I can actually speak for 30 minutes, no wonder my colleagues have prepared such a long script for me.

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After discussing MPF and the mentality of the Government, do allow me to talk about the Government's Lantau Tomorrow plan. I surely know that it is a vision and requires further in-depth study, but the Government now claims that an innovative approach will be adopted in financing, I am therefore very eager to find out expeditiously how innovative the approach is. As far as I understand it―there is a land expert sitting next to me, so I hope I am correct―if the Government proceeds with the development of Lantau Tomorrow, there will be a considerable supply of land in the long run, and the competition will be severe as described by Mr SHIH Wing-ching. After learning that there will be a huge housing supply in the long run, builders or real estate developers who has hoarded or owned land will build houses in the short and medium term. I hope such an effect can be produced. I can see that the Member sitting next to me is nodding. Thank him for nodding so that I can further elaborate. I hope that the Government will consider from this angle in pushing forward the development.

Furthermore, I would like to talk about the National Security Law. Just now, Members may have spoken on this issue and the Secretary for Justice may probably have heard of this hot topic concerning the prosecutor. However, I do not want to say too much about this topic. Some people have now started to denounce the cab-rank rule; in fact, I have raised this issue long ago and for many years. The barristers from the opposition camp have kept highlighting the importance of the cab-rank rule, saying that barristers cannot refuse a case. However, from my years of experience as a barrister, there are a thousand reasons to refuse a case, such as having no time or having to charge high fees. There are indeed too many reasons to refuse a case. The present case is amazing, and some colleagues have described it as a typical example of "saying one thing and doing another". We always advocate the lofty ideals of the rule of law of the United Kingdom, which ensures that all members of the public who are represented by barristers or lawyers will receive legal support. This is the principle underlying torture claims in Hong Kong, and for that principle, the Government has put in a considerable sum of money. And yet, this is no joke when it comes to politics. It is not right to stop someone from coming to Hong Kong at will and exercise political persecution. If we have to take political factor into consideration, does that mean when we deal with politically incorrect cases in the future, such as the case of CHEUNG Tse-keung, we are allowed not to take up such cases? Or should barristers take up such cases? This may be contrary to public interest. I find the present case very amazing, and I certainly support the remarks made by the Secretary for Justice yesterday, which is indeed an eye-opener to us.

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However, what I really want to discuss is that mass arrests have begun. The National Security Law is unprecedented in the sense that it is the first rigid legislation "freshly" delivered from Beijing to Hong Kong, and basically, we do not have any opportunity to "digest" the law. Although I have completed a Master of Laws programme on Chinese Law, from my limited knowledge of Chinese law, I am afraid that the Chinese language is perfect in writing poems and prose but is insufficient as a legal tool or language medium. I have also come across Latin. While Latin is certainly more accurate than English, the latter is good enough. Chinese words very often create some fancies for people. As I am aware, the new Chief Justice Andrew CHEUNG said that Hong Kong's judiciary sector has gone through many challenges. I hope that he will have the confidence to fully prepare for the upcoming challenges. As a matter of fact, the National Security Law has already aroused serious concerns of many Hong Kong people and the international community. On this issue, I do not want to be too pessimistic. Instead, I hope that the Secretary for Justice or her department can help deal with some conceptual issues, including after the mass arrests, whether there will be sufficient legal justifications to institute prosecution or on what principles prosecution will be instituted. I surely understand that comments should not be made on individual cases, but there must be some considerations, in principle, that provide legal justifications for the arrests in question. As I have not seen any explanation given by the Government on this matter, I can only give my own explanation on the Internet. In fact, many people are concerned and worried about this matter and hope that the Secretary for Justice or other appropriate persons can explain to us when an opportunity arises.

I do not have much speaking time left and I would like to talk about the epidemic. My former classmate is a well-known cardiologist in Hong Kong. He has, from time to time, provided me with information on various medical problems. I am not a medical expert and know nothing about medicines. Many colleagues criticized the Government for its belated awareness, lack of foresight and failure to address issues in a targeted manner, including the vaccine problem, the most heated topic of late. Perhaps vaccine was not available when the Policy Address was delivered, that is why there is only one paragraph on vaccine in the Policy Address. I am afraid this is not enough. On this issue, according to our present understanding, the Government considers it necessary to examine the experience of other countries before vaccination is safely carried out.

My friend, the doctor, and I both agree that we should not wait too long and be overly prudent in dealing with certain things. I certainly understand that 3232 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 this is a matter of life and death and being prudent is necessary, but many countries are now well ahead of us. For example, in Israel where the population size is similar to that of Hong Kong, more than 20% of its population has been vaccinated. On the contrary, not a single person has been vaccinated in Hong Kong so far. Why is that so? There is a saying that the vaccine had arrived in Shenzhen waiting for our collection, but I am not sure if this is true as I do not have any information. I hope that the Government will respond later. There is another saying that after the introduction of the electronic vaccination record system, the Government will proceed with the vaccination programme supported by the "iAM Smart" platform launched on 23 December last year.

As far as I understand it, in previous influenza seasons, private practitioners also helped in administering influenza vaccine for members of the public. Assuming that there are 1 000 private practitioners and each of them administer, on average, 600 influenza vaccines a year, and if the work is pushed forward in a more intensive and focused manner, I think the number of vaccinations can be increased to 2 000 or 3 000 a year. In that case, the task of vaccinating 2 million to 3 million people can be completed very soon. In addition, hospitals, medical centres and other departments will also provide vaccination for 2 million to 3 million people. It is therefore not difficult to get the job done. Do we really have to be so prudent and reinvent the wheel? When European Union vehicles arrived in Hong Kong, we simply do not have to check whether the vehicles are safe or environmentally friendly. If the vaccines have already been widely used in the rest of the world, should we strike a balance between urgency and prudence? Are we lagging far behind at present? In theory, if members of the public receive the first injection in early January and then the second injection in the middle or at the end of this month, a large number of people can complete the vaccination programme before the Lunar New Year. In that case, we may at least allow some restaurants or small businesses to resume operation or even re-open the border. At present, it seems that nothing can be done except waiting, many people are thus very anxious.

In fact, I need not say much as many people have criticized that the Government has done too slow and too little, and that it lacked a sense of direction. As the Government attaches great importance to achieving the goal of "zero infection", it wants to achieve a certain safety level before allowing businesses to resume operation and members of the public to get back to work, thereby enabling the economy to revive. I nonetheless hope that the Government will place more emphasis on the people. Recently, the Government LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3233 has changed the arrangements for the Lunar New Year fairs within a few days, saying that it has responded to public demand. I do hope that the Government can be more responsive to public demand so as to save people from their plight.

Deputy President, as I had scared myself earlier on, I do not know which part of the script I have covered. But since there is still time, I would like to talk about the problems concerning the previous efforts in rescuing the market. If I remember correctly, the Financial Secretary said that Hong Kong adopted a "suppress and lift" strategy. However, I have received a lot of criticisms, saying that the Financial Secretary was perfunctory. I hope that the criticisms are not too harsh because as I just said, members of the public have an impression that civil servants tended to adopt their own way to deal with economic problems or fight against the epidemic without paying heed to the plight of the people. As I have also mentioned earlier on, I hope that the Government can be more forward-looking in this regard. It should get ahead of the epidemic rather than make changes after many things have happened. This is what we have been asking for all along, especially when unemployment rate is now as high as 6.6%. Everyone is worried.

The Government's Anti-epidemic Fund has spent more than $300 billion, but unfortunately it has given the public an impression that not much has been done to support employment. Given that the Government had provided financial assistance to large enterprises, people have an impression that the Government only helps large enterprises and certain industries but not the general public, and that is, "rescuing the markets but not the people". I highlight this point here in the hope that the Government will show more concern in this respect.

I have basically finished with the points on my script. But since there is still some time, I would like to talk about other issues. I wonder if Members have recently watched a drama series produced by CCTV-1 called "Crossing the Yalu River". I do not think public officers present will have time to watch television, and even if they do, they may not watch CCTV-1 for they prefer watching local TV episodes to Mainland drama series. The style and quality of Mainland episodes are different from those produced in Hong Kong. Sometimes Eastern Europeans or Russians were asked to pose as Americans and they acted awkwardly. I just want to bring out a message that in Hong Kong, there is a serious lack of officers who are well-versed in politics, especially politics of the Mainland.

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Honestly speaking, I know nothing about Chinese politics and have little knowledge about the history of the Communist Party or the historical events. I am also not as diligent as Mr CHAN Hak-kan who has read the history of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. We have really missed a lot of messages in many ways. Our public officials have totally failed to receive the political messages conveyed to us by the Central Government and Beijing officials, not to mention international politics. Our public officers often stay in a parallel universe. They failed to receive the messages sent to us by the Central Government or ascertain the authenticity. I am surely aware that individual officials do have frequent contacts and communication with certain Mainland authorities, especially the public security and national security departments, but on the whole, Hong Kong's policies have completely departed from the practices of the Mainland in most cases. Therefore, public officers are only guessing most of the time. They have not only failed to genuinely cater to the mindset, messages and expectations of the Central Government, but also failed to win the acceptance, trust and confidence of Hong Kong people and serve as a bridge with the Central Government by using the appropriate language medium. I understand that relevant training courses have been provided, but this is not enough. Is there anyone with such expertise who can act as a consultant or set up a relevant organization? I would like to mention in passing that I hope the Government will strengthen its cooperation and relations with the Central Government. Instead of talking like a parrot and repeating the words of the latter, it should act as a proper bridge between the Central Government and Hong Kong people.

Thank you, Deputy President.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?

(No Member indicated a wish to speak)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): If no other Member wishes to speak, I now invite the 11 public officers to speak. On the basis of the 15-minute speaking time for each officer, they may speak for up to a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

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FINANCIAL SECRETARY (in Cantonese): Deputy President and Honourable Members, first of all, I would like to thank the Deputy President for moving the Motion of Thanks in respect of the Chief Executive's 2020 Policy Address in her capacity as Chairman of the House Committee, thereby allowing the Government to fully listen to Members' comments and views on the Policy Address. I also thank Members for their speeches over the past two days.

Under the theme of "Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance", the Chief Executive has proposed in this year's Policy Address a series of initiatives to get Hong Kong out of the impasse and restore people's confidence as soon as possible.

In this speech, I will briefly talk about Hong Kong's latest economic situation, economic outlook and some directions for economic development in the future.

Deputy President, Hong Kong's economy has been hard hit successively in the past two years by the tense relations between China and the United States ("US"), the social incidents, and the novel coronavirus epidemic. Consequently, there was a sharp year-on-year contraction of 9% in the first half of last year, the situation slightly improved in the third quarter, with the pace of contraction slowing to 3.5% year-on-year.

The Hong Kong economy showed continuous improvement in the early stage of the fourth quarter of last year. Taking October and November together, the value of merchandise exports continued to sustain a slight year-on-year increase, and the decline in retail sales volume has narrowed notably. However, the overall business sentiment among small and medium enterprises turned more pessimistic as the fourth wave of local infections, which started in the latter part of November, posed renewed pressures on domestic economic activities. For 2020 as a whole, economic contraction will likely be close to our forecast of -6.1% as announced in November, which will be the most severe recession on record. This is also the first time for Hong Kong to register two consecutive years of negative growth.

As the fourth wave of the epidemic is more severe than the previous ones and is still ongoing, the Government has rolled out stringent social distancing measures, imposing tremendous pressure on the catering, retail and consumption sectors. As the pressure faced by the labour market intensified, the latest 3236 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 unemployment rate has risen to 6.6%, the highest in 16 years. Consumption- and tourism-related sectors have been hit hard by the epidemic, with a double-digit unemployment rate of 10.6%.

In terms of commodity prices, underlying inflation in the first 11 months of 2020 averaged 1.4%, lower than the annual rate of 3.0% in 2019. Overall inflationary pressures are likely to stay very mild in the near term as global and local economic conditions remain subdued amid the threat of the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Regarding the property market, local development of the epidemic last year has created volatility in the residential property market. There were nearly 60 000 sales and purchases of residential building units recorded in 2020, broadly similar to that in 2019, and flat prices did not vary much from that at the close of 2019. As regards non-residential properties, dented by the China-US trade tensions, the local social incidents and the epidemic in the past two years, the commercial property market has undergone a visible correction. Prices of office space, retail shop space and flatted factory space have dropped by 19%, 17% and 13% respectively from their respective peaks in 2018 or 2019. Transactions likewise experienced a significant downturn.

Under the current economic environment, abolishing the Doubled Ad Valorem Stamp Duty (commonly referred to as "DSD") on non-residential property transactions will unlikely lead to a revival of the intense speculation activities and, at the same time, will lower the relevant transaction costs and assist owners to cash out their properties for meeting urgent financial needs. Therefore, the Government decided to abolish DSD imposed on non-residential properties. However, given that both residential property prices and transactions remain robust and that housing prices are still far beyond the general public's affordability, we do not think there is room for relaxing the demand-side management measures for the residential property market.

Entering 2021, the novel coronavirus epidemic is still dire around the globe. However, as many countries have begun their vaccination campaigns, the global economy will hopefully show significant improvement in the second half of the year. In October, the International Monetary Fund predicted the global economy would rebound by 5.2% this year, and a new growth forecast will be released on 26th of this month.

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In respect of major economies, the Mainland continues to be a engine of global economic growth. Our country has responded swiftly and efficiently to contain the epidemic and has rolled out an array of timely supportive policies. The Mainland's economy began a V-shaped recovery in the second quarter of last year, and it was the only major economy to record a positive growth of 2.3% for the year. Despite uncertainties still lingering in the global economy, the market in general anticipates the Mainland's economy to maintain substantial growth this year, supported by its sound economic fundamentals and the macro policies of the Central Authorities, which will maintain necessary support for economic recovery.

Other Asian economies continued to exhibit signs of recovery in recent months. Economies across Asia should see a more noticeable rebound in the year, provided that the threats of the epidemic start to subside. In European and American economies, economic recovery will depend on their progress in containing the epidemic.

On the whole, given the envisaged rebound in the global economy, Hong Kong's economy will likely resume positive growth for the year, with the development of the epidemic being the most critical uncertainty. Before the epidemic can be effectively contained, stringent anti-epidemic measures will need to remain in place. This implies that the economy will still face considerable challenges in the first half of the year. However, with the epidemic prevention work at different levels yielding effects and mass vaccination being carried out in phase as expected, Hong Kong's economic recovery can hopefully gain a stronger momentum in the second half of the year.

Certainly, the global economy still faces many potential risks, including the impact of the new US administration's foreign and economic policy directions on China-US relations, shifts in geopolitical tensions, as well as the possible financial risks arising from high public debt in many economies. We must stay vigilant at all times. When I deliver my Budget next month, I will give an account of the economic growth and inflation projections for this year.

Deputy President, next I will briefly explain the Government's work in promoting economic development. Relevant Directors of Bureaux will later elaborate in detail on individual areas.

3238 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

One of the highlights of the Policy Address is to inject new impetus to Hong Kong's economy. This year is the first year of the National 14th Five-Year Plan. Our country's development will be powered by reform and innovation as fundamental drivers, and the establishment of a new development pattern will gather pace, featuring "dual circulation", which focuses on the domestic market as the economic mainstay while enabling the domestic and international markets to boost each other. We must grasp the gist of this development pattern and, by doing so, rightly position ourselves to take an active part in it, so that we will able to speed up the economic recovery of Hong Kong after the epidemic.

The Government's strategy is to leverage our unique advantages under "one country, two systems" and integrate proactively into national development. We will continue to step up our efforts in enhancing Hong Kong's role as a two-way gateway between the Mainland and international markets. We will also proactively tap the opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative, and act as a "participant" in domestic circulation and an "intermediary" and "facilitator" in international circulation.

As regards financial services, the Government will stay committed to promoting market development and reinforcing mutual financial market access with the Mainland. We will also strive to develop Hong Kong into a broader and deeper fundraising platform, and further enhance Hong Kong's position as a centre for asset and wealth management, offshore Renminbi business, global risk management as well as green and sustainable finance, and promote the development of financial technology, so as to strengthen our competitiveness as an international financial centre. At the same time, we will keep enhancing Hong Kong's supervisory system and financial safety.

On the innovation and technology ("I&T") front, the Government will improve I&T cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong. We will also make an effort to nurture and attract top global technology talent as well as facilitate smart city development. The Government will continue to create more favourable conditions for local I&T development and actively capitalize on I&T to drive economic growth and improve people's livelihood. On new infrastructure, we will continue to release more 5G spectrum to the market, so as to facilitate further installation of base stations and network rollout by LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3239 telecommunications service providers, which will improve 5G coverage. We will also encourage the early adoption of 5G technology and application in public and private organizations.

In respect of shipping, we would like to express our gratitude to the Central Government and Guangdong Provincial Government for their support for cooperation between Hong Kong and Zhuhai Airport. This will facilitate the integration of the Mainland network of the Zhuhai Airport with the international network of the Hong Kong International Airport, thereby strengthening the competitive edge of the entire Greater Bay Area in air transport and boosting economic development. In order to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub in the region, we will continuously upgrade the infrastructure and ancillary facilities of the Hong Kong International Airport as well as its passenger and cargo handling capacity. We will also continue to assist the Airport Authority Hong Kong in pursuing the overall development of land and developments adjacent to the airport, with a view to injecting new development elements and impetus into North Lantau, as well as providing more job opportunities and a better living environment.

We will also continue to put in efforts in the area of external trade. The novel coronavirus epidemic has accelerated the tide of deglobalization, as demonstrated by some countries advocating protectionism and unilateralism and erecting trade barriers that has given rise to polarization. Moreover, the epidemic may cause businesses to shift away from relying too heavily on one or two countries or regions for their supply chains in future manufacturing and sourcing. These factors, when added together, may lead to changes in the current layout and ecology of industrial and supply chains. As a small and open economy, Hong Kong must get well prepared in this regard.

Hence, the SAR Government is actively expanding its network of free trade agreements to ensure that Hong Kong's goods and services can enter different markets with better conditions. Last year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ("RCEP") Agreement was signed between the Mainland and the 10 ASEAN states, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Hong Kong has already expressed to the member economies its interest in joining RCEP, and will seek actively to be among the first batch of economies joining RCEP following its entry into force.

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Lastly, with regard to public finance, Deputy President, we estimated last year that the deficit for the current financial year would be about $139.1 billion. However, to cope with the epidemic, the Government has launched several rounds of relief measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund. For this reason, the budget deficit has soared to $300 billion, with fiscal reserves dipping almost 30% to some $800 billion within the year.

In the light of the fluctuating epidemic situation in the midst of tough external political and economic circumstances, while the Government has to manage its expenditure more prudently, we must, at the same time, preserve our fiscal strength to meet unknown needs and to maintain Hong Kong's financial stability. The Government will continue to uphold the principles of fiscal prudence and spend where necessary. Despite our serious fiscal position, we will take appropriate countercyclical measures by maintaining or increasing public spending on investments. In doing so, we hope to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn on trades and businesses as well as on people's livelihood, and be well positioned to revive the economy after the epidemic.

With these remarks, Deputy President, I implore Members to support this year's Policy Address. Thank you.

SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I thank Members for their views. I will respond briefly to Members' speeches on individual subjects.

During these two days of debate, quite a number of Members mentioned the importance of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the National Security Law") in safeguarding our country's sovereignty, restoring Hong Kong's social order from chaos and ensuring the smooth sailing of "one country, two systems". National security is a matter within the purview of the Central Authorities. As the highest organ of state power, the National People's Congress ("NPC") and its Standing Committee ("NPCSC") have absolute power and the duty to enact legislation for this purpose in Hong Kong.

NPC made the Decision of the National People's Congress on Establishing and Improving the Legal System and Enforcement Mechanisms for Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the 28 May LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3241

Decision") and entrusted NPCSC to formulate the National Security Law, so as to establish and improve the enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security in Hong Kong. The Decision and the National Security Law open a new chapter for the successful implementation of "one country, two systems". They are important milestones of a new horizon, bringing "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong back to its original intent.

In fact, many countries in the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, have enacted dedicated laws to safeguard national security long ago. The offences regulated under the National Security Law are similar to those regulated under the national security laws of other countries, with a view to safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests.

Article 23 of the Basic Law does not change the fundamental principles set out above. It imposes a constitutional responsibility on the HKSAR to enact legislation in respect of certain offences relating to national security. As a matter of fact, the Central Authorities always have the power and responsibility to legislate on matters of national security, especially when this responsibility of the HKSAR has not been fulfilled. Therefore, not only have no changes been made to "one country, two systems", but its foundation has instead been reinforced.

The extraterritorial application of the National Security Law is in line with the principle of "protective jurisdiction" in international law. Under this principle, if foreigners commit crimes abroad against a sovereign state that endanger its security or its vital interests (such as government systems or functions), the sovereign state can adopt laws with extraterritorial effects to exercise criminal jurisdiction. The principle of "protective jurisdiction" is commonly found in several international conventions against terrorism. Extraterritorial application is also a common feature of national security laws in many countries. Some examples include: the German Criminal Code, which contains an offence of treason; the Logan Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of the United States, which target against collusion with foreign countries and external powers; and the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act of Singapore.

With regard to the appointment of designated judges, I reiterate that the Chief Executive only designates a list of judges in different levels of courts; she does not assign which judge to preside over a specific case. When handling the 3242 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 cases relating to the National Security Law, judges remain independent in performing their judicial functions and are free from any interference. Hence, the arrangement on the designation of judges under the National Security Law does not undermine the highly respected judicial independence of HKSAR. This viewpoint has been confirmed by the court in the TONG Ying-Kit case.

Some Members also mentioned the relationship between personal interests and public interests. Article 2 of the National Security Law stipulates that the provisions in Articles 1 and 12 of the Basic Law are the fundamental provisions in the Basic Law.

Recently, there are comments in the community that NPCSC's decision on Hong Kong's affairs is detrimental to our judicial system. We should bear in mind that China is a unitary state and power comes from the Central Authorities. The Basic Law is a piece of enabling legislation. The Constitution and the Basic Law clearly lay out the powers and obligations of the Central Authorities as well as the powers and obligations granted to the SAR Government by the Central Authorities. NPC or NPCSC has the responsibility, authority and necessity to determine constitutional matters in accordance with the Constitution. Their decisions provide a binding legal basis for the proper enforcement of the constitutional order established under the Constitution and the Basic Law.

Owing to the inadequate understanding or misunderstanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law, the Department of Justice ("DoJ") hosted last year the Basic Law 30th Anniversary Legal Summit with the theme "Back to Basics". Through the introduction and sharing of experts, it was hoped that members of the public have a correct understanding and perception of the Constitution and the Basic Law.

DoJ will continue its work to promote the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law. It will compile a compendium of the Basic Law, develop electronic teaching materials on the Basic Law and rule of law education and implement the Pilot Scheme on Rule of Law Education in primary and secondary schools.

The rule of law has numerous definitions and interpretations, and can be measured in many ways. There are no internationally accepted, unified standards for the term. However, one point is certain, i.e. the so-called LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3243

"achieving justice by violating the law" is absolutely against the spirit of the rule of law, and this wrong concept must be rectified. It is the duty of everyone to abide by the law and to promote a proper understanding of the rule of law.

As I stated at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2020, there are many intimations of what constitutes the rule of law, some based on subjective perception while others on objective indicia. In view of this, DoJ is setting up a rule of law database with objective data under the 10-year initiative "Vision 2030 for Rule of Law". Active work is currently being carried out on the development of the database and the collection of relevant data.

Judicial independence is an essential element of the rule of law and is guaranteed under Article 85 of the Basic Law. I have pointed out time and again that members of the public have the right to express their views on court decisions and related matters within the boundary permitted by the law; however, unrestrained personal attacks on judges are never tolerated.

As a "guardian of the public interest", I am duty-bound to act in accordance with the rights and obligations conferred or imposed by the law. Therefore, some time ago, I applied to the court for four injunction orders to restrain doxxing and harassment against judicial and law enforcement officers.

Safeguarding judicial independence is not just the duty of the Government or DoJ, but an obligation of every citizen. In particular the two legal professional bodies, the Hong Kong Bar Association and The Law Society of Hong Kong, which are the crucial stakeholders of the legal sector, are duty-bound under the Rules & Regulations and the Memorandum of Association respectively to safeguard our judicial independence. There are various ways to safeguard our judicial independence, but they must convey the correct message.

Members have voiced some opinions on the topic of judicial reform. I hope the public will treat the term "judicial reform" with a calm demeanour. In fact, the Judiciary has carried out regular reviews and, as pointed out by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal at this year's Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year, it will digitize its legal procedures and support systems, as well as review its mechanism of handling complaints against judges. The Judiciary will also allocate priorities to different types of cases so that they can be handled more efficiently.

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The judicial reform should be led by the Judiciary and DoJ will fully support and complement with the enhancement initiatives.

For anyone who is dissatisfied with a ruling by the court, there has been an effective mechanism to lodge appeal or seek judicial review.

This year marks a significant increase in the number of applications for review of sentence lodged under section 81A of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, with 17 applications lodged in 2020 compared to 4 in 2019. Of the 12 applications decided in 2020, 11 were allowed. In four of the cases, the Court of Appeal repeated the sentencing principle as set out in the WONG Chi-Fung case, i.e. it is necessary for the court to emphasize deterrence and punishment in large-scale unlawful assembly cases involving violence. The Court of Appeal also pointed out that the principle set out in the WONG Chi-Fung case should be applied appropriately, rather than just paying lip service.

Some members also mentioned sentencing commission. Such kind of commission is established for many different purposes and functions in different jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions set up a sentencing commission for the purpose of developing sentencing guidelines in order to maintain a balance between judicial discretion and uniformity in sentencing. Sentencing commission can either exist as a branch of the judiciary or as an independent institution. In Hong Kong, if we are to consider setting up a sentencing commission, we must first identify the crux of the problem and then tackle it with the right measures. If sentencing guidelines are required, an appeal mechanism is already in place, under which lower courts are bound by the precedents set by higher courts; if the problem lies with the sluggish processing of appeal cases, the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal has already indicated that priorities will be assigned to different types of cases. If other reasons are involved, as the former Chief Justice once remarked, as long as there are details, justifications and rationale, I believe that follow-up actions will be duly taken by the Judiciary.

With funding support from the LawTech Fund, DoJ will work on developing the Hong Kong Legal Cloud, which will be operated by an independent third party in the legal and dispute resolution services sector commissioned by DoJ. In addition, DoJ will subsidize the initial usage of the Hong Kong Legal Cloud by the sector.

A number of Members mentioned the opportunities derived from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA") development. Hong LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3245

Kong is the only common law jurisdiction within the country. Under "one country, two systems, three jurisdictions" and with its independent and sound judicial system, Hong Kong can offer diversified legal services to enterprises in GBA. DoJ has been actively exploring initiatives to facilitate the entry of the Hong Kong legal profession into the Mainland market. This has led to breakthroughs in recent years, including the Trial Measures of the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province on Hong Kong Law Firms and Macao Law Firms Operating in the Form of Partnership Association with Mainland Law Firms in Guangdong Province (2019 Revision) introduced by the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province, which took effect in August 2019, as well as the Greater Bay Area Legal Professional Examination, which will take place this year. In addition, DoJ has concluded arrangements with the Mainland authorities, such as the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters between the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Regulations of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, approved in August 2020, allows wholly owned Hong Kong enterprises ("WOKE") in GBA, in the absence of any foreign-related elements, to choose the law of Hong Kong as the applicable law to contracts. This early and pilot implementation measure is a major breakthrough.

DoJ is continuously and actively seeking the support of the Central Government in allowing WOKE to adopt Hong Kong laws in GBA. This will offer WOKE the option of dealing under the law of Hong Kong, which they are familiar with.

These arrangements are a manifestation of the support we receive from the Central Authorities, as well as the unique position and advantages enjoyed by Hong Kong under the Basic Law and "one country, two systems". They have also greatly enhanced Hong Kong's position as a deal-making and dispute resolution hub.

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DoJ has also collaborated closely with international organizations to cultivate legal talents through the continuous provision of training opportunities, including secondment arrangements with international organizations. In December last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed for legal professionals to be seconded to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Recruitment for the scheme will officially launch tomorrow.

In addition, DoJ has successfully secured a number of large-scale international conferences to be held in Hong Kong, such as the annual session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, which has been postponed to this year due to the epidemic.

Deputy President, the Constitution and the Basic Law form the constitutional basis of HKSAR. The SAR Government will continue its unwavering efforts to fully implement the "one country, two systems" policy in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law. As rightly pointed out by the Deputy President, both the Central Authorities' overall jurisdiction and the high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong are conducive to bringing "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong back to its original intent and ensuring its smooth sailing.

DoJ will continue to perform its constitutional duties and strive to preserve the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary as the core values of Hong Kong by implementing various initiatives.

We have listened carefully to the views and expectations of Members and will actively take follow-up actions as necessary. We hope Members can continue to support DoJ's policies and join hands with us in promoting the rule of law and justice for all.

Thank you, Deputy President and Members.

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I thank Members for their speeches and views to the Government. Our experiences since June 2019 have given us a deep understanding and awareness of the importance of safeguarding national security. Since June 2019, there have been a lot of law-breaking acts in Hong Kong, advocating "Hong Kong independence" and violent destruction. Rioters extensively blocked roads, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3247 wantonly vandalized shops and public facilities, and hurled a huge number of petrol bombs. While rioters had hurled more than 5 000 petrol bombs, the Police had also seized over 10 000 petrol bombs. Pavement bricks covering an area of 22 000 sq m had been dug up, enough for paving 48 basketball courts. About 60 km of road railings had been torn down, which are equivalent to the total height of 136 Two International Finance Centre. Moreover, the rioters had savagely assaulted, tied up and even falsely imprisoned people holding different views from theirs. While a member of the public was seriously injured after being set ablaze by rioters, a 70 year-old cleaning worker was hit in his head by a brick hurled by rioters and subsequently died.

The introduction of the National Security Law on 30 June last year produced a shock-and-awe effect. The chaotic situation of serious violence in society has been reversed and acts to advocate "Hong Kong independence" has reduced substantially. We can all feel the very positive changes: street violence has been greatly reduced, and acts that disrupt public order and social peace have also been significantly reduced. Members of the public no longer have to worry about roads being seriously blocked suddenly, MTR stations being smashed, public facilities and shops being extensively vandalized, rioters hurling petrol bombs or committing arson, or themselves being brutally attacked by rioters for no reason. Hong Kong has by and large restored tranquility. Society has resumed normal operation. Except for the reason of the epidemic, the economy and people's livelihood can revive. People's legitimate rights and freedom are protected.

In the past period of time, I noticed that the court have tried some cases relating to the riots and judgments with deterrent and guiding effects have been handed down. The highest penalty imposed so far was a case of riot and related offences, whereby the rioter concerned was sentenced to imprisonment for five and a half years. Apart from the different imprisonment terms, there were other forms of penalty, which include sentencing to rehabilitation centres, detention centres, drug addiction treatment centres and probation orders. Offenders charged with criminal damage were sentenced to pay the highest compensation of $230,000.

Since the promulgation of the National Security Law, the Government has been proactively implementing the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security. The Committee for Safeguarding National Security chaired by the Chief Executive was established on 3 July 2020. The 3248 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Hong Kong Police Force also set up a National Security Department immediately with dedicated responsibility for enforcing the National Security Law.

The implementation of the National Security Law has a tremendous shock-and-awe effect on activists who advocate "Hong Kong independence" and collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, thereby greatly reducing the risks of violent acts and acts that endanger national security. For instance, after implementing the National Security Law for five months, the number of persons arrested for destructive offences arising from processions and demonstrations has dropped by 50%. Moreover, many people who openly supported "Hong Kong independence", colluded with foreign and external forces and advocated the use of violence have "left the scene" on their own accord one after another, whereas some relevant groups have ceased operation or dissolved. The National Security Law has stopped chaos and restored order in Hong Kong, thereby ensuring the smooth and continuous implementation of "one country, two systems" and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, Mr MA FUNG-KWOK, took the Chair)

Nonetheless, there are still many challenges ahead. After more than a year of riots in society, people's law-abiding awareness has collapsed. The good law and order and the cornerstone of the rule of law in the past have been challenged. Although normal operation is now largely resumed in society, the riots and acts of rioters in the past have seriously damaged mutual trust, respect and law-abiding awareness built up in society over the years. The Police will continue to make efforts to uphold the rule of law and communicate with various sectors to establish a relationship with members of the public, so as to jointly fight crimes and drugs through different interactive activities. Nevertheless, it is equally important for society to build common awareness, establish proper values as well as develop the awareness and social culture of law-abiding, mutual respect and mutual support, so that people, in particular youngsters, will understand that no one can flout the law regardless of his objectives, and whoever breaks the law will definitely have to bear legal responsibility.

The purpose of the National Security Law is to prevent, suppress and punish acts and activities endangering national security. It targets the small minority of people who jeopardize national security while the overwhelming majority of members of the public will be protected. Therefore, in addition to law enforcement, we also have to attach importance to prevention and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3249 suppression. Owing to the weak awareness of national security in Hong Kong in the past, the ideology of "Hong Kong independence" had spread. Worse still, external forces have interfered in Hong Kong affairs, seeking to achieve their political ends at the expense of Hong Kong people's interests. They have even resorted to violent means to shatter the foundation that Hong Kong has built for years; distort Hong Kong's values; erode the mutual trust and co-existence among people; vandalize Hong Kong's public facilities and shops as well as subject other people to unimaginable personal injuries and assaults. People who have threatened national security include state secret agents and intelligence workers. Therefore, we must stay vigilant and make correct judgments. We cannot let down our guard knowing that the risks of national security still exist.

Given our vigorous actions, it appears that people who endanger national security have become less active; yet it is possible that they have gone "underground". We must continue to step up intelligence work, review the changing international landscape, proactively enhance our own capabilities and systems, and spare no effort in bringing our strength into full play.

In order to prevent and suppress acts that endanger national security, publicity and education are particularly important. We will continue our efforts to increase local and international knowledge of the National Security Law, and enhance the public's concept of national security and law-abiding awareness. In this connection, the SAR Government has all along been introducing the National Security Law to different people and answering questions through different means and channels, including various Economic and Trade Offices. We will strengthen publicity and education, for instance, the Government held a seminar on this year's Constitution Day under the theme of "The Constitution and National Security" to analyse the important concept of national security, explore the relationship between the Constitution and the National Security Law and national security, as well as examine how to effectively safeguard the country's sovereignty, security and development interests. Looking ahead, the SAR Government will continue to strengthen publicity and education, which includes making use of the Constitution Day and National Security Education Day of each year to conduct public education. Bureau Directors will also fulfil the responsibilities and duties in respect of the National Security Law within their purviews.

I urge Members to support this year's Policy Address. Deputy President, I so submit.

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SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I thank Members for speaking in the debate session in these two days. I now give my response in respect of the policy initiatives concerning electoral arrangements, oath-taking by public officers, amendment of the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance, promotion of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China ("the Constitution") and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ("the Basic Law"), and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA") as contained in the Chief Executive's 2020 Policy Address ("the Policy Address").

In respect of election, we are now reviewing the existing electoral system and arrangements. We plan to amend some pieces of election-related legislation so as to further enhance the existing electoral arrangements.

All along, there have been different voices in the community calling for the enhancement of the existing electoral system and arrangements. In particular, after the announcement of the one-year postponement of the Legislative Council General Election originally scheduled to be held last year, the Electoral Affairs Commission ("EAC") put forward a series of recommendations to enhance the existing electoral arrangements in the Report on the 2020 Legislative Council General Election published in October last year. The recommendations include, amongst others, introducing the use of electronic poll registers in public elections, arranging for persons-in-need to collect ballot papers with priority and studying the arrangements for voting outside Hong Kong, etc.

Regarding the setting up of special queues for persons-in-need to vote, we consider that Hong Kong, being a caring and inclusive society, should make "caring arrangement" for persons-in-need. In fact, different countries and regions have already provided similar priority voting arrangements for persons with mobility difficulties, pregnant women or the elderly.

In respect of the introduction of electronic poll registers, we believe this will be conducive to enhancing the accuracy and efficiency in issuing ballot papers. While the constraints of using hardcopy register will be removed, electors no longer have to collect their ballot papers from specific issuing desks according to the alphabetical prefixes in their Hong Kong Identity Card number, thereby allowing higher flexibility in the issue of ballot papers at the issuing desks.

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Concerning voting outside Hong Kong, at present electors are required to cast their votes in person in Hong Kong's public elections. In other words, electors who are outside Hong Kong must return to Hong Kong to cast their votes at the stations allocated to them on the polling day. However, in respect of the Legislative Council General Election originally scheduled to be held last year, a large number of electors were stranded outside Hong Kong owing to various boundary control and quarantine measures amidst the severe epidemic situation. They were unable to return to Hong Kong to cast their votes on the polling day. There were many voices in the community thinking that the SAR Government should provide more convenient voting arrangements for these electors. Moreover, EAC also recommended that the Government should study the arrangement of voting outside Hong Kong. Therefore, we are proactively examining the feasibility of the relevant arrangements. Nonetheless, we must point out that the relevant arrangements involve many legal, technical and even operational issues, for instance, whether and how to make arrangements for advance registration; how to ensure that ballot papers and ballot boxes can be delivered to and from polling stations effectively and safely; and how to maintain order at the stations and enforcement actions in relation to breaches of electoral law. All these require detailed examination and holistic consideration. We will continue to proactively study the relevant recommendations, and implementation will only be considered when elections can be conducted pragmatically in an open, fair and honest manner.

The SAR Government is currently taking forward in full swing the legislative amendment work to enhance the electoral system and arrangements. Once a specific proposal is available, it will be introduced to the Legislative Council for consideration.

In connection with implementing the Interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ("the Interpretation") endorsed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC") on 7 November 2016, the SAR Government is now proactively proceeding with the drafting of the relevant legislative amendments. At present, in order to better reflect the requirements in the Interpretation, we plan to make legislative amendments in the following areas, including the detailed oath-taking requirements, arrangements relating to the retaking of oath, arrangements relating to the oath administrator, and the legal consequences and statutory procedures in case of breaches of the oath.

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Recently, we also heard voices from the Legislative Council and various sectors of the community suggesting that relevant legislative amendments should also be made to govern the oath-taking arrangements for District Council ("DC") members. In response to the views from different sectors, the SAR Government immediately conducted a relevant study and considered that DC members ought to fall within the scope of public officers specified in Article 6 of The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Hence, it is decided that the relevant oath-taking arrangements for DC members will be included in the scope of the current legislative amendment. The preparation of the relevant bill is now actively under way; we expect that the Bill will be introduced to the Legislative Council for consideration after Lunar New Year.

As for the amendments to the National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance, the amendments to the Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Flag ("National Flag Law") and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the National Emblem ("National Emblem Law") was endorsed by NPCSC on 17 October last year, and officially came into force on 1 January this year.

We are now preparing to suitably amend the local National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance in accordance with the provisions, spirit and principles of the amended National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law, so as to implement the relevant provisions. The principle of the legislative amendments is to fully reflect the purpose and intent of the amended National Flag Law and the National Emblem Law, better preserve the dignity of the national flag and the national emblem which are the symbols and signs of our country, safeguard the proper use of the national flag and the national emblem, enhance the sense of national identity among citizens and promote patriotism, whilst taking into account our common law system and the actual circumstances in Hong Kong.

We are now pressing full steam ahead with the relevant work with a view to introducing the bill to the Legislative Council for consideration as early as possible, thereby fulfilling the constitutional responsibility of SAR.

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The Constitution and the Basic Law form the constitutional basis of HKSAR and provide the strongest safeguard for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. To ensure that the "one country, two systems" principle is fully and accurately implemented, we must adhere to the Constitution and the Basic Law. However, at present, the society's general understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law and some people's awareness of the "one country" principle have yet to be enhanced. In addition, ill-intentioned people influenced by external forces have made use of the relatively complicated social and political situation in Hong Kong to deliberately mislead the public about the relationship between the Central Government and SAR. In the past period of time, Hong Kong has experienced the most severe political challenges since its return to the motherland. As pointed out in the Policy Address, one of our urgent priorities is to restore SAR's constitutional order and political system from chaos. To achieve this objective, there is a greater need to enhance people's understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law.

The year 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law. We have organized a series of events to promote the Constitution and the Basic Law, including the webinar held on 8 June last year in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law, and the online seminar held on the Constitution Day (4 December) last year with the theme "The Constitution and National Security".

This year, we will continue to actively promote the Constitution and the Basic Law through the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee ("BLPSC") led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the working groups under BLPSC and the relevant Policy Bureaux, so as to enable the community to have a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" principle. Moreover, we are now producing an all-new mobile application for promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law, which is expected to be launched this year. Meanwhile, we will continue to encourage, through the Basic Law Promotion Activity Sponsorship Scheme and Basic Law Promotion Research Sponsorship Scheme, non-governmental organizations and community bodies to organize promotional activities of a larger scale and conduct more in-depth studies. In future, we will continue to proactively explore the launching of more promotional activities with an innovative mindset, so as to enable members of the public to have a more 3254 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law.

Besides, the Policy Address also highlights the need to further take forward GBA's development. This year marks the commencement of implementation of the National 14th Five-Year Plan. For the long-term development as well as prosperity and stability of the country and Hong Kong, SAR needs to better integrate into the country's overall development and take the initiative to proactively promote high-quality development of GBA.

In this regard, the SAR Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the relevant central authorities, the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Macao SAR Government and nine municipalities in GBA to jointly take forward the development of GBA. Meanwhile, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office ("GBA Office") that we have officially established recently will strengthen the coordination and collaboration of GBA-related work of the relevant Policy Bureaux of the SAR Government, and enhance its communication with the stakeholders such as chambers of commerce, professional bodies and social organizations, so as to understand and gauge their opinions and suggestions on GBA's development.

In order to help the general public better understand GBA and encourage members of the public (especially young people), businesses and professionals to capitalize on the great opportunities that the development of GBA brings to Hong Kong, the GBA Office is currently providing useful information about studying, working, starting businesses and living in GBA through a series of publicity and promotional events, e.g. topical TV programmes, television infomercials, radio announcements, dedicated website, social media pages and official WeChat account, etc. When the epidemic is over, we will conduct overseas visits to suitable countries or regions together with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Macao SAR Government to promote the opportunities brought about by GBA.

Moreover, in order to assist Hong Kong enterprises in tapping into the huge Mainland domestic market and enable them to proactively become participants and beneficiaries in domestic circulation, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will launch a one-stop "GoGBA" service platform to provide LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3255 multi-faceted support for enterprises, including information, training and group-based enquiry service as well as online and offline promotional activities, with a view to helping Hong Kong enterprises gain access to the large-scale e-commerce platforms in the Mainland.

The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a key development strategy in the country's reform and opening up, and provides vital support for revitalizing Hong Kong's economy after the pandemic. We hope members of the public and enterprises can continue to gain a better understanding of the development of the country and GBA, and make the best of the significant opportunities GBA offers them.

On the gradual resumption of normal cross-boundary flow of people amongst Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao in an orderly manner, the present consensus amongst the three places is to properly control the epidemic first. When the epidemic situation is further contained, it is believed that we will be in a position to gradually resume normal cross-boundary flow of people amongst Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao, and at the same time, achieve the target of joint prevention and control of the epidemic.

As a first step to gradually resume normal cross-boundary flow of people in an orderly manner, the SAR Government introduced the Return2hk Scheme to allow Hong Kong residents returning from Guangdong Province or Macao to be exempted from the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement upon their return. Since its implementation on 23 November last year, more than 33 000 persons have returned to Hong Kong under the Scheme.

The SAR Government will continue its efforts in preventing and controlling the epidemic to achieve "zero infection", and maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities and the Macao SAR Government. Once the epidemic is under control, the three places will strive to gradually resume the cross-boundary flow of people in an orderly manner through mutual recognition of health codes and nucleic acid test results.

With these remarks, Deputy President, I implore Members to support the Policy Address.

3256 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I would like to thank a number of Members for putting forward valuable views on civil service matters. I would like to take this opportunity to respond briefly and give an account of several key areas in the Policy Address.

First, the civil service establishment. The civil service is the core team formulating and implementing the Government's policies and measures, and it is also the backbone of the SAR Government. Since the current-term Government took office, the civil service establishment has increased by about 19 600 posts, or 11%, within the four years between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021 to cope with the additional workload arising from a number of new policies and measures introduced by the Government over the past few years. We project that the civil service establishment will reach 197 845 posts by end-March 2021.

It is of utmost importance to maintain the sustainability of public finance amidst the economic downturn. It is therefore our target to have zero growth in the civil service establishment in the coming financial year.

On the other hand, the Government understands Members' concern about the proposals to create directorate posts under the current social and economic conditions. Therefore, the Government has earlier withdrawn all the staff establishment proposals pending scrutiny and will review them on a case-by-case basis.

As indicated in the letter issued by the Chief Executive to Members, the relevant review has been completed. As committed in the Policy Address, the Civil Service Bureau, in collaboration with the relevant bureaux and departments, has examined the staffing proposals. It has decided that except for a permanent post of the Court of Appeal Judge, all permanent directorate posts planned to be created in the current legislative year will be replaced by supernumerary posts or withdrawn for the time being. In addition, the Government has also scaled down some of the proposals, such as shortening the duration or reducing the number of supernumerary directorate posts.

At present, the directorate posts that will be created after the review are extremely vital for promoting various important policies and measures, including people's livelihood, economy, development and housing supply. For directorate post proposals that have already been endorsed by the Establishment LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3257

Subcommittee earlier on, the relevant bureaux and departments will turn those permanent posts into time-limited supernumerary posts, and will, in accordance with the procedure, liaise with the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau to resubmit the relevant procedures for approval by the Finance Committee. As for the directorate post proposals that have not been submitted to the relevant Panel for consultation, the relevant bureaux and departments will submit the proposals in due course in accordance with the procedures. Later, we will submit an information paper to the Establishment Subcommittee on the forecast of directorate post proposals to be submitted in this legislative session.

Second, the oath-taking and declaration requirements for civil servants. It has consistently been the duty of civil servants to uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to HKSAR of the People's Republic of China, be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the HKSAR Government under the Basic Law and the Civil Service Code. It is a matter of course and has all along been what the Government and society expect from and require of civil servants.

The requirement for civil servants to take an oath or sign a declaration enables them to openly acknowledge their due responsibilities, and have clearer awareness of the duties entailed by their official positions. The requirement is also a genuine manifestation of what the country and society require of civil servants of the SAR Government. The signing of the declaration can also further safeguard, strengthen and promote the core values that must be upheld by civil servants, thereby ensuring the effective governance of the SAR Government.

The Civil Service Bureau issued a circular in October last year requiring all civil servants joining the Government on or after 1 July last year to sign the declaration as one of the conditions for employment. So far, more than 4 000 newly joined civil service colleagues have duly made the declaration.

The Chief Executive also mentioned in the Policy Address that the implementation details of oath-taking/declaration by serving civil servants would be announced in due course. The Civil Service Bureau officially issued a circular on 15 January this year requiring all serving civil servants who were appointed before 1 July 2020 to sign a declaration that they would uphold the Basic Law, bear allegiance to HKSAR, be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the SAR Government. All bureaux and departments will send letters to civil service colleagues, and ask them to sign and return their declaration within one month after the issuance of the letter.

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Now I would talk about the enhanced national studies training for civil servants. Enhancing the national studies training for civil servants is also our key task. In fact, we have been continuously stepping up our efforts in this area. It is necessary for civil servants to fully understand the constitutional order established by the country's Constitution and the Basic Law of Hong Kong under the principle of "one country, two systems".

We have in recent years enhanced substantially the training in this area, and have collaborated with nine Mainland education institutions to run national studies programmes. We will further increase the number of training places in these national studies programmes to allow more civil servants to attend training in the Mainland. In addition, we will extend the Civil Service Staff Exchange Programme between Hong Kong and the Mainland to cover the Mainland municipalities in the Greater Bay Area, and will continue to enhance the contents of the thematic visits to the Mainland municipalities in the Greater Bay Area.

Regarding the grade structure review, some Members have been very concerned about the progress of the review for the disciplined services grades. Owing to the social disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments in 2019 and the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 last year, the original work schedules of the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service ("Disciplined Services Committee") and the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service have been greatly affected. For example, visits to the disciplined services departments and staff-management meetings had to be postponed and rescheduled, thus making it impossible to complete the review on schedule in mid-2020.

I had also paid informal visits to various disciplined services between late October and early November last year to listen to the aspirations of colleagues from the management and staff sides. As far as I understand it, the two advisory committees had visited various disciplined services and met with colleagues from the management and staff sides upon receipt of their submissions. The tasks of conducting analysis and writing up report are now in full steam.

The Disciplined Services Committee will, before finalizing its report, invite both the management and staff sides of all disciplined services to meet again to hear their final views. We estimate that the Disciplined Services Committee will complete the entire review and submit a report to the Government around LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3259 mid-2021. Upon receipt of the report, we will immediately take follow-up action, which includes consulting the management and staff sides of the disciplined services and the Legislative Council on the detailed recommendations of the report. The final recommendations must be endorsed by the Chief Executive in Council, the Legislative Council Establishment Subcommittee and the Finance Committee before formal implementation.

Some Members mentioned that the pilot scheme on Civil Service Chinese Medicine Clinics, implemented in March last year, has been very well received with the overall utilization rate exceeding 90%. We will review the arrangements for the pilot scheme in the first quarter of this year, and at the same time actively explore increasing the service capacity with a view to enhancing civil service medical benefits. During the period of implementation, we will also keep in view the utilization of clinic services, the service quotas, as well as booking and follow-up consultation arrangements.

We had been collecting views of colleagues on the pilot scheme by way of questionnaires since mid-August last year and more than 1 300 questionnaires had been received. As improvements can shortly be made to some measures, we have already been working on them and will not wait till the completion of the review before considering and implementing the improvements.

As regards job creation, funding has been earmarked under the Anti-epidemic Fund to create around 30 000 time-limited jobs in both the public and private sectors in the coming two years for people of different skill sets and academic qualifications. Under the Job Creation Scheme, in addition to bearing the salary of the jobs created in various government departments, the Government subsidizes part of the cost of the jobs created in the non-government sector. The Civil Service Bureau is responsible for coordinating the job creation programmes implemented by various Policy Bureaux and departments.

As at the end of December last year, about 31 000 jobs had been created under the Job Creation Scheme, with the posts created divided equally between the government and non-government sectors. Of these positions, about 14 000 have been filled and the recruitment of the remaining 17 000 positions has already commenced or is about to commence.

Deputy President, I would like to thank Members again for their concerns about civil service matters. Just now, some Members also mentioned the 3260 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 participation of civil servants in fighting the epidemic. In fact, different government departments and colleagues have made tireless efforts and whole-hearted contributions in the anti-epidemic work over the past year. Although the Government has made special work arrangements during the critical epidemic period so as to set an example for the private sector to follow by arranging its staff to work from home, with a view to reducing people flow in the community and achieving the target of disease control, these arrangements have not affected the participation of civil service colleagues in the anti-epidemic work. As a matter of fact, many serving and retired civil servants have engaged in the anti-epidemic work since the onset of the outbreak. If there is a need to increase manpower and make the necessary deployment, no difficulty will be met. Therefore, we should duly recognize the participation of civil service colleagues in this area of work, and I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude.

I am confident that the civil service team will demonstrate the spirit of loyalty, unity and responsibility in implementing the policies of the SAR Government and providing quality services to the public.

With these remarks, I implore Members to support the motion. Thank you, Deputy President.

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Cantonese): Deputy President, first of all, I would like to thank Members for expressing their views on the anti-epidemic efforts, the agriculture and fisheries industries, etc., in the Policy Address at previous Panel meetings and in this debate. I would like to respond to their views as follows.

Hong Kong has been extensively affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), a pandemic sweeping across the world. In the past year, Hong Kong people have shown their unrivalled determination and perseverance in overcoming the difficulties and disruptions caused by various social distancing measures and border control restrictions. The Government has also been making an all-out effort to combat the epidemic and has never let its guard down in providing emergency responses in a prompt manner. In the face of the current public health crisis, we have adopted a number of stringent measures to prevent the importation of cases and the spreading of the virus in the community, as well as scientific prevention and control measures to effectively contain each LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3261 wave of the epidemic. In the light of the constantly changing epidemic situation, the Government will continue to consolidate our experiences and spare no effort in making improvements, striving to achieve the target of "zero infection" with the support and cooperation of the general public.

On preventing the importation of cases, all travellers entering Hong Kong through the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") are currently subject to the "test-and-hold" arrangement, under which they will only be allowed to proceed to undergo compulsory quarantine subject to confirmation of a negative COVID-19 nucleic acid test result at the airport. Due to the emergence and spread of new virus variants in Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa, any person who has stayed in these countries for more than two hours on the day of boarding or during the 21 days before that day are not allowed to board for Hong Kong. In addition, ordinary travellers who have stayed in places outside China during the said period must provide before boarding confirmation of room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel in Hong Kong for not less than 21 days; and any persons who have stayed at very high-risk places are additionally required to present negative nucleic acid test result for COVID-19. Those who fail to produce the relevant specified documents will be refused to board the flight.

All persons arriving at Hong Kong who have stayed in places outside China on the day of arrival at Hong Kong or during the 21 days before that day are required to undergo compulsory quarantine for 21 days in designated quarantine hotels; and they must take designated transport arranged by the Government to go to the hotels for "closed-loop management". Those persons who have been subject to quarantine are also required to undergo testing at designated quarantine hotels on the 12th and 19th day following their arrival at Hong Kong.

We have also implemented the circuit breaker mechanism of passenger flights since July last year. If a passenger flight carries five or more passengers tested positive for COVID-19, or each of any two consecutive flights from the same airline has three or more passengers confirmed positive, the airline concerned would be prohibited from landing in Hong Kong for 14 days. The Department of Health further tightened the arrangements in November last year. The Government has prohibited flights from relevant countries from landing in Hong Kong for 19 times. We will continue to closely monitor the development of the pandemic worldwide and adjust the mechanism based on risk assessment.

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On preventing the spread of the virus in the community, a number of Members have expressed concern about the testing capacity of the SAR Government and urged us to conduct more compulsory testing.

Regarding virus testing measures, the Government continues and expands compulsory testing on a mandatory basis, targeted testing on an obligatory basis and testing on a voluntary basis. The Government also provides more convenient testing service in order to cut the transmission chains as early as possible, with a view to achieving the objective of "early identification, early isolation and early treatment".

The Government has constantly reviewed and expanded the scope and intensity of compulsory testing on a mandatory basis in order to cut the transmission chains in the community as soon as possible. In the light of the changes in the epidemic situation and risk assessment, the Government has lowered the threshold for compulsory testing. For example, initially, if confirmed cases not epidemiologically linked to each other were found in four or more units in the same building in the past 14 days, the building would be included in the compulsory testing notice. Subsequently, in view of the changes in the epidemic situation, we have lowered the threshold to two units, and we have further lowered the threshold recently. Given that a number of confirmed cases were found in certain areas of Hong Kong over a short period of time, in order to expeditiously cut the transmission chains in these areas, we have delineated "specified areas" in Jordan and Sham Shui Po and included the buildings in question in a compulsory testing notice under certain criteria to enhance virus testing. Recently, we have even delineated a "core area" in the "Jordan specified area", where all buildings therein are covered by compulsory testing. Mr Vincent CHENG has just expressed strong concern about compulsory testing in Yau Ma Tei and Jordan areas and our work to achieve the target of "zero infection". We thank Mr CHENG for his valuable advice and his recognition of the work of the SAR Government in this regard.

In addition to compulsory testing on a mandatory basis, the Government will continue to make arrangements for target groups to undergo targeted testing on an obligatory basis and provide the public with convenient testing on a voluntary basis. We are of the view that the present precision-guided anti-epidemic measures, which provide compulsory testing and voluntary testing for members of the public with various risk levels and needs, constitute a strategy LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3263 which is appropriate to the actual situation in Hong Kong. Since November last year, we have conducted more than 2.3 million tests, from which 4 000 confirmed cases have been identified, cutting the transmission chains in the community.

Enhancing the efficiency in contact tracing is vital for making the tracing work process more scientific, more professional and more efficient. The Government has set up an inter-departmental group led by the Chief Secretary for Administration to review workflow and enhance contact tracing, make use of technology where practicable, and deploy additional manpower to take part in the relevant work, with a view to expeditiously identifying close contacts and other contacts for virus testing and quarantine.

The Government substantially completed the development of an internal information portal specifically designed for contact tracing in December last year. The portal has already been launched. Starting from mid-January this year, about 100 officers from various disciplined forces, including the Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department and the Immigration Department, have been providing support for contact tracing work. To meet contingency needs, the Government will arrange online training for more officers so that they will take part in the tracing work soon.

To strengthen the compulsory quarantine arrangement for close contacts, all four phases of the Penny's Bay Quarantine Centre has been fully activated, providing 3 500 units. Together with other quarantine centres and four hotels designated for quarantine of close contacts, a maximum of about 6 000 units are currently available for quarantine purpose to cope with the needs arising from the epidemic.

To relieve the pressure on the Hospital Authority ("HA") from the demand of hospital isolation beds during the epidemic, the Government has assisted HA in establishing the Community Treatment Facility at AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE"), providing about 1 850 beds. Furthermore, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Central Government for fully supporting the SAR Government in constructing a temporary hospital named "North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Centre" on a piece of land near AWE. The hospital provides negative pressure wards that can accommodate 820 beds. The construction was completed in mid-January, and a works completion ceremony was held yesterday. HA would strive to put the temporary hospital into service in February.

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With regard to social distancing measures, the implementation of stringent and decisive social distancing measures is crucial for the Government's success in containing the third wave of the epidemic. In view of a rebound of the epidemic, the Government had announced successively in November the further tightening of social distancing measures. The current social distancing measures are of similar extent or even more stringent than those implemented in response to the peak of the third wave of the epidemic during July and August last year, with a view to bringing the epidemic situation under control by cutting the virus transmission chains as early as possible. The current measures are effective until 27 January this year.

The Government understands the impact of social distancing measures on various trades and the public, as mentioned by a number of Members just now, particularly Mr Tommy CHEUNG and Mr SHIU Ka-fai who are representatives of their respective trade. While the Government continues to implement effective social distancing measures to safeguard public health, we also understand the impact on various industries and their needs. We appreciate their compliance with our anti-epidemic and infection control measures all along. We will do our best to contain the epidemic with greater precision so that people's lives can be restored as soon as possible.

Understanding the need of the trade and the public for selling and buying New Year flowers, the Government announced on 19 January the new arrangements for the sale of New Year flowers. We will significantly reduce the scale of the sale of New Year flowers so as to reduce the risk of group gatherings. During the opening of points of sale, stall operators may use the sites for free, but they must comply with the ground rules and anti-epidemic measures. The footfall at points of sale will be monitored with the use of technology. Stall operators and their staff will also be required to undergo virus testing within 48 hours before the opening of the points of sale. I particularly thank Mr Steven HO for his valuable advice and the trades for their cooperation.

Vaccination brings a glimmer of hope and optimism to the Hong Kong community. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, a number of Members have mentioned the public's expectation about vaccination and the incentives they hope will be available. The Government will strive for the early supply of COVID-19 vaccines to Hong Kong and approve their emergency use in accordance with regulations, with a view to ensuring the safety, efficacy and quality of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3265 vaccines. We have been pressing ahead with the preparatory work, and we estimate that after the Lunar New Year, members of the public can begin to get vaccinated through vaccination programmes led by the Government free of charge. Our goal is to provide vaccines for the majority of the population within the year. Having considered experts' views, we will provide vaccination for priority groups first, including healthcare workers, elders and staff of residential care homes. Furthermore, we are reviewing other target groups which may need to receive vaccination early due to their work nature or other needs, including those who are particularly crucial to the infrastructure and operations of Hong Kong.

The Government is making an all-out effort to prepare for administering COVID-19 vaccines to members of the public. Depending on the nature of the vaccines, we will arrange for community vaccination in all 18 districts or provide vaccination to the public through private hospitals and clinics. We will disseminate correct information on vaccines and details on the vaccination programme to the public through various channels, so as to enable members of the public to adequately grasp the relevant information before vaccination, as well as understand the principles, formulation, usefulness and side effects of the various vaccines, etc. The Government will also step up monitoring of false information on vaccines within the community and immediately make clarifications and debunk rumours as necessary.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have implemented subsidy schemes under the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide financial support to the trades hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic and the social distancing measures, mainly the catering business, the agriculture and fisheries sector, licensed hawkers, commercial bathhouses and dishware washing trade. As at mid-January this year, nearly $10 billion has been approved under the first to fourth rounds of Anti-epidemic Fund; with another $3.9 billion pending approval, the total grant under the four rounds of Anti-epidemic Fund amounts to about $13.9 billion. The Government has decided to provide a one-off subsidy to tenants of public markets under FEHD or the Hong Kong Housing Authority at a flat rate of $5,000 per stall under the Anti-epidemic Fund to encourage them to use contactless payment so as to reduce risk of virus transmission through cash exchange. FEHD is processing applications from its tenants and will make disbursements as soon as possible.

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With regard to agriculture and fisheries industries, the Government is committed to promoting high value-added and sustainable development of the agricultural and fisheries industries. On agriculture, we will continue to implement the key initiatives under the New Agriculture Policy, including establishing an Agricultural Park in Kwu Tung South in the New Territories to facilitate the development of agro-technology and modernization of farm management, as well as provide technical support to farmers. Works on Agricultural Park Phase 1 has already commenced, and is expected to be completed in phases between the end of this year and 2023. In addition, restrictions on the relocation of premises used for chicken keeping have been relaxed in July 2020 to improve their bio-security measures.

Regarding the fisheries industry, the Government has resumed issuing new marine fish culture licences since the beginning of last year, and is preparing to designate new fish culture zones at four locations in Hong Kong waters. The new fish culture zones are expected to be completed next year. We also support Hong Kong fishermen to participate in the development of deep-sea mariculture in the Greater Bay Area. In 2019, the Government signed a cooperation agreement with the relevant authorities of the Guangdong Provincial Government. As a result of the lengthened annual fishing moratorium imposed by the Mainland authorities and continued increases in operating costs, the Government has increased the approved commitment under the Fishing Moratorium Loan Scheme by $210 million to provide greater support to local fishermen. I thank Mr Steven HO for continuously giving us a lot of valuable advice on the development of the agriculture and fisheries industries.

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

Lastly, President, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to a number of Members who have offered their valuable advice on the Government's anti-epidemic work. We will certainly do our utmost in prevention and response in order to contain the epidemic as soon as possible. I also hope that Members will support the various anti-epidemic and agriculture and fisheries measures proposed in the Policy Address. We will remain committed to working with the Legislative Council and the general public to further improve the relevant work in a proactive manner. With these remarks, I implore Members to support the Motion of Thanks. Thank you.

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SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I would like to thank Members for speaking on the theme of "New Impetus to the Economy" and giving many valuable views just now. The Chief Executive has proposed a number of initiatives on financial services in her Policy Address for strengthening the mutual access between the Mainland and Hong Kong capital markets, so that we can seize the tremendous opportunities arising from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA") development, and at the same time, integrate proactively into the new national development pattern featuring "dual circulation", which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while enabling domestic and foreign markets to interact positively with each other. This echoes with what Mr Paul TSE said earlier, i.e. we need to enhance our understanding of the country's development and gauge the social sentiment in order to consolidate Hong Kong's position as a global hub for offshore Renminbi business, promote the diversified development of the financial markets, and sharpen Hong Kong's competitive edge as an international financial centre.

This year, we will focus on three key areas of work, namely maintaining financial stability, vigorously promoting market development and mitigating economic impact.

On maintaining financial stability, in the past year or so, under the influence of the fluctuating COVID-19 epidemic and many other uncertainties in the global environment, the international financial markets have become more volatile. Nevertheless, thanks to our stringent risk management measures, our financial system remains robust and resilient. The linked exchange rate system and different facets have been operating smoothly. The Hong Kong dollar exchange rate against the US dollar has stayed near the strong side with net capital inflow registered since last year, reflecting continued investors' confidence in Hong Kong's financial market. The latest figures show that major banks' average liquidity coverage ratio and average capital adequacy ratio exceed 150% and 20% respectively, both well above the international regulatory standards. The Government and the financial regulators will continue to closely monitor financial market development to ensure financial stability.

The recently held Asian Financial Forum successfully attracted over 63 000 visitors from over 70 countries and regions around the world, which indirectly showed the advantages of our financial market.

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Financial stability has provided a sound basis for sustainable development of Hong Kong's financial market. Our second key area of work this year is vigorously promoting market development. Notwithstanding the challenges, we see opportunities ahead. In this regard, we have four main initiatives.

First, we will continue to develop Hong Kong into a broader and deeper financing market, while strengthening the mutual access between the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets. In this regard, since 28 December 2020, pre-profit biotechnology companies listed in Hong Kong meeting certain prescribed criteria have been included into the stock universe of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. In addition, after the implementation of a new listing regime in April 2018, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited announced in end-October 2020 further grandfathering arrangements in respect of companies seeking secondary listing. Under the arrangements, qualifying companies that have already listed on specified stock markets overseas before end-October 2020 could seek secondary listing in Hong Kong notwithstanding they possess corporate weighted voting rights structures. We will also foster the establishment of an Uncertificated Securities Market regime and apply technology to financial infrastructure, so as to enhance and modernize our financial market infrastructure. These measures will further enhance our overall competitiveness as an international premier listing platform.

The second initiative is strengthening Hong Kong's position as a major asset and wealth management centre in the Asia-Pacific region. We will focus on three main areas of work:

(a) First, we will promote the development of private equity funds through a three-step approach. The first step is to introduce a new fund structure. Thanks to the support of Legislative Council Members, we introduced the open-ended fund company and limited partnership fund regimes in July 2018 and August 2020 respectively, with a view to attracting different types of funds (including private equity funds) to set up and operate in Hong Kong. In just a few months after the commencement of the limited partnership fund regime, over 60 funds have been established. The second step is, as announced in the Policy Address, to provide tax concession for carried interest issued by private equity funds operating in Hong Kong subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. The third step LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3269

is that we will consider introducing measures to attract more funds already established overseas to locate in Hong Kong.

(b) Furthermore, we will promote real estate investment trusts ("REIT") in Hong Kong by adopting various measures through a multi-pronged approach, including relaxing the investment restrictions of REIT as appropriate, broadening the investor base, facilitating market operation through legislative and regulatory enhancements, and stepping up market promotion and investor education. The term "real estate" refers not only to shopping malls or hotels, but also to data centres or warehouses for e-commerce in the new economy. On 4 December 2020, the Securities and Futures Commission made amendments to the Code on Real Estate Investment Trusts to provide REITs with more flexibility in making investments.

(c) In the meantime, we will continue to support the family office business to establish a presence here in Hong Kong, including providing additional resources for InvestHK to set up a dedicated team. We have already started the preparatory work. You can see that we are currently recruiting a team for this purpose on our Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. We will step up publicity and promotion in Hong Kong and other major markets, and offer one-stop support services to family offices which are interested in establishing a presence here. Members mentioned just now that they hoped we would have more cross-sectoral collaboration at various levels. In fact, family offices are capitalizing on our strengths in various sectors, such as the financial and professional services sectors.

The third initiative is promoting mutual access of financial services in GBA. On the two-way cross-boundary wealth management connect pilot scheme long-awaited by the industry and the market, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is formulating the implementation details with the People's Bank of China and the Monetary Authority of Macao, with a view to expediting the implementation of the scheme, under which residents in Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province could carry out cross-boundary investment in wealth management products distributed by banks in the area. In addition, we are also actively discussing with relevant regulatory authorities and striving for 3270 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 early establishment of after-sales service centres by the Hong Kong insurance industry in Mainland cities of GBA and early implementation of the "unilateral recognition" policy for motor insurance policies of Hong Kong vehicles entering Guangdong through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The fourth initiative is supporting the development of Fintech. To encourage financial innovation and speed up technological transformation, we have launched the Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme to encourage Fintech companies to partner with financial institutions to conduct proof-of-concept projects. The name "拍住上" (in partnership) is derived from the requirement for a financial institution and a Fintech company to make a joint application. Taking into account the cross-border elements involving GBA and other places such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, each eligible Fintech proof-of-concept test project can receive a maximum subsidy of $100,000 or $150,000. We have earmarked $10 million for the implementation of the scheme and will start accepting applications next month. In addition, to further facilitate the payment of government fees and charges by the public, four more government departments accepted payment by "Faster Payment System" in December last year, bringing the number of government departments accepting payment by "Faster Payment System" to seven. We will continue to promote the use of "Faster Payment System" to facilitate the payment of other government fees and charges by the public.

Furthermore, the Government will establish a robust regulatory framework to supervise virtual asset trading platforms through a licensing system and attracting high quality virtual asset traders to Hong Kong. The Government is now launching a public consultation on the proposed licensing regime for virtual asset service providers until 31 January. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, we expect to introduce the relevant bill into the Legislative Council this year.

In the meantime, we will continue to take forward various existing policy initiatives, including the establishment of the eMPF Platform, which is of public concern, to centralize, streamline and automate administration work, thereby creating room for fee reduction. Our target is to complete the development of the eMPF Platform by 2022 at the earliest for trustees to migrate to the eMPF Platform in batches, thereby bringing benefits to scheme members as soon as possible.

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Apart from vigorously promoting market development, our third key area of work this year is mitigating the economic impact on Hong Kong.

Noting a slackening of prices and demand for non-residential properties, we consider that now is the appropriate time to abolish the Doubled Ad Valorem Stamp Duty on non-residential property transactions to facilitate selling of non-residential property by businesses that are encountering financial predicament or liquidity needs because of the economic downturn, mitigating the impact of the pandemic on Hong Kong's economy and business activities. Therefore, with effect from 26 November 2020, we have abolished the Doubled Ad Valorem Stamp Duty on non-residential property transactions and reverted to using the Scale 2 rate. As the current arrangement was made under the Public Revenue Protection (Stamp Duty) Order 2020 ("the Order"), which will be in force for a maximum of four months, we must have the legislative amendment procedures completed before the Order ceases to have effect. Thanks to Members' support, the Bills Committee set up by the Legislative Council has finished scrutinizing the relevant amendment bill this Monday. We will complete the procedures as soon as possible to finalize the measures.

We are also committed to creating job opportunities and continuing to support the real economy, taking into account both the present and the future. Last year, we launched the FinTech Anti-epidemic Scheme for Talent Development ("FAST Scheme") and the Financial Industry Recruitment Scheme for Tomorrow ("FIRST Scheme"), which have created 1 000 fintech-related jobs and 1 500 new jobs in the financial services industry (including cross-border banking, securities, insurance, MPF trustees, accounting, and so on) respectively, so as to enrich Hong Kong's financial talent pool and to create these jobs within a short term to meet market needs. In addition, the Census and Statistics Department has created 3 400 temporary field worker posts to support the data collection work for the 2021 Population Census which will run from 23 June 2021 to 4 August 2021, and priority will be given to the unemployed. The relevant information is available at the Census and Statistics Department, or on the Bureau's Facebook and LinkedIn account.

President, this year's Policy Address has proposed a number of targeted measures for the financial development of Hong Kong. I hereby thank Members for their support and valuable views on financial development. We will definitely strive to take forward the various initiatives and work with the industry and stakeholders to reinforce Hong Kong's position as an integrated international financial centre.

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With these remarks, I hope that Members will support the Motion of Thanks and join hands with the Government to take forward various financial initiatives.

Thank you, President.

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Cantonese): President, I would like to thank Members for their views on aviation, maritime transport, logistics, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA"), and anti-epidemic efforts. The SAR Government will continue to, through various means, consolidate and strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub, an international shipping centre and a regional logistics hub, while promoting Hong Kong's integration into GBA. In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, we have, on the one hand, stepped up anti-epidemic efforts, and on the other hand, introduced support measures, hoping to strive ahead with the industry and the public to navigate through the epidemic.

Hong Kong is an international and regional aviation hub, given its unrivalled geographical location, a comprehensive aviation network, the efficient and reliable services of the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA"), as well as an excellent intermodal transport network. Both the National 13th Five-Year Plan and the Outline Development Plan for Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have affirmed Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub.

While responding to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, we must, at the same time, make arrangements to maintain Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub in the long run. We must continue to increase the airport's passenger and cargo handling capacities and strengthen its long-term competitiveness, so as to enable Hong Kong's aviation business to capitalize on the advantages of domestic and international dual circulation and make contributions.

We continue to actively assist the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AA") in taking forward the three-runway system project. When the system is fully commissioned, the annual cargo handling capacity of HKIA will increase to 9 million tonnes and the annual passenger handling capacity will gradually increase to 100 million. AA anticipates that the third runway and the entire three-runway system will be commissioned in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

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The commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") creates favourable conditions for further cooperation between HKIA and the Zhuhai Airport. AA can expand the passenger catchment through injecting equity in the Zhuhai Airport. Under the enhanced intermodal arrangement, the two airports of Hong Kong and Zhuhai can complement each other's advantages, achieve synergy, and enhance the overall competitiveness and connectivity in passenger and cargo services in GBA. Thanks to the support of the Central Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government, about 80 Mainland destinations served by the Zhuhai Airport and over 170 international destinations served by HKIA can be integrated, thereby further expanding the network coverage of the two airports, strengthening the overall aviation advantages of GBA and driving the long-term economic development of the two places. In addition, to cope with the development of the air cargo industry, AA has actively promoted the development of a HKIA Logistics Park and an airside intermodal cargo handling facility which will seamlessly connect HKIA's extensive air cargo network to GBA by sea, thereby greatly enhancing the global connectivity of GBA.

The Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities ("HKBCF") Island of HZMB, together with various development projects in HKIA and on the Airport Island, have excellent conditions to develop into an "airport city" serving GBA and the world. AA will take forward the development on the HKBCF Island to further consolidate and strengthen Hong Kong's position as an international and regional aviation hub. The developments include the Intermodal Transfer Terminal to be completed next year, the automated car parks on the HKBCF Island to be developed in phases to attract self-drive visitors from Guangdong and Macao driving their private cars via HZMB and fly out from HKIA or visit Hong Kong. HKIA will also expand the intermodal network to provide hassle-free travelling experience for land-to-air/air-to-land transfer passengers and also provide convenient and time-saving parking services for self-drive passengers who may drive their private cars via HZMB.

In the long run, the Government has reserved part of the land parcels on the HKBCF Island for the development of air cargo logistics by AA, the construction of the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy campus and dormitories, as well as the development of related supporting facilities for the airport community, so as to make preparations for the long-term development of the aviation industry and enhancement of talent training. In addition, by enhancing the transport network and the waterfront facilities, and strengthening the use of bay resources in the area, the concept of an "airport city" will integrate with Tung Chung and 3274 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 the nearby region and inject new development elements and economic opportunities into the whole North Lantau.

Guangdong and Hong Kong will also commence preparation for the provision of cross-boundary commercial helicopter services, with a view to greatly shortening the distances between Hong Kong and the cities in GBA as well as the whole Guangdong and supporting the diversified economic development in the region.

The Government has implemented new measures in respect of shipping and logistics, such as introducing a $300 million Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Third-party Logistics Service Providers, with a view to encouraging the logistics industry to enhance efficiency and productivity through the application of technology. We have also amended the legislation to provide tax waivers and concessions to eligible ship lessors, ship leasing managers and marine insurers, so as to keep promoting the development of high value-added maritime services. In addition, in order to further expand the port and maritime community in Hong Kong, we are studying the provision of tax concessions to various commercial principals of the maritime industry, including ship management companies, ship brokers and ship agents, etc., to attract them to choose Hong Kong as their base of operation.

In respect of facilitating Hong Kong's integration into GBA, we will, with the commissioning of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Tunnel, make an all-out effort to take forward the Quota-free scheme for Hong Kong private cars travelling to Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("the Scheme"). Under the Scheme, eligible Hong Kong private cars can travel to and from Guangdong via HZMB without the need to obtain a regular quota, thereby facilitating Hong Kong residents to drive their private cars to Guangdong for business, visiting families or sight-seeing on a short-term basis. We are now finalizing the specific arrangements and technical implementation details of the Scheme with the Guangdong Provincial Government and relevant Mainland authorities, and will strive for early implementation and announcement. Moreover, after the implementation of the Scheme for a period of time, the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments will draw on the implementation experience and proactively study the extension of the Scheme to a Hong Kong/Shenzhen land boundary control point, so that Hong Kong residents can drive their private cars and travel to both the eastern and western parts of Guangdong without having to obtain a regular quota.

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In the face of the challenges brought about by the rapid and volatile development of COVID-19, HKIA has been actively cooperating with the Department of Health in implementing various quarantine measures during the epidemic, such as providing free nucleic acid tests for arriving passengers, crew members and airport employees. Additional anti-epidemic measures have also been implemented, which include strengthening the air circulation system in the passenger terminal building, using automatic robots for cleaning, applying antimicrobial coating on high-touch surfaces, conducting temperature checks at all airport entrances, and providing full-body cleansing facilities for frontline workers, etc. As such, HKIA is among the first in the region to be accredited under the Airport Health Accreditation programme of the Airports Council International.

The SAR Government has also adopted special measures to ensure the continuous operation of the cross-boundary freight and logistics industry and the container terminals during the epidemic, such as arranging cross-boundary truck drivers who enter the Guangdong Province at control ports in Shenzhen/Zhuhai to be tested for the virus every day as required, so as to maintain as far as possible the normal operation of cross-boundary freight in order to ensure the smooth transport of daily necessities and cargoes.

As for the cargo vessels that come to Hong Kong for cargo loading and unloading, they are essential to the supply of daily essential goods and services to the community, including daily necessities, food, anti-epidemic supplies and medical supplies, so as to maintain the smooth operation of Hong Kong. In addition to providing facilitating arrangements for crew members of cargo vessels, the Government has been actively cooperating with the Department of Health in implementing various quarantine measures to fight against the epidemic together. In order to maintain the stability of logistics and goods supply in Hong Kong and ensure the health of frontline workers at container terminals, the Government has, since September last year, provided free testing for frontline workers at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals who need to work on board cargo vessels or may have contacts with vessel crew.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Government encourages the wider use of antibacterial coatings in public transport, and is committed to providing relevant technologies and anti-epidemic information to support public transport operators. At present, most public transport operators and merchants' associations have used different coating technologies to disinfect vehicles and 3276 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 cabins, so as to enhance epidemic prevention and make members of the public feel at ease when travelling.

In order to reduce the risk of community transmission, the Transport Department has, since July last year, subsidized voluntary testing for practitioners of the transport industry whose work involves frequent contact with the public. Following the previous four rounds of voluntary testing for taxi drivers, the Transport Department launched the one-off compulsory testing scheme for taxi drivers in December last year.

In the face of the epidemic, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HKHA") has tried its best to cooperate with and support the Government's anti-epidemic efforts. Specific work include handing over Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan to the Government for use as quarantine centre between February and October last year. When a confirmed case involves a public housing tenant, HKHA will arrange thorough cleaning and disinfection of the affected public areas and facilities. It will also assist the Centre for Health Protection in distributing specimen bottles in individual housing estates, setting up specimen collection points and temporary specimen collection stations to facilitate residents in undergo testing as soon as possible.

The Policy Address 2020 proposes to carry out inspection of communal/external drainage pipes for buildings in estates/courts under HKHA's rental housing and various subsidized sale flats schemes and step up various anti-epidemic measures in public rental housing estates and shopping centres/markets. Since the outbreak of the epidemic last year, HKHA has carried out preliminary inspections of the communal drainage pipes of public rental housing flats. So far, preliminary inspections of the communal drainage pipes of about 100 000 flats, involving 1 200 domestic blocks of about 230 public housing estates (including those under the Tenants Purchase Scheme) have been conducted. Most of the drainage pipes were found to be in satisfactory condition and HKHA will continue to carry out appropriate repair works as necessary. We expect to complete the preliminary inspections of the drainage facilities of the remaining 300 public housing blocks by end of March this year. The Drainage Inspection Programme for the inspection of approximately 800 000 public rental housing flats in Hong Kong has already been implemented at the end of October last year. As for HKHA's subsidized sale flats, we started to inspect the communal drainage system on the external walls of the building in May last year.

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President, the SAR Government will continue to make an all-out effort with various sectors of the community to consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international and regional aviation, shipping and logistics hub. At the same time, it will promote the flow of people and cargoes in GBA as well as the overall collaborative development, so as to better integrate into the overall national development. The SAR Government and HKHA will also continue to exert all efforts to prevent and fight against the epidemic and protect Hong Kong.

With these remarks, President, I call upon Members to support the motion and support the administration of the SAR Government. Thank you President.

SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, I am very grateful to the many Members who have spoken in the first debate session. They have given a lot of valuable views on Hong Kong's innovation and technology ("I&T") development, and the I&T policy initiatives featuring in the Policy Address this year.

The current-term Government has taken office for more than three years. Under the strong support of the country, the supervision of the senior government officials, and the inter-departmental coordination, we have proactively stepped up our efforts to develop I&T in Hong Kong in the eight major areas proposed by the Chief Executive. Various I&T policies and initiatives have been initiated smoothly and implemented progressively. The overall I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong has also been enhanced notably. For instance, the Research and Development ("R&D") expenditure incurred by the public sector increased significantly from $9.29 billion in 2014 to $14.7 billion in 2019; the venture capital investment in Hong Kong increased from $1.24 billion in 2014 to $9.9 billion in 2019, representing an increase by seven times; the number of start-ups also increased from around 1 100 in 2014 to over 3 300 in 2020, with the number of employees increasing from 2 400 to 10 700.

Hong Kong's performance in respect of I&T development is also recognized internationally. According to the World Digital Competitiveness Yearbook 2020 published by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, Hong Kong's global ranking soared from the 11th place in 2018 to the fifth place; Hong Kong climbed from the 18th place to the seventh place on global ranking related to technological infrastructure. The results are encouraging. Moreover, the Digital Intelligence Index report 3278 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 jointly released by Mastercard and the Fletcher School at Tufts University of the United States in 2020 confirmed that Hong Kong has become one of the world's most digitally advanced economies, ranking second and third in the Asia-Pacific region and the world respectively. Of course, we understand that I&T are developing rapidly and we still need to keep up the good work by seizing opportunities proactively. Therefore, the Financial Secretary has also said in his speech earlier that I&T continue to be one of the areas of focus in this year's Policy Address. This Policy Address has further proposed various measures in relation to I&T, clearly demonstrating that the SAR Government attaches great importance and has strong commitment to promoting I&T development in Hong Kong. In the following paragraphs, I will give a brief response to the views on I&T as given by Members during their speeches in the first debate session.

Many Members are concerned about whether Hong Kong has actively joined the development of the Greater Bay Area to tie in with the new development pattern which takes the domestic market as the mainstay. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs has made a response in his speech earlier. Let me add some points to the I&T aspects. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are not only in close proximity to each other, but are also close working partners. There is extensive room for cooperation for these two places in respect of I&T. We are taking forward the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park ("HSITP") located in the Lok Ma Chau Loop in full swing. In addition to becoming the largest I&T platform in Hong Kong, HSITP, together with the Innovation and Technology Zone in Shenzhen across the Shenzhen River, will form the synergistic Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Co-operation Zone ("the Co-operation Zone") which will leverage the complementary advantages of both Hong Kong and Shenzhen in respect of I&T to achieve a win-win situation.

I am very grateful to Members' support for the project as well as their approval of the funding for Main Works Package 1 for the development of Lok Ma Chau Loop and fire rescue facilities. I also have to thank Members for giving a lot of valuable views on the development of HSITP in their speeches. Later, we will seek another funding from the Finance Committee ("FC") to implement Batch 1 development of HSITP and support the initial operating expenditure incurred by the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park Limited. We hope Members will continue to give their support. We expect that the eight buildings in Batch 1 development of HSITP and the related projects of the Loop development will be completed in phases from 2024 to 2027. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3279

According to the initial estimation of the consultant for the economic impact analysis study, Batch 1 development of HSITP is estimated to contribute around $5.1 billion to the Hong Kong economy each year and create around 4 500 local jobs.

To allow local technology-based enterprises to seize the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area as soon as possible, we are pursuing jointly with the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government the practice of allowing the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation ("HKSTPC") to lease and manage certain areas of the Innovation and Technology Zone in Shenzhen, so that technology-based enterprises which are interested in starting their business in the Greater Bay Area can establish a presence early before the completion of the first batch of buildings in HSITP. We are also formulating, together with Shenzhen, the joint policies that are applicable to the Co-operation Zone to provide support measures for the technology-based enterprises which have established a presence.

In the speech made by Mr Jimmy NG yesterday, he expressed concern about the progress of re-industrialization in Hong Kong. Re-industrialization has good prospects in Hong Kong. It can also identify new growth points for Hong Kong's economic development and create quality jobs to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong. The current-term Government attaches great importance to and actively promotes re-industrialization in Hong Kong; it has been creating favourable conditions for re-industrialization along the four areas of infrastructure, talent, technology and funding.

On infrastructure, HKSTPC is developing in the Yuen Long Industrial Estate a Microelectronics Centre which is expected to be completed in 2023 to attract enterprises producing microelectronics products and engaging in relevant industries such as advanced materials. While the Data Technology Hub in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate has been completed, the Advanced Manufacturing Centre is expected to be completed in 2022; HKSTPC has invited tenders for tenancy of the projects. As for talent, in August 2018, we launched the Reindustrialization and Technology Training Programme to fund staff of local enterprises on a matching basis to receive technology training. As of the end of 2020, over 1 760 training grant applications have been approved under the Programme to subsidize around 3 440 staff of local enterprises to receive technology training, with a total funding amount of around $25.6 million. In the debate yesterday, Mr LUK Chung-hung highlighted the need to prepare for the advent of an artificial intelligence era. The Reindustrialization and Technology 3280 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Training Programme can actually subsidize more local enterprises in training their staff on relevant technologies, enhancing their skills and knowledge, and assisting them to better grasp the convenience and great opportunities brought about by the development of artificial intelligence.

On technology, the Hong Kong Productivity Council ("HKPC") has been facilitating enterprises in moving towards high value-added production and gradually upgrading to Industry 4.0. It also assists traditional industries in enhancing their technologies, and organizes different types of training programmes and seminars to introduce new technologies and the latest scientific research results. For instance, HKPC has implemented the Industry 4.0 Upgrade and Recognition Programme, and helped enterprises set up smart production lines through the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things and big data. With the active promotion and efforts of HKPC, more than 20 industries and 50 enterprises have applied intelligent manufacturing technologies in their production. As for funding, in July last year, we launched a Re-industrialization Funding Scheme ("RFS") to subsidize manufacturers on a matching basis to set up new smart production lines in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, we have received around 170 enquiries and 10 applications. The RFS Vetting Committee has completed vetting seven applications and recommended funding support for five applications from the biotechnology, food processing and construction industries.

We understand that R&D is the fountain of I&T. The Government has been striving to support local R&D activities through different funding schemes to promote the commercialization of the results of scientific researches. There are excellent and outstanding scientific research talents in various local universities and institutions. We are pressing ahead with the establishment of the two world-class InnoHK research clusters in the Hong Kong Science Park―one on healthcare technologies (Health@InnoHK) and the other on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies (AIR@InnoHK). The first batch of R&D Centres is expected to open in the first quarter of this year progressively. In addition, to fully release Hong Kong's R&D capability and foster technology transfer as well as realization of R&D results, starting from 2019-2020, we will increase the funding support for 16 State Key Laboratories, six Hong Kong Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centres and the technology transfer offices of seven designated universities, and regularize these funding support.

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On the support for technology start-ups, HKSTPC assists technology start-ups in their vulnerable inception stages through its incubation programmes. HKSTPC has been providing systematic support to the incubatees through its incubation programmes, including the provision of subsidized office space and shared facilities, various financial aid packages as well as technology and management support, etc. Moreover, HKSTPC has set up a Corporate Venture Fund which co-invests on a matching basis with angel investors or venture capital funds in start-ups.

Regarding another IT flagship in Hong Kong―Cyberport, it also supports start-ups through its incubation programmes, provides seed funds to help participants turn their innovative ideas into prototypes, subsidizes its incubatees in participating in accelerator programmes, and provides Cyberport's start-ups with early financing. Moreover, Cyberport has launched the Easy Landing Scheme and the Overseas/Mainland Market Development Support Scheme to provide support for the tenants and start-ups in Cyberport at different stages.

Apart from the two IT flagships in Hong Kong as mentioned just now, universities are a major nurturing ground for innovation and discoveries. We launched the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities ("TSSSU") in 2014, encouraging universities to support their teams in starting technology businesses to unleash Hong Kong's strengths in scientific research and realization of R&D results. As of the end of 2020, TSSSU has granted a subsidy totalling around $200 million to 293 start-ups. Moreover, we have also set up the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund ("ITVF") which co-invests with co-investment partners, on a matching basis, in Hong Kong's I&T start-ups, so as to encourage private investments in Hong Kong's I&T start-ups. In the past two years, ITVF has invested in 19 local start-ups with a total investment of about $100 million, attracting private investment of over $500 million.

To enhance the support for I&T development and address the increasing demands from the industries for I&T facilities, apart from pushing ahead with the development of HSITP at full steam, HKSTPC is commencing Phase II of the Science Park Expansion Programme, involving building two annex buildings and related facilities, such as laboratories, etc., at podiums in the Science Park to provide a gross floor area of about 28 000 sq m. We plan to consult the Panel on Commerce and Industry of the Legislative Council next month to gauge Members' views on the expansion programme and then seek funding approval 3282 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 from FC in accordance with the established procedures. I hope Members will give their support.

Furthermore, we plan to expand Cyberport 5 to build a new office building, providing facilities including offices, Smart-Space co-working space, conference venues and data services platform. It is expected that the expanded building can accommodate 100 more technology companies and 750 more start-ups. We will also seek funding approval from FC within the current legislative session.

Many Members have mentioned the role played by technology in the battle against the epidemic. Over the past year, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the importance of technology development and applications, and the potential of technology in helping all businesses turn the crisis into opportunities. In fact, I&T has played an important supporting role in many anti-epidemic measures. Some technology products and applications researched and developed locally, for instance, the "StayHomeSafe" system and electronic wristband, the interactive map dashboard disseminating information about the latest pandemic situation in Hong Kong, etc., have also played a role in the fight against the epidemic. Having listened to the views on "LeaveHomeSafe" Mobile App, we are actively and industriously exploring how to make good use of this technology to help put an end to the outbreak in Hong Kong early.

While many metropolises over the world are placed into lockdown, making use of e-commerce has become more important. This has also created a lot of new development opportunities for the I&T sector, at the same time expediting digitalization of the city. As early as November 2016, we launched the Technology Voucher Programme to support local organizations in using technological services and solutions to improve productivity or upgrade or transform their business processes. To cope with the outbreak, we have launched the Distance Business Programme under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund to support enterprises to continue business and services during the epidemic through adoption of IT solutions. Enterprises have responded very positively towards the programme, with the total number of applications exceeding expectations. During the application period, over 38 000 applications have been received in total, and around 95% of them are from small and medium enterprises. We have further increased the funding to $1.9 billion to provide funding support for the qualified applications received. I hope that in the coming one or two weeks, all the enterprises can receive their application results. We also expect that enterprises can seize the opportunities to expedite LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3283 digital transformation to cope with the challenges and the "new normal" brought about by the pandemic. In the long run, it can help enterprises enhance their competitiveness and seek more new business opportunities.

President, the Policy Address this year has proposed multi-faceted measures in taking forward I&T development. On aspects such as nurturing and attracting technology talents, and taking forward smart city development, many Members have given valuable views. I will respond to and elaborate on the issues altogether after listening carefully to the speeches of Members in the next debate session.

With these remarks, President, I sincerely call upon Members to support the 2020 Policy Address of the Chief Executive.

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President and Honourable Members, first of all, I would like to thank you for your views given yesterday and today on the Policy Address, particularly on the parts of "Navigating through the Epidemic" and "New Impetus to the Economy". From your speeches made these two days, we have clearly heard several important messages.

First, almost every Member mentioned how to combat the epidemic and restore the economy together. If we cannot overcome the epidemic, we can hardly say that the economy can be fully restored. Second, many Members talked about how we could strive to support the affected trades so that small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") can survive this winter. In the process, enterprises also need to adjust to the new environment, respond to changes, upgrade and transform their business and develop new business opportunities. Third, many Members mentioned how we could fully leverage on the country's edge in development, particularly the strategy of "internal circulation" supported by "dual circulation" and opportunities provided by the Greater Bay Area. On this point, Members have expressed their views in their speeches and my colleagues have responded to them. Fourth, as Members have also noticed, the international economic and trade environment has become increasingly uncertain and challenging with the economic downturn, influences of geopolitical factors and protectionism. Thus, we must readjust our strategies and rebuild our image during this period of time.

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I will respond to Members' views from the economic and trade perspectives in three areas. First, regarding combatting the epidemic and restoring the economy, the great majority of Members mentioned that in fighting against the epidemic over the past year, substantial resources and policies were required to assist various industries in society. In this regard, the Financial Secretary, as well as government departments and bureaux under the leadership of the Chief Secretary for Administration have, with funding approved by the Legislative Council, introduced several rounds of supportive measures to directly help various trades and industries face the blow. For the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, our support to the tourism industry, which is most hard hit by the epidemic, is a good case in point. With the concerted effort of our friends in the industry, particularly Mr YIU Si-wing, we have incessantly and methodically provided direct financial support in three or four rounds to travel agents, tour escorts, tour guides and other practitioners in the industry, including drivers, in the hope that they can tide over the most difficult time. We have also promoted the transformation of the tourism industry through various means to open up new opportunities by organizing local tours, green tours, etc. We have to work jointly with the industry in order to attain success in this area of work. On a wider scale, our aim is not merely to provide direct subsidy to various trades and industries, but also help enterprises, SMEs in particular, deal with the problems in times of economic difficulties, especially the problem of capital flow. In this regard, we are grateful that political groups and Members of the business sector have specially asked the Government to introduce measures to support enterprises and safeguard jobs, such as providing loan guarantee so that banks can offer capital support. Take the 100% Guarantee Product approved by Members and introduced early last year as an example. In less than a year, we have approved more than 26 000 applications, incurring a funding of more than $41.4 billion and benefiting 20 000-odd enterprises and 250 000 employees. These figures have fully reflected the popularity of this loan scheme which provides interest subsidy, an optional principal moratorium and government guarantee. Various Members, including Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Ms Starry LEE, Mr Jeffrey LAM, etc. have put forward new suggestions on this scheme; we will take all these suggestions into consideration. Some are worried that the initial commitment of $50 billion for the scheme would be insufficient. I hereby promise Members that they can rest assured that apart from the commitment for the 100% Guarantee Product, we will also use contingency funds reserved for the 80% Guarantee Product and the 90% Guarantee Product introduced earlier. At present, the balance of those funds amounts to a total of $70 billion. We hope we can help industries tide over this difficult time.

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Apart from the above mentioned measures, we have provided other support to SMEs. I thank Mr WONG Ting-kwong for his support and approval. We have continued to enhance the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales ("BUD Fund") and the SME Export Marketing Fund ("EMF"). We have also extended their scopes so as to benefit more enterprises. Simply put, in the past three years, more than 50 000 enterprises have obtained assistance through these two funds. Enterprises have also been given the opportunity to obtain funds on a matching basis of 1:1 for upgrading and transforming their business and market development. Our work in this regard will continue.

Members have expressed the view that apart from assisting the trades, the Government should also promote market development, in particular, promote business by means of conventions and exhibitions. Members will remember that under the Anti-epidemic Fund, we have earmarked $1.2 billion to assist enterprises in holding conventions and exhibitions. Recently, the Policy Address has also mentioned that the SME Export Marketing Fund would be applicable to local exhibitions, thus substantially expanding the room for enterprises to use the fund to organize exhibitions and trade activities.

Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan asked how the Government could provide more convention and exhibition hardware. In fact, the Policy Address has mentioned two very clear directions in the next few years. First, it is hoped that starting from 2026, redevelopment works at the vacated sites of the three government towers in Wan Chai will commence. Meanwhile, we will soon commence the planning and development of Phase Two of AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE"). The latter project may even be completed before the one in Wan Chai. On the whole, our convention and exhibition areas will be increased by 66 000 sq m, representing a rise of 40%.

In assisting SMEs during the epidemic, we will not only provide direct assistance in respect of capital flow, but will also discuss with the trade on relaunching the economy during the epidemic, particularly in organizing some important events which are important to the trades. For example, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("HKTDC") will organize some activities in an online and offline mode at the same time. If enterprises really have to hold large events, discussions will be held on how to encourage exhibitors to undertake more work on testing and epidemic prevention, so that the event can be held in a limited scale. In this regard, we have been collaborating with various organizers, including the organizers who initially planned to hold the Hong Kong 3286 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

Brands and Products Expo at the end of last year, in the hope that with the help of technology and epidemic control measures, the events can still be held where circumstances permit.

Second, President, we will leverage on the country's edge in development and grasp the opportunities for future development. In this regard, many Members have clearly pointed out that it could be said that China was at the forefront in global economic recovery. Last year, when the epidemic situation was rampant, our country still managed to attain a positive growth rate of 2.3%, and the rate is expected to reach more than 6% this year. This edge is measured not only objectively, but also in terms of policies. During this period, China has insisted on opening up, undergoing reforms and reducing trade barriers in practical ways. Its door to the global market has been opened wider and wider. As the most open and internationalized city in China, Hong Kong can actually contribute in this area and share the results of the achievement. In this respect, the Policy Address has clearly stated how we can capitalize on the country's policy of "internal circulation" supported by "dual circulation", namely, by co-organizing promotional activities with the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce to enable Hong Kong enterprises to develop markets in China. We have also commissioned HKTDC to develop a brand-new digital platform called "GoGBA", which is the first direct help centre for SMEs outside Hong Kong. Meanwhile, we are also assisting Hong Kong enterprises to take advantage of the e-commerce platforms on the Mainland for online and offline promotion and use the Design Gallery network established by HKTDC on the Mainland to promote Hong Kong brands and professional services.

However, President, our work in this area has not only started today. In the past few years, Hong Kong enterprises have joined Chinese enterprises, be they owned by the Central Government, the State or private individuals, to "go global" together. In this regard, we have organized many business and trade delegations every year, including those in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. We have conducted investment and business promotion events in various areas in different parts of the world, including Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and even the Mediterranean region. We will make continuous efforts in this regard. We will identify selected places every year, and will make adjustments when necessary. When investment promotion LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3287 events cannot be held, we will work online and offline. We have also made achievements in this regard. For example, recently we have separately organized online trade activities with three members states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. About 1 000 participants have joined the activities. At the end of last year, we held the 5th Belt and Road Summit which attracted more than 6 000 participants from about 80 countries. These activities provided very good platforms for enterprises, professional service providers and Mainland enterprises, and enabled Hong Kong to play a role in the "dual circulation" of the country and the international world.

President, the third area that Members have commented on is that under the tense international trade relationships, how Hong Kong can make use of its own efforts and that of the country to strengthen our edges and face tough challenges and even provocations. President, when the international world or some individual trading partners have pursued unreasonable or unfair unilateralism and protectionism, have behaved like bad losers, or have even implemented measures that impede free trade or contravene international trade regulations, the SAR Government will remain neither overbearing nor servile, fight strongly for what is right and uphold the principle of defending our own rights. These reactions certainly include bringing our dispute with the United States concerning place of origin to the higher level of the World Trade Organization and activating the dispute resolution mechanism concerned.

While protecting our own rights, we must also establish partnerships. On the international arena, there are many other countries sharing our principles and goals, and standing with us to strive for our common interests, safeguard free market principles and uphold international regulations. In this regard, there is no better way than entering into bilateral or multi-lateral trade agreements. Members would have noticed that the number of Free Trade Agreements we signed with our trading partners in the past few years has doubled to eight, involving 20 economies. In addition, 22 Investment Agreements involving 31 economies have been signed. These Agreements have provided a more certain investment and business environment for the trades. We will also endeavour to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ("RCEP") Agreement as soon as possible, since more than 70% of our business is done with its signatories. Among the 15 member countries, 13 have signed Free Trade Agreements with us.

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A Member suggested that we should step up promotion and publicity efforts to build Hong Kong's image and rectify some negative or unreasonable impressions. I would like to tell Members that the entire SAR Government is collaborating with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in this regard. We will certainly safeguard our status as a separate customs territory or special economic and trade status provided under "one country, two systems" and in particular by the Basic Law, to reinforce our position in the platform of international trade. We must stress that our relationships with all trading partners are built on the principles of mutual benefits and common interests. Certainly, we must make a lot of liaison and promotion efforts to respond to negative reports by individual international media organizations, and at the same time, to collaborate with our partners, including overseas trade associations or international chambers of commerce in Hong Kong. We have been making all these efforts all along. In addition, we have focused on liaising with think tanks, leaders of the media and academia in different places of the world with the assistance of ETOs and we will continue to make these efforts. In the past year, our team has regularly liaised with these influential think tanks or media groups, or held online discussions with them on specific topics.

As regards our liaison with international media organizations, I would like to provide Members with some simple statistics. In the past year or so, I have given at least 26 interviews to international media organizations, the contents of which focused on the measures taken in Hong Kong in response to its unique circumstances. In this regard, our whole team (particularly with the assistance of ETOs and the Information Services Department) will continue with these efforts to protect Hong Kong's interests and convey a positive message to the international community.

President, I would like to adopt paragraph 37 of the Policy Address to summarize our work in respect of economic and trade development. The Chief Executive has stated clearly in that paragraph that our overall strategy for injecting a new impetus to our economy will emphasize on continuing to leverage our unique advantages under "one country, two systems", and integrating proactively into national development. We will continue to connect with the world to explore business opportunities. While promoting free trade and maintaining our market economy, the HKSAR Government is committed to playing the role of a "facilitator" and "promoter" and will join hands with enterprises to explore more market opportunities and assist professional service providers to go beyond Hong Kong. President, we will continue to collaborate with Members of the Legislative Council. The Commerce and Economic LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3289

Development Bureau will do so by participating in meetings of the relevant panel of the Legislative Council and the Subcommittee on Issues Relating to the Stimulation of Hong Kong's Economy recently formed by Members. I thank Honourable Members for their views and hope that they will support the administration of the Government as well as this motion. Thank you, President.

CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): President, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the 41 Members who put forward many constructive and valuable views in their speeches yesterday and today. They gave me a lot of food for thought.

The Chief Executive's fourth policy address was delivered in November last year. Under the theme of "Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance", she proposed more than 250 short-, medium and long-term initiatives covering a wide range of areas to capitalize on Hong Kong's traditional strengths and the opportunities for integration into the overall national development. She also adjusted the mindset of governance to drive for various significant policy changes. Here are some of the examples: implement a pilot scheme to rent hotels or guesthouses for use as transitional housing; implement a trial scheme to provide cash allowance for grassroots families which have waited for public rental housing for more than three years; introduce a pilot scheme for charging land premium at "standard rates" to expedite the redevelopment of old industrial buildings; provide subsidies for local university graduates to work in the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA"); inject equity in the Zhuhai Airport to strengthen the competitive edge of Hong Kong in aviation; and launch a Global STEM Professorship Scheme. These are just some of the examples. Generally speaking, this Policy Address not only focuses on the challenges and problems facing us, but also lays a strong and solid foundation for the long-term development of Hong Kong. The Policy Address provides a forward-looking and pragmatic blueprint for governance which fully reflects the determination and commitment of the current-term Government.

Just now, two Secretaries of Departments and eight Directors of Bureaux have responded briefly to views relating to their respective policy areas. I will now speak mainly on the implementation of "one country, two systems", the full support of the Central Government for Hong Kong, the latest development of the Anti-epidemic Fund ("AEF") and the executive-legislature relationship.

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The implementation of "one country, two systems" is a matter of great concern to all of us. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law. The Policy Address has devoted a chapter to elaborate on how the SAR Government will comprehensively, accurately and firmly implement "one country, two systems" and uphold the Basic Law. After Hong Kong has experienced the most severe political challenges since its return to the motherland, one of our urgent priorities is to restore the SAR's constitutional order and political system from chaos.

"One country, two systems" has well proven to be the best institutional arrangement for ensuring Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability over the past 23 years or so after the reunification. It laid the very foundation for Hong Kong to develop further and better. In order to ensure the robustness of "one country, two systems", the Hong Kong community, especially our young people, must have a comprehensive and correct understanding and appreciation of "one country, two systems". They have to understand that national security, territorial integrity, as well as the sovereignty and overall interests of our nation, are the bottom line that cannot be touched and should be adhered to by all Hong Kong people. After all, "one country" is the prerequisite, or foundation for "two systems", and this is the golden rule. Therefore, the healthy development of Hong Kong hinges on the enhancement of people's national consciousness and their understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, the National Security Law and "one country, two systems".

First of all, regarding national security education, the National Security Law has served as the "pillar of the ocean" for Hong Kong since its implementation last June. It has brought our law and order back onto the right track, and social stability has apparently been restored. The SAR Government will consolidate the achievements in this regard and continue to implement the letter and spirit of the National Security Law. Promotional and educational efforts will be made through different means, especially national security education at school, to help students gain a correct understanding of the National Security Law and enhance their understanding of national security and law-abiding awareness, with the aim of safeguarding national security.

The SAR Government attaches great importance to enhancing Hong Kong people's awareness of the country and their national identity, especially cultivating in youngsters a proper sense of the nation, its people and its history. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3291

It is the intrinsic duty of schools to implement national education. Schools should be committed to increasing students' understanding of the history, culture and developments of our country, strengthening education on the Constitution, the Basic Law and national security, fostering positive values among students and developing in them national cohesion as well as a sense of identity and belonging towards the nation, with a view to laying a strong foundation for our future talent to contribute to the prosperous and stable development of Hong Kong.

With a view to enhancing the public's understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, the National Security Law and "one country, two systems", the SAR Government will continue to fully step up its promotional and educational efforts for different people and groups in society by adopting a multi-pronged approach. At the school level, we will continue to provide full support to schools and teachers in this respect through, for example, curriculum enrichment, teacher training, life-wide learning activities (especially teacher and student exchange programmes in the Mainland), as well as learning and teaching resources.

As explained by the Secretary for the Civil Service just now, the Government has introduced an arrangement for new appointees to the civil service, requiring all civil servants joining the SAR Government on or after 1 July last year to take an oath or sign a declaration as one of the conditions for appointment. With regard to civil servants appointed to the civil service before 1 July last year, the Civil Service Bureau issued a circular on 15 January to promulgate the arrangement for them to take an oath or sign a declaration.

While the declaration document is just a piece of paper, it bears great and far-reaching significance and carries a symbolic meaning. This arrangement enables civil servants to openly acknowledge their due responsibilities, and manifests genuinely the country's and society's expectations of civil servants. This can further safeguard and promote the core values that should be upheld by civil servants, thereby ensuring the effective governance of the HKSAR Government and enabling us to comprehensively and accurately implement the principles of "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and "a high degree of autonomy". As for the oath-taking arrangement for other public officers, we are now actively studying this issue. The implementation details will be announced at an appropriate juncture.

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In the debate session about the Central Government's full support for Hong Kong, I would like to emphasize that China not only gives Hong Kong fundamental strength, but also provides ample opportunities. While Hong Kong's advancement hinges heavily on our country, we have, in different roles and ways, integrated ourselves into the progression pathway of our country. With the nation's unsurpassed support to our economic development, we should capitalize on the new opportunities arising from GBA Development and the Belt and Road projects, and proactively become a participant in domestic circulation and a facilitator in international circulation, so as to bring room and new impetus for Hong Kong's economic and social development.

With the Central Government's support in seven major policy directions, the benefiting measures announced in the Policy Address are far more extensive than previous ones. This is very encouraging and is one of the key highlights of the Policy Address. Taking the development of GBA as the main axle, these measures aim to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre as well as an international aviation hub, develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub, improve the infrastructure of land boundary control points between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and facilitate Hong Kong enterprises to tap the Mainland domestic market.

In particular, the Central Government strongly supports the cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in developing an international innovation and technology ("I&T") hub in GBA, and has agreed to their joint development of the Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Co-operation Zone, which comprises the Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Zone and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at the Lok Ma Chau Loop, with a view to establishing "one zone, two parks" at "one river, two banks" under the auspices of "one country, two systems". This initiative will foster the development of the ecological chain of the I&T industry in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, offering more employment and start-up business opportunities for the young people of Hong Kong. A dedicated working group has already been set up by the Security Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Government to follow up on the co-location arrangements at the new Huanggang Port.

The full support from the Central Government goes beyond helping Hong Kong integrate into the overall national development. The Central Government has also given Hong Kong a helping hand in different areas, including the prevention and control of COVID-19, which is well-known to us all. With the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021 3293 strong support and assistance of the Central Government, we have greatly enhanced our community testing capability, set up new community treatment facilities and constructed a temporary hospital. The construction works of the hospital was officially completed yesterday. These examples have clearly reflected the Central Government's long-standing care and support for Hong Kong, proving that our country has been Hong Kong's staunchest support at all times.

The Government fully understands that the persistent epidemic and relevant anti-epidemic measures have created different extent of impact upon the daily lives and employment of individuals and the operation of enterprises. Many people have lost their jobs or become underemployed while various sectors are facing heavier burden and operating difficulties. In view of these challenges, the Government introduced AEF in February last year and sought funding approval for injection into AEF from the Finance Committee ("FC") of the Legislative Council in April, September and December to enhance our anti-epidemic capability and provide suitable relief to sectors and individuals hard hit by the epidemic or affected by the anti-epidemic measures. A total financial commitment of $162.3 billion was approved for AEF.

The AEF Steering Committee chaired by me has approved a total of about 120 measures, with a total financial commitment of around $160 billion, covering a wide spectrum of sectors and groups in need. As of 18 December last year, 40 AEF projects were completed and over $130 billion were spent, benefiting more than 6.8 million persons and almost 780 000 applications had been submitted by enterprises/businesses. We have also distributed about 10 million CuMasks. While the Government will continue to implement the AEF measures underway, the AEF Steering Committee will, having regard to the development of the epidemic, views from various industry stakeholders and their actual business situation, continue to optimize the remaining balance of AEF based on the proposals put forth by the relevant bureaux and departments to provide support and assistance to sectors hard hit by the epidemic.

Coupled with the series of initiatives announced in the Budget and Policy Address delivered last year, the government relief measures have added up to an expenditure of over $310 billion, accounting for about 11% of the Gross Domestic Product.

3294 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

President, now, I would like to turn to the executive-legislature relationship. The current-term Government has repeatedly stressed that we value the Legislative Council and respect its function of keeping the executive branch in check. We have actually put our words into action. However, it is also our hope that the executive and the legislature can work together to reach a consensus on controversial issues that concern the long-term interests of Hong Kong.

The current-term Government has taken on board the views of Members, and certainly, the views of political parties, in formulating many of our policy initiatives. The alignment of statutory holidays with general holidays, the increase in the supply of convention and exhibition facilities, the promotion of the financial development of GBA, the relaxation of the threshold for lift installation under the "Universal Accessibility" Programme and the provision of subsidies to old building owners for lift modernization are some of the examples. Yesterday, some Members pointed out in their speeches that the Government had incorporated the opinions of their political parties in the Policy Address. The above are just some of the examples.

Moreover, the Chief Executive has undertaken to resume her monthly 30-minute question time and give follow-up responses to Members' questions within 30 days. The next Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session is scheduled to be held on 4 February.

On the other hand, I meet with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council House Committee every week to have a frank exchange of views on the special concerns of Members. After each meeting, I will always share our discussions with the Chief Executive, Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux. I will also inform them of the views, demands and expectations of Members and political parties on our governance and efforts, so that follow-up actions can be taken or improvements made as appropriate.

I am pleased to know that a total commitment of $37 billion sought for 13 projects had been approved by FC in the 2020-2021 legislative session. Meanwhile, some funding proposals involving another $30 billion were endorsed by the Public Works Subcommittee. As for bills, six were passed.

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President, we will continue to work closely with the Legislative Council to enhance the Government's executive ability to decide and proceed after discussions. We will work with concerted efforts for the development of Hong Kong and the well-being of the people.

President, Hong Kong and our motherland are closely linked with a shared future. Hong Kong will have a bright future ahead as long as we fully implement "one country, two systems", capitalize on our unique position under "one country, two systems" and tap new opportunities to fuse into the overall national development by exploring the best positioning and drawing up a new roadmap having regard to the nation's latest strategies.

However, both Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood have suffered a devastating blow under the epidemic. It has been a year since we took measures to fight the epidemic. We clearly understand the difficulties facing individuals and enterprises as family life, employment, schooling and social life have all been seriously disrupted. Fighting the epidemic is our top priority and the premise on which our work to revive the economy and improve people's livelihood is based. The SAR Government will adopt a wartime mindset and make every effort to strengthen epidemic control by guarding against the importation of cases and the resurgence of domestic infections. Under the principle of "early identification, early isolation and early treatment", we will spare no effort in achieving "zero infection" as stated in the Policy Address. In addition, the Government will race against time to devise a comprehensive plan for the early introduction of vaccination programmes so as to bring hope to the people. Meanwhile, the Government will expeditiously implement the initiatives proposed in the Policy Address for the good of the people and enterprises. The sun will shine again after the storm. With our concerted efforts and the support of the Central Government, Hong Kong will certainly find its way out of the predicament and strive ahead with renewed perseverance.

President, I so submit. Thank you.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): The first debate session ends.

3296 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 21 January 2021

SUSPENSION OF MEETING

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now suspend the meeting until 9:00 am tomorrow.

Suspended accordingly at 6:46 pm.