Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group:

From disarray to good governance, Hong Kong is entering a new phase of becoming more prosperous. The people of Hong Kong are eagerly looking forward to the practical solutions to the problems regarding people's wellbeing that range from land and housing to the extreme disparity between the rich and the poor, and to the development of youth. What measures will the central government take to support and help Hong Kong address these problems? Thank you.

Wang Linggui:

General Secretary Xi Jinping is very concerned about the vital interests of Hong Kong citizens. In his important address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, General Secretary Xi Jinping especially emphasized that "Currently, the biggest aspiration of Hong Kong people is to lead a better life, in which they will have more decent housing, more opportunities for starting their own businesses, better education for their children, and better care in their twilight years." General Secretary Xi Jinping hopes that the newly inaugurated HKSAR government should be "pragmatic, live up to what the people expect of it, and consider the expectations of the whole society, particularly ordinary citizens, as what it should accomplish foremost. It should be more courageous and adopt more efficient measures to overcome difficulties and forge ahead. It should make sure that all citizens in Hong Kong share more fully and fairly the fruits of development." General Secretary Xi Jinping further pointed out that we must "help young people with their difficulties in studies, employment, entrepreneurship, and purchasing of housing, so that more opportunities will be created for their development and accomplishment."

We are very pleased to see that the new HKSAR government has started to take action, setting up the Steering Committee on Land and Housing Supply and Task Force on Public Housing Projects to comprehensively promote the speed, efficiency, and the quantity of land and housing work through a multi-pronged approach. The HKSAR government also set up the Task Force to Lift Underprivileged Students out of Intergenerational Poverty and the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force, helping young people strive for upward mobility. These measures show the determination and the taking of responsibility to solve these problems. According to a recent poll released by The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) in Hong Kong, more than 80% of the surveyed grassroots citizens believe that the new HKSAR government can achieve the central government's hope that it should actively respond to those aspirations from the people.

Meanwhile, we should see that the people's concerns and difficulties in daily life that you mentioned have built up over a long period of time. It is impossible to resolve these problems in one move or with a one-size-fits-all solution. While pursuing development, we will do our utmost to address them. Going forward, the central authorities will continue to fully support Hong Kong in its efforts to seize historic opportunities offered by China's development and actively dovetail itself with the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and other national strategies such as the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The central authorities will also fully support Hong Kong in leveraging its unique advantages to carry out more extensive exchanges and close cooperation with the rest of the world, and in taking active yet prudent steps to advance reforms in order to unlock the enormous creativity and development potential of Hong Kong society. 

We believe, under the firm support of the central authorities and the sound governance of the chief executive and the government of the HKSAR in the driver's seat, the first levels to be held accountable for the governance of the region, the people of Hong Kong will work hard and devote themselves to building Hong Kong into a better home, therefore creating a better and happy future. Thank you.