Policy address 2025: Hong Kong’s John Lee vows reforms on economy – as it happened
He will head team to speed up Northern Metropolis, vows tougher scrutiny of civil servants and moves for city to be hub for education, tourism, AI and even a ‘pet economy’
Hong Kong’s leader has delivered his fourth policy address, vowing to improve people’s livelihoods, which he says is his “ultimate objective in governance”.
Halfway through his annual blueprint, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled a new system to hold senior civil servants accountable, allowing the government to slash underperforming officials’ salaries, order compulsory retirement or even dismiss them.
He also vowed to take personal charge of expediting the development of the Northern Metropolis near the border with mainland China by chairing a new decision-making body overseeing the megaproject.
The blueprint is considered crucial to Lee as he has less than two years to deliver on his agenda before his current term expires in mid-2027.
Key points:
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Dedicated legislation and a committee chaired by the city leader to speed up work on the Northern Metropolis
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Accountability system for senior civil servants to be set up
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Stock and bond markets to be strengthened; gold trading market to be built up
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Cash-for-residency scheme to be enhanced by lowering the residential property transaction price threshold from HK$50 million to HK$30 million
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Non-local undergraduate quota to be increased at public universities; semi-private primary and secondary schools to admit more non-local students on a self-funded basis
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International recognition of the city’s public examinations to be promoted
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Economic and Trade Office to be set up in Kuala Lumpur; network to be expanded to Latin America and Central Asia
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Developing a yacht economy
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Increasing subsidised housing supply to offer more home-buying options
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Measures to be rolled out to support SMEs
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New requirements to be imposed on employers applying to bring in imported labour
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High-level working group to be set up on ageing society strategies
Reporting by Leopold Chen, Denise Tsang, Ambrose Li, Lo Hoi-ying, Oscar Liu, Elizabeth Cheung, Jess Ma, Edith Lin, Connor Mycroft, Jeffie Lam and Matthew Cheng