Carrie Lam To Deliver Policy Address On Nov 25

The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, says she plans to deliver her Policy Address on November 25 after delaying it for over a month, adding that it will likely incorporate measures by the central government to help boost the local economy.

Lam made the announcement on Tuesday, just hours before she was due to leave for Beijing and Guangdong on a four-day trip.

She said she and five of her ministers will meet with officials from several mainland departments to discuss how they can help revive the SAR’s economy in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of her plans, she said, is to ask officials there to lift a 14-day quarantine requirement for Hong Kong residents travelling up north.

The CE added that she will also discuss with authorities how the SAR could be better integrated into the nation’s macro development plans.

Other topics on the agenda include Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area strategy, and potential assistance by Beijing in areas like finance, technology and aviation.

When asked if she has enough time to rewrite her Policy Address before the end of the month, Lam said timing shouldn’t be a problem.

“I cannot keep on delaying my Policy Address because this is an annual occasion for the Chief Executive to explain to the public what we could expect in the coming year,” Lam said.

“For the moment I don’t see any major hurdle to that, because once the trip has taken place, whether I’m going to get a lot, or not a lot of those support measures, it is still time to release the Policy Address for people to know where things stand,” she added.

Her address was originally scheduled to be delivered on October 14, which clashed with a ceremony to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the setting up of a special economic zone in Shenzhen, attended by President Xi Jinping.

Lam attended the event as well, but said that was not the reason why she postponed her annual policy speech.

Instead, she stressed that she decided to delay it because she wanted to ask Beijing for economic assistance, and incorporate any such measures into her policy initiatives.