Delay Raises Our Policy Address Hopes: Pro-govt Camp

The pro-establishment camp said on Monday that a delay to this year's Policy Address will give the Chief Executive more time to present a better blueprint for Hong Kong.

New People’s Party lawmaker Eunice Yung said she and her colleagues never had any high hopes about the address Lam had planned for Wednesday.

So the CE's decision to postpone it as she asks Beijing for help with the economy will actually lead to policies worth looking forward to, Yung said.

The legislator was speaking hours after Lam announced she would delay her Policy Address by at least a month, because she will visit Beijing to hold talks on how the central government can help revive Hong Kong's economy.

"Originally we didn’t have any high hopes, but today the Chief Executive said she has proposed a series of measures to the central government for it to support us. I think this will restore our confidence in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government. That makes it a Policy Address that is worth the anticipation and worth the wait," said Yung.

Speaking to reporters alongside Yung, the Federation of Trade Unions’ Alice Mak also called on Lam to use this extra month’s time to come up with some assistance for the jobless – something the SAR administration has rejected repeatedly.

Mak also urged Lam to roll out any labour policies already in the Policy Address as soon as they are ready, instead of waiting until the annual policy speech.

Executive councillor Jeffrey Lam, who’s also a lawmaker from the Business and Professionals Alliance, said Hong Kong has to rely on the mainland, because if the SAR government keeps handing out financial assistance, six months from now it will have no money left.

DAB chairwoman Starry Lee, meanwhile, said her party respects and understands the decision.

Lee said Hong Kong is under "a new norm" in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as major economies in Europe and the US continue to struggle, Hong Kong must bank on the mainland.

The pro-establishment camp also called for the SAR to launch a so-called healthcode system to allow people who test negative for the coronavirus to travel between the territory and the mainland without having to observe quarantine rules.