Chief Executive John Lee delivers his first Policy Address on Wednesday, as the 13th National People’s Congress continues its fifth annual session in Beijing. Scroll down for our full coverage.

116,600 young Hongkongers left workforce in past 2 years
Chief Executive John Lee earlier said Hong Kong had lost 140,000 people from its local work and needed to attract more talent from overseas.

Hong Kong’s social divisions should be recognised, not wished away
“John Lee wants unity, social cohesion, and solidarity in Hong Kong. To damn discussion of collusion as the language of divisive enemies is to deny the reality that Hong Kong is divided along social class and political lines,” writes John Burns.

Explainer: Hong Kong’s national security crackdown – month 28
Several minors were convicted under the security law, media tycoon Jimmy Lai lost a bid to prevent police seeing journalistic material on his phone, an autistic civil servant was jailed for “sedition,” and national education is to be strengthened for kindergarten students.

Hong Kong Policy Address: Civil service reform needs more than a carrot and stick scheme
“Effective governance requires engaging the people, building partnerships broadly not just with business, and sharing decision making authority, to co-produce the results we all want,” writes John Burns.

Hong Kong Policy Address: Talent attraction measures should be broader, say business chamber heads
“There are many more talented people in many, many different fields… only focusing on technical background is not wise for an international city,” Eden Woon, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said of Chief Executive John Lee’s Policy Address.

Hong Kong’s John Lee defends labour sec.’s criticism of political cartoonist mocking talent attraction scheme
The Ming Pao cartoon depicted an advertisement of Hong Kong “urgently” seeking world-class talent, prioritising those who are “accepting of strict governance.”

Hong Kong Policy Address: How much of John Lee’s maiden speech was old wine in new bottles?
Chief Executive John Lee might not have mentioned Lantau Tomorrow Vision, a mega development project announced by his predecessor Carrie Lam, but it lives on in his Policy Address – as do many preexisting plans.

Hong Kong Policy Address: 1,000 days on, still no roadmap out of Covid rules that impoverished thousands
Welfare advocates and green groups highlight what they see as stark omissions from John Lee’s Policy Address.

Hong Kong Policy Address: 30,000 new transitional public flats will not be ‘remodelled containers,’ officials say
Housing Secretary Winnie Ho said the prefabricated units would each have their own bathroom and a place to cook, as well as basic facilities such as air conditioning and water heaters.

Hong Kong Policy Address: John Lee urged to set timetable for further Covid relaxations, and local security law
Chief Executive John Lee says preparatory work for a new security law is important in the face of foreign threats such as “colour revolutions.”

Hong Kong Policy Address: Satisfaction rate for John Lee’s first speech lowest among all ex-leaders – survey
Donald Tsang, who took over in 2005, saw the highest satisfaction rate of 47.7 per cent, followed by Lee’s predecessor Carrie Lam at 47.5 per cent.

Hong Kong Policy Address: Lawmaker, vulnerable residents take aim at John Lee’s plans to tackle poverty
Tik Chi-yuen, a lawmaker from the social welfare sector, said that Chief Executive John Lee “did not do his homework” when it came to policies on alleviating poverty.

Hong Kong Policy Address: John Lee has responded to China’s Xi Jinping’s order to tackle housing crisis, lawmakers say
A non-pro-establishment legislator and civil society groups criticised Lee’s Light Public Housing scheme as failing to tackle the worsening housing crisis.

Hong Kong Policy Address: Leader John Lee unveils strategies and new visa to attract overseas talent and firms amid exodus
A new two-year “Top Talent Pass Scheme” will allow high earners and graduates of the world’s top universities to come to Hong Kong without first having secured a job offer.

Hong Kong Policy Address: Talent attraction schemes do not address mass exodus, critics say
Lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said the government should identify the industries in which there are manpower shortages and work with local universities to nurture the respective talents.

Hong Kong Policy Address: ‘Review’ of District Councils to be conducted in line with ‘patriots-only’ rule
Pro-democracy activists swept the District Council elections in 2019, but many have since resigned or been ousted over an oath-taking requirement, leaving hundreds of seats vacant.

Hong Kong Policy Address: New rail link among 6 major infrastructure projects, public transport subsidy extended
The city’s leader discussed six major infrastructure projects in his first Policy Address, including the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link proposed by his predecessor.
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