Legislative Council Business

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Stephen Lam, in the Legislative Council today (November 3):

Question:

The State Council gave approval to the Overall Development Plan on Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation on Modern Service Industries in Qianhai Area (Qianhai Development Plan) at the end of August this year. According to the views of the State Council in its approval, the Qianhai Development Plan should fully capitalise on Hong Kong's strengths and explore a system that is conducive to the development of modern service industries, with a view to providing a new experience for the whole nation and playing a pilot role, as well as setting up a co-ordination mechanism led by the National Development and Reform Commission with the involvement of Hong Kong and Shenzhen to resolve the problems encountered in developing the Qianhai Area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) how the Hong Kong SAR Government will participate in the conceptualisation of the Qianhai Development Plan, and whether it will take part in the work at different stages;

(b) of the latest arrangements about the aforesaid co-ordination mechanism, including when the mechanism will be set up and what its framework will be; and

(c) while Hong Kong's professional experience in modern service industries will steer the development in Qianhai Area, whether the authorities will, at the same time, examine what actual benefits and development opportunities the development of modern service industries in Qianhai Area will bring to Hong Kong; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Mr President,

The following is our reply to the questions raised by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong:

(a) According to the consensus reached between the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Municipal Government (SZMG) takes a leading role and is responsible for the development and management of Qianhai, while the SAR Government plays an advisory role by providing comments on development planning as well as the study and formulation of related policies. The SAR Government has been maintaining close liaison with SZMG. Both sides have also set up the Joint Task Force on Qianhai Co-operation since November 2009 and have discussed the relevant issues on different occasions.

The SAR Government will continue to make the best use of the existing mechanisms and channels to complement the Shenzhen side in implementing the "Overall Development Plan on Hong Kong/Shenzhen Co-operation on Modern Service Industries in Qianhai Area" (Qianhai Development Plan) under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", with a view to encouraging Hong Kong enterprises and service providers to capitalise on the business opportunities presented by the development of Qianhai to tap into the Mainland market.

(b) As the relevant authorities are now actively preparing for the implementation of the Qianhai Development Plan, specific arrangements for the setting up of the co-ordination mechanism have yet to be formulated. We will keep the Legislative Council, the media and the public informed when the arrangements are formulated.

(c) The promotion of modern service industries in Qianhai will be mutually beneficial to the future development of both Hong Kong and the Mainland by enhancing complementarities. On the one hand, this could help strengthen the competitiveness of Hong Kong service industries and open up the Mainland market so as to support the long-term economic development of Hong Kong. On the other hand, this can provide a platform for utilising Hong Kong's experience to expedite the development of a modern industry structure in the Mainland. At present, the development of Qianhai is still at the planning stage. Part of the land is pending development by the Shenzhen authorities, and the detailed arrangements in pushing forward the Qianhai Development Plan have yet to be formulated by the relevant authorities. Thus, at the present stage, we do not yet have a detailed assessment on the economic benefits to be brought to Hong Kong by the development of Qianhai. However, we are confident that the promotion of the development of modern service industries in Qianhai will create new room for economic development of Hong Kong. After three decades of opening up and economic reforms the industrialisation of the Mainland’s coastal areas has largely been completed, the development of service industries in Qianhai can bring about new opportunities to the financial, professional as well as other service industries of Hong Kong.

Ends/Wednesday, November 3, 2010