The Chief Executive’s, John Lee Ka-chiu, annual policy address painted a bright future for Hong Kong with his opening remarks concentrating on the Northern Metropolis development and advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).
His address was very bullish despite the world being in a state of turmoil due to the on-off-on policies of the US administration. But undaunted, Lee closed his speech with “the Pearl of the Orient will keep shining brighter than ever before.”
Hong Kong has achieved many accolades for its accomplishments in 2024 and Lee is determined that the city will not sit on its laurels and will move forward with even more ambitious plans for the years ahead.
In his eyes the future for Hong Kong lies in artificial intelligence which will come with the development of the Northen Metropolis along the boundary with Shenzhen. He appears to have been concerned by the progress of the development and has set up a series of initiatives to speed up progress. The plan is massive with the land area and planned population intake accounting for about one-third of Hong Kong’s total.
He plans to set up a working group on devising development and operation models, and another on planning and construction of the proposed university town in Hung Shui Kiu (near Yuen Long) next year. Another site available will be in Ngau Tam Mei in 2028 which can dovetail with the overall I&T development of the San Tin Technopole and life and health technology industries. It will also be used for joint development with a third medical school and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.
The overall project will be under a committee on development of the Northern Metropolis chaired personally by the CE while the two working groups will be led by the Financial Secretary, the Chief Secretary for Administration respectively. A third working group on planning and development will be led by the Deputy Financial Secretary.
He also plans to remove barriers and ease restrictions to streamline administrative procedures by introducing a fast track processing system and implementing a phased development approach. This will include pilot low-density facilities, such as retail, entertainment and convention and exhibition facilities to be developed initially to attract businesses, by bringing income to the area to create momentum before long-term development is rolled out.
Straddling the Shenzhen River (the boundary between Hong Kong and the mainland) is the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone comprising the Shenzhen Park and the Hong Kong Park. The two parks will promote collaboration in the development of I&T. Three buildings in the Hong Kong Park have been completed and tenants from life and health technology, microelectronics, new energy, AI and other pillar industries are gradually moving in.
Lee said that AI is the key driving force of a new round of scientific and technological revolution, as well as industrial transformation. “With our advantages in scientific research, capital, data and talent, together with abundant use cases, Hong Kong is poised to become a global hub for AI development,” he said.
The government has earmarked HK$1 billion for the establishment of the Hong Kong AI Research and Development (R&D) Institute in 2026, to facilitate upstream AI R&D. Earlier, the Government launched the $3 billion Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme which will help fund universities to attract international top-notch scientific researchers in AI.
Lee highlighted the many advantages of AI as well as its efforts to nurture local and attract overseas and Mainland AI professionals. These include setting up the AIR@InnoHK research cluster that has pooled over a thousand experts. And, combined with nearly a thousand AI companies that have gathered in our I&T parks, this helps enhance our AI R&D capabilities and lay the foundations for wide-ranging AI applications.
AI is everywhere in today’s modern world and to further enhance the efficacy of the Government, he has set up an AI Efficacy Enhancement Team to coordinate and steer government departments to apply AI technology effectively to their work and promote technological reform in departments to improve efficacy.
The CE’s address was long (two hours and 40-minutes) and very detailed but covered every aspect of life in Hong Kong. It was all good news and when all policies are implemented Hong Kong will maintain its position on the top rung of superlatives.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
The apply-named Stephen Roach wonders why no one agreed to his speech at the 6th US-China Hong Kong Forum at the Fullerton Hotel in Hong Kong last month. He had returned to his old habit of damning Hong Kong to an audience sympathetic to China and its southern pearl.
And he made no apologies for his statements in a follow-up on TVB’s Straight Talk program on Tuesday evening. In fact, he stood by his convictions that if China falls, Hong Kong falls. In other words, Hong Kong was too dependent on China.
Roach’s address “Beyond the Middleman: Hong Kong’s Influence in Superpower Rivalry” questioned whether Hong Kong’s unique features allow it to play an independent role in tempering geopolitical rifts, such as the one between the US and China. “Hong Kong’s capacity to serve as an honest broker in the Sino-American conflict has been compromised by China’s heavy hand,” he told his audience. So says a man living under the shadow of a national capital whose heavy hand is virtually controlling every major city in the US and crippling the national economy.
Roach was former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, based in Hong Kong and is currently a faculty member of Yale University.
He suggests that locals chafe at the suggestion that Hong Kong has become “another big Chinese city”. Of course it is, like New York in the US, Sydney in Australia and London in the UK. The difference being is that Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy with a rule of law different from its motherland. It is the common law system practiced in all British Commonwealth countries plus the US. The mainland practices the civil law system used in all other places, such as Europe. Being “another big Chinese city” is a reality and something we are proud of. Only the separates’ movement differ in opinion.
Again, he has a dig at our judicial system and the resignation of a number of foreign judges sitting on the Court of Final Appeal, drawing on the critique of former British Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption who gathers his opinions from Hong Kong separate activists in the House of Lords.
According to the 2025 World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong’s overall rule of law score ranks 24th out of 143 countries worldwide. Regionally, Hong Kong ranks 6th out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific.
He argues that the Hong Kong of old has been replaced by a new version that more closely resembled a China-centric administrative region, with Deng Xiaoping’s model of “one country, two systems” morphing into “one country, one system.” He cited three reasons for believing this: First, Hong Kong’s economy, which is tightly correlated with the Chinese economy, remains weighed down by China’s protracted sluggishness. Second, the Chinese government’s post-2019 crackdown continues to weaken the rule of law, free speech, and press freedom in Hong Kong.
Third, Hong Kong is caught in the crossfire of the worsening Sino-American conflict, driving a wedge between the city, whose growth depends heavily on economic openness, and some of its trading partners.
Hong Kong’s economy is doing very well. In the latest World Population Review, Hong Kong was placed fourth in the world for net inflows of foreign investments. It is estimated that the total foreign investment in 2024 brought to Hong Kong's economy exceeds more than HK$67.7 billion, which also represents a record high and a nearly 10 per cent increase compared to 2023. These companies expected to create 6,864 job opportunities in Hong Kong during their first year of operation, an over 67 per cent increase compared to 2023.
There has been no weakening of the rule of law, in fact it has been strengthened by China’s national security laws and local safeguarding Hong Kong’s security laws. It’s worth noting that in the 2025 World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Hong Kong scored third place for law and order in 15 regional countries.
He talks of a shrinking expat talent pool yet Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced a record-breaking year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2024, assisting 539 overseas and Mainland companies to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong. This represents a 41 per cent increase compared to 2023, reflecting the strong appeal of Hong Kong as a leading business hub in the region.
He also fails to take into account the long term benefits the Northern Metropolis will bring to Hong Kong, including its magnet to draw in top class international talent from all parts of the globe. In fact, during his Straight Talk interview he appeared oblivious that such a massive plan for the future of Hong Kong enabling one third of the city’s land mass even existed.
He said for China’s stifling influence on Hong Kong’s governance, three major newspapers – Apple Daily, Stand News, and Citizen News – have closed since 2019, and other outlets such as Citizens’ Radio, FactWire, InMedia, Hong Kong Free Press, and Mad Dog Daily have either ceased operations or significantly scaled back.
The three papers which closed down did so voluntarily. Stand News and Citizen News could not be labelled “major newspapers” and Apply Daily run by Jimmy Lai currently facing trial for treason-related charges earned its wide circulation for sex and gossip coverage before turning to political commentary. There has been no scaling back on media coverage of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Free Press is a classic example of how the media can walk the red line without crossing it.
Roach is full of contradictions, swaying with the wind on public opinion. In February this year he heavily criticised Hong Kong for its deceiving appearances in a lengthy op-ed piece in the Financial Times. He later did a U-turn in a Bloomberg report in June praising Hong Kong’s successes. Now he says we’re in “for an inevitable correction.”
But he never listens. He follows the economic tractotomy all the way to 2030 and not what he has been told time and again: It’s the people who make Hong Kong tick. Hong Kong operates with one heartbeat to achieve one objective: Success!
