CE: Government to drive reform with new-term LegCo as election successfully concludes
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, made the following statement today (December 8) after the announcement of the results of the eighth Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election:
The eighth LegCo General Election has successfully concluded, with the election results for all 90 seats announced. On behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, I would like to extend my congratulations to all LegCo Members successfully returned. I also thank the 161 candidates from different sectors, professions and backgrounds, as well as all sectors of the community, for their active participation.
The smooth and successful conduct of the election at a time when the Hong Kong community is collectively facing a difficult period carries profound significance. It demonstrates electors' support for the Government's commitment to recovery and reform following the tragedy, and for electing capable and committed LegCo Members to drive institutional reform. It showcases the spirit of unity, mutual care and support among the people of Hong Kong.
The successful conclusion of the LegCo General Election as scheduled reflects our adherence to and respect for the constitutional order and the rule of law. The election was the second LegCo General Election held after the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" and the improved electoral system. Candidates actively participated in 39 open election forums, engaging in a high-quality, high-standard and healthy competition based on the principle of broad representation, balanced participation and fair competition.
I thank every one of the electors who have cast their vote for actively exercising their civic rights and responsibilities. Their passion for the election at this crucial time of recovery showed their unity in the face of challenges. They have elected an eighth-term LegCo composed of patriots who love Hong Kong and possess both integrity and capability, who will work with the Government in building a better Hong Kong - a home for us all.
To facilitate electors, the Government introduced a number of pioneering arrangements in this election, including extending polling hours by two hours to 16 hours, setting up Designated Polling Stations and Outreach Polling Stations for the convenience of various groups, and establishing Near Boundary Polling Stations to facilitate electors travelling to and from the Mainland and overseas. The overall polling process was smooth. The Government will review the experience to further enhance the procedures. I thank the Electoral Affairs Commission for its comprehensive and meticulous preparations, and the participation and efforts of all staff and volunteers involved in the election. Their work have ensured the election was concluded smoothly in an open, fair, honest, safe and orderly manner.
The community has gone through this difficult period brought by the fire together.I expect the eighth-term LegCo Members to join hands with the HKSAR Government to undertake support and recovery work following the tragedy. Through initiating debates, promoting the review and updating of legislation, and driving systemic reforms, we will make Hong Kong a safer city where citizens could live with greater peace of mind.
Under the executive-led system and the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", the executive and the legislature will further engage in constructive interaction, complementing each other with due checks and balances to open up new ground for Hong Kong through innovation and reform, continuously develop the economy, and enhance people's livelihood. I am confident that the new-term LegCo Members will actively engage with the community and various sectors, better understand public opinion, proffer their views and advice, and lead the deepening reforms of Hong Kong together with the HKSAR Government to create a shared future together.
Mr John Lee
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the CUHK EMBA Annual Conference today (May 9):
Professor Dennis Lo (Vice-Chancellor and President, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)), Professor Lin Zhou (Dean, CUHK Business School), Macy (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Ms Macy Chan), Michael (Chairperson of Organizing Committee, Mr Michael Chan), CUHK EMBA alumni and students, business leaders, distinguished guests and friends,
Good evening.
Addressing a room full of Executive MBA students and graduates is both an honour and a privilege. There is a particular kind of ambition in this room — one that is not content with success alone, but driven to understand it more deeply, in the belief that better ideas lead to greater impact.
That kind of commitment — to learning, to growth, to asking harder questions — is precisely what today's conversation is about.
The theme of this conference, which focuses on innovation and agile leadership, could not be more timely. Most of us here have lived through the Internet age and the smartphone revolution, which made communication faster and more seamless than anyone had imagined.
Today, the rise of AI places us at a more fundamental tipping point. Technology is not merely changing the answers — it is redefining the questions themselves.
Consider what is already within reach. An AI assistant can learn your preferences, curate a personalised shortlist, and simply ask for your confirmation. We should even ask whether the smartphone and the search engine will remain our primary gateways to the digital world, or whether something altogether new is already taking shape.
To draw an analogy, the power of technology does not lie in drawing the old map with greater precision. It lies in revealing how much of that map remains uncharted — and in showing us that entirely new maps, with new co-ordinates, are being drawn.
This redefinition is unfolding across three dimensions simultaneously.
First, the redefinition of products. Products are no longer discrete, standalone objects. A smart car is a vehicle, but also a mobile platform for data. An insurance policy can be a contract, but equally a dynamic reflection of health data. Innovation today is born from cross-sector convergence and continuous evolution.
Second, the redefinition of services. Services are no longer delivered solely by enterprises. They emerge from collaborative networks of people and AI. But the more profound shift is in what customers now expect. In the past, good service meant reaching the right person quickly. Today, customers expect a solution that anticipates their needs before articulating them. This requires a new architecture of service delivery: human and machine, with AI handling the scale, the speed, and the personalisation that no human team alone could sustain.
Third, and most importantly, the redefinition of business models. In the past, we sought optimal solutions within established frameworks — when demand rose, we expanded capacity; when service needs grew, we opened more branches. Technology invites us to break out of those frameworks entirely. Intelligent manufacturing means that "economies of scale" is no longer the only answer; flexible supply chains have made customised, on-demand production the new normal.
These three redefinitions are opening a commercial frontier unlike anything we have seen before. But if the benefits of technology accrue only to a small circle, its power remains fundamentally constrained. This brings me to the second message I want to leave with you today: inclusivity.
Inclusivity is not charity. Yet it is the smartest business strategy available. The unmet needs of the broader public represent the largest and most underserved market opportunity in existence. When you make quality healthcare, education and financial services accessible and affordable to ordinary residents, you are not serving a group in need of handouts — you are unlocking a vast market that traditional business models have consistently overlooked.
Hong Kong has a distinctive role to play here. We can be a co-architect of standards, a hub for capital, and a bridge between innovation and real-world deployment — from clinical validation of smart healthcare, to green technology financing, to regulatory sandboxes for fintech. Our contribution draws not only on institutional strengths and international networks, but on our genuine commitment to broad-based participation.
Yet inclusive products and services are only the first step. The deeper dimension is empowerment.
History reminds us that the dividends of technological revolution need to be actively guided to reach the many. In the age of steam, and again in the Internet era, early gains concentrated among capital owners and top-tier talent. But today we have the opportunity to write a different story. AI, as an amplifier of human capability, is already enabling what was previously unimaginable: a solo entrepreneur, with the right tools and the right vision, can build a unicorn.
In other words, the unit of competitive advantage is shifting — from the size of your team to the skill with which you orchestrate your tools.
Our mission should be to make that shift available to everyone. To turn individual readiness into collective prosperity, and to ensure that the productivity gains of AI flow broadly across the society.
This is precisely why, in this year's Budget, I placed such emphasis on the "AI Training for All" initiative.
We are not trying to turn everyone into an engineer. We are ensuring that workers, managers, SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) owners, and ordinary residents become capable collaborators with AI: people who can access it, use it effectively, and put it to work as their assistant.
That may sound ambitious, but consider this: if AI can one day be as intuitive as the smartphone, then mass adoption is not difficult to imagine at all. Just as computers once migrated from specialist facilities into offices and homes, AI will find its way into everyone's daily work and life.
For business leaders, it may be tempting to think of AI as "digital employee" that can replace existing workers. But think of a different framing: equipping your workforce with powerful digital assistants can achieve productivity gains, while also freeing your people to do what humans do best — create, imagine and innovate.
Companies that take those extra steps, and think those extra moves ahead, will find that an empowered workforce is also a more innovative one.
All in all, the power of technology must ultimately be measured by its contribution to inclusive growth. And inclusive growth, in the end, depends on, yes, commercial acumen — but also empathy, compassion, and the conviction that a rising tide should lift all boats. I can see that those qualities live in this room.
I will close with this thought. Someone once joked that economists know the price of everything and the value of nothing. With AI, let us never fall into the same trap — in our race to price every efficiency gain, let us not lose sight of the deeper value we are trying to create: a society where the fruits of innovation are broadly shared, and where technology lifts not just the fortunate few, but everyone willing to reach for it.
So here is my ask: let us grow the pie together. And make sure we cut it well.
Thank you very much.
Source: AI-found images
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Speech by FS at CUHK EMBA Annual Conference Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Source: AI-found images
