Hong Kong needs a 5-year plan to ensure a smooth transition with new developments

Hong Kong’s ambition to introduce its first five-year development plan is long overdue and when introduced it will help the city move forward in an organized pace.

China has thrived on five-year plans since the days of the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai who sought to implement a socialist transformation of China.

China’s First Five-Year Plan was deeply influenced by Soviet methodologies and assistance from Soviet planners.   Industrial development was the primary goal.   With Soviet assistance in the form of both funds and experts, China began to develop industries from scratch. Consistent with the focus on developing industry, northeast China was the region which received the greatest share of state funds during the First Plan.

Planning for its 15th plan started in December and will be unveiled next month during the National People’s Congress (NPC), which will be followed by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). These “Two Sessions” meetings are traditionally held in March each year. It is understood President Xi Jinping personally took the lead in drafting the plan.

A delegation of Hong Kong deputies will attend to see how Hong Kong’s proposed five-year plan can dovetail with that of the mainland.

Five-Year Plans continue to be a central means of organizing policy in China, especially in the areas of environmental protection, education, and industrial policy.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive (CE) John Lee told local media this week that he would lead an interdepartmental task force to align Hong Kong policies with the mainland’s 15th five-year plan, which will guide China’s development from 2026 to 2030.

Once the mainland plans are released, Lee’s task force will align themselves with the specifics including any parts concerning Hong Kong.

A national plan, unveiled last October, pledged to support Hong Kong in becoming a high-end talent hub and consolidate and enhance the city’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade hub.

It also emphasized stronger cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland in areas such as the economy, trade, science and technology, and culture.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, was quoted in the local press that the initiative marked a more proactive approach in integrating Hong Kong into national development, adding that the plan represented a shift away from positive non-interventionism towards greater government involvement in economic development.

And Zhang Changwei, deputy commissioner of the foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong, told the press on Monday that the 15th five-year plan proposed to expand high-level opening up and accelerate the development of foreign-related legal systems and capabilities.

Zhang said that the rule of law had become an important arena in international rivalry, underscoring the urgent need for top-tier talent who were highly professional, well-versed in international rules and proficient in foreign-related legal affairs.

The mainland’s 5-year plans are specific driven, in most cases ensuring environment protection. China’s success in lifting its entire population out of poverty and providing internet conductivity throughout the nation can be attributed to its 5-year plan policy.

Neighbouring Macau introduced its 5-year plan policy in 2016 and has not looked back. It is time for Hong Kong to catchup, especially now with so many projects on the back burner.

These projects include the massive Northern Metropolis development, which will accommodate about 2.5 million residents and about 650,000 jobs, numerous new hospitals, housing development and new road and rail services to link them all together.

These are massive projects and a five-year plan is necessary to monitor their progress. Hong Kong has a fantastic future to look forward to, and it is absolutely necessary for it to devise its own 5-year development plan to ensure all goes smoothly and dovetail into the mainland’s 5-year plan.

Mark Pinkstone

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

So, the European Parliament has decreed that convicted felon Jimmy Lai should be set free to roam the streets of Hong Kong as if nothing happened. Their decree totally disregards a 855-page conviction reading in a court, with a higher ranking than the US, against Lai who now awaits sentencing.

Of course, the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have condemned the ruling. The Hong Kong government and China’s Foreign Ministry strongly opposed the resolution, calling it an "interference in internal affairs" and a "misinterpretation" of Hong Kong’s legal system. They emphasized that the judiciary operates independently and that Lai’s trial was based on factual evidence. The officials stated that the resolution was politically motivated and did not conform to international law.

The Europeans are under the false impression that Lai was prosecuted for “freedom of expression and democracy in Hong Kong”, a fallacy carefully orchestrated by a multi-million-dollar publicity campaign.

The people of Hong Kong are fed up with the Jimmy Lai case so-much-so that the Legislative Council took the unusual step by issuing a statement that all members fully support the statements issued by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong and the HKSAR Government, and firmly believe that the HKSAR Government will resolutely implement the national security laws, while protecting the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents under the “one country, two systems” principle.

What was telling during the debate was that the swaying arguments were presented by Lai’s dutiful son Sebastien and his public relations-cum-legal advisor Caoilfhionn Gallagher, KC. There was no input from the Hong Kong side, which presumably, did not recognise the debate. It was, after all a non-binding resolution and served merely for its publicity value.

Gallagher and her team including another KC, Jonathan Price, are fully aware of the law and know very well that they have crossed the red line by undermining Hong Kong’s legal system. Gallagher continually calls it a “sham or show” trial with full knowledge that the city’s judiciary ranks among the highest in the world. (The World Justice Project released the Rule of Law Index 2025 and Hong Kong's ranking in the Index continues to be 6th in East Asia and the Pacific, and 24th out of 143 countries and jurisdictions globally, two points above the US). It is generally a no-no for the legal profession to criticize the judiciary.

The parliamentary session in Strasbourg, France called for European Union members to suspend extradition treaties with mainland China and Hong Kong, in addition to calling for the European Commission to initiate the suspension of the city's status under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Hong Kong has been a member of the WTO in its own right since its founding in 1995 and will continue to do so. There is no way in which the WTO will suspend Hong Kong’s membership. The resolution is a tall order that means nothing. Of the 720-strong parliament, 503 voted in favour of the resolution, nine against and 100 abstentions.

It was obvious that none of those who voted in favour of the resolution had read the conviction notes of three High Court judges who found Lai guilty of sedition-related charges. If they had, they would have voted against the resolution.

However, publicity was minimal and it is understood it received no traction what-so-ever within Europe. The press releases were issued by Gallagher’s law firm of Doughty Street Chambers in London and reached only a handful of papers in the UK and the wire services to reach Hong Kong.

The resolution on ‘The conviction and imminent sentencing of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong’ is the fourth time that the European Parliament has formally raised the Jimmy Lai detention at the behest of Gallagher and her team. And each time it gets nowhere as the parliament itself has no teeth, except for being a public relations vehicle.