Remarks by CE at media session before ExCo (with video)
Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (May 19):
Reporter: Good morning, Mr Lee. A few questions. President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, agreed to build a constructive relationship of strategic stability during talks last week. What's the significance of that to Hong Kong, and how will that impact the SAR? And on the number of ride-hailing licences the Government is going to issue, how would the Government determine that number amid concerns over not enough vehicles for ride-hailing, and the impact on the taxi trade? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The visit to China by the US President is a historic and landmark one. The two heads of government have agreed to set up a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability and reached important consensus to keep economic and trade ties stable, expand practical co-operation in various fields, and properly address each other's concerns. This is of great significance.
A constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability means stability with co-operation as the mainstay, competition within proper limits, appropriate management of differences, and prospects of peace. China and the US have also achieved positive outcomes in economic and trade discussions, covering areas such as tariff arrangements, trade and investment co-operation, market access, and purchase of items.
The consensus reached by the two heads of government injects more certainty and stability into China-US economic and trade relationship and the global economy. Such certainty and stability is beneficial to Hong Kong's economic and trade development, beneficial to Hong Kong-US trade, and also beneficial to the world trade.
Hong Kong is an externally oriented economy susceptible to the influence of the main market. More certainty and stability in the market will greatly reduce the impact of external turbulence on Hong Kong, allowing Hong Kong to focus more on building a vibrant economy, pursuing development and construction, and improving people's livelihood. The positive outcomes of this summit meeting between the two heads of government have given me even greater confidence in Hong Kong's positive future development.
Regarding ride hailing, over the past decade or so, ride-hailing services have operated without a proper legal framework. Through sustained efforts, the current Government has changed the situation and filled the regulatory gap. The Government put in place the legal framework for regulating ride-hailing services in October last year and enacted the principal legislation. On the number of ride-hailing vehicles, the principal legislation has already stipulated that overall control on the number will be implemented. Different sectors of society, including online car-hailing platform operators, the taxi trade, and the community, have expressed different views. The Transport and Logistics Bureau is gathering views from the community and the trade and will use the actual data and situation to carefully formulate an appropriate proposal.
At the first stage of implementing overall control, I think we need to strike a balance among the following factors: First, address the public's travel needs, so that their riding experience remains more or less the same. Second, take into account Hong Kong's unique circumstances, including road capacity, and the fact that nearly 90 per cent of daily passenger trips are made using public transport services. Third, establish a mechanism to monitor actual market operations and data and conduct dynamic assessments and reviews.
The Government's objective in setting up the regulatory regime for ride-hailing services is to ensure that ride-hailing services operate within a lawful, appropriate, and safe framework while fostering healthy competition and complementarity between taxi and ride-hailing services, thus enhancing the overall quality of point-to-point transport services and providing the public with more convenience and options. While putting the regulatory regime in place, the Government will introduce enhanced penalties and tighten vehicle impoundment arrangements to combat unlicensed vehicle operations and to protect lawful operators and compliant operators as well as passengers. The Government will consider views from all parties and relevant data and aim to submit the subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council within the first half of this year. Thank you.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, Photo source: reference image
