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Following is a speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the Hong Kong Economic Summit 2006 today (December 1) (translation):
Open our doors to new talent and unleash its potential
Mr Kam Kwok-leung, Ms Lam Joy-shan, Mr Charles Lee, distinguished guests and friends,
"A barren island with hardly a house upon it." That was how British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston described Hong Kong over a century ago. Indeed, Hong Kong does lack natural resources and expansive fertile cropland. Hong Kong did not become one of the most affluent economies in the world, as we are today, because of our natural resources. Rather, it was because of our people. Human capital is indisputably the most crucial factor driving our transformation from a barren island to a premier international financial centre. Varied as our views on Hong Kong's future direction might be, there is no doubt that we need to recruit and nurture more people of higher quality, vitality and creativity.
Economic takeoff powered by pool of talent
Thanks to our pool of talent, Hong Kong has enjoyed rapid and sustained economic success for more than half a century. In the 1950s, the influx of entrepreneurs from Shanghai hastened our industrialisation. In the 1970s, European and American professionals moving to Hong Kong triggered our development as a cosmopolitan city. Entrepreneurs and people with specialised skills coming across the boundary in the 1990s helped foster a closer economic partnership between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Notably, as a result of the large number of returning emigrants in recent years and the continuous arrival of multinational companies, there has been a brain gain of people with both international outlook and experience as well as local knowledge. Their overseas business and technological know-how as well as personal networks further add to our global connectivity, truly making Hong Kong an international city.
The strength of managerial and professional personnel reflects an ongoing upgrading of our workforce. The number of managers, administrators and professionals in Hong Kong has doubled over the last two decades and stood at 490,000 last year. In other words, there are 15 managers or professionals per each 100 working people. They are the linchpin of the community and an important driving force for our economy.
Harness our edge to attract global talent
American economist William Schultz says, "Mankind's future is not foreordained by space, energy and cropland. It will be determined by the intelligent evolution of humanity." In this era of globalisation and knowledge-based economies, competition among countries and different areas for talent is increasingly fierce. Moving towards a knowledge-based economy comprising mainly high value-added services, it is imperative for us to maintain our edge in attracting talent in order to enhance our competitiveness and upgrade our international status and quality of life. As Asia's world city, Hong Kong needs to draw on the best international talent. As a versatile service hub of the region, Hong Kong needs more professionals in various disciplines of high value-added services, including those for the financial services sector. As a bridge between the Mainland and the international community, Hong Kong needs a large number of intermediaries well conversant with both sides. Looking ahead, Hong Kong aspires to see the convergence of not only global capital, but also global talent.
Talent is attracted to Hong Kong, a tiny city of about 1,100 square kilometres, not by our landscape or resources. They are attracted by our strong foundations - the rule of law, a clean government, a level playing field for business, and free flow of news and information. Our attraction also lies in the blend of East and West, the cosmopolitan tempo and wonderful entertainment and leisure activities. Soccer fans from Britain, for instance, will not miss their Premier League because we have live broadcasts of as many matches as they do in their home country. NBA followers from the US can tune in to many local TV channels for the games. As talents converge here, so do gourmets. In addition to traditional Chinese and Western food, we boast exquisite Japanese, French and Italian cuisines, as well as exotic Indian, Russian and Mediterranean flavours. Eating habits are no cause for concern either. Our many and various restaurants are complemented by numerous megastores selling cooking ingredients from all corners of the globe. Also, our international schools will provide children of expatriates with a holistic, quality education.
While these strengths and supporting facilities may have been taken for granted by people in Hong Kong, they are in fact major attractions for talent elsewhere. With sustained support and opportunities, Hong Kong will draw in even more talented people. And we stand to benefit from greater prosperity brought by this talent and vice versa.
Creating an environment to attract overseas talent
We, of course, cannot be complacent. Amid the global competition for human capital, we must continue to create an enabling environment to attract talent to Hong Kong.
To keep ourselves abreast with the times, we must develop new, comprehensive and forward-looking manpower policies with a view of Hong Kong's future development, enabling us to attract talent from the Mainland and other places in a more effective and extensive manner. We are considering a new admission scheme to allow specifically qualified elites from the Mainland and overseas to reside in Hong Kong, without first having to secure a local employment offer before they arrive. They can then decide whether to settle here long term. Based on overseas experiences, our preliminary thinking involves the introduction of an objective points system. Applicants will be assessed according to their age and qualifications in academic, professional and other areas. The Security Bureau is working on the details with a view to launching the scheme in the first half of next year. We will introduce measures commensurate with the latest economic landscape in order to attract talent. I firmly believe that high quality people are the source of our foundation for development; they will create jobs and help boost Hong Kong's competitiveness and economy. Such people will epitomise the pluralism and vitality of Hong Kong.
Nurturing local talent through investing in education
While drawing global talent to Hong Kong is important, nurturing local talent must not be overlooked. The SAR Government places special emphasis on education, training and retraining. The resources put into education exceeded $58 billion this financial year, representing almost a quarter of the Government's expenditure, which is higher than in many developed areas. Imagine if all this money was piled up in $1,000 notes, it would be even taller than the IFC Two building. We put many more resources into education than other areas and will press ahead steadily with education reform. Through the pilot study on small class teaching and the introduction of a new academic structure at senior and higher education levels, we will enhance the effectiveness of teaching and ensure that a new generation of talent will be trained up to meet the challenges of our time.
In a time of drastic changes, it is the lifelong learners who will inherit the future. To create a favourable environment for life-long learning, our education and qualifications systems should provide multiple progression pathways to facilitate the growth of talent and upgrade the quality of our workforce. In 2004, the Government decided to set up a qualifications framework (QF) and its associated quality assurance mechanism to provide guidance for individuals to map out their own goals and directions of learning. With this framework in place, training courses provided by various bodies should be more relevant to the industry needs. The Education and Manpower Bureau is working with different industries and sectors of the community to implement the QF by phases. The Bill relating to the quality assurance mechanism is under the scrutiny of the Legislative Council.
Protecting labour rights to build a harmonious society.
If manpower is the linchpin of economic development, our labour force is the driving force behind Hong Kong's economic success over the past five decades. Our success today owes much to our hardworking, persevering working men and women. I understand that our workers have to face many challenges in the past few years as a result of the Asian financial crisis, SARS, economic restructuring and relocation of jobs. In mid-November, I had frank dialogues with representatives of the labour sector and grass-roots workers to listen to their concerns and aspirations. I deeply appreciate the difficulties faced by our workers. The SAR Government will adopt an open and sincere attitude to the issues of their concern, including a minimum wage, standard working hours and wage offences.
The Labour Advisory Board, comprising representatives from employees, employers and the Government, is now conducting an in-depth study of the question of a minimum wage and standard working hours. I hope to see some concrete progress on this subject of concern of various sectors of the community from the board in the months ahead. If not, I am pleased to put it to the Commission on Strategic Development for further deliberation so that views from all sectors of the community can be garnered and consensus reached with a view to concluding the matter and avoiding constant arguments in the community.
Apart from wages and working hours, the problem of wage defaults is also of considerable concern to employees. I can assure you that the Government will continue its stringent enforcement action against wage offences. We will take more targeted action against these offences through intelligence collection and analysis, planning and investigation. To strengthen the deterrent effect on offending employers, we propose to amend the Employment Ordinance to raise the maximum penalty for wage offences. The Bill, which seeks to raise the maximum penalty from the existing fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for one year to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years, will be gazetted tomorrow (December 2) and introduced into the Legislative Council for the first reading on December 14.
Ladies and gentlemen, most of you here are managers or even bosses. Why should I talk about the concerns of grass-roots workers, such as a minimum wage, standard working hours and wage default offences here? It is because I want to make it clear that the interests of the workers and the overall interests of the economy do not conflict with each other. A happy working environment, a strong sense of belonging and harmonious labour relations can boost productivity so everybody can share the fruit of prosperity and stability in the end. We will be proactive in exploring ways to further protect the local workforce and make it an underlying principle of our governance to protect labour rights, to promote labour relations and to build a harmonious society. We want our grassroots workers and the community at large to be able to live and work happily in Hong Kong.
Flow of human capital fostering regional cooperation
With the advent of globalisation and regionalisation, the flow of human capital within regions and all over the world will be even faster. The deepening cooperation within the Pan-Pearl River Delta, in particular, will provide an important platform for the flow of human capital within the region. To us, this is both an opportunity and a serious challenge. According to a survey conducted by the Central Policy Unit, there are currently 290,000 Hong Kong residents living on the Mainland, most of whom are managers, administrators and professionals. We anticipate more residents of Hong Kong will live and work on the Mainland following further economic integration between the two places.
Presented with opportunities but facing challenges as well, we need to adopt new thinking on human capital. Through open competition we draw talent from all over the world and wisely utilise human resources. Allow talent to converge here to serve Hong Kong would facilitate our economic integration with the Mainland and the region. The SAR Government will formulate policies to enhance the standard of our education, to deploy our first-class education resources to nurture talent for the region and to attract high-quality students to study in Hong Kong. All these help promote the flow of human capital within the region and upgrade the quality of our workforce, pooling talent who feel a strong attachment to the country and who aspire to reach out to the world.
Conclusion
Dr Sun Yat-sen said that all would prosper if people could give full play to their talents. Hong Kong must not set any limits on attracting talented people and it must let them give full play to their abilities. The SAR Government is committed to creating a favourable environment for people to do business, to work and to live here, and to making Hong Kong a true Asian world city where talented people converge and thrive.
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, December 1, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:14
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