The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met with the Secretary of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, Mr Yu Weiguo, at Government House at noon today (October 8). The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; and the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, also attended the meeting.

     Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Yu's visit to Hong Kong to attend an activity organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Associations last night as well as a Fujian-Hong Kong co-operation promotion event to be jointly held by the Fujian Provincial Government and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) tomorrow (October 9). Noting that Fujian is a core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Mrs Lam encouraged the province to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to jointly explore business opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative.

     Mrs Lam said that there are more than 1 million Fujian clansmen living in Hong Kong, and many Hong Kong people are studying and living in Fujian. With the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link last month, West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong is now directly connected with 10 destinations in Fujian Province, and it will take only some five hours to reach the provincial capital, Fuzhou. Consequently, she said she expects that economic and cultural links between Hong Kong and Fujian will become even closer. Mrs Lam also thanked the Fujian Provincial Government for its care for Hong Kong people living in the province. She noted that measures were rolled out by the Central Government to assist Hong Kong residents in living, working and studying in the Mainland, and that an announcement was made earlier allowing Hong Kong residents living in the Mainland who meet the relevant criteria to apply for residence permits to enjoy a number of rights, public services and facilitation measures in their place of residence. She said she hopes that the Fujian Provincial Government will continue to implement the measures proactively.

     Mrs Lam added that she launched the platform for Hong Kong-Fujian co-operation between the HKSAR Government and the Fujian Provincial Government in 2015 in the capacity as the Chief Secretary for Administration and took part in the Hong Kong-Fujian Co-operation Conference held in Fuzhou and Hong Kong, and that she is pleased that the third co-operation conference would be held in Fuzhou next month. She said she hopes the two places will collaborate more, identify new growth opportunities and strengthen co-operation and exchanges in areas such as innovation and technology, tourism and youth development.

Ends/Monday, October 8, 2018
Issued at HKT 20:46

NNNN