Policy Address

Mr President, Honourable Members and fellow citizens,

I. Foreword: Striving Ahead

1. Today I present the fourth Policy Address in my term of office. First of all, I would like to thank the Honourable Members, participants of the 24 consultation sessions and members of the community for giving many views and suggestions for this Policy Address. This shows that you all care about Hong Kong, support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in enhancing its governance, and are willing to offer advice with the aim of building a better Hong Kong which is our home.

2. In preparing for this year’s Policy Address, I deeply felt that I was charged with a heavy responsibility. In the past year or so, Hong Kong has experienced multiple blows which are unprecedented: the social unrest arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and other anti-government acts; the shrinking economy and rising unemployment rate caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic; and the acts that endangered national security due to interference by external forces. All these have seriously undermined the social stability of the HKSAR, impeded its economic development and tarnished its international image, and for which our society has paid a high price. Under such circumstances, the worries and anxieties of the people and their loss of confidence in the future are entirely understandable. Naturally, they will expect the HKSAR Government to do more and to do better. As such, the primary objective of this Policy Address is to look at ways to get Hong Kong out of the impasse and to restore people’s confidence as soon as possible.