WK LO's LegCo Express (August 2019)
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WK Lo’s LegCo Express
August 2019
1. Recommendations on the 2019 Policy Address
On 21 August, I joined some other LegCo members to present a submission to the Chief Executive covering thirteen areas with detailed proposals for her to consider in preparing the Policy Address. We urged the Government to: alleviate the burden of SMEs; promote re-industrialization; promote “joint management on the 3 have-nots buildings”, etc. To alleviate the pressure on the housing problems, I suggested that the Government should carry out redevelopment of some old public rental housing estates as soon as possible, and allocate additional resources to the Urban Renewal Authority to speed up the redevelopment of the old districts and relax the plot ratio of urban residential and commercial land. I also proposed to improve the "Lift Modernization Subsidy Scheme" to lower the funding threshold of the scheme, and speed up the relevant procedures. I urged the Government to develop a one-stop e-government platform, and review the supply of parking space. In terms of infrastructure projects, I proposed to accelerate progress of large-scale projects in Hong Kong and to ensure sustainable employment opportunities of the engineering and construction industry. I hope those proposals to the Government will help Hong Kong enterprises seize the opportunities of the "One Belt One Road" and the "Greater Bay Area" so as to enhance competitiveness and achieve industrial transformation and upgrading.
2. Government’s financial measures to support enterprises and residents
To counter the challenging external and local economic environment, the Financial Secretary announced on 15 August a package of measures to support enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to safeguard jobs and relieve people's financial burden. I welcomed those measures and will continue to reflect views of the industry to the government. Those measures will help SMEs to reduce their operational burden in the short term.
3. Met the Secretary for Transport and Housing with district members
On 21 August, I met the Secretary for Transport and Housing with some district council members and helpers to express our concerns on the transport and housing problems in the related districts. The Secretary promised to follow up on those issues so as to provide better services for the residents and improve quality of people’s livelihood. Further communication would be maintained to seek solutions to other transport and housing issues.
4. Delegation to the Greater Bay Area with young engineers
Together with a group of young engineers, I visited Shenzhen and Dongguan from 30 to 31 August, to under the hi-tech development of the neighboring cities in the Greater Bay Area. We visited the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), which is an accelerator-based neutron source setup built at the City of Dongguan, operated by the Institute of High Energy Physics. This is the fourth of such kind of research facility in the world, and is one of the major investments to support high end research in Southern China. We also visited the Songshan Lake Xbot Park in Dongguan to keep abreast of the development of the robotic industry there. This institution aims to promote co-operation between universities in Hong Kong and the Mainland on nurturing talents for the robotic industry. The delegates also received a briefing on the latest development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.
5. Participated in the seminar on "Competence-based Professional Assessment"
On 14 August, I was invited to a seminar on “Competence-based Professional Assessment” and delivered a speech to support the works of the Working Group on the Competence-based Project of the HKIE. I talked about the infrastructural development in Hong Kong, the career opportunities for engineers, as well as the needed communication skills of engineers in moving forward infrastructural development.
