Govt to work with Legco on SAR's five-year plan: CE

The government will work with the Legislative Council in formulating the SAR's own Five-Year Plan which will align with that of the nation, Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday. Ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said Hong Kong's plan will focus on improving the economy and people's livelihoods. The CE will lead the work on the plan, which is due to be unveiled at the end of the year. Lee said the timing will be "tight". "In order to help the government complete the work in such a tight time-frame, I propose that under the executive-led system, the government and the Legislative Council will jointly come up with a mechanism to look into the matter and collect opinions, so as to leverage the positive interaction and cooperation between the executive and legislative branches," he said. Lee said the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and relevant Legco subcommittees will conduct joint research and hold meetings to collect opinions on specific topics for analysis. They will compile the results right away and submit these to the government as soon as possible, Lee added. Public consultation will start around the fourth quarter of the year, he said. As for expediting the Northern Metropolis development – a task for the SAR under the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan – Lee said the government would submit dedicated legislation on Tuesday to ensure speed and quality go hand in hand. The CE said he hopes the legislation will be passed this year. "We hope to reach a consensus with the Legislative Council. The dedicated legislation will allow us to have more flexibility and expedite the progress over certain matters to ensure our competitiveness," he said. "At the same time, each process is vetted by Legco, which will ensure quality. We also believe during the vetting period, by having the public opinion, it will allow the final legislation and policies to be of better quality." Edited by Thomas McAlinden