Hong Kong immigration focus on Hong Kong immigration business: Not long ago, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang stated in a media interview that the "Belt and Road" initiative is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hong Kong's economic development that must be firmly grasped. "If we can seize this opportunity, Hong Kong's overall development will have a foundation for the next 30 or even 50 years." He indicated that if Hong Kong can leverage its four pillar industries—finance, trade and logistics, professional business services, and tourism—to reach the more than 60 countries and regions along the "Belt and Road," Hong Kong's economy could see significant growth.
In the past, although Hong Kong's development has been highly successful, its flaws have also been evident. One major issue is that Hong Kong has consistently lacked medium-to-long-term development planning. For a long time, Hong Kong's development has relied entirely on temporary adjustments made through the annual Policy Address by the Chief Executive and the Budget by the Financial Secretary, lacking a longer-term five-year or ten-year strategic layout. Consequently, although internal economic problems in Hong Kong emerged more than a decade ago—such as the gradual decline of its port advantages, insufficient follow-up for tourism resources, intensifying population aging, hidden concerns regarding human resources, and the slow pace of transformation for Hong Kong enterprises—neither the Hong Kong government nor society has had a long-term response plan, and the severity of these issues has only increased to this day.
Of course, the existence of such flaws in Hong Kong is due to both historical reasons and a unique social background. Before the 1980s, Hong Kong's two industrial transformations were carried out very smoothly, and its status as an international financial center was a natural outcome, all of which were formed spontaneously under market forces. This created a misconception for the then-British Hong Kong government that the government did not need to intervene in the economic process and that the market could solve all problems. This inertia in thinking and its reflection in government operations have persisted to this day. Before 2003, there was also a strong force in Hong Kong society opposing cooperation with the mainland; some mainstream financial media in Hong Kong even publicly opposed engagement and integration with the mainland in their editorials, fearing that close ties with the mainland would cause Hong Kong to lose its international metropolis characteristics and become a "mainlandized" city. However, times have changed. The rise of the mainland and the crises faced by developed Western countries have educated the people of Hong Kong. Unlike more than a decade ago, the Hong Kong government and all sectors of society now fully recognize that Hong Kong's development cannot be separated from the mainland and that it must seize the opportunities presented by the mainland's major development.
However, while perceptions have changed, there is still uncertainty about how to seize mainland opportunities and where to find an entry point. Recently, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government John Tsang specifically emphasized that to seize the "Belt and Road" opportunity, one must align with national strategies. At this point, Hong Kong seems to understand how to seize national strategic opportunities. For Hong Kong, aligning well with national strategies first requires aligning well with the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation plan, because Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation is an inseparable part of national strategy. All of Hong Kong's various connections with the mainland must be expanded through Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, and the core content of this cooperation is the collaboration between Qianhai and Hong Kong, as both the central government level and the perspectives of Guangdong Province and Shenzhen have positioned Qianhai as a "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Demonstration Zone."
Currently, Hong Kong is highly focused on the situation of the national 13th Five-Year Plan. There is news that relevant national authorities are initiating the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan. Since the 12th Five-Year Plan included Hong Kong in the national medium-to-long-term development plan for the first time, Hong Kong has felt that its development has become part of the nation's major development. As the 12th Five-Year Plan concludes this year and the 13th Five-Year Plan is set to begin next year, Hong Kong is particularly eager to play a more active role in the national medium-to-long-term development plan. Because Shenzhen and Qianhai hold a special status in the national "Belt and Road" strategy, and especially since Qianhai has been approved as a national-level free trade zone, how to align the development paths of Hong Kong and Qianhai and promote deep economic and trade cooperation between the two places has become a primary topic for Hong Kong to consider in aligning with national strategies during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Shenzhen, for its part, should seize this favorable opportunity to take the initiative to join hands with Hong Kong, explore directions for cooperation, and coordinate with the national 13th Five-Year Plan to submit relevant proposals for Hong Kong-Qianhai cooperation to the central government.