(To watch the 2021 Policy Address speech with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Talent is the most important element in the future development of Hong Kong and education is the key to nurturing talent, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in her Policy Address today.

She noted that as a minority of students have been deluded and radicalised to take part in illegal acts and even organise extreme political activities, Hong Kong must pay more attention to the next generation’s sense of national identity, values and civic mindedness.

Mrs Lam added that the Education Bureau must safeguard the well-being of students by effectively monitoring and following up on any issues that involve school management and the conduct of teachers, with a view to restoring Hong Kong’s educational order.

To develop students’ positive values and attitudes, the bureau has launched funding programmes to support schools in promoting values education.

The Chief Executive highlighted that to safeguard against the adverse effects of disinformation on the Internet, the Government will optimise the use of funding to support schools in promoting media and information literacy education, as well as teaching students how to distinguish the authenticity of information.

To encourage University Grants Committee-funded universities  to flexibly deploy resources, the over-enrolment ceiling of the committee’s funded research postgraduate programme students will be relaxed from 70% to 100%. 

The Research Matching Grant Scheme, which is due to end in July next year, will be extended for another two years.

Mrs Lam pointed out that Hong Kong cannot meet the needs of economic development simply by nurturing local talent and proposed to double the annual quota under the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme from 2,000 to 4,000 to entice more non-local talent to work in the city.

The Government will add two new professions - financial professionals in compliance in asset management and professionals in environmental, social and governance - to the Talent List of Hong Kong.

It will also explore the development of professional qualification standards under the Qualifications Framework for the fintech sector to provide a clearer and recognised professional development pathway for employers and practitioners in the industry.

To attract legal talent, the Department of Justice will introduce a range of measures, including relaxing the qualification requirements in handling international commercial disputes and clarifying the types of supporting documents required for transactional lawyers. 

Mrs Lam said she has put forward concrete proposals to the central government to enhance the flow of talent within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Relevant central authorities will actively consider facilitating the flow of talent between Guangdong and Hong Kong, especially those arrangements which will facilitate non-Chinese nationals residing in Hong Kong to travel to the bay area’s Mainland cities for business, research, exchanges and visits.

They have agreed to discuss the matter with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government by the end of this year.