Hong Kong\u2019s importance to the global economy will increase due to integration with China, incoming Chief Executive Carrie Lam said, dismissing concerns that Beijing is undermining the city\u2019s autonomy.<\/b>
\nHong Kong\u2019s importance to the global economy will increase due to integration with China, incoming Chief Executive Carrie Lam said, dismissing concerns that Beijing is undermining the city\u2019s autonomy.
President Xi Jinping\u2019s Belt-and-Road initiative, along with a plan to\u00a0create a\u00a0Silicon Valley-like haven for technology and innovation by linking Hong Kong and Macau with the southern province of Guangdong, will benefit the financial hub, Lam said in an interview in Hong Kong on Friday.
\u201cWe\u2019 re now even more relevant, \u201d Lam, 60, told Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the Wharton Global Forum . \u201cWe will not only benefit from this deepening and opening up, we\u2019 ll actually be able to contribute to these major initiatives.\u201d
Lam\u2019s five-year term begins on July 1 — the 20th anniversary of the former British colony\u2019s return to Chinese rule — with a ceremony that Xi is expected to attend. She faces growing concern that Beijing is eroding Hong Kong\u2019s reputation as a bastion of free speech and the rule of law rather than preserving the \u201chigh degree of autonomy\u201d it promised for 50 years after regaining stewardship in 1997.
In the interview, Lam brushed off worries that Beijing has hardened its stance toward Hong Kong, saying that calls for independence are a \u201csensitive flash point\u201d and contravene the principle of \u201cone country, two systems.\u201d
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\u201cPeople now seem to be making all sorts of allegations about the tightening grip of central authorities on Hong Kong, \u201d Lam said. \u201cI will always ask, just give us the evidence, what are the incidents that lead people to have those sort of allegations, and then we can discuss.\u201d
Chinese leaders have shown an increased willingness to impose their will on Hong Kong, especially when they perceive a threat to national security. National People\u2019s Congress Chairman Zhang Dejiang, China\u2019s top official for Hong Kong affairs, said in a speech last month that Beijing was ready to invoke as-yet utilized powers to \u201csupervise\u201d the patriotism of public officers.
Besides political divides, Lam inherits a city with the biggest wealth disparity in Asia. More than half of its working population earning below the level that requires paying income tax, and the assets of the city\u2019s 10 wealthiest people are equal to 48 percent of Hong Kong\u2019s economy, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Lam has pledged to focus on economic growth rather than controversial proposals that have prompted waves of protests that stymied her predecessor, Leung Chun-ying. Hong Kong\u2019s economy is projected to expand 2.5 percent this year, according to the median estimate of 26 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 2 percent last year.
Lam said that housing would be her top priority upon taking office. Since it will take time to provide more land and supply, she said her immediate goal is to optimize the use of existing residential areas.
Hong Kong has the most unaffordable housing in the world. Apartments the size of parking spots cost $500,000 and median wage earners would have to save for 80 years to buy a home. Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan told Bloomberg this month that the property market was in a \u201c dangerous situation \u201d and vulnerable to a correction.
Support from Beijing helped Lam — Leung\u2019s former No. 2 — overcome a more popular rival in March to win a vote among a committee 1,194 business and political elites, an electoral system at the center of pro-democracy protests three years ago. The city\u2019s first female leader takes office with an average approval rate of 49 percent, according to the University of Hong Kong\u2019s Public Opinion Programme, compared with Leung\u2019s 20 percent.<\/p>\n