Hong Kong authorities should build rental housing for international talent to expand their choices and help them cope with high rents in the city, a political heavyweight has suggested.
“Hong Kong also needs reforms, not just mainland China. We now have to ask ourselves many questions – what we can improve, what meets our development needs and the expectations of our citizens, and what our efficiency is,” Tam said on a radio show.
The resolution also lists a number of measures to strengthen the country’s economic resilience, expand the pool of technical talent and narrow the rural-urban divide, as part of efforts to find new engines of growth and address demographic challenges.
Beijing’s ambition to make the city an international talent center was also discussed in the two-and-a-half-hour press conference.
Tam said Hong Kong can leverage its top eight universities’ close relationships with talent from around the world to invite them to the city. High salaries and low tax rates are also advantages of the city compared to other locations.
However, Tam acknowledged that Hong Kong’s high rents are not comparable to the larger living spaces available elsewhere, and urged the government to build and rent apartments for the international talent coming to the city.
“Perhaps the government could find building sites or ask other organizations to build (housing) that can be rented to high-skilled talent so that they have more choice in the market,” Tam said.
In a separate speech on the same program, MP Jesse Shang Hailong also called on authorities to step up measures to combat high rents and support foreign talent in settling in the city.
“What kind of infrastructure do we need? Talents are not here to spend money as consumers, that is not their purpose. What measures to support industrial development can we provide talents, what kind of platforms do we provide them?” asked Shang.
The MP, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Top Talent Services Association, also analyzed the instructions contained in the Third Plenary Resolution to make suggestions on the type of talent that Hong Kong should attract.
“‘International top talent’ has a clear meaning. They must first have an international worldview, sufficient language skills in Chinese and English, and their own understanding of the global market and research and development standards,” said Shang.
The parliamentarians had also stated that in addition to expanding the network, the government must also tighten the criteria of the system, for example by introducing age limits and defining professional fields and industries that are in line with Hong Kong’s strategic economic interests.
