Hong Kong authorities should build special rental apartments for international talent to expand their choices and help them cope with the city’s high rents, suggested a political veteran who once served as the only member of Beijing’s top legislative body in the city.
“Hong Kong also needs reforms, not just the mainland. 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 China’s economic resilience, expand its pool of technical talent and narrow the urban-rural gap, as part of efforts to find new engines of growth and address demographic challenges.
Beijing’s ambition to make the city an international center for talent 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 out 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 these highly talented people so they have more choices in the market,” Tam said.
In a separate speech on the same program, lawmaker Jesse Shang Hailong also called on authorities to step up measures to combat high rental prices in the city and support foreign talent to settle 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 kind of measures to support industrial development can we provide for these talents, what kind of platforms do we provide for them?” Shang asked.
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.
