Leng Rong, director of the Party Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, gave a lecture on General Secretary Xi Jinping's report at the 19th National Congress of the CPC to policy secretaries and senior civil servants of the special administrative region government here on Thursday morning. His lecture was followed by an open seminar in the afternoon where Yi Gang, deputy head of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, explained Xi's report and answered questions from members of the audience. Both Leng and Yi emphasized the importance of integrating Hong Kong's own development plans into the national development strategies in the years to come.

The Chinese mainland's reform and opening-up drive has been going on for nearly 40 years and Hong Kong has been involved in it since the very beginning. It is fair to say the reform and opening-up drive have benefitted and changed Hong Kong a great deal in the past four decades, especially in the past five years or so, as it has the mainland and, to a lesser degree, the rest of Asia and the world. In fact, Hong Kong's socio-economic development is now so widely and profoundly linked to the nation's that it is simply impossible for the SAR to maintain growth on its own. That is why many academics and SAR government officials as well as central government officials, including top State leaders such as President Xi, have concluded that Hong Kong's development plans must take national development strategies into full consideration.

Wang Zhimin, director of the Central People's Government's Liaison Office in the HKSAR, also attended and spoke at the morning session. He called on all civil servants and principal officials in particular to support Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in governing the SAR. The reason Wang made the demand is simple: The SAR government led by Lam is responsible for maintaining Hong Kong's socio-economic development in the next five years. It is ultimately a matter of public interest that has nothing to do with politics. That means civil servants have every reason to counteract attempts by opposition parties to politicize everything.

For the same reason it is the SAR government's responsibility to inform and educate members of the public about the need for Hong Kong society to proactively participate in national development. It is the only way for the city to maintain long-term prosperity and stability despite any adversity the turbulent international situation might throw at it. Hong Kong depends on the mainland more than ever to remain a regional center of international finance, trade, professional services and logistics.

Yi's speech at the open seminar in the afternoon focused on explaining Xi's report from a human-development perspective. By recalling the great achievements the nation has made in the past five years, Xi's report prepares us for what's ahead in the years to come, according to the Two Centenary development goals. Hong Kong residents have all seen the phenomenal changes on the mainland and how much they have affected Hong Kong over the years. There is no doubt the country's peaceful rise will be even more awe-inspiring in the near future and Hong Kong society needs to step up its own development accordingly.

(HK Edition 11/24/2017 page12)