APS organises Policy Dialogue Series 2022-23 to spotlight hot social issues

The Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) and the Academy of Hong Kong Studies (AHKS) of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), in cooperation with the Division of Public Policy of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), are hosting the fifth annual Policy Dialogue Series. 

This year, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, former Secretary for Transport and Housing (2012-17) and Adjunct Research Chair Professor of Public Administration at EdUHK and Adjunct Professor at HKUST, and Professor Lui Tai-lok, Chair Professor of Hong Kong Studies at EdUHK, will continue to be joined by other speakers in the relevant fields to explore critical issues and public policy challenges facing Hong Kong. The interactive series welcomes members from both EdUHK and HKUST communities as well as any members of the public who are concerned about Hong Kong’s future.

Titled “The Still Unending Pandemic: Need for a policy breakthrough?”, the inaugural session of the series was held online on 29 October 2022. It was organised against the backdrop of most countries having reopened their borders and gradually resuming normalcy, while Hong Kong had only just shortened its quarantine and surveillance measures to a “0+3” rule for travellers and allowed unvaccinated Hong Kong residents entry. In the first session, Professor Anthony Cheung and Professor Lui were joined by Professor Donald Low, Professor of Practice in Public Policy at HKUST, to share their insights on the way forward against COVID-19.

Professor Cheung first took the participants on a journey back over the past two-and-a-half years, illustrating the greatest challenge the global economy is facing due to the pandemic and war in Ukraine. Both Professor Cheung and Professor Lui pointed out that there is a need for the “re-narration” of what is now “normal”. Professor Lui added that everyone is learning to live dangerously in the changing environment, as they are exposed to the challenges of the changing State-Society interface and what the new relationship entails. 

Professor Donald Low pointed out that Hong Kong’s COVID-19 policy has been a failure. He first explained the protocols and practices, such as mass testing, contact tracking and so on, were developed after SARS, which was a less transmissible disease. It has proven to be much costlier to contain COVID-19. He pointed out that the major difference in the anti-pandemic policies between Singapore and Hong Kong is that there was no plan for effective mitigation in Hong Kong.

The second dialogue session of Policy Dialogue Series 2022/23 was held online on 3 December 2022. At the second session titled “Development vs Environment: An irreconcilable dilemma?”, Professor Anthony Cheung, Professor Lui and Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist at the Division of Environment and Sustainability of HKUST and former Under Secretary for the Environment (2012-17), shared their views on balancing development with environmental concerns.

Panel speakers of the second session noted that there are growing social and economic demands for continuous development in housing, transport, and other public infrastructures through reclamation, using lands within the green belt zones and at the fringe of country parks. However, they also pointed out that it often involves a trade-off between development and environmental conservation. The speakers discussed how striking the right balance between them has been a highly controversial issue.

The third session of the Policy Dialogue Series, entitled “Giving Hope to Young People: What matters and how”, was successfully held on 7 January 2023. It was the first hybrid session to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing around 20 people to join onsite.

In the 2022 Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee echoed the point made by President Xi Jinping that “Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive (青年興則香港興).” Yet, according to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group, less than 40% of young respondents were optimistic about their own prospects, and around 47% were pessimistic about the future development of Hong Kong. During the session, Professor Anthony Cheung, Professor Lui, together with Mr Brian Wong, Rhodes Scholar and DPhil candidate in Politics at Oxford University, discussed what the government can do to give more hope to the young generation.

Details of the five scheduled sessions are as follows: