The "information revolution" sweeps the world. How does Hong Kong promote the "digital economy"? ｜01 Weekly

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Written by: Huang Shunyang

2021-05-09 21:14

Last update date: 2021-05-10 18:50

"Humanity has experienced the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and the information revolution. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution are sweeping the world, the value of data is accelerating, the integration of digital technology and the real economy, the potential of industrial digital application is bursting out, new models and new formats Comprehensive reform, the level of modernization of national governance capabilities has been significantly improved." China Academy of Information and Communications Technology released the "White Paper on China's Digital Economy Development (2020)" in the middle of last year, summarizing the "digital economy" from the perspective of productivity and production relations (Hong Kong called "digital economy" ") The "four modernizations" stage are digital industrialization, industrial digitization, digital governance, and data valorization. They also believe that the digital economy has surpassed the scope of information and communication, and is accelerating the reconstruction of economic patterns and governance models.

Less than a year later, the new "White Paper on China's Digital Economy Development (2021)" was just released at the end of last month (April 24), mentioning that China's digital economy is still performing strongly despite the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the global economic downturn. , Maintaining a rapid growth rate of 9.7%, reaching 39.2 trillion yuan in scale, accounting for 38.6% of the gross national product (GDP), effectively supporting epidemic prevention and control and economic growth.

In contrast to Hong Kong, although Financial Secretary Chen Maobo spoke about the "digital economy" for the first time in this year’s "Budget", hundreds of words are nothing more than the application of technology in traditional industries, such as electronic payments and online. Business, online conferences, etc.-Compared with the development of the digital economy in the Mainland, most of them only stay at the initial stage of digital industrialization and industrial digitization.

To be fair, the SAR government has indeed invested a lot of resources in the digital economy in recent years, but the results have always been unsatisfactory.

How did the gap come into being, and what shackles and constraints were faced in the process of transformation?

In the final analysis, what kind of digital economy development goals and blueprints does the authorities have?

How to promote the digital economy and open a new chapter?

To be fair, the SAR government has indeed invested a lot of resources in the digital economy in recent years, but the results have always been unsatisfactory.

(Visual China)

Lagging and predicament

The SAR government mentioned the "digital economy" in the "Budget" for the first time this year, referring to the fact that many traditional industries are accelerating the application of technology under the new crown pneumonia epidemic in order to cater to the new consumption patterns and habits of the public, so as to seize the development opportunities after the epidemic. -I believe this very preliminary definition is the main understanding of the Hong Kong Government on the digital economy.

But the reality is that it is no easy task for Hong Kong to carry out a "digital transformation".

According to the "Report on Employment by Industry and Occupation" issued by the Census and Statistics Department in the fourth quarter of last year, the number of employees in the lower-skilled occupational groups (clerk support personnel; craft and related personnel; unskilled workers) still accounted for the total number of employees. 40% (approximately 1.47 million people); and the "Statistical Survey Report on the Use and Penetration of Information Technology in Industry and Commerce in 2019" published by the authorities in February last year also found that although the computer penetration rate of 344,000 enterprises in Hong Kong is as high as 81% , But only 9% and 21.2% of the companies had obtained sales orders and submitted orders through the computer network in the 12 months before the survey, and only 38.3% of the companies had their own website or displayed it on another physical website.

It is undeniable that under the epidemic, the reduction of people going out has indeed changed their behaviors to a large extent, giving birth to Internet-based consumption, work, study and entertainment models.

But if the "life and death" tragic caused by the epidemic is "forcing" Hong Kong's various industries to transform into a digital economy, this also reflects the degree of digitalization of the city.

Ironically, Mastercard and The Fletcher School at Tufts University (The Fletcher School at Tufts University) released a "Digital Intelligence Index" study on December 10 last year, which ranked Hong Kong as the world's "super-leading" digital economy. One of the entities, following Singapore and the United States, ranked third. It believes that Hong Kong has a leading innovation ecosystem. However, for such a “world-leading” digital economy, the knowledge and practice of the digital economy seems to be limited to electronic payment, On the basic level of online business, online meetings, etc., there is no decent statistical data on the digital economy so far.

There are no decent statistics on the digital economy in Hong Kong so far.

(Profile picture)

The Mainland has constructed a framework of "Four Modernizations"

According to the "White Paper on China's Digital Economy Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") published by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology for seven consecutive years, the so-called "digital economy" refers to the use of digital knowledge and information as key production factors and digital technology (Collecting, storing, and analyzing data) as the core driving force, with modern information network as an important carrier, through the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, continuously improving the level of digitization, networking, and intelligence, thereby accelerating the reconstruction of social and economic development and A new economic form of governance model.

It can be said that the practice of the digital economy in the Mainland has accelerated the development of new generation information and communication technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence, and it is far more than what the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government understands. In that way, I just thought it was as simple as moving the sales model to the Internet, or adding technology to traditional industries.

The "White Paper (2020)" published in the middle of last year expanded the understanding framework of the digital economy to the "four modernizations"-the first is "digital industrialization", that is, the information and communication industry, including electronic information manufacturing, telecommunications, software, and Information technology service industry, Internet industry; the second is "industry digitalization", that is, traditional industries apply digital technology to increase output and improve efficiency, including but not limited to industrial Internet, intelligent manufacturing, Internet of Vehicles, platform economy and other integrated emerging industries ; The third is "digital governance", which is a governance and public service model with typical characteristics of "digital technology + governance"; the fourth is "value-based data", including but not limited to data collection, confirmation, labeling, pricing, and trading , Circulation and protection, etc.

It sounds complicated, but the digital economy and data may have already been applied to our lives. Online shopping is a typical example.

For example, in an online shopping platform, users’ browsing records, speeches, personal data and other data are "key production factors". The platform will collect and store the data in the data center and use artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud Digital technologies such as calculations and algorithms analyze user preferences and recommend similar products and advertisements to each user. After the user places an order and pays, the store needs to deliver the goods to the customer through the logistics system. This has spawned the need for digital management of inventory, logistics, finance, etc., developed an online and offline marketing model (O2O), and promoted digital technologies such as enterprise resource management system services (ERP system) and data solutions (data solution). The development of the market.

From the online transaction process to the interaction between offline physical stores and logistics systems, the digital economy revolves around the production, transmission, storage, analysis and application of data, and is driven by modern networks, the Internet of Things and data centers, and is used in different scenarios Among.

For example, a city can collect, transmit and store to the data center and the cloud in real time through sensors set up in different places, and then analyze road data through artificial intelligence and cloud computing, and then transmit relevant information to users' smartphones, devices, and electric vehicles in real time. , And parking companies can use digital technology to optimize the management and transaction process, and the technical needs generated in the sub-sector have become a new "blue ocean."

The data generated in the process relies on the low-latency 5G network for transmission, which requires network operators to set up enough 5G base stations in the city to ensure the transmission speed and coverage of the network.

The Mainland has accelerated the development of the digital economy through technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things, and big data.

(Xinhua News Agency)

Inseparable from smart cities

It is not difficult to see that the digital economy and digital city construction-smart cities are inseparable.

Cities need to have sufficient digital infrastructure for the production, transmission, storage, analysis and application of data in order to accurately discover more digital application scenarios in social and personal life, including the promotion of the digitalization of traditional physical industries —Industry digitization, and opening up more emerging digital industries—digital industries, so as to promote the transformation of society to a digital economy.

According to the article "Building China's New Generation of People-Oriented Smart Cities" written by Xie Zuchi, the founder and CEO of Gaofeng Consulting Company, the construction of smart cities can be promoted from the bottom to the top from four dimensions to ensure that the city has sufficient infrastructure to meet data requirements. Different needs: the "perception layer" is the foundation of a smart city. It refers to the equipment that collects data. It can refer to the sensors and cameras of infrastructure such as urban roads and bridges, as well as smart phones and wearable devices used by citizens; "network layer" As the name implies, it refers to the coverage and data transmission speed of the network, including mobile networks and fiber optic broadband, and can be extended to the Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet; the "platform layer" is a cloud service commonly used by citizens and a place where data is collected. Data will form a "database" for artificial intelligence and cloud computing to make intelligent decisions; and the top "application layer", based on the above support, applies intelligent decision-making to government affairs, public services, and market development.

Then, we might as well take a look at the actual situation of the SAR government's construction of smart cities.

During the trial period of the smart lamppost, the public was concerned about privacy issues.

(Profile picture / Photo by Luo Junhao)

Why is there a lot of infrastructure still lagging behind?

In fact, Hong Kong has a high penetration rate in the "perceptual layer".

As of January last year, the penetration rate of mobile phones in Hong Kong was 283.7%, and the penetration rate of household broadband access was 93.7%. In cities, the government has also used sensors to collect real-time city data such as air quality and road traffic. In 2019, the "Multifunctional Smart Lampposts" pilot project was launched to lay out the development and development of smart cities. The plan is divided into four selected urban locations (Central or Admiralty, Causeway Bay or Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and Kwun Tong or Kai Tak Development Area). Approximately 400 multi-functional smart lampposts with smart devices will be installed in the stage to collect city data.

However, during the implementation of the Smart Lamppost Pilot Project, the sensors in it aroused public concern about privacy issues. Afterwards, the government set up a task force to study alternatives, and announced the details in March last year, announcing the use of thermal energy detectors (LIDAR). Replace the video detectors used in automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) to collect traffic flow and speed-related data-as of the end of June last year, the government has been operating at Sheung Yuet Road in Kowloon Bay, Chain Kai Road in Kai Tak and Kwun Tong City Centre A total of 50 smart lamp posts were installed.

In terms of the "network layer", Hong Kong's network speed and usage are also considered "leading". For example, there are 11 submarine optical cables, and the number of mobile phone users using mobile data services is 25.32 million; the average download speed of fixed-line broadband is 176.7 per second. Megabits (Mbps).

With the popularization of 5G networks, the Hong Kong government has opened up more government places and public facilities, and the Communications Authority has auctioned 5G spectrum to four mobile network operators in Hong Kong in 2019-Hutchison Telecommunications, Hong Kong Telecommunications, and Hong Kong Telecom. SmarTone and China Mobile Hong Kong have begun to build 5G base stations. By the end of 2020, the 5G networks of the four telecom companies have covered more than 90% of Hong Kong's, and Hutchison Telecom's coverage rate has reached 99%.

Originally criticized for the problem of optical fiber network coverage, the government also allocated 770 million yuan in 2018 to encourage fixed network operators to expand optical fiber network coverage to rural villages. It is expected that the network will continue to be connected after next year.

As for the "platform level", as of last year, Hong Kong had approximately 743,000 square meters of usable floor space for data centers.

During the epidemic, due to the increasing use of cloud computing, big data analysis and artificial intelligence, it is expected that the demand for data center services will continue and significantly increase; the government also encourages the conversion of industrial buildings into data centers; in the future, the government will return Reserve three hectares of land in Tseung Kwan O for the development of high-end data centers to meet the data needs for post-epidemic growth.

Finally, the "application layer". The government has actively promoted the digitalization of public management in recent years. For example, it has allocated 60 million yuan to develop a one-stop personalized digital service platform "Smart Convenience" application. It currently provides 26 government departments, gas, power companies, etc. Public utility services, including "two electricity and one coal", application for driver's license, postal services, etc.

During the epidemic, the government also spent about 1 million yuan to develop a "Travel with Peace" app to help citizens record their trips. If an infection occurs in a place where a citizen visits, the program will notify the user of the risk of infection.

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) also launched a chat robot "Bonny" using artificial intelligence on the GovHK website at the end of 2019 to facilitate citizens to search and use more than 3,300 government forms and related e-government services ; From March 2020, it will use artificial intelligence and big data technology to more quickly and accurately classify cybersecurity information, and provide summary information about cybersecurity information to different sectors; and launch a big data analysis platform in September of the same year .

In this year's "Budget", the government also allocated a total of 375 million yuan to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) over three years to fund the development of virtual platforms to enhance the ability to organize online events and to digitize.

At first glance, the SAR government seems to have done a lot of infrastructure construction for smart cities, but why is it still criticized for the backward development, even dragging down the transformation of the digital economy?

The SAR government seems to have done a lot of infrastructure construction for smart cities, but why is it still criticized for the backward development, even dragging down the transformation of the digital economy?

(Profile picture)

Application of limited government chasing the tail

An unavoidable reality is that the popularity and application of digitalization in Hong Kong society is still very limited.

For example, the "Global Smart Capital Report (2020)" released by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and Fudan University on October 14 last year showed that although Hong Kong’s IT infrastructure is rated as the first among the 20 economies, including high-level intelligence The penetration rate of mobile phones, network coverage and the construction of information technology infrastructure cannot promote the development of a smart economy. Therefore, the total score is only ranked 10th among the 20 economies, and two of the scores are detailed-"trust capacity level" ( Information and information technology development industry development level) and "smart economy" (industry digitization, digitization industry), only scored 63 points and 65 points, the performance is not satisfactory.

Hong Kong society’s understanding of the digital economy still seems to remain at the use of computers.

For example, in 2019, Hong Kong companies have a computer penetration rate of 81%, but the use rate of digital enterprise management software and supply chain software is less than 5%. Most companies only use office software packages to meet business needs.

However, "industry digitization" is not just the use of computers to send and receive emails and the use of word and excel to handle paper management tasks, but to use a management data system to automatically process orders to reduce complicated paperwork. Otherwise, it is only a work medium. Changing from paper to computer still cannot escape the traditional stage of human production.

In addition, citizens generally do not trust the digital facilities and applications led by the SAR government, which will inevitably stall the transformation of the digital economy.

For example, the government published the "Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint" in 2017, which mentioned that 400 smart city sensors-multi-functional smart lampposts were installed in four areas. It was questioned that its purpose is to monitor the citizens. Some lampposts are even in use. Demolished by protesters during the anti-amendment riot.

Another example is the "Smart Convenience" application launched by the government in December last year. By February this year, only 430,000 people in Hong Kong had downloaded and used it, and the response was extremely cold.

As for the "Travel with Peace", which was launched in November last year and was developed specifically to prevent and control the epidemic, it has been repeatedly questioned by the public that the software has security loopholes or may leak the user's personal data. So the government will force restaurants in February this year. And after using "Travel with peace of mind" or registration information in some designated locations, the download rate has increased.

Cities need sufficient digital infrastructure to discover more digital application scenarios and develop a digital economy.

(Xinhua News Agency)

Leung Weifeng, lecturer and course director of the School of Professional and Continuing Education of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and vice chairman of the Hong Kong Internet Forum, said bluntly that Hong Kong's smart city and digital economy development process is stuck at the application level of the market and citizens.

However, on the other side, there are also many public suspicions that the SAR government itself has failed to correctly understand the significance of the "information revolution", but has been struggling to follow the tail of the digital age. Scattered small repairs and supplementary constructions are unable to formulate development goals and long-term blueprints for the digital economy in a forward-looking manner, and cannot lead society forward correctly.

In the final analysis, where is the problem, and how should Hong Kong promote a new chapter in the digital economy?

The above is excerpted from the 264th "Hong Kong 01" Weekly Report (May 10, 2021) "The "information revolution" sweeps the world. How does Hong Kong promote the "digital economy"?

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