Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Yau Ying-wah, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Xu Zhengyu, Secretary for Labor and Welfare Sun Yuhan and other officials attended this morning (15th) Legislative Council lobby exchange meeting.
Yau Ying-wah shared the results of the government's trip to the Middle East. He pointed out that during this visit, the Hong Kong government has not only signed dozens of memorandums of cooperation, but also will start discussions with Saudi Arabia on the "Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement".
It has been nearly 7 weeks since the launch of the "High-end Talent Pass Scheme". Sun Yuhan pointed out that the authorities have received more than 10,000 applications, of which two-thirds of the applicants are from the Mainland. The authorities have processed more than 8,000 applications and approved more than 7,000 of them .
During the trip to the Middle East, pay attention to the three major local development trends
Qiu Yinghua said that the government has signed dozens of memorandums of cooperation with the business community in the Middle East, and will also discuss the "Promotion and Protection of Investment Agreement" with Saudi Arabia.
He also pointed out that the government has invited different Middle Eastern institutions to come to Hong Kong to learn about the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. Members welcomed this and believed that it would help promote cooperation with the Middle East.
Xu Zhengyu pointed out that during this trip, he noticed three major development trends in the region, namely diversification, decarbonization and digitalization. He believes that Hong Kong can continue to promote cooperation between the two places according to the above trends.
Sun Yuhan explained in detail the implementation of the "High-end Talent Pass Program".
He pointed out that more than 10,000 applications have been received so far, and about 7,000 applications have been approved. Among them, 2 out of 3 are currently living in the Mainland, and the rest are currently living overseas. High-paying applicants with an annual salary of 2.5 million yuan account for 1/6 of the applicants. Applicants from top 100 universities with at least 3 years of work experience accounted for half, and applicants who graduated from top 100 universities but had no work experience accounted for one third.
Overall, the majority of applicants are under the age of 30, accounting for half of the total number, and 97% of the applicants are under the age of 50.
Importing foreign workers will first research whether the type of work is really short of people
The supply of local labor is tight. Some business people suggested that the government consider importing foreign labor, but the labor sector is worried that it may weaken the employment opportunities of local citizens. Sun Yuhan said that the authorities will "seek truth from facts" and "seek common ground while reserving differences" to deal with related matters. This project requires the import of foreign labor, and the authorities will carefully study whether there is a real labor shortage in the industry, and also pointed out that they will strengthen and optimize the welfare of local labor.
Zhang Guojun denies that Article 23 legislation has been hindered, saying that the handling of the anti-revision bill has not been delayed and the results will be announced in due time 10,000 people over the age of 61
