Hong Kong must revive growth and drive reforms with government’s ‘visible hand’

Hong Kong authorities should act as a “visible hand” to break down barriers erected by vested interests and revive growth momentum through reform under its maiden five-year plan, a former Beijing official overseeing the city’s affairs has said.

Deng Zhonghua, former deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also said on Saturday that Hong Kong must empower emerging industries through deregulation and improve mechanisms for sharing the benefits of development in housing, healthcare, elderly care and education.

Deng said the city’s five-year blueprint would address “deep-rooted conflicts” in Hong Kong, including entrenched vested interests and uneven benefits from development, through a reform-oriented approach.

“[The five-year plan] shifted from a free market adopting a positive non-interventionist approach to an organic combination of an efficient market and a capable government,” said Deng, who is now president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank.