JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Annual Report 2012
Date: 2013-06-17
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Hong Kong, economic cooperation, economic situation, political situation

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF 
THE_EUROPEAN UNION 
FOR_FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
AND_SECURITY POLICY

Brussels, 17.6.2013  
JOIN(2013) 13 final 

JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Annual Report 2012 

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JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Annual Report 2012 

INTRODUCTION 

Since the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the European 
Union and its Member States have closely followed political and economic developments in 
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). In order to fulfil the 1997 commitment 
to the European Parliament, an annual report is issued on developments in Hong Kong. This is 
the 15th such report, covering developments in 2012. 

In 2012, the principle of ‘one country, two systems’, enshrined in the Sino-British Declaration 
and  the  Basic  Law  of  Hong  Kong,  continued  to  work  well,  as  the  rights  and  fundamental 
freedoms of the people of Hong Kong continued to be respected, the rule of law protected and 
the market economic system and business environment maintained.  

Bilateral relations between the EU and Hong Kong continued to deepen, marked by a visit to 
Hong  Kong  in  July  by  the  EU  High  Representative/Vice  President  Catherine  Ashton,  when 
she met the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Chun-ying Leung. 

The European Union attaches great importance to Hong Kong’s stability, economic prosperity 
and  democratic  development.  The  EU  continues  to  strongly  support  early  and  substantial 
progress  towards  the  goal  of  universal  suffrage,  in  accordance  with  the  Basic  Law  of  the 
Hong Kong SAR and the wishes of the people of Hong Kong.  

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 

2012  saw  important  political  events  in  Hong  Kong,  with  the  election  of  a  new  Chief 
Executive  of  the  Government  on  25  March,  the  inauguration  of  the  new  Government  on  1 
July  and  the  election  of  a  new  Legislative  Council  on  9  September.  For  the  first  time  in  its 
history, Hong Kong witnessed a change of government and of legislature in the same year. 

The  election  of  the  Chief  Executive  was  conducted  through  the  Election  Committee  with 
members selected from business, the professions, civil society and politicians at District and 
Legislative  Council  level.  For  this  election,  the  membership  of  the  Committee  had  gone  up 
from 800 to 1200 members. Three candidates for the chief executive post passed the threshold 
to  run  for  office.  The  election  campaign  was  livelier  than  ever  before,  with  proper 
campaigning and intense media coverage, including two live election debates, and with a very 
high level of public engagement despite the limited role the public can play in the election as 
such.  

The  election  campaign  was  characterised  by  some  controversy,  including  allegations 
involving the main contenders. Scandals led to a shift of public opinion, which hurt the initial 
front runner, Henry Tang. 

In the election, Chun-ying Leung received 689 votes (60.9%) of the 1132 votes cast, Henry 
Tang  received  285  votes  (25.2%)  and  Albert  Ho  received  76  votes  (6.7%).  The  Electoral 

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Affairs Commission recorded 82 invalid votes, of which 75 were blank. On the occasion of 
the election of Chun-ying Leung as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s fourth term 
Chief Executive, EU High Representative/Vice-President Catherine Ashton issued a statement 
congratulating  the  new  Chief  Executive  and  expressing  her  desire  to  further  deepen  EU  - 
Hong  Kong  relations  during  his  term  in  office.  Chinese  Premier  Wen  Jiaobao  appointed 
Chun-ying Leung as the fourth term Chief Executive on 28 March.  

Chinese President Hu Jintao presided over the swearing in of the Chief Executive on 1 July, 
which  also  marked  the  15th  anniversary  of  the  handover.  In  his  inauguration  speech,  Chief 
Executive  Leung  pledged  ‘to  uphold  justice,  the  rights  of  the  people,  safeguard  the  rule  of 
law,  clean  government,  freedom  and  democracy  which  are  among  the  core  values  of  Hong 
Kong.’ He also said he would ‘promote the development of a democratic political system in 
accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and  the relevant decisions of the Standing 
Committee of the National People's Congress.’ The EU welcomes these commitments. 

For its election, the Legislative Council (LegCo) was enlarged from 60 to 70 members, with 
seats  evenly  divided  between  the  geographical  constituencies  and  functional  constituencies. 
Geographical  constituency  seats  are  elected  under  proportional  representation  rules.  Five 
additional members were elected as new geographical constituencies and five so-called ’Super 
Legislators’  were  selected  from  District  Councillors  by  universal  suffrage  in  a  new  District 
Council  (second)  functional  constituency.  This  was  the  first  time  that  more  than  half  of  the 
Legislative Council seats were elected directly, giving the current legislature more democratic 
legitimacy than its predecessors. 

Some  287  candidates  representing  17  parties  or  interest  groups  ran  for  the  70  seats.  Voter 
turnout in the five geographical constituencies on 9 September was 53%, higher than in the 
2008 Legislative Council election (45%) but lower than in the 2004 election (55,6%). Voting 
statistics  revealed  the  following:  Geographical  Constituency  (35  seats):  53%  of  3.47m 
registered voted, the District Council (second) functional constituency (commonly known as 
the ‘super seats’) (5 seats): 51.9% of 3.22m registered voted and the 14 contested traditional 
functional constituencies (30 seats): 69.6% of 216 979 registered voted. The election process 
was  generally  seen  as  having  been  well-managed.  There  were  media  and  other  reports  of 
involvement  in  the  election  campaign  of  the  Central  Government  Liaison  Office,  through 
public statements and lobbying for candidates.  

Pro-establishment  parties  won  43  seats  (17  geographical,  2  super-seats  and  24  functional), 
falling  short  of  a  two-thirds  majority.  Among  these,  the  Democratic  Alliance  for  the 
Betterment  and  Progress  of  Hong  Kong  (DAB)  remained  Hong  Kong’s  biggest  party  in  the 
legislature, with 13 seats in the Legislative Council. Its former chairman, Jasper Tsang Yok-
sing  was  re-elected  President  of  the  Legislative  Council.  The  opposition  pan-democratic 
grouping won 27 seats (18 geographic, 3 super-seats and 6 functional) of the 70 seats in the 
legislature, giving it a sufficiently large minority to block constitutional changes.  

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) received 2,281 complaints relating 
to district council elections held in November 2011. Of those complaints, 1,614 alleged vote-
rigging, with 1,604 pursuable. By November 2012, 45 persons had been prosecuted for vote-
rigging  offences,  resulting  in  38  convictions.  A  special  taskforce  set  up  by  the  ICAC 
concluded investigations into those vote-rigging complaints, which had not revealed evidence 
to  suggest  rampant  or  systematic  vote-rigging.In  his  first  policy  speech  to  the  Legislative 
Council,  Chief  Executive  Leung  emphasised  affordable  housing,  poverty,  the  elderly  and 
Hong  Kong’s  ageing  population  and  the  environment  as  his  top  priorities.  The  Chief 

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Executive also said he would work towards building consensus for introducing a proposal for 
universal suffrage for the 2017 chief executive election. The Chief Executive’s priority areas 
met with a very critical reaction by some Legisative Council members, who on occasion used 
filibustering  to  block  decision-making.  The  Chief  Executive  also  regularly  came  under 
criticism  from  the  media,  partly  due  to  allegations  of  unauthorised  refurbishments  to  his 
home.The  Government  faced  major  opposition  to  a  plan,  announced  on  30  April  under  the 
previous administration, to introduce Moral and National Education in the school curriculum. 
On  7  July,  a  Parents’  Concern  Group  on  National  Education  was  launched  to  oppose  the 
introduction of the National Education curriculum. The Group claimed that on 29 July over 90 
000 people took part in a rally urging the Government to withdraw the plan. Eventually, on 8 
September the Government announced that the National Education curriculum would not be 
mandatory and that schools could exercise their professional discretion on whether or not to 
implement  it.  A  month  later  the  Government  made  a  further  announcement  that  Moral  and 
National  Education  curriculum  guide  would  be  formally  shelved  and  that  the  Government 
would  not  request  schools  to  adopt  the  curriculum  guide,  nor  would  it  use  the  guide  as  the 
basis for school inspection. 

The maintenance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary continued to be a 
subject  of  public  debate.  The  Chief  Executive  and  the  Justice  Secretary  stressed  on  many 
occasions  its  importance  in  protecting  Hong  Kong’s  core  values  and  in  keeping  the  region 
attractive for investment. A controversy broke out when the former Justice Secretary made a 
statement which, according to members of the Legislative Council and the media, called into 
doubt  the  independence  of  the  judiciary  from  the  Central  Government.  The  current  Justice 
Secretary was criticised when he suggested that the Court of Final Appeal, prior to ruling on 
an  appeal  case,  should  ask  the  National  People’s  Congress  Standing  Committee  to  interpret 
the legal effect of an earlier interpretation of the Committee.  

Nevertheless, the overall impression remains that the principle of judicial independence and 
the rule of law is supported and adhered to by all stakeholders. Foreign firms continue to cite 
the  independence  of  Hong  Kong’s  judicial  system  as  one  of  the  key  reasons  for  setting  up 
business in Hong Kong. The legal profession, including judges, lawyers and barristers, have 
often taken steps to safeguard and develop the quality of Hong Kong’s judicial system and the 
rule of law in general.  

The  Mediation  Ordinance  was  enacted  in  June  2012  and  came  into  operation  on  1  January 
2013. This Ordinance provides the legislative framework for carrying out mediation in Hong 
Kong, with an emphasis on protecting confidentiality. 

In  September  2012,  the  China  International  Economic  and  Trade  Arbitration  Commission 
(CIETAC)  established  the  CIETAC  Hong  Kong  Arbitration  Centre,  the  first  branch  outside 
the  mainland.  The  Secretary  for  Justice,  Mr  Rimsky  Yuen,  stated  that  the  presence  of  this 
centre,  coupled  with  the  Asia  Office  of  the  International  Court  of  Arbitration  of  the 
International  Chamber  of  Commerce,  reinforced  Hong  Kong’s  status  as  an  international 
arbitration  centre.  Hong  Kong’s  position  as  a  legal  centre  was  further  strengthened  by  the 
opening, in December 2012, of the Asia Pacific Regional Office of the Hague Conference on 
Private International Law. 

On 28 March, the Hong Kong Government won its appeal against a lower court ruling which 
had given foreign domestic helpers the right to apply for Hong Kong permanent residency in 
Hong Kong after having legally resided in Hong Kong for seven years. Judges unanimously 

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rejected arguments that a provision of the immigration law that bars foreign domestic workers 
from the right to permanent residency was unconstitutional. 

In  2012,  Hong  Kong  residents  continued  to  exercise  their  rights  of  freedom  of  speech  and 
association, as illustrated by the annual 4 June and 1 July marches, the demonstrations against 
the National Education curriculum and in favour of gender equality, and countless rallies on 
many other topics.  

According to the organisers, more than 180,000 people attended the 4 June candlelit vigil, the 
biggest  event  since  1989.  On  1  July,  hours  after  the  inaugural  ceremony  presided  over  by 
President  Hu,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Hong  Kongers,  making  use  of  their  right  of 
expression,  came  to  the  streets  to  express  grievances  including  anger  at  the  slow  pace  of 
democratisation and Beijing's involvement in the Hong Kong political scene, concerns about 
Leung's integrity, rising housing prices, and human rights on the Mainland. Rally organisers 
put the turnout to around 400,000 people, while police said 63,000.  

The  great  majority  of  demonstrations  were  peaceful  and,  as  a  rule,  the  police  acted  in  a 
proportionate way. The media, including the digital media, continued to be free and to give 
voice to a variety of views. Nevertheless, there was a growing impression that both the print 
and  the  electronic  media  exercised  self-censorship,  especially  when  covering  affairs 
concerning mainland China. An October 2012 opinion poll by Hong Kong University showed 
that 24% of respondents thought that press freedom was unsatisfactory.  

ECONOMIC AND TRADE DEVELOPMENTS 

Hong  Kong  remained  well-established  as  one  of  the  world’s  leading  financial  centres  and  a 
major  trading  hub  in  Asia.  It  continued  to  be  a  gateway  for  trade  and  investment  with 
mainland  China  and  remained  the  main  testing  ground  for  the  internationalisation  of  the 
Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB). Hong Kong continued to attract huge flows of foreign 
direct investment and was ranked highly on many of the global surveys measuring economic 
freedom and development1.  

Notwithstanding  Hong  Kong’s  economic  achievements,  the  Government  set  out  to  broaden 
Hong  Kong’s  economic  base.  In  that  regard,  the  Chief  Executive  announced  a  more 
‘proactive’  approach  to  economic  development,  with  more  governmental,  direct  measures 
compared to previous governments. In particular, he announced measures to reduce poverty in 
Hong Kong, to support the elderly, and to ensure the availability of affordable housing for the 
lower- and middle-income groups. 

On  several  occasions  the  new  Chief  Executive  has  emphasised  the  importance  of  economic 
integration  with  mainland  China  as  a  strategy  for  growth.  While  Hong  Kong’s  economy 
benefited  greatly  from  its  privileged  position  within  the  larger  Chinese  market,  2012  also 
revealed  a  number  of  economic  frictions  resulting  from  integration.  The  tourism  sector 
profited  greatly  from  35  million  mainland  visitors  in  2012,  but  these  visitors  put  its 
infrastructure  under  severe  pressure.  Mainland  buyers  were  blamed  for  driving  up  property 

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The World Economic Forum in its Financial Development Report 2012 ranked Hong Kong first among 
62 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets for the second consecutive year. Hong 
Kong is ranked the world’s freest economy for the 19th consecutive year in the Heritage Foundation’s 
Index of Economic Freedom. According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2012, FDI inflows to 
Hong Kong amounted to US$83 billion in 2011, making it the fourth largest recipient in the world.  

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prices,  exacerbating  the  overheated  real  estate  market.  The  influx  of  expectant  mainland 
mothers  to  give  birth  in  Hong  Kong  put  pressure  on  the  city’s  healthcare  system.  Such 
problems  posed  political  and  policy  challenges  to  the  Government  and  led  to  popular 
expressions of anti-mainland sentiment.  

In 2012, the Hong Kong economy grew by a modest 1.4%, as the weak external environment 
affected  exports.  Growth  in  mainland  China  and  strong  domestic  demand  cushioned  the 
negative impact of the external factors. GDP growth in 2011 stood at 4.9%. Despite the lower 
growth  rate,  the  economy  boasted  virtually  full  employment  while  inflationary  pressure 
receded. The unemployment rate reached 3.3% in 2012. The consumer price index fell from 
5.9% in the first quarter to 3.8% in the fourth quarter. 

Equities came under significant pressure amid financial and economic woes in the developed 
economies. Investor sentiment was also affected in the run-up to the leadership transition at 
the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th National People’s Congress. Stock prices fell and trading 
was subdued. In the primary market, fundraising activity was also significantly quieter. The 
Hong  Kong  Stock  Exchange  lost  its  ranking  as  the  world’s  largest  market  for  initial  public 
offerings (IPOs) for 2012, a position which it had held for the previous three years. With the 
support of mainland China, Hong Kong has become the largest offshore market for RMB, as 
part  of  the  Central  Government’s  policy  for  the  gradual  internationalisation  of  the  RMB. 
Hong Kong hosted the largest pool of RMB deposits outside China, with total RMB deposits 
and outstanding RMB certificates of deposits amounting to RMB 720 billion (as of end 2012). 
RMB  cross-border  trade  settlement  transactions  handled  by  banks  in  Hong  Kong  in  2012 
exceeded  RMB  2.6  trillion,  a  37%  increase  as  compared  to  2011.  At  the  end  of  2012, 
outstanding RMB bonds issued in Hong Kong exceeded RMB 230 billion - a 62% increase 
compared to 2011. The Hong Kong offshore RMB market has built up its infrastructure and 
has become dominant in terms of investment product range and liquidity. While Hong Kong 
has a major first-mover advantage, it anticipates that competition will increase as the Central 
Government  gradually  opens  up  to  RMB  operations  in  other  financial  centres,  such  as 
London, Singapore and Taipei.  

In response to the quantitative easing measures taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Hong 
Kong  Monetary  Authority  (HKMA)  took  swift  action  to  tighten  guidelines  for  banks  on 
mortgage loans. It intervened repeatedly in the money markets during the year to defend the 
Hong Kong-US dollar Linked Exchange Rate System during the year. The HKMA stated that 
it  had  the  ability  to  buy  an  unlimited  amount  of  US  dollars  to  maintain  currency  stability. 
Despite monetary tightening efforts, the property market continued to heat up in 2012, with 
significant increases in both transaction volume and prices. Overall real estate prices went up 
by  25%  in  2012;  since  their  low  point  in  2007,  property  prices  have  doubled.  The  sharp 
increase  in  home  prices  caused  social  tensions,  making  the  new  Government  recognise  the 
supply of affordable housing as a key policy priority.  

To reduce the risk of a property bubble, the Hong Kong government adopted fiscal measures 
to dampen demand, particularly from speculators and non-resident buyers. On 27 October the 
Government proposed to increase the Special Stamp Duty and to introduce a 15% additional 
Buyers  Stamp  Duty  on  corporate  and  non-permanent-resident  buyers.  Upon  taking  office, 
Chief Executive Leung announced ten measures to increase the supply of land and housing in 
the short and medium term. The extra short-term supply in 2012 was too small to result in any 
significant  price  corrections  in  an  extremely  low  interest  rate  environment.  Further  supply 
measures taken in 2012 are expected to reduce prices somewhat in 2013.  

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On the legislative side, the Competition Ordinance was adopted in June 2012, after prolonged 
consultation  and  multiple  amendments.  Various  provisions  of  the  law,  including  the 
establishment  of  a  commission,  will  only  be  implemented  during  2013.  The  Hong  Kong 
competition 
the 
telecommunications sector, and exempts a total of 570 statutory bodies. 

law  does  not  contain  any  general  merger  provisions,  except 

in 

On  the  external  front,  Hong  Kong  stepped  up  its  pursuit  of  free  trade  agreements  with  its 
trading  partners.  Following  the  successive  conclusion  of  free  trade  agreements  with  China, 
New  Zealand  and  the  European  Free  Trade  Association  (EFTA),  Hong  Kong  signed  a  free 
trade agreement with Chile on 7 September 2012. Hong Kong is also seeking to join ongoing 
initiatives in the region in order to maintain its status as a regional trading hub, including by 
forging  formal  trade  ties  with  ASEAN.    The  Government  also  continues  to  promote 
investment and to seek investment protection agreements with third countries to secure better 
protection for its businesses and to attract foreign investment. Negotiations with Russia and 
New Zealand are underway, and investment negotiations with Chile will start once the FTA 
enters into force. 

The  Closer  Economic  Partnership  Arrangement  (CEPA)  Supplement  IX  between  China  and 
Hong  Kong  was  signed  on  29  June  2012  to  implement  economic  integration  measures  and 
facilitate cooperation  between the two parties. The latest supplement introduced 43 services 
liberalisation  and  trade  facilitation  measures,  and  further  liberalised  restrictions  on  market 
access in 21 existing sectors. The Central Government has pledged to fully liberalise services 
with Hong Kong by the end of 2015. However, implementation of the CEPA on the ground in 
mainland China continued to be challenging in some sectors, as a result of which Hong Kong-
based businesses, including EU ones, did not always reap the full benefits intended under the 
CEPA.  

EUROPEAN UNION – HONG KONG RELATIONS AND COOPERATION 

In  2012,  bilateral  relations  and  cooperation  between  the  European  Union  and  Hong  Kong 
continued to deepen. Hong Kong remains an important player in the region and a key conduit 
for trade and investment flows between the EU and mainland China. 

In  2012,  the  EU  retained  its  position  as  Hong  Kong’s  second-largest  trading  partner  after 
mainland China. Hong Kong was the EU’s 20th largest trading partner in 2012. Bilateral trade 
between the EU and Hong Kong recorded a steady growth of 5.9% to reach €44.2 billion in 
2012. 

The  EU  was the  largest  source  of  foreign  companies  in  Hong  Kong  with  453  regional 
headquarters,  740  regional  offices  and  697  local  offices  (as  of  June  2012).  The  EU’s 
businesses  are  active  in  a  wide  variety  of  sectors,  mainly  financial  and  business  services, 
trading, logistics, construction and retailing. Among others, EU companies are key players in 
Hong  Kong’s  banking,  insurance  and  securities  sectors. As  home  to  one  of  the  biggest 
European  business  communities  in  Asia,  Hong  Kong  continues  to  attract  a  large  number  of 
European  citizens  to  reside  and  work  in  the  territory,  totalling  around 31  390 at  the  end  of 
2012.  

Hong  Kong  ranked  seventh  on  the  list  of  the  most  popular  destinations  for  EU  direct 
investment, taking up 2% of EU’s global FDI stock in 2011 with an amount of €124 billion. 
On the other hand, Hong Kong investment into the EU grew rapidly in recent years. In terms 
of investment flows, Hong Kong was the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment in 

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the EU in 2011, after the United States, Switzerland and Canada. Direct inflows from Hong 
Kong to the EU and investment stock originating from Hong Kong amounted to €6.5 billion 
and €63.9 billion respectively.  

Hong Kong continues to serve as a major hub for flows of foreign direct investment from the 
EU into mainland China and vice versa. The reasons for this include Hong Kong’s proximity 
to and established business ties with mainland China, its tax system, the availability of high-
quality service providers in areas such as finance, accountancy and law, and the presence in 
Hong  Kong  of  an  increasing  number  of  EU  and  mainland  Chinese  companies.  In  addition, 
Hong  Kong  provides  an  ideal  venue  for  raising  capital  for  investment  or  expansion  of 
business  operations,  through  IPOs,  secondary  listings  or  bond  issues  (including  RMB-
denominated bonds). 

The 6th Structured Dialogue meeting between the European Union and the Hong Kong SAR 
Government took place in Brussels on 3 December 2012. The Structured Dialogue is a well 
established platform that allows the EU and Hong Kong to discuss issues of mutual interest. 
The meeting covered a range of issues: economic relations, trade and investment, aviation, the 
environment, 
innovation  and  educational  cooperation,  financial  services  regulation, 
competition legislation, and customs matters. 

The  9th  Joint  Customs  Cooperation  Committee  in  November  2012  launched  expert 
collaboration  on  IPR  and  initiated  Hong  Kong’s  participation  in  the  EU-China  Smart  and 
Secure  Trade  Lanes  project.  The  EU  continued  to  seek  exploratory  talks  on  possible 
cooperation  in  the  area  of  taxation  of  savings,  taking  into  account  recent  international 
developments in the field of exchange of information between tax authorities and the need for 
international level playing field. 

2012  saw  a  number  of  high-level  visits  from  the  European  Union  institutions  to  the  Hong 
Kong  SAR  including  the  High  Representative/Vice-President  Catherine  Ashton  in  July, 
Internal  Market  and  Services  Commissioner  Michel  Barnier  in  January,  and  Trade 
Commissioner Karel De Gucht in February. A delegation from the European Economic and 
Social  Committee  visited  Hong  Kong  in  April.  Regular  visits  by  senior  officials  have  also 
helped  keep  substantial  exchanges  in  areas  of  common  interest  including  financial  services 
regulations,  macro  economic  issues,  consumer  and  health  protection,  and  multilingualism. 
Delegations of Members of the European Parliament have also visited Hong Kong and helped 
to improve our cooperation.  

The  activities  of  the  EU  Business  Information  Programme  for  Hong  Kong  and  Macao 
(EUBIP), which is run by the European Chamber of Commerce (ECC) in Hong Kong and co-
funded by the EU, gave priority to activities related to the EU’s response to the sovereign debt 
crisis,  financial  services  regulations,  the  environment  and  climate  change,  CEPA  and  trade 
relations  between  the  EU  and  Greater  China.  Business  councils  for  sectors  in  which  EU 
businesses  and  industries  enjoy  a  leading  position,  e.g.  information  and  communications 
technology  (ICT),  luxury  and  other  consumer  goods  and  financial  services,  provided 
important industry input to the government-to-government dialogue. The EUBIP programme 
was  concluded  in  November  2012;  its  core  activities  will  be  taken  on  by  the  ECC,  and  a 
successor project will be launched in 2013.  

To  further  intensify  ties  with  Hong  Kong,  diplomatic  missions  of  the  EU  and  its  Member 
States in the region increased their public diplomacy efforts, to make the EU more visible in 
Hong Kong and to increase knowledge and information on EU policies. These include trade 

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and  regulatory  policies,  energy  and  climate  change,  financial  services  regulation,  customs 
matters, gender equality policies, intercultural dialogue, academic matters, and the EU’s role 
in the world.  

The  EU  diplomatic  missions  also  worked  closely  together  to  enhance  people-to-people 
contacts  and  promote  academic  exchanges  with  joint  activities  such  as  the  EU  Higher 
Education Fair, the EU Film Festival and the Celebrating European Languages initiative.  

On  1  September  2012,  the  Hong  Kong  EU  Academic  Programme  commenced  operations. 
This  consortium  comprises  the  Hong  Kong  Baptist  University,  the  Chinese  University  of 
Hong  Kong,  the  University  of  Hong  Kong  and  Lingnan  University.  The  objective  of  the 
Programme  is  to  promote  academic  research,  develop  outreach  activities  to  enhance  the 
visibility  of  the  EU  and  strengthen  academic  cooperation  with  EU  higher  education 
institutions.  

Following  a  ferry  accident  on  1  October,  the  High  Representative  extended  her  profound 
condolences  to  the  families  and  loved  ones  of  the  39  victims.  She  took  the  opportunity  to 
emphasise how much the EU valued Hong Kong as a friend and a partner. 

The EU will continue to nurture its relationship with the Hong Kong SAR, increase economic 
and  trade  links,  enhance  cooperation  with  business  and  civil  society,  and  promote  mobility 
and exchanges with the Hong Kong people.  

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