Speech by SITI at reception in Auckland to celebrate Year of Rabbit (English only) (with photo)
7.3.2023

âFollowing is the virtual speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the reception to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit in Auckland hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney today (March 7): Consul General Chen (Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland, Mr Chen Shijie), distinguished guests, friends in Auckland, ladies and gentlemen, Hello from Hong Kong! I am delighted to join you all virtually this evening at the Chinese New Year reception in Auckland to send my warmest greetings from Hong Kong. It has been a challenging period recently for our friends in New Zealand because of the weather, but I am sure that 2023 is going to be much brighter. May I take this chance to wish you and your beloved ones a healthy and prosperous Year of the Rabbit. As we are all aware, Hong Kong and New Zealand enjoy long-standing and ever-growing relationship. We have strong economic and trade ties as well as people-to-people links. Among the many fronts which the two places collaborate on, innovation and technology (I&T) is definitely the one that stands out. Over the past years, our I&T sector has been flourishing and I&T ecosystem has become increasingly vibrant with the enormous opportunities that lie ahead for Hong Kong. Indeed, Hong Kong is blessed with the unwavering support from the Central Government in I&T development. The 14th Five-Year Plan has indicated clear backing of Hong Kong to develop into an international I&T centre, and demonstrated the high hopes of Hong Kong to contribute to the country's overall development in science and technology. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, known as GBA in short, is also second to none. We are pushing ahead the development of many I&T infrastructure projects, to further enhance our ecosystem and reinforce our leading position as the best gateway to the enormous GBA market, for I&T businesses and talents. You must be no stranger to the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop area, which will be the largest-ever I&T platform in Hong Kong upon full development, supporting the I&T development of Hong Kong in the new era. The InnoLife Healthtech Hub we are going to establish therein will be a game-changer for R&D (research and development) in life and health disciplines, fostering global exchange and synergy of Mainland-international collaboration. Our Government has also earmarked US$1.2 billion for the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme to fund at least 100 university research teams with clear potential to become successful start-ups on a matching basis, and they are encouraged to co-operate with their industry partners from local and other parts of the world. Ladies and gentlemen, we are stepping into the golden era of Hong Kong's I&T development. We recently published the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint to establish a clear development path and formulate systematic strategic planning for our I&T development over the next five to 10 years, charting Hong Kong in moving full steam towards the vision of an international I&T centre. The Blueprint will be taken forward along four broad development directions, namely "to enhance the I&T ecosystem and promote 'new industrialisation' in Hong Kong", "to enlarge the I&T talent pool to create strong impetus for growth", "to promote digital economy development and develop Hong Kong into a smart city", and "to proactively integrate into the overall development of the country and consolidate our role as a bridge connecting the Mainland and the world". The opportunities and exciting developments I shared today largely echo the broad directions I just outlined, but I do wish to put an emphasis on talents before I close. Talent is the primary resource for development and an essential element in driving I&T development. Our Chief Executive has announced a list of proactive measures targeted at attracting enterprises and talents in his 2022 Policy Address. With the recent establishment of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises and the rolling out of the Top Talent Pass Scheme, Hong Kong is welcoming high quality businesses and talents with open arms, in particular for the strategic industries such as life and health technology, AI (artificial intelligence) and data science, and advanced manufacturing and new energy technology industries. I cannot wait to see more world-class enterprises and minds from New Zealand joining us in this amazing and rewarding I&T journey. Hong Kong is back on stage. Please do visit us to experience the vibe of Hong Kong's flourishing I&T ecosystem. Again, thank you for having me today and wish you all an enjoyable evening.