LCQ16: Online information on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
5.6.2024

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yung and a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (June 5): Question: There are views that at present, Hong Kong people learn about the policies and information of the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) mainly through the GBA portal (the portal) operated by the Mainland Government, the Official Page of GBA (the Official Page) operated by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, and the GoGBA one-stop platform (the one-stop platform) operated by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), but there is no clear division of work among the three. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will co-ordinate with the Mainland Government and the HKTDC on the contents of the three websites; if so, (a) whether it will discuss with the Mainland Government the positioning of the portal as a database on the GBA policies, and continuously update information on the policies introduced by the Mainland Government which are relevant to Hong Kong people; (b) whether the content of the Official Page will (i) focus on issues of concern to young people in Hong Kong, with relevant information selected from the portal for publication on the Official Page, and (ii) include analyses of Mainland policies, so as to help young people in Hong Kong understand the development of Mainland policies; and (c) whether it will draw reference from the "Guide for Public Services for Hong Kong and Macao Residents" published by the Jiangmen Municipal Government of the Guangdong Province, and propose that the HKTDC, together with other municipal governments of the Mainland in the GBA, compile a guide for living and entrepreneurship, including contents such as the key points of entrepreneurship policies, incubators and ancillary facilities, so as to strengthen the function of the one-stop platform in disseminating practical local information? Reply: President, The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) and its Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office (GBA Office) have been making use of diversified and multi-media means and channels to promote the enormous opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to local, Mainland and overseas stakeholders. In respect of online publicity and promotion, the GBA Office has launched a one-stop thematic website of the GBA ( bayarea.gov.hk ) (thematic website), the main objective of which is to introduce to visitors, including the public and enterprises of Hong Kong, information about the development directions and policy measures of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in various areas to take forward the GBA development, as well as information on the characteristics and development priorities, etc of various cities of the GBA. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area portal (the portal) managed by the Guangdong Provincial Office of the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is a formal channel through which the Mainland authority disseminates detailed information about the GBA, including GBA policies promulgated by the Central Government, Guangdong Province and various Mainland cities of the GBA. The portal also provides links to the relevant websites of the cities of the GBA (including the link to the thematic website of the GBA Office of the HKSAR Government). As regards the GoGBA Digital Platform and WeChat Mini Programme (GoGBA Platform) managed by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), they aim to provide people and enterprises interested in tapping the Mainland market of the GBA with practical economic and trade information, including tools facilitating business travel, such as a "day counter" for calculation of the days of residence in the Mainland, etc. The positioning and information coverage of the three above-mentioned online platforms are different. For example, the portal and thematic website are more comprehensive in scope, whereas the GoGBA platform mainly provides information relating to business and entrepreneurship. This notwithstanding, the thematic website is linked to the webpages of the other two platforms to facilitate users to access more information on different aspects of the GBA. Take the content of the GBA Office's thematic website as an example, in view of the development needs of young people, the thematic website specifically covers information on the development opportunities for young people in the GBA as well as relevant policies on youth innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, the "Resource Centre" section of the thematic website consists of a database on "Mainland Policies and Measures", which includes the GBA policy measures promulgated by the Central Government, Guangdong Province and different Mainland cities of the GBA that have been uploaded onto the portal or other official websites of the Mainland, so as to facilitate users to search for relevant information based on filtering criteria such as policy area and year of promulgation. The development of the GBA is ubiquitous, with relevant policy measures spanning across different areas, bringing tremendous development opportunities for different sectors of the community. Therefore, apart from the thematic website, the GBA Office also makes use of other effective means and channels to disseminate more important information about the GBA development to different sectors of the community including young people, etc. Specifically, these include: (i) supporting the HKTDC to roll out information on the GoGBA platform useful to Hong Kong young people for pursuing development in the Mainland cities of the GBA. In collaboration with the HKTDC, the GBA Office also organises the "GoGBA Development Day" events in Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of the GBA every year to introduce, on a theme basis, the business opportunities of different industries in the Mainland cities of the GBA; (ii) organising various kinds of exhibitions such as the "Education and Careers Expo" and the "Entrepreneur Day", as well as staging roving exhibitions at local universities to introduce the latest development of the GBA to young people in Hong Kong; (iii) producing promotional videos and television programmes to showcase the different facets and real-life stories of the Mainland cities of the GBA, stories of Hong Kong young entrepreneurs as well as the development opportunities in Qianhai, etc; (iv) setting up "Greater Bay Area Information Station" digital information platform in all 18 districts of Hong Kong to provide the public with a wealth of information about the GBA; (v) establishing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Promotion Centre (Promotion Centre) in Guangzhou. Through collaborating with the HKTDC, Invest Hong Kong and the relevant organisations in the Mainland, the Promotion Centre organises different forms of activities, including seminars on policy analysis, study missions, etc, to promote the opportunities in the GBA to Hong Kong residents and enterprises interested in pursuing development in the Mainland cities of the GBA, and to gain a better understanding of their needs so as to provide them with practical assistance; and (vi) the Economic and Trade Office of the HKSAR Government in Guangdong (GDETO) has also published a booklet entitled "Practical Guide for Hong Kong Residents Living in the Mainland" to provide Hong Kong people with useful information on living and pursuing development in the Mainland. The GBA Office and the GDETO have also jointly produced a series of short videos to provide practical guide for Hong Kong residents living in the Mainland, covering practical information about opening a bank account, applying for a residence permit, taking out social insurance, as well as seeking medical treatment, pursuing studies and purchasing properties, etc. The video series has been uploaded to the thematic website, streaming platforms and the Greater Bay Area Information Station, etc for easy reference by Hong Kong residents interested in living and pursuing development in the Mainland cities of the GBA. The HKSAR Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to provide rich and diversified content to different sectors of the community through various channels, and encourage and support Hong Kong people and enterprises to capitalise on the opportunities of the GBA development. The HKSAR Government will also maintain liaison with the Mainland and Macao authorities with a view to building an information network for online users through web links to facilitate members of the public and enterprises to gain convenient access to the latest practical information on the GBA development.