The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) today (30 July) met with Mr Yau Shing-mu, Under Secretary for Transport and Housing. At the meeting, BPA expressed concerns with an increasing project backlog, which included, among other things, inadequate pedestrian links and transport connections.
The Financial Secretary, Mr. John Tsang, in his Budget today highlighted for the first time the potential structural deficit. He also proposed a series of initiatives to strengthen Hong Kong’s competitiveness in several sectors. BPA endorses the Budget for being pragmatic and forward-looking, which will eventually enhance our competitiveness. The Budget aligns with BPA’s theme of the year – ‘Creativity and Upward Mobility-Brightening Hong Kong’s Future.’
In his concluding remark for of the Policy Address, the Chief Executive stressed that it was “imperative to pursue people’s livelihood and the economy in tandem”. This is a belief that is, to a large extent, shared by the BPA. It is however disappointing to note that the reference to economic development is not sufficiently reflected in the contents of the Policy Address, namely, the strategies for economic development are fragmented and piecemeal while the needs of the middle class and SMEs, who are the major contributors to Hong Kong’s economy, have been overlooked.
Currently, the Joint Office (JO) set up by the Buildings Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is responsible for handling cases of inter-floor water seepage in buildings as well as coordinating investigations into and law enforcement actions about the relevant complaints. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council…
Will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers and total values of the transactions of private residential properties acquired by non-Hong Kong permanent residents and those acquired in the name of a company in each month between January and October this year, with a breakdown by transaction price of property…
It is learnt that in October 2009, the Buildings Department (BD) issued repair orders to the owners of a tenement building at 51 Kai Ming Street, To Kwa Wan, requiring them to repair the external walls, common areas and pipes of the building. In early 2010, BD further found that there were problems with the cantilevered slab balconies of the building and, therefore, issued statutory orders to the owners requiring them to arrange for a detailed investigation.
Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the total number and total amount of outstanding residential mortgage loans as at May 31, 2013?
Deputy President, in this city, where rationalism is playing second fiddle to populism, we need to learn the art of distinguishing between political illusions and economic realities. A case in point, the Policy Address points to the direction of illusionary utopia path, but the Budget brings us back to economic reality. Deputy President, the Budget delivered by the Financial … Read more
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, in the Legislative Council today (April 17): Question: Recently, the Government has planned to build four residential blocks of 37 to 39 storeys on Northwest Kowloon Reclamation Site 6 (Site 6) in Sham … Read more
President, there is this old saying that “the ancients who wished to order well their states, they first regulated their families”. In ancient times, one must manage to govern a prefecture or county well before he could run a state properly. In present-day Hong Kong, communities must be managed properly before social stability can be achieved, and in order for … Read more
