Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

To improve policymaking, Hong Kong must think long term – like Beijing

To improve policymaking, Hong Kong must think long term – like Beijing

John Lee wants to revive an old government think tank to advise public policy, but the limited and short-term research and planning capabilities of the past won’t cut it today. Like the central government, the new administration must set its sights on more far-reaching goals.

John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kong’s sole chief executive candidate, is looking to form an advisory group akin to the old Central Policy Unit (CPU), according to a Post report.

The plan is “to reinstate an official think tank in the heart of government with the aim of conducting policy research and taking the pulse of society to address a current deficiency in the administration”. But can a revived CPU meet the needs of our time?

Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s decision to wind up the CPU deprived her team of the ability to carry out high-level and cross-functional strategic planning – just as the city was entering a phase when this kind of planning capability was most needed.

As President Xi Jinping has said on many occasions, we are experiencing “great changes unseen in a century”. In a world facing geopolitical upheavals, a pandemic, a climate crisis, a shifting technological landscape and a brutal war in Ukraine, Hong Kong should expect much volatility at a global level.

Closer to home, Hong Kong is dealing with the impact of Covid-19 and the aftermath of the 2019 protests, as well as perennial issues such as the housing shortage, education reform, and inadequate upward social mobility.

Since 2020, Hong Kong has begun to integrate its goals with those of the mainland. Yet while China has a well-functioning planning system at both the central and local levels, Hong Kong has no such equivalent.

China’s strategic planning is led by the National Development and Research Commission (NDRC). Its charter is to monitor macroeconomic and social development trends, then formulate and implement strategies for both medium- and long-term economic and social development.

Pundits have called this a “state-planning approach” and criticised it for not being market oriented. They are wrong. Though China’s approach has its roots in Soviet-style central economic planning, it has evolved into something very different.

China has bred a large number of entrepreneurs and private-sector businesses that invest and operate according to the principles of a market economy as well as policies set by the state.

Local governments often support these businesses’ growth while they try to align themselves with central government policies. Many foreign companies have also benefited from this approach.

The success of state-led economic growth is evident in the rapid rise of the East Asian Tiger economies. The model is also akin to that of US president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Even President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” campaign includes a significant dose of government involvement.

The CPU was established in Hong Kong in 1989, during British colonial rule. Its purpose was to provide policy analysis and recommendations to the governor on overarching, cross-bureau issues. Ironically, it was formed when the government was supposedly practising a policy of “positive non-interventionism”.

The CPU remained in place after the 1997 handover. I was a part-time member during Tung Chee-hwa’s leadership. While the CPU was focused on getting feedback from the general public on government policies and was not perhaps as strategic as it should have been, it was nonetheless able to gather a certain level of strategic thinking from professionals outside government.

Still, a replica of the old CPU won’t meet the strategic needs of Hong Kong today. The “new CPU” will need to cover a broader spectrum.

In these turbulent times, it is imperative that the next administration build a strategic planning capability that transcends bureaucratic silos and sees Hong Kong both within a Chinese context and a global one. It should also look beyond the incumbent “short-termism” of the current administration to address more deep-seated issues.

It is a common practice for multinational corporations to have a strategic planning organisation to help them stay afloat in fast-moving currents. Strategic planners help senior executives form a view of the future, understand the opportunities and threats, and identify the best course of action.

Governments need to address broader and more complex issues than corporations; the need for strategy planning capability is even more acute.

Strategic planning is a professional discipline. A strategy starts with a clearly defined purpose and an understanding of the forces driving each decision that needs to be made. Every strategy has to address four fundamental questions: Where to play? How to play? When to play what? And, what’s our right to win?

The next administration will need to find the right talent to build such an organisation. Those selected will be required to work closely with their counterparts on the mainland – in particular, the NDRC – and with key officials in Hong Kong.

They will also need to form connections with the planning organisations of other governments, as well as key opinion leaders and think tanks. And, since the public is itself a key source of intelligence, this team will need to embed itself deeply in the local community.

As such, its leaders must be not only well trained in strategic thinking and analysis, but also able to articulate complicated thoughts in a language that others can understand and appreciate.

The people of Hong Kong have high expectations of the new administration. Creating a strategic planning capability, far beyond that of the old CPU, should be a priority.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×