Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has made the mobility of talents between Hong Kong and other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities a focal point in her first year in office as she strives to involve the city in the project.

Since Lam took office on July 1 last year, she has visited Hong Kong Science Park five times to show the SAR government's support for technology innovation. On every visit, she noted that talents are the key.

Hong Kong talents are good at technology innovation, which is indispensable for Bay Area development, Lam told local Chinese-language newspaper Ta Kung Pao in April.

She encouraged young people in Hong Kong to know more about the world outside, have courage to conquer it and seize opportunities the Bay Area brings.

Lam frequently visited Bay Area cities in Guangdong province in the first half of this year to prepare for the Bay Area's development plan, which will be unveiled soon. She took a business tour to Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in March and April, and went on a trip to Huizhou and Guangzhou last month.

Her meetings with local-government authorities and visits to collaborative institutes strengthen Hong Kong's connection with these cities, encouraging freer flow of talents among cites.

When meeting Li Xi, Party secretary of Guangdong province, Lam suggested Hong Kong and Guangdong jointly introduce youth communication mechanisms.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has already launched its Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme 2.0, which lets university students in Hong Kong experience Shenzhen's fintech ecosystem through the Summer Internship Program this year.

Besides fintech cooperation with Shenzhen, Lam also hoped Hong Kong talents could be involved in Guangzhou's biotechnology development and apply scientific research results to create products in cities such as Huizhou. She visited the two cities last month.

A Hong Kong Youth Power Association survey last month revealed that about 70 percent of respondents are optimistic about Bay Area career prospects. The survey gathered views from 878 young people in Hong Kong.

However, another survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) showed that about 40 percent of respondents suggested the SAR government persuade Chinese mainland authorities to remove the 183-day rule that subjects Hong Kong people working on the mainland to mainland tax.

The SAR government should strive for more welfare in medicine and housing, enabling Hong Kong people to gain the same benefits as mainland residents in the Bay Area, Eunice Chu, head of policy at ACCA Hong Kong, recommended.

edithlu@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 06/28/2018 page13)