Lee made the remarks after attending a closed high-level meeting of the Third Plenary Session chaired by Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC).
Shen is also chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Lee told the media after the morning session that Hong Kong should familiarize itself with the “spirit” of the plenary and push forward reforms with a new mindset. He added that the financial hub still plays “an irreplaceable and important role” in the country’s reform and opening up.
The city must also ensure that “day-to-day affairs” are consistent with the key findings of the third plenary session, he added.
“As the world undergoes profound changes unprecedented in a century, the country’s development has entered a critical phase where strategic opportunities, risks and challenges coexist,” Lee said.
“We must act proactively, pragmatically and responsibly, actively perceive and adapt to change and see the promotion of further reforms as our own responsibility.
“I have also instructed Hong Kong government officials to study the spirit of the Third Plenary Session in depth… to thoroughly implement it and integrate it into their daily work.”
When asked about measures to enhance Hong Kong’s role as an emerging global hub for high-caliber talent, Lee praised the local government’s efforts to attract skilled workers from abroad.
He said Hong Kong’s various special programs had received 340,000 applications from talent “sought after around the world” and that more than 140,000 successful candidates had already arrived in the city.
Zheng Yanxiong, director of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, also attended the meeting.
Shen will chair another explanatory session in the afternoon, which will be held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai and broadcast live on television.
