Progressive Development
10. I advocate the concept of "Progressive Development", in achieving these three goals. I will explain how this concept will chart the course for Hong Kong's development. On this basis, we will endeavour to forge a consensus in the community. Over the past decade, there has been too much controversy and too little consensus. Time and opportunities have passed us by while we got caught up in endless debates.
11. "Progressive Development" is envisioned to be realised by:
(1) Promoting economic development through infrastructure projects: History tells us how the Hong Kong economy took off in the 1970s, and developed progressively into a modern international metropolis. The large-scale infrastructure projects implemented in the 1970s and 1990s provided the impetus for rapid growth. Apart from upgrading urban development, infrastructure projects bring about higher employment, wage increases and real economic benefits. As we embark upon the 21st century, we will push ahead with 10 major infrastructure projects, details of which will follow.
(2) Promoting community development through revitalisation: In pursuing further development, we must attach importance to environmental protection and heritage conservation. To protect our environment, we need a two-pronged approach. Apart from enacting legislation, we need to engage the business sector and the public to enhance their awareness and rally their support to protect the environment with a view to changing some of our daily habits. As for heritage conservation, emphasis should not be placed solely on the preservation of historic buildings. We should also seek to revitalise these buildings in order that they may become an integral and lively part of the local community, which in turn will generate wider social and economic benefits.
(3) Promoting social harmony under the concept of helping people to help themselves: While globalisation spurs development, some people are not yet able to share the fruits of prosperity. In my view, the Government should not attempt to narrow the wealth gap by redistributing wealth through high levels of tax and welfare. The role of the Government should be confined to creating the social conditions that help improve the livelihood of people with low income using a multi-pronged policy approach. This includes promoting infrastructure development to achieve higher wages; developing soft infrastructure on all fronts including expanding retraining programmes to help the middle class and the grassroots upgrade their skills －this will improve their competitiveness in an ever-evolving labour market; creating employment opportunities at the community level through social enterprises based on tri-partite collaboration between the Government, the community and the business sector; continuing to invest heavily in education and fostering social mobility to reduce cross-generational poverty; and, adding value to social capital as the target of welfare services development in the future.
