5-year plan to boost livelihoods, policy address to set out concrete measures: John Lee

Hong Kong's leader, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, has outlined his administration's commitment to improving residents' livelihoods through a long-term five-year plan. The plan, set to be unveiled in September, will provide long-term development strategies to enhance residents' well-being and quality of life. Lee emphasized the importance of aligning the five-year plan with the upcoming policy address, which will roll out concrete measures on housing, livelihood, medical care, and other areas annually.

The Chief Executive acknowledged that the government had sought public input on the two documents over the past two months. He assured that the feedback would be incorporated into their planning and policies to foster sustainable economic development, improve livelihoods, and create new opportunities for Hong Kong residents.

To illustrate the impact of government initiatives, Lee featured interviews with residents, highlighting how various programs had benefited their families. One subdivided flat tenant, surnamed Ng, shared how a community living room project had helped her son, who has special education needs, improve his language skills and build his confidence. Since the scheme's launch in 2023, the 16 community living rooms have served approximately 9,000 subdivided flat households and hosted close to 2.2 million visits.

Another resident, surnamed Cheung, spoke about how the School-based After School Care Service Scheme had enabled his daughter to revise and participate in extracurricular activities during the summer. The scheme expanded after the government lifted the service quota cap in the 2025 policy address, offering more than 10,000 places to families in the 2025-26 academic year.

The ethnic minority care teams, comprising 12 representatives, have proactively reached out to ethnic minority families, sharing government information and understanding their needs. They have contacted about 18,000 ethnic minority households and conducted around 10,000 family visits. A resident also shared her experience with the Chronic Disease Co-care Scheme, which has provided convenient screening services for over 260,000 residents, helping her manage her high blood pressure through regular exercise and health initiatives.

In a separate statement, Lee emphasized that the two documents would promote steady economic development, attract more global firms to Hong Kong's cross-border innovation and technology hub, and establish the city as an international tertiary education hub.