Lee's mainland tech drive 'making HK more synched up'
Lee's mainland tech drive 'making HK more synched up'
John Lee's visit to Zhejiang is significant given that it contributes 10 percent of China's GDP and is home to 'Six Little Dragons'. Photo: John Lee's Facebook
A Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress said on Friday mainland technology firms can show the world what they have achieved through the SAR.
Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme, Nicholas Chan said Chief Executive John Lee's visit to Zhejiang is significant as the province accounts for nearly 10 percent of China's gross domestic product.
Chan also believed there will be closer cooperation between the SAR and Zhejiang now that a memorandum of understanding has been signed for 51 projects that cover 13 key areas like smart cities, artificial intelligence, fintech and biotech.
He also believed that Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons" – DeepSeek, Game Science, Unitree Robotics, Deep Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech – can raise funds globally via Hong Kong, citing the SAR's role as a 'super connector' and 'super value-adder'.
'You look at what's happening there in our government plan for the coming year," Chan said.
"It is about how we develop technology and industries together in a synchronized way so that you don't have technology that is just built for interest but which no one uses, and industries dying for some technology that doesn't exist.
'We will be more synced up, more joined up, and we'll be able to unleash more power, particularly in these testing geopolitical times,' he added.
Chan said Hong Kong is an ideal location for companies to demonstrate robotics technology to the world as countries like the United States have a strong belief in Hong Kong's compliance law.
'And so if we can build this, demonstrate to the world through Hong Kong, then these technologies would have a stronger reach throughout the world and be able to improve lives generally throughout the world,' he said.
Speaking on the same programme, artificial intelligence consultant Raj Shroff said Hong Kong, as an international city, is also attractive for high-tech firms, as the companies can attract foreign capital and customers into the SAR, while the city's universities also bring in a lot of talent locally and from around the world.
Hong Kong, he said, has laid out a welcome mat for tech firms to operate here and the talent acquisition and sharing would make the SAR a larger technology hub.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
8 hours ago
- RTHK
No arrests made from joint collusion probe: Chris Tang
No arrests made from joint collusion probe: Chris Tang Security chief Chris Tang was speaking on a radio programme. File photo: RTHK No one has so far been arrested in the first known joint operation between Beijing's office overseeing national security matters in Hong Kong and the local police force, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on Saturday. The Office for Safeguarding National Security had requested assistance from the force's National Security Department for a probe into suspected collusion with foreign forces, including by arranging interviews with people involved in the case. "Those who were being interviewed could be suspects, or witnesses, or someone who could provide information. I want to emphasise that we have not arrested anyone so far," Tang told a Commercial Radio programme. The minister also noted that Beijing authorities were empowered under the city's home-grown security legislation to ask SAR officers for support, to determine if a situation was one of three exceptional circumstances laid out in Article 55 of the Hong Kong National Security Law. Article 55 of the law stipulates that the Office for Safeguarding National Security can exercise jurisdiction if a case is determined to be complex due to the involvement of a foreign country or external elements, or is considered a "serious situation" where the SAR government is unable to enforce to law effectively, or counter a "major and imminent threat to national security". "This time, we have helped to arrange some interviews. Under the current circumstances where Article 55 has not been invoked, the Hong Kong police are responsible for carrying out law enforcement," Tang said. "In order to determine whether there is such a situation, Beijing's office relied on our legal assistance, which was normal and reasonable." National security police recently warned that the mobile app "Reversed Front: Bonfire" has been deemed to be seditious and those who have downloaded it or provided funds to its developer may be in breach of the security legislation. The security chief said the app had shown the "viciousness of soft resistance", adding that it aimed to "corrupt the minds of young people".
HKFP
10 hours ago
- HKFP
Latest directive from Hong Kong gov't: Protect national security from subversives in saunas
Here's one from our 'you could not make it up' department. In Hong Kong, you will soon need, in effect, a security clearance to operate a steam bath machine. This is the latest message from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, which is supposed to regulate the restaurant business, among other things, but is now, like most parts of the government, trying very hard to look as if it is making a contribution to national security. You would think this was quite difficult. What could be subversive about commercial food? Where there's a will, there's a way. The FEHD has been sending a letter to restaurants, warning that a new condition will be added to the licences for restaurants and other food outlets. This will state the proprietor's intentions as follows: 'I shall ensure that no act or activity engaged or involved in by me or any of my related persons… may constitute or cause the occurrence of an offence endangering national security under the National Security Law or other laws of the HKSAR, or conduct [that] is otherwise contrary to the interests of national security or the interest of the public (including public morals, public order and/or public safety) of Hong Kong.' 'Related persons', the letter adds, include directors, management, employees, agents, and subcontractors. Similar conditions, according to local media, are also to be imposed on cinemas, gaming centres, funeral parlours, and saunas. Failure to keep to the new conditions will lead to the loss of the licence. Chief Executive John Lee defended the new arrangements with a straight face at a press conference as 'appropriate and the right thing to do.' He added: 'Offending conduct means any offence that endangers national security, or acts and events that are contrary to national security and public interest in Hong Kong. It is very clear.' But it is not very clear at all. 'An offence' and 'national security' are legal terms subject to carefully framed definitions to which citizens may refer, although at some risk of disappointment. But what are we to make of 'acts and events' which are contrary to 'public interest'? The new arrangement looks disturbingly like an attempt to make a large group of people – of whom, by coincidence, the government disapproves – unemployable in a wide range of venues and industries, because the proprietor will fear that the inclusion of one of them in his 'related persons' will lead to loss of his licence. It is, of course, true that many jobs or professions are barred to some people because of features in their background: medics, teachers, district councillors, bus captains, the Pope… But such restrictions are justified by the need for a qualification or the potential for harm. Does the Hong Kong government seriously expect us to believe that national security will be endangered if the flunky who hands you your towel in the sauna has dubious views about the merits of the Chinese Communist Party? Are there really dangerous opportunities for an active subversive employed in a funeral parlour? Then there is the question of who is actually affected and how we are to know who they are. I do not see how this new arrangement can be compatible with our frequently voiced devotion to the common law. After all, we are all supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. The government, or the restaurant proprietor, may suspect that a would-be waiter has an eccentric view of the 'public interest'. But an opinion is not a crime. If a person has infringed the law, he will and should be prosecuted. During his custodial sentence,e he will not be in the market for jobs in restaurants, or anywhere else. Upon his release, having as the old phrase has it 'paid his debt to society,' he is again entitled to all the legal rights of a citizen, including the right to be presumed innocent until a court decides otherwise. Clearly, though, the FEHD intends its restriction to cover a wide area. Unless the department proposes to publish a black list of people unsuitable for employment in cinemas or funeral parlours, there is going to be a tricky edge zone. Here, neither the employer nor his potential underling knows what the position is, and there will be a temptation for the employer to err on the side of safety. I really do not think it would be a good idea if there were a large group of Hongkongers subject to restrictions on their employment (as well as engagement in politics) like those imposed on English Quakers in the 18th century or Jews in the Austrian Empire in the 19th century. Will this make them love Big Brother? I also note the danger that the FEHD's initiative will be copied by other departments. Will similar conditions attach to my next dog licence? HKFP is an impartial platform & does not necessarily share the views of opinion writers or advertisers. HKFP presents a diversity of views & regularly invites figures across the political spectrum to write for us. Press freedom is guaranteed under the Basic Law, security law, Bill of Rights and Chinese constitution. Opinion pieces aim to point out errors or defects in the government, law or policies, or aim to suggest ideas or alterations via legal means without an intention of hatred, discontent or hostility against the authorities or other communities.
RTHK
12 hours ago
- RTHK
SAR to target markets with 'the best returns': CE
SAR to target markets with 'the best returns': CE The CE says the government will do more to connect with more countries and regions around the world. Photo: RTHK Frank Yung reports Hong Kong should set its sights on markets with "the best returns in the shortest time" as the government connects with more countries and regions around the world, the city's leader has said. Chief Executive John Lee said while many private businesses have started seeking new markets to diversify risks amid the Sino-US tariffs war, there's a need for his administration to do the same. "There are just so many different parts of this world that we can do good business and build relations with. I'll expand my network. I'll not just focus on one or two countries or markets," he said. To generate the best returns for Hong Kong, it should look for potential markets that are mutually attractive, the CE said. He added they must also place emphasis on the country and the SAR. Lee has made several overseas visits, including to Asean countries and the Middle East, to help promote the city. On possible future trips, he said there's room to develop trade with South American countries, and the Central Asia region also has potential. Belt and Road countries are also under the administration's radar, according to the city's leader. He acknowledged the presence of both "supporting forces" and "counter-currents" in the SAR's charm offensive. "[When] the counter-current is against me, if I still want to swim in that direction, I swim double fast, I make double the effort. I'm asking everybody in the government to double the effort, tell Hong Kong's true story," Lee said. The CE added that Hong Kong must work hard to continue attracting investment and professionals from outside the territory. "Investment is something that drives changes, investment is also something that drives talents to come and talents to remain, because investment leads to actual business," he said.
