Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) held its fourth “Talk of the Metropolis” of the year today (19 September), featuring Ir Prof. Frank Chan Fan, Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress and Vice President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, speaking on the topic “Chinese Modernisation and Hong Kong”.

Chinese modernisation is socialist modernisation pursued under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It contains elements that are common to the modernisation of all countries, but it is characterised more by features that are unique to the Chinese context. In his speech, Prof. Chan outlined these unique features and context while exploring how Hong Kong can contribute. “The overall strategy is to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects with a two-step approach, under which our country will basically achieve socialist modernisation from 2020 through 2035, and subsequently build itself into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful from 2035 through the middle of this century,” he said.

Prof. Chan pointed out that high-quality development is the first and foremost for building China into a modern socialist country in all aspects. It is particularly important to implement a coordinated regional development strategy and to build a regional economic layout and territorial spatial system with complementary advantages for high-quality development. “Hong Kong must proactively align itself with the national development strategies, seize the opportunities arising from the 'Belt and Road Initiative' and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and leverage its unique strengths. In addition to promoting the legal regulatory interface and connectivity to deepen cooperation amongst Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and to fully leverage the composite advantages of the three places, Hong Kong should also embrace an innovation mindset and seek breakthroughs in order to build a first-class bay area,” he said. “Hong Kong is a highly open international metropolis and a major international hub for finance, trade, shipping and aviation, innovation and technology, culture and tourism, and professional services. Coupled with the unique advantages of 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong Kong should play the role of a bridge connecting domestic and international dual circulation, and serve the needs of the country with its strengths, in order to live up to President Xi Jinping's 'four musts and four proposals' mandate.”

HKMU Council Chairman Ir Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung and President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing expressed their gratitude to Prof. Chan for his insightful sharing. In his welcome speech, Dr Wong praised Prof. Chan for his rich administrative experience and outstanding leadership, having held senior positions in government and public utilities, and for his dedication to the development of China. He emphasised that with its mission of “Education for All”, HKMU has nurtured an abundance of talent, who are highly sought after by the community and continue to contribute to the development of Hong Kong and the country in the process of Chinese modernisation. The participants found the talk inspiring and enlightening, and actively engaged in asking questions and exchanging views with the speaker.

The “Talk of the Metropolis” series aims to provide a platform for people from all walks of life to be inspired by the views of experts and scholars, thereby having a positive impact on social development. All talks in the series will be broadcast on the University's “Knowledge for All” programme every Sunday morning on TVB Pearl. To learn more about the public lecture series or watch past videos, please visit https://www.hkmu.edu.hk/pao/talk-of-the-metropolis/.