The Political and Economic Talk, a monthly event hosted by the Hong Kong Chinese Importers’ and Exporters’ Association (HKCIEA), has come up with new ideas again. On 21 June 2023, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-Ki was invited to be a keynote speaker, during which he spoke of the government’s policy of “trawling for talent” and had broad exchange with members of the HKCIEA Council.

In his welcome speech, President Pui Kwan-kay said that since the new HKCIEA Council took office, it has been striving to expand the scope of its work and implement the “attendance recording and performance evaluation” system. It also follows closely the development of different industries. HKCIEA can see that the Hong Kong economy is held back by labour shortage, and the pace of post-pandemic recovery has not been as good as expected. Fortunately, the government is well aware of the gravity of the problem. Secretary Chan is now coordinating the “talent trawling” scheme, with a view to easing labour shortage as soon as possible.

During the talk, Secretary Chan stressed that many industries, including those demanding low-skilled workers and high-end sectors, face manpower shortage. The government is leading society to work hard to navigate the bottleneck in Hong Kong’s economic rebound. Recently, it announced a plan to import labour for the construction industry and transport industry and also decided to suspend the general exclusion of 26 job categories from the Supplementary Labour Scheme. Secretary Chan also mentioned the launch of the Top Talent Pass Scheme, as well as the government’s moves to relax rules on the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, expand the Talent List, and remove the quota on the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme.

The exchange event was hosted by Vice President and Honorary Secretary Wan Hang-ping. Wan thanked Secretary Chan for attending the talk despite his busy schedule. He lauded Secretary Chan’s efforts to connect Hong Kong with the overall development of the country and opening up a new situation for Hong Kong’s transition to order and advancing to prosperity! He said HKCIEA welcomes the government’s new talent policy to replenish Hong Kong’s labour force and drive the economy forward.

More than 80 people attended the exchange event. They included HKCIEA President Pui, Vice President and Honorary Secretary Wan, legislator Kennedy Wong Ying-ho (import-export sector), Vice Presidentd Jimmy Wong Chi-hung, Tony Pang Chor-fu, Paul Leung Yuk-hung, David Ho Chi-ho, Andrew Chan Shiu-shan and Kenneth Chan Kin-nin, Honorary Presidents Chan King and Wong Ting-kwong, and Vice Honorary Secretaries Byron Wong Tsz-wan, Michael Lee Chi-fung and Sophia Lee Shuk-woon. During the interactive session, the council members enthusiastically conducted in-depth exchange with Secretary Chan.