The Legislative Council

Annual Report 2023

Duty visit to the Greater Bay Area

At the invitation of the Chief Executive, Members of the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) conducted a duty visit to four cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“GBA”), namely Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan and Guangzhou, from 21 to 24 April 2023 to observe first-hand the latest developments and opportunities in GBA, and to enhance communication and understanding with Mainland officials and share experiences with them, so that all parties can jointly promote the high quality development of GBA, and enable Hong Kong to better integrate into the overall development of the country and explore new opportunities for Hong Kong’s development. A total of 83 Members participated in the visit.

The visit to GBA marks the first joint visit to the Mainland by the current term of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“HKSAR”) Government and LegCo, and it is also the highest-level and largest-scale joint duty visit of the Executive Authorities and the Legislature, fully demonstrating the positive interaction between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature of the HKSAR.

During the four-day visit, the Chief Executive, officials of the HKSAR Government and Members visited various projects, facilities and enterprises in innovation and technology (“I&T”), environmental protection, youth development, arts and culture, etc., and met with leaders of Guangdong Province and various municipalities. Members consider that the visit has enabled them not only to have a better understanding of the current state and future direction of development of the Mainland cities in GBA, but also identify the potentials for complementary and synergistic cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of GBA in I&T and other areas, which are important to forging ahead with the development of GBA.

The Chief Executive, Mr John LEE Ka-chiu, leads the delegation of the Government and the Legislative Council to conduct a four-day duty visit to four cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“GBA”)

Photos of visits in Shenzhen

Photos of visits in Dongguan

Photos of visits in Foshan

Photos of visits in Guangzhou

[📄Report of the visit]

Study visit to Fujian

The President of the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) led the LegCo Delegation on a study visit to Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian Province from 15 to 19 July 2023. This was LegCo’s first visit to Fujian since its 25 years of establishment, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and to expand and deepen the connection, collaboration and development between Hong Kong and Fujian across different sectors.

The LegCo Delegation consisted of 34 Members who came from different sectors or professions, and included deputies to the National People’s Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (“CPPCC”), with six of them being fellow natives from Fujian Province. With a packed and enriching five-day visit programme covering more than 20 projects, the Delegation studied Fuzhou and Xiamen in various aspects‍, including exchanging views with leaders of the Fujian Province, members of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Committee of the CPPCC, and relevant government department officials;‍ visiting new development areas and demonstration enterprises to stay updated on the latest developments of local innovation and technology and high-quality industries; visiting sites of historical and cultural value under national protection and world cultural heritages to learn about local cultural conservation and the development of tourism industry; and meeting with the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Fujian, exchanging views with Hong Kong students at Huaqiao University, and visiting senior citizens benefiting from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s “Fujian Scheme” at a health center.

Following the conclusion of the visit, Members divided themselves into seven groups corresponding to seven major policy areas, making a number of policy recommendations on (1) long-term industry policies, digital economy and high-quality industries; (2) finance; (3) tourism, conservation and development; (4) cross-boundary elderly care and medical services; (5) education (including patriotic education); (6) aviation/maritime affairs; as well as (7) legal and arbitration, hoping to promote Hong Kong’s better dovetailing with the national strategies, including the 14th Five-Year Plan and the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and Fujian.