Much optimism about the future of Hong Kong and the wider world was expressed by a range of expert participants at a high-powered forum which featured the city’s new leader John Lee Ka-chiu yesterday (November 2, 2022).
- Scroll down for a detailed “press briefing” summary of the conference from the Friday Culture team.
- Click HERE to go to a short video summarising two speeches made by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee yesterday.
- Visit this site or Fridayeveryday’s social media pages over the next few days for reports on the main themes of the conferences, highlighting insights from the speakers and panellists.
- Below is the official press briefing document, a statement of record which includes full details of participants, panels, and main themes.
TOWARDS A FAIRER, SAFER WORLD
“The International Communication Forum: Towards a fairer, safer world”, jointly organized by Friday Culture Limited and the Hong Kong Coalition, was held on 2 November, 2022.
The Forum was officiated by The Hon Mr John KC LEE, GBM, SBS , PDSM , PMSM, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Ms LU Xinning, Deputy Director, Liaison Office of Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Mr YANG Yirui, Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR; the Hon Mrs Regina IP, GBM, GBS, JP, the Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council of the HKSAR; Dr Herman HU, SBS, JP, Chairman, Friday Culture Limited; Dr Kennedy WONG, BBS, JP, Vice Secretary-General, Hong Kong Coalition; and Mr Patrick Tsang, Chief Executive Officer, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited.
Dr Herman Hu, Chairman of Friday Culture said in his welcome speech that: “Today, many voices are trying to tell a broader, deeper, fairer story of what is happening in our city and our country. Many of us in this room are working actively to advance that process. When we put our heads together, we are good at solving problems – and sometimes we take offbeat methods to deal with challenges.”
HONG KONG ‘CONTINUES TO BE SAFE’
In his keynote speech, the Chief Executive, Mr John KC LEE said: “I think the theme of the forum today is very well thought out. The theme is: ‘Towards a fairer, safer world’. Fairness and safety are important values well treasured and protected by Hong Kong, by our legal system and, most of all, by the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. Hong Kong now continues to be an open, safe, vibrant and business-friendly metropolis, and is back on the right course of ‘one country, two systems’. The unique and innovative principle of ‘one country, two systems’ has ensured that Hong Kong has the strong support of the country while staying connected to the rest of the world. We are all set for making greater contributions to the country.”
The forum included two panel discussions. The first panel discussed: “Achieving fairness in a polarised world”.
Mr Patrick TSANG, Chief Executive Officer, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, moderated the panel with a number of distinguished guests including the Hon Mrs Regina IP, GBM, GBS, JP, the Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council of the HKSAR; Mr Amr Wafik Mohamed ELHENAWY, Consul General of Consulate General of Egypt in Hong Kong, China; Mr Chandran NAIR, Founder, Global Institute for Tomorrow; and Mr Nick CHAN, MH, JP, Director of AALCO Hong Kong Regional Arbitration Centre.
The first panel discussion on “Achieving fairness in a polarised world” concluded that respect for all nations and communities will be the key towards creation of a fairer world and the dissolving of unfair barriers.
RISING CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY
Since the pandemic, people around the world have become increasingly aware of their need for safety. They need safety in terms of potential issues from hunger, crime, inflation, job security, and geopolitical tensions. The world is also facing huge problems in climate and environment with rising water levels, increasing number of traumatic weather incidents, coastal flooding, drought, and so on.
Globally, a lot of work has already been done in making the world a fairer place. Fairness is not about distributing resources equally, but to give everyone impartial and non-discriminating opportunities.
The resourceful should take lead and share more with the less fortunate. Then everyone will have the chance to benefit from the global community.
The second panel focused on “Safety, from individual to global perspectives”. The discussion was moderated by Prof Witman HUNG, JP, Member of Global Council, World Summit Awards. Views were shared by the Hon CHEUNG Kwok Kwan, SBS, JP, Deputy Secretary for Justice; Ms YANG Meng Yang, Executive Director, CICC Capital Management Department, China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Asset Management Limited; Dr William YU, Chief Executive Officer, World Green Organisation and Mr. Laurie PEARCEY, former CE of the China-Australia Business Council, Associate Vice-President (External Engagement & Outreach) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The second panel concluded that apart from safety, at a personal level, everyone was reviewing their own personal security and privacy. Globally, people have acknowledged the many challenges of safety and security from to personal and national, and at multiple levels. To move forward, we should have more communication, understanding and mutual respect for each other. Identifying and understanding the issues on safety, and acknowledging and achieving agreement on those issues will be a good start.
Dr. Kennedy Wong, Vice Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Coalition, concluded: “A fair and safe world needs more communication and dialogue. Today’s forum has successfully taken one step closer towards that goal.”
Images taken by Friday Culture photographers