HKSAR touts natl, global opportunities

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's advantage in the global race for artificial intelligence talent rests on its international connectivity, the national and global opportunities set out in its new five-year plan, and the security it enjoys under the "one country, two systems" framework, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Thursday.

Lee also said the city should enhance AI literacy on campuses and in industries to help people leverage technologies responsibly.

The remarks were made during an exchange session on the city's first five-year plan and 2026 Policy Address — both of which were announced on Wednesday — between Lee and local lawmakers on Thursday morning.

Sixteen lawmakers raised questions during the session, covering topics such as AI development strategies, support for local employment, and homeownership assistance policies.

Legislator Lawrence Tang Fei expressed his concerns over the SAR government's proposal to attract AI talent.

The inaugural five-year plan said the city should foster better alignment with national key science and technology strategies, including those for AI, and introduce and support the development of related enterprises in Hong Kong.

In the Policy Address, the government proposed adding more categories relating to AI applications to enrich the city's Talent List, which currently covers 60 professions that are underrepresented in Hong Kong.

According to government sources, the mid-term update report on labor force projections, to be released by the Labour and Welfare Bureau soon, will analyze the impact of AI applications on the labor market.

The bureau is currently reviewing the demand for AI talent across various industries, identifying which roles are in short supply and where local training programs have failed to keep pace, and expects to update the Talent List in the first half of next year.

Lee said talent follows opportunities and that Hong Kong's inaugural five-year plan has clearly spelled out both national and global opportunities — a combination he described as "rare in the world".

He also stressed that Hong Kong's security and stability under the "one country, two systems" framework, backed by national support, make the SAR more attractive to international investors and talent amid global uncertainty.

He said he hoped various stakeholders, including lawmakers, universities and social organizations, would also help to promote Hong Kong's strengths.

Responding to lawmaker Stanley Ng Chau-pei's question on how to equip workers to keep pace with AI development, Lee said AI brings many advances and boosts work efficiency, making universal AI education very important.

Beyond school education, he said, promoting AI use within industries also matters. Lee said the authorities have proposed supporting small and medium-sized enterprises' AI transformation, by providing them with subsidies on a matching basis in applying AI and cybersecurity-related solutions.

"You have to use it and know where the risks lie to make better use of it," Lee said. He also noted that young people born into the digital age — also dubbed "digital natives" — must be equipped with sufficient digital awareness, skills and ethics. Schools should therefore teach AI literacy and ethics alongside integrating AI into the curriculum.

"Especially for teenagers, if they focus too much on AI, don't socialize and become detached from society, that is very serious, so everyone must take part. The government can set policy, but what truly influences every individual are schools and their families," the chief executive said.

Social welfare sector lawmaker Grace Chan Man-yee supported the HK$300 million ($38.2 million)allocation — proposed in the Policy Address — to set up a social welfare AI laboratory to ease frontline workloads.

Lee strongly endorsed using AI to improve welfare services, such as cutting care home paperwork, and said AI would help provide more targeted, effective support to people in need.

Looking ahead over the next five years, Lee said the plan will bring faster progress, a better quality of life, more job opportunities and stronger economic growth to be shared by all Hong Kong residents.