HK leader John Lee says latest talent attraction strategies will be 'aggressive'

Hong Kong leader John Lee has reassured that the talent attraction strategies outlined in his first policy address on Wednesday are “very aggressive”.

Lee said on a radio programme on 20 October that many Hong Kong citizens have left the city for various reasons and people should not conclude that this is the ultimate situation in the city.

Over the years, HongKongers have been used to “getting in and out” of town, according to Lee. He also said that local talents would be tempted to stay or return as long as Hong Kong remains attractive with its unique advantages.

Lee also described that the talent hunt strategies outlined in his policy address as “very aggressive”, offering graduates from the world's top 100 universities with at least three years of working experience over the past five years, to apply for the brand-new Top Talent Pass Scheme.

Launching in December, the scheme aims to process applications within a few weeks. The first batch of talented people is expected by the first quarter of 2023.

While some critics said the measures would only work in Hong Kong with further easing in COVID-19 restrictions, Lee said he would not make any comparison with Singapore simply on the scheme itself, whereas people should not underestimate Hong Kong's competitiveness in luring overseas talent.

He added that the government should not be shortsighted in policy-making, and that many people have passed away due to the pandemic between March and April this year.

This comes as local reports said the latest policy address would unveil a special office especially for creating incentives to attract top talents to Hong Kong upon delivering his first policy address on 19 October 2022. According to HKEJ, the upcoming policy address will propose the establishment of a “talent snatching” office by coordinating multiple bureaux, including the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, to study the incentives for innovation and technology, and overseas talents to study in Hong Kong.

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