Lord Wei interview – Hong Kong Economic Journal

    Lord Wei’s interview with Hong Kong Economic Journal was published 25 February 2013. The focus of the news report was on the the All Party Parliamentary China Group’s sharing of views and experiences with the Hong Kong authorities on employment and housing issues. The HKEJ is a business and financial daily Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circulation at 80,000. It is the equivalent of the Financial Times in the UK. Translation of the interview is as follows: UK parliamentarians visit Hong Kong and meet Carrie Lam; urge for experience sharing in areas of housing and employment Governments all over the world are facing the problem of addressing the wealth gap. Lord Wei, Hong Kong Sub Committee Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on China (APPCG) who were visiting Hong Kong last week, was interviewed by Hong Kong Economic Journal and said the UK and Hong Kong are both reflecting on the social inequality issue and finding ways to ensure that people can enjoy the fruits of their labour in face of an increasing affluent society and further globalization. One of the terms of reference of the Hong Kong Sub Committee under APPCG is to liaise with Hong Kong government and other sectors and widen the parliamentary contribution the UK-Hong Kong bilateral relationship. Lord Wei, together with two other members of the APPCG, met Chief Secretary Carrie Lam during their visit to Hong Kong and found that both UK and Hong Kong have more or less the same areas of concerns, e.g. housing and employment, and it would be mutually beneficial learning from each other and sharing experience. Lord Wei pointed out that traditional social policy in the last 50-60 years focused on finding jobs for youngsters and supported them with additional social benefits. But he said in this fasting changing world, governments should formulate new policies to match up with the youngsters, and create opportunities for them to share the asset and wealth (like purchasing houses, setting up businesses and sharing profits). Lord Wei said it would involve shifting the role of government and letting in private and volunteering enterprises to create a more responsible social culture. Both UK and Hong Kong are now working hard towards this.  ]]>