Lee also on Wednesday slashed taxes on liquor with more than 30 per cent alcohol content and an import price over HK$200 (US$25.75) – a move hoping to “boost … tourism as well as high-end food and beverage consumption”.
Other policies to bolster the economy included expanding the investors’ immigration scheme to include luxurious residence buyers and setting up a HK$10 billion fund to invest in industries like artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
Initiatives were also rolled out to increase the admission of university students and workers to mend a shortage of 180,000 labourers in the next five years.
Hong Kong’s economy has yet to bounce back after the 2019 protests and the subsequent three years of self-imposed isolation due to pandemic curbs.
Hong Kong officials are also eager to repair the city’s international reputation, which took a hit after the implementation of two national security laws that critics say have curtailed rights.
Shortly before Lee’s address, five activists from the League of Social Democrats, the city’s last remaining opposition party, staged a petition outside government headquarters closely watched by a dozen police officers.
