Secretary for Home Affairs: The preparation of the "Hong Kong Five-Year Plan" will be completed within the year.

On the 17th, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam, stated before the Executive Council meeting that the government is working at full speed to prepare the "Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong" and will begin public consultation in the fourth quarter of this year, with the official text of the plan to be released by the end of the year. Lam said that preparing a five-year plan for Hong Kong will help to strengthen and better utilize Hong Kong's advantages. The plan will set out visions and goals for key areas over a five-year period, allowing Hong Kong residents to have a clearer understanding of Hong Kong's prosperous development in five years. The plan will promote economic development, improve people's livelihoods, and create a continuous cycle of progress, allowing residents to share in the benefits of development and continuously improve their quality of life. Lam stated that he will lead the preparation work, with the Chief Secretary for Administration and Mainland Affairs Bureau taking primary responsibility. All government secretaries will be fully committed to promoting and participating in the plan. "The preparation of the 'Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong' will be completed within this year," Lam said. To assist the government in completing the work in a timely manner, he proposed establishing a mechanism for coordinating research and collecting opinions between the government and the Legislative Council, to leverage the beneficial interaction and cooperation between the executive and legislative branches. The Development Bureau of the SAR submitted discussion documents to the Legislative Council's Development Affairs Committee that day, introducing the idea of establishing dedicated legislation to speed up the development of the Northern Metropolis Area and soliciting opinions from committee members. Lam expressed hope that the dedicated legislation will streamline the planning and land procedures for the Northern Metropolis, allowing for flexible and dynamic land planning, accelerating project progress through various facilitation measures, and assisting industries in establishing themselves in the Northern Metropolis through facilitating cross-border flow of elements.