Ladies and Gentlemen，
I am greatly honoured to be speaking before this distinguished audience on the subject of One Country Two Systems. It was only several days ago, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China. It is therefore opportune to look back what happened since the handover, where are we today and what the future may bring.
Before I do so, it will be of interest to trace what was the original intent China had in proposing the concepts of One Country Two Systems, with high degree of autonomy and Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong. From China’s point of view, the return of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997 was not negotiable. But China wished this could be done peacefully. At the same time, China also recognized people of Hong Kong would want their lifestyle be maintained, rule of law upheld and market economy continued to thrive.
With this in mind, Chinese leader Mr Deng Xiaoping created this unique concept of One Country Two Systems. The people of Hong Kong are happy to be part of this effort and proud that together with the people on the Mainland, we have made this a great success.
Even way before 1997, there were pundits who said this could never succeed. This would be the end of Hong Kong. We of course have proved that they were wrong. By any standard, the implementation of One Country Two Systems in Hong Kong has been successful. The fact is the rule of law, the free market economy, the international character of Hong Kong, as well as our way of life, have all been preserved.
In this regard, I would like to quote for you some figures from Worldwide Governance Indicators, a report sponsored by the World Bank issued in October 2016. This report rates individual governance indicators for 215 countries and territories. Hong Kong’s ranking rose in many key areas in the twenty-year period from 1996 to 2015. Under the category Rule of Law, Hong Kong improved from 60th to 12th. In Government Effectiveness, Hong Kong improved from 28th to 3rd. In Control of Corruption, Hong Kong rose from 20th to 17th. Lastly, on Regulatory Quality, Hong Kong improved from 4th to 2nd. The fact is, the successful implementation in Hong Kong of One Country Two Systems is for everyone to see.
Economically, over the past 20 years, our GDP grew at an annual average rate of 3.3% while at the same time, our fiscal reserve together with the Exchange Funds today stand at HK$3.81 trillion which is equivalent to 153% of our GDP. Taking into consideration the severe Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, the SARS outbreak in 2003, and then again the global financial crisis of 2008, when in each incidence our economy suffered contraction, it is clear that we have done alright.
