Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is urging Hongkongers to take advantage of Beijing's new measures and be innovative. Lee emphasizes the importance of utilizing the new measures and calls on different sectors to offer a good experience to visitors in Hong Kong. He brushes aside calls for a further increase in the duty-free shopping limit for mainland Chinese tourists visiting the city. Beijing announced that it would offer Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas and a five-year travel permit for its permanent residents with foreign passports to enter the mainland. The duty-free threshold for mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong was raised from 5,000 yuan per trip to a maximum of 15,000 yuan [809b984d] [f3a8e3db].
Despite the challenges, Lee is determined to strengthen the trade offices and open more of them, as he believes they play a crucial role in promoting Hong Kong as an ideal place to invest and do business. He highlights Hong Kong's strengths, such as its international status, common law legal system, and low tax rates, which make it attractive for companies. Lee's defense of the trade offices and his commitment to promoting Hong Kong's business and economic cooperation deserve applause [f3a8e3db].
This development adds to the challenges faced by John Lee as he seeks to secure the future of Hong Kong. As the new Chief Executive, he is tasked with addressing the city's deep-rooted problems, including political unrest, economic inequality, and social divisions. Lee has vowed to restore stability and unity, but many are skeptical of his ability to do so. He faces challenges from both pro-democracy activists who want greater political freedoms and Beijing, which seeks to maintain control over the city. Lee's tenure will be crucial in determining the direction of Hong Kong's future [35b26920].