Seeing him rise up, watching his guests, seeing his building collapse
The prosperity and decline of a place is always traceable. Hong Kong has developed from a small fishing village into an international financial center, and it has been reduced from an international financial center to a political capital and a city of violence. The achievements of more than a century have been destroyed by a black riot. The incompetence of officials is obvious to all. Now that the economy is plunging water and the industry is in depression, the government is more likely to have a deficit for the first time in 15 years. In this context, the Hong Kong Government has launched the fourth round of relief measures, and it is doubtful how effective it will be.
Bullet fired
The Financial Secretary, Chen Maobo, announced the fourth round of nine relief measures involving more than 4 billion yuan, including a four-month reduction and exemption of 75% of the monthly water and sewage charges for non-residential users, and the provision of 70% Half-electricity subsidy; further rates relief for non-residential properties; taxpayers for profits tax, salaries tax and personal income tax for the year of assessment 18/19 can apply for tax instalments, and the authorities will exempt additional taxes for a period of Not more than one year. In addition, the authorities will provide subsidies to individual industries, such as the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal rent reduction, the Recycling Fund introduced a one-time rental subsidy for recycling companies, and the Securities and Futures Commission will waive the licensee and intermediary agency annual license fees for the coming year. The Employees Retraining Board’s “Special Love Add Value” plan also plans to increase the maximum monthly allowance for each trainee through amendments.
Relief measures seem to be numerous, but the beneficiaries are still mainly SMEs. The only targets for wage earners are to pay taxes in installments and increase the amount of employee retraining. It is true that the black riots severely damaged the tourism industry, and many related industries were in a state of hanging salt water. The last two rounds of relief measures, such as subsidizing travel agencies by heads, subsidizing transportation fuel expenses, and exempting the license fees of one thousand and several hundred yuan, have been criticized as sloppy. There is nothing wrong with it. As the economy worsens further, there is nothing wrong with stepping up efforts to support SMEs. The problem is that the bailout measures have been introduced to the fourth round. Doesn’t it just indicate that the bullets of the previous measures were false and that they were unable to deal with and resolve the crisis at all? If the bailout measures are hit immediately, how can they be pushed back and forth, just like a toothpaste?
It is still difficult to get rid of small favors this time with the reduction of electricity, water and sewage charges, and the beneficiaries are all businesses and owners, not grassroots employees. What’s more, the second round of bailout measures involved nearly 20 billion yuan, and it was criticized as inadequate. This time, only a few billion yuan were involved, and how much immediate effect? It must be mentioned that the latest unemployment rate in Hong Kong has risen to 3.1%, and individual industries such as retail and catering have reached 5% and exceeded 6%. The relevant figures have not yet reflected the latest situation, and there will definitely be future unemployment. The increase is unabated. However, the four rounds of relief measures still do not see the urgent need of the grassroots level of the Hong Kong Government, and the grassroots wage earners still fail to directly benefit. As pointed out by the outside world, instead of wasting ammunition and using it for nothing, it is better to simply send money to the whole people, at least rain and dew, everyone benefits, or a minimum exemption from prepaid taxes is worse than selective sugar distribution. Whoever cries loudly In the end, confectionery can only sweeten the mouth and cannot solve the fundamental problem.
Besides, most of the measures must be approved by the Legislative Council. Increasing the amount of allowances under the “Special Love Value Added” plan involves amendments to the law. Given the poor relationship between the executive and the legislature, the opposition is overwhelming, and no one can say whether it is working with the government. In fact, everyone knows that Hong Kong’s economic difficulties stem from the halt of violence and chaos. In the past weekend, the smashing and burning of Sunday came to an end. Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue described it as “cold water” to the economic recovery, hoping that the violence could stop. However, it is not difficult to know, but hard to do. Lin Zheng talked bluntly and perfunctory. As long as he continued to appease and surrender, he continued to do nothing. Even the introduction of the fifth, sixth, and seventh round of relief measures will not help.
Tomorrow Lantau
House seemingly endless rain. The constitutionalists in the district council election failed fiercely, the public expressed their distrust of the government and abandoned the government with one vote. The relationship between the government and the people fell into a trough, and even a mentality of “government as officials” appeared, and the government ’s fiscal deficit was almost a foregone conclusion. In a chaotic social environment and in a distressed economy, people are more concerned about whether “Lantau tomorrow”, which cost hundreds of billions of yuan, will still be launched. In particular, the Hong Kong Government’s large-scale infrastructure in recent years has all been delayed and all overruns. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou High Speed Rail have all become big white elephants. In case of “Lantau tomorrow” repeating the same mistakes, the fiscal reserves will be exhausted, which will inevitably become “Tomorrow”, let alone let it be the last straw that overwhelms the SAR government at any time, and destroying Hong Kong as a whole is the most unthinkable.
It is a pity that Lin Zhenggang used it for his own purposes. The new Policy Address still insists that “Lantau Island tomorrow” be launched as scheduled, presumably overestimating its own execution ability and underestimating the resistance of citizens. What people don’t understand is why the Hong Kong Government has generously paid taxpayers to build a “vision” that is controversial, big and improper, and I don’t know how long it can be fulfilled, nor does it refuse to return the same public funds to the people and open positions. There is an urgent need to rescue and relieve the grassroots. It is necessary to compare the baht to the citizens, and the more beneficial it is to the Big White Elephant Project, it is better to spend money and go to the sea, and to go by the name with the people and spend time together, it is almost hypocritical.
As this newspaper has repeatedly pointed out, Hong Kong’s developed land is only a quarter of the total area, which is far below international standards. There are many idle lands in the downtown area that are not known to Shenzhen people. Take a piece of land covering more than six hectares adjacent to Fushan Village, Tai Po, for example. It has comprehensive transportation facilities and is close to shopping malls. Once the public housing is completed, it can provide thousands of units and allow more than 10,000 people to live. However, the authorities No one knows the treasure, let this beautiful site be idle for at least 20 years, and there are not a few similar idle sites in Hong Kong. There are more than a hundred abandoned school buildings alone, let alone a large number of brownfields in the New Territories for development. The Hong Kong government turned its back on difficulties, reversed its actions, and repeatedly challenged the limits of popular indignation. Finally, it gave the opposition a chance to make an outrageous slapstick with a “return-in-progress” farce. The abolished official does not know about introspection, but only knows that the medicine and stone are thrown in disorder. I am afraid that more and larger riots are still behind.
Sorry to say, today’s special economic zone is in a state of sorrow and cloud. Needless to say, it is the hardest part to repair as people get farther and deeper. After 22 years of verification and a black storm, the complete failure of “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” has been seen by passers-by. With only minor repairs and small repairs, how far and how long can the broken ship of Hong Kong go?