thumb|2013 Policy Address debated in Legco

thumb|2013 Policy Address by Leung Chun-ying

In Hong Kong, the Policy Address () is the constitutionally mandated annual address to the legislature delivered by the Chief Executive. The practice of giving annual Policy Addresses is mandated under Article 64 of the Basic Law, which requires the government to "present regular Policy Addresses to the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|[Legislative] Council]]". Many people see the Policy Address as a useful way to predict how the Chief Executive will operate.

History

Before 1997

The annual address was first introduced in 1972 by Governor Sir Murray MacLehose during the British rule of Hong Kong, and set out the government's legislative and policy agenda for the coming year. It was called the "Address by the Governor" () and was modelled after the Queen's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It aimed to strengthen communications with Hong Kong residents after the 1967 Hong Kong riots, and was widely broadcast via television and radio.

Addresses by the Governor took place in October to mark the beginning of the legislative year. The address was renamed to its current Chinese name 施政報告 () in 1986. The English name of the event remained unchanged until the Handover in 1997. Beginning with his first address in 1992, Governor Chris Patten initiated the practice of giving each address a unique title. In 2002, after his re-election as Chief Executive, Tung rescheduled the October 2002 address to January 2003, ostensibly to allow the newly appointed ministers under the Principal Officials Accountability System to settle into their roles. As a result, no policy address was delivered in 2002. Tung continued to deliver his addresses in January until he resigned in March 2005.

Tung's successor Donald Tsang resumed the previous practice of giving the speech in October; as such, there were two Policy Addresses in 2005. Leung Chun-ying pushed back his Policy Addresses to January, explaining the move by stating that he wished to give lawmakers more time to voice their opinions.

Carrie Lam delivered her Policy Addresses in October, except in 2020, which was rescheduled to 25 November to avoid clashing with CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's visit to Shenzhen. John Lee, who took office in 2022, has delivered his Policy Addresses in October.

Contemporary practice

Public consultation

The government typically launches a public consultation campaign three to four months before the delivery of the address.

Motion of thanks

Within 14 days after the delivery of the address, the Chairman of the House Committee of the Legislative Council will move a Motion of Thanks, similar to Address in Reply motions in other legislatures, and members of the Council debate the Policy Address.

List of policy addresses

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"

|-

! !! width=75px| Year || width=110px| Given by || English title || Chinese title

|-

| rowspan="3" bgcolor="#4c8d5e" | || 2024 || rowspan="3" | John Lee || Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together ||

|-

| 2023 || A Vibrant Economy for a Caring Community ||

|-

| 2022 || Charting a Brighter Tomorrow for Hong Kong ||

|-

| rowspan="5" bgcolor="#56C4EF" | || 2021 || rowspan="5" | Carrie Lam || Building a Bright Future Together ||

|-

| 2020 || Striving Ahead with Renewed Perseverance ||

|-

| 2019 || Treasure Hong Kong: Our Home ||

|-

| 2018 || Striving Ahead, Rekindling Hope ||

|-

| 2017 || We Connect for Hope and Happiness ||

|-

| rowspan="5" bgcolor="#EC7C00" | || 2017 || rowspan="5" | Leung Chun-ying || Make Best Use of Opportunities; Develop the Economy; Improve People’s Livelihood; Build an Inclusive Society ||

|-

| 2016 || Innovate for the Economy; Improve Livelihood; Foster Harmony; Share Prosperity ||

|-

| 2015 || Uphold the Rule of Law; Seize the Opportunities; Make the Right Choices ||

|-

| 2014 || Support the Needy; Let Youth Flourish; Unleash Hong Kong's Potential ||

|-

| 2013 || Seek Change; Maintain Stability; Serve the People with Pragmatism ||

|-

| rowspan="7" bgcolor="#FBCB3B" | || 2011–12 || rowspan="7" | Donald Tsang || From Strength to Strength ||

|-

| 2010–11 || Sharing Prosperity for a Caring Society ||

|-

| 2009–10 || Breaking New Ground Together ||

|-

| 2008–09 || Embracing New Challenges ||

|-

| 2007–08 || A New Direction for Hong Kong ||

|-

| 2006–07 || Proactive; Pragmatic; Always People First ||

|-

| 2005–06 || Strong Governance For the People ||

|-

| rowspan="8" bgcolor="#78D76F" | || 2005 || rowspan="8" | Tung Chee-hwa || Working Together for Economic Development and Social Harmony ||

|-

| 2004 || Seizing Opportunities for Development; Promoting People-based Governance ||

|-

| 2003 || Capitalising on Our Advantages Revitalising Our Economy ||

|-

| 2001 || Building on our Strengths; Investing in our Future ||

|-

| 2000 || Serving the Community; Sharing Common Goals ||

|-

| 1999 || Quality People; Quality Home ||

|-

| 1998 || From Adversity to Opportunity ||

|-

| 1997 || Building Hong Kong For A New Era ||

|-

| rowspan="5" | || 1996 || rowspan="5" | Chris Patten|| Hong Kong: Transition ||

|-

| 1995 || Hong Kong: Our Work Together||

|-

| 1994 || Hong Kong: A Thousand Days and Beyond||

|-

| 1993 || Hong Kong: Today's Success, Tomorrow's Challenges||

|-

| 1992 || Our Next Five Years: The Agenda for Hong Kong||

|}

There were no titles for the Policy Addresses before 1992.

See also

  • State of the Union
  • State Opening of Parliament
  • Speech from the throne

References

  • Official website
  • Corpus of Political Speeches : Free access to political speeches by American and Chinese politicians, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library