The Chief Executive John Lee has hailed his debut Policy Address as a new chapter for Hong Kong as it 'transitions from chaos to order'. Unveiling his first policy blueprint in the Legco chamber on Wednesday, he described it as one tailored for ‘Hong Kong citizens’ and based on President Xi Jinping’s directives, as outlined in Xi's speech here during the SAR’s 25th anniversary celebrations in July. Lee said Hong Kong must remain vigilant against threats to national security and that the SAR's development was of overriding importance. In that regard, he said the government must be more proactive and aggressive in attracting talent. As Altis Wong reports, there is to be a new visa scheme and tax concessions on home purchases to woo talent from the mainland and overseas.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce says businesses had hoped for a roadmap on the easing of quarantine measures in John Lee's policy blueprint. But the chamber's CEO, George Leung, praised the proposed measures to attract talent and business investment:

A global mobility firm says John Lee should have announced measures in his Policy Address to kickstart the economy, if he wants to attract talent and businesses to Hong Kong. Lee Quane, the regional director for ECA International, also said current Covid restrictions kept companies away, because they could not easily access the mainland and regional markets. He spoke to Samantha Butler:

The chairman of real estate services firm, JLL Hong Kong, has described the refund of buyers stamp duty for qualified talent as being "too soft". Joseph Tsang told Joanne Wong that he did not think the measure alone would be a draw for overseas talent or prompt non-local workers to buy homes in Hong Kong:

The chief executive John Lee also unveiled plans to build cheaper public housing flats. He also set a target of cutting the waiting time for public housing to 4.5 years from the current six years. Frank Yung reports:

John Lee is pressing ahead with his predecessor's Lantau Tomorrow Vision which he has rebranded as Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands. In his policy speech, he also announced the development of some 50,000 homes on part of the landfill site in Tseung Kwan O. He said planning and environmental laws would be streamlined to facilitate this and other development, as Mike Weeks reports:

To boost Hong Kong’s development capacity, John Lee has announced the speeding up of building transport infrastructure. He said he was taking forward three major road projects and three strategic rail projects as Priscilla Ng reports:

The Chief Executive says he will personally lead a steering committee to coordinate the development of the Northern Metropolis, with a view to creating a new international innovation and technology city. Maggie Ho reports:

Executive Council convenor, Regina Ip, has hailed the Chief Executive's maiden policy address, describing it as "highly innovative" and "forward-looking". She welcomed the plan to build light public housing units and to cut the waiting time for a public flat to 4.5 years. The New People's Party chairwoman also told Kelly Yu that she hoped John Lee's talent polices would bring people back to Hong Kong despite all the Covid curbs in place:

A concern group has questioned how the new scheme for cheaper public rental units proposed by the chief executive can actually help shorten the waiting time for public housing by 18 months. Kenny Ng from the Kwai Chung Sub-divided Flat Residents Alliance wants more clarity from the government regarding the light public housing scheme. He spoke to Frank Yung:

Also in the policy address were a series of fare and other concessions to relieve people's financial burden. Violet Wong reports:

John Lee has also promised to revamp the healthcare system to enhance efficiency and shift the focus from treatment to prevention. The government says it is looking at requiring medical professionals to work in public healthcare for a specified period of time in the future, as well as bring in non-local dentists and nurses. Damon Pang reports:

Medical-sector lawmaker, David Lam, says he is glad to see that John Lee's first policy blueprint tackled primary healthcare. He also welcomed the move to require doctors to work in the public sector, and to bring in non-local dentists and nurses, saying this could deal with manpower shortages. But he told Kelly Yu that he wanted to see more, such as providing people with dental hygiene coupons:

The chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group has hailed the return of live music to bars and nightclubs as "music to my ears". The Covid measure was dropped from midnight on Wednesday. But Allan Zeman told Ben Tse that during the 280 days that such performances were banned, many performers had left Hong Kong and he doubted they would be able to return:

The Legislative Council has passed a bill which will double the levy for plastic bags to $1 starting from December 31. The environment minister says it is high time the fee be raised, with the number of bags that have been disposed of on the rise. Aaron Tam reports:

A Sham Shui Po district councillor has urged health authorities to do more to track down the source of a recent spate of cases of melioidosis. The potentially deadly bacterial infection is transmitted through muddy water and soil, though human-to-human transmission is rare. But most of the cases have cropped up in the west Kowloon district, as Ada Au reports: