A Guangzhou-based think tank suggests establishing an administrative committee led by the central government and joined by the three local governments for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.The unique situation in the bay area, which includes two political systems, and three different legal currency and customs systems, calls for the central government to fill an important role in the region's development, said Chen Guanghan, deputy dean of the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies of Sun Yat-sen University.A cooperative mechanism among the government, the corporate sector and the society is necessary, with the relationship of the government and the market in synergizing regional development to be properly addressed, Chen said. In support, he cited a development report on the bay area issued by his institute on Monday.The role of the market in distributing regional resources should be supported, with the free flow of productive factors in the region and rational industrial division to be promoted, he said.Due to differences in the systems in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao with a coordinating procedure yet to be fully developed, further coordination and cooperation have met impediments.The adjustment in the administrative procedure has become an urgent issue, which means employing multigovernance instead of merely making decisions on individual issues, said Liu Yungang, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University's School of Geography and Planning.He suggested such a multigovernance body to be located in the Nansha Area of Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone, which lies at the center of the bay area.Consisting of nine cities in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao, it is the world's fourth major bay area following those around New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, with the highest per capita GDP among three Chinese city clusters. The plan for the bay area is expected to be issued later this year.Chen's institute also suggests an international business environment be built in the bay area, with greater and mutually benefiting infrastructure connectivity, higher innovation capacity, a more diversified and synergized industrial system, and quality living space.The institute also issued a sustainable development index for the cities in the bay area and a case study report on Hong Kong and Macao youths' entrepreneurial efforts on the Chinese mainland.Compared with their predecessors, the Hong Kong and Macao youths who have started their business on the Chinese mainland hold higher academic backgrounds, are engaged in sectors with higher technology and provide products and services with higher added value, said Zhang Guangnan, assistant dean of the institute.They have been attracted by the world manufacturers and world market advantage of the Chinese mainland and bank on their international networks.On their challenges, Zhang said the policy support from the local governments should be better communicated and more tailor-made to facilitate entrepreneurship of Hong Kong and Macao youths on the mainland.? customised wristbands ukwristbands with tabsthe wristband factorypersonalized rubber braceletscustom wrist sweatbandssilicone keychainslap wristbands
Hong Kong people will have to do a lot more in cutting down usage and disposal of plastic bags and utensils for the sake of the city's environment. Provided to China Daily Hong Kong people, especially the younger generation, talk all the time about the need to protect the environment in this city of seven million. But, they're willing to sacrifice very little in doing that. Take plastic waste for instance. Every day in Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of styrofoam lunch boxes, along with plastic-coated cups and plastic straws, are discarded. They mostly end up in landfills that will become part of the land reclaimed from the sea. Tons of meat, vegetables and fish are transported in large styrofoam cartons that are dumped onto the streets or in the sea after use. Pieces of these offensive white plastics can be seen at all times floating on the murky waters near the fish market in Aberdeen typhoon shelter. There is a law requiring vendors to charge customers for one-use plastic bags. But, the charge, at 50 Hong Kong cents (about 6 US cents) apiece is too insignificant for most shoppers to care about. While most other major world cities, including New York, London and Shanghai, are passing stricter and stricter laws to cut down the use of plastic materials, Hong Kong is sitting tight doing precious little other than complaining. Some city authorities have banned the use of plastic straws which have long been the target of environmentalists. Discarded plastic straws, which usually end up in the ocean, are listed by environmental groups as one of the top 10 waste items found on beaches. Coffee and tea cups have also been targeted by environmentalists, prompting some coffee outlets like Starbucks in some cities to charge customers a fee for using disposal cups. They also try to offer discounts for customers who bring their own reusable cups. Do Hong Kong people care? Certainly not the fast-food joints which continue to provide customers with one-use plastic utensils, cups and straws. They also cater to many take-away customers who have no qualms about throwing away the styrofoam containers and plastic utensils after consuming their lunch or dinner. Any proposal to restrict the use of plastics would trigger a storm of protests from the powerful business groups who would object to anything that could be seen to add to their costs. Consumers will have to take the initiative to reject the use of disposable plastics for the sake of the environment.
