Hong Kong is safe and ‘full of opportunities,’ leader John Lee tells Laotian students during ASEAN trip
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong is a safe and welcoming city “full of opportunities,” leader John Lee has told students at a secondary school in Laos during a tour of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an effort to promote Hong Kong and attract talent.
Lee arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Sunday afternoon, beginning his six-day ASEAN trip that will also take him and a delegation to Cambodia and Vietnam. Over 30 members from Hong Kong’s business sector, including representatives of Swire, Cathay Pacific, Sino Group and other companies, and two legislators joined the trip.
On Monday, Lee visited Vientiane Secondary School with Ben Young, vice president of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), announcing that PolyU was considering setting up a special scholarship for outstanding students from the secondary school.
“I can assure you that Hong Kong is a city full of opportunities of every kind, for your careers and for your life. We dream big in Hong Kong, and, let me add, we are realising our dreams. So can you,” Lee said in a speech to students of the school.
“We are a safe and welcoming international city with a cultural blend of both East and West… In other words, you will never get bored, hungry or lonely in Hong Kong!” Lee added.
Hong Kong has sought to attract talent from ASEAN countries by relaxing visas for Vietnamese, Laotian and Nepalese nationals in October 2023. Students from these three countries who graduate from a Hong Kong university are eligible to stay and work in the city for up to two years.
Lee also said he had sent a series of books in Chinese “on the history, culture, technology and society” of China to Laotian students.
Difficulities of joining RCEP
Before setting off on his ASEAN trip, Lee said on Sunday at the Hong Kong International Airport that he hoped to introduce the city’s economic development and opportunities to the three countries, and advocate for Hong Kong to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Hong Kong filed an application to join RCEP in 2022. RCEP is a large free trade bloc which came into effect in January 2022, comprising 15 countries: China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the ASEAN countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In 2023, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said during a trip to Japan that he hoped stakeholders in the country would support Hong Kong in joining RCEP, RTHK reported.
Sing Tao Daily reported in mid-June, citing sources, that Hong Kong had faced obstacles in its bid to join RCEP as Japan disagreed with the city’s application.
On June 26, Lee told Sing Tao Daily that all ASEAN countries supported Hong Kong’s joining of RCEP, adding that he hoped cooperation among different economies would not be affected by political issues.
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