Participants in the drafting of former Five-Year Plans offer suggestions to HK authorities

Hong Kong is in the process of preparing its own Five-Year Plan for the first time.

Several experts that previously participated in the mainland's formulation of their Five-Year Plans say such experience could contribute to Hong Kong's own initiative.

Lawmaker Hoey Simon Lee is no stranger to the Five-Year Plan concept -- having served as a chief strategy officer for a state enterprise, where he drafted previous Five-Year Plans over the past 15 years.

Lee suggests Hong Kong authorities can look into the mainland's process of drafting its plans, such as highlighting the city's strategic direction and how to better jointly coordinate its initiative with the mainland.

He believes Hong Kong also needs to learn from the mainland's efforts on the plan's practical implementation.

He stresses there should be clear indicators on implementing the core aspects of the initiative, adding they should fulfil relevant government requirements.

Academic Liang Haiming, meanwhile, assisted Hainan's provincial government over a decade ago in drafting parts of its Five-Year Plan.

He describes his experience as "super advanced preparation".

He says it is necessary to be aware of certain terms related to regional development, such as the latest national Five-Year Plan calling for regional cooperation between cities.

Liang says Hong Kong can collaborate with other cities in the Greater Bay Area to jointly develop industries including big data, AI and biotechnology.

The academic says the Five-Year Plan should be close to the people, such as allowing residents to know what is the plan for economic growth and what is the increase in hospital facilities.

As public consultation on the Hong Kong Five-Year Plan will soon start, academics suggest the government should provide online platforms for resident to express their views.