Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers: representative of mainland Chinese enterprises says sector is ready to help government solve city’s problems
- Erik Yim Kong, general manager of China Merchants Port, says state enterprises plan to take on a more active role in tackling the city’s housing and livelihood issues
- Yim was elected in a new commercial functional constituency for representatives of mainland Chinese companies created under Beijing’s ‘patriots-only’ electoral overhaul
Mainland Chinese companies in Hong Kong are ready to help the government tackle the city’s housing crisis by developing plots they own into transitional homes for people in line for public flats, says the head of a state-owned enterprise who just joined the city’s legislature.
Erik Yim Kong, general manager of China Merchants Port, said that state enterprises in Hong Kong also planned to take on a more active role in solving the city’s livelihood problems and expanding their public outreach in the coming years.
“Residents in the past did not know much about the 2,000-some mainland enterprises in Hong Kong, which in fact are a core driving force behind the city’s economy, as well as a critical supporter of the administration’s governance,” Yim told the Post in an interview.
“We hope the general public will have a greater understanding of our work.”
In the absence of the mainstream opposition, which sat out the revamped election over concerns it was designed to stifle dissent, Yim became part of an emerging bloc of lawmakers with links to the mainland. They include both representatives of state-run companies and gangpiao, or Hong Kong drifters, a term used to describe mainland Chinese who moved to the city for work.
