Policy Address

Before 1997

The annual address was first introduced in 1972 by Governor Sir Murray MacLehose during the British rule of Hong Kong, and set out the government's legislative and policy agenda for the coming year. It was called the "Address by the Governor" (Chinese: 港督致辭) and was modelled after the Queen's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It aimed to strengthen communications with Hong Kong residents after the 1967 Hong Kong riots, and was widely broadcast via television and radio.^[3]

Addresses by the Governor took place in October to mark the beginning of the legislative year. The address was renamed to its current Chinese name 施政報告 (lit. 'governance report') in 1986. The English name of the event remained unchanged until the Handover in 1997. Beginning with his first address in 1992, Governor Chris Patten initiated the practice of giving each address a unique title.^[3]

In his final annual address, delivered on 2 October 1996, Patten spoke of his anxiety of autonomy being given away "bit by bit" by some in Hong Kong. Observers noted that this line reflected many Hongkongers' greatest fear of efforts to undermine Hong Kong's right to self-government being made not only from outsiders, but also from within.^[3]

... my anxiety is not that this community's autonomy would be usurped by Beijing, but that it could be given away bit by bit by some people in Hong Kong... If we in Hong Kong want our autonomy, then it needs to be defended and asserted by everyone here ─ by businessmen, politicians, journalists, academics and other community leaders, as well as by public servants.

After the Handover (1997-present)

The Chief Executive can decide in which month of the year to deliver the annual Policy Address. From 1997 to 2001, Tung Chee-hwa delivered Policy Addresses in October as the Legislative Council reconvened.^[4] In 2002, after his re-election as Chief Executive, Tung rescheduled the October 2002 address to January 2003, ostensibly to allow the newly appointed ministers under the Principal Officials Accountability System to settle into their roles. As a result, no policy address was delivered in 2002. Tung continued to deliver his addresses in January until he resigned in March 2005.^[5]

Tung's successor Donald Tsang resumed the previous practice of giving the speech in October; as such, there were two Policy Addresses in 2005.^[6] Leung Chun-ying pushed back his Policy Addresses to January, explaining the move by stating that he wished to give lawmakers more time to voice their opinions.^[7]

Carrie Lam delivered her Policy Addresses in October, except in 2020, which was rescheduled to 25 November to avoid clashing with CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's visit to Shenzhen.^[8] John Lee, who took office in 2022, has delivered his Policy Addresses in October.^[9]

Public consultation

The government typically launches a public consultation campaign three to four months before the delivery of the address.

Motion of thanks

Within 14 days after the delivery of the address, the Chairman of the House Committee of the Legislative Council will move a Motion of Thanks, similar to Address in Reply motions in other legislatures, and members of the Council debate the Policy Address.^[10]