Dr. Chen Hongtian attending & giving a speech at the 2019 Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area Innovation Economy Summit

2019.12.23

On December 19, 2019, a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Innovation Economy Summit was jointly-organized by Southern Finance Omnimedia Corp, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneur Union Limited, and Luohu District People's Government. Dr. Chen Hongtian, a CPPCC National Committee member, a Justice of the Peace appointed by the Hong Kong SAR, and Chairman of the Cheung Kei Group and fellow business leaders from Shenzhen and Hong Kong, was invited to attend as a guest speaker at the Summit's roundtable discussion. Over 500 experts from the government, the industry, academia, and the finance sector came together to discuss the mission and development of the world-class Greater Bay Area.

Dr.Chen Hongtian, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneur Union Chairman Dr. Jonathan Koon-shum Choi, & other guests discussing the future of the Greater Bay Area

During the roundtable discussion segment, Dr. Chen Hongtian made an engaging speech on his research experience of the Japanese government's response to the real estate bubble in the 1980s. He said the fundamental issue leading to “The Lost Decade of Japan” is not the real estate bubble, but the forced appreciation of the Japanese yen under the pressure of the US economy and trade. Thereafter, the Japanese government implemented a series of erroneous policies in response, which led to the bursting of the bubble, and sending the Japanese economy into a severe long-term recession.

Compared with the current trade war launched by the United States against China, Dr. Chen Hongtian believes that the response of the Chinese government has been very appropriate and he also gave two recommendations. Firstly, under the current market situation, over-regulation and control of the real estate market should not be performed, and real estate taxes should not be levied. In the case of Japan many years ago, it was after the property prices have been pushed upwards, and adjustments were made at the most critical moment, which led to the bankruptcy of a large number of companies and individuals. As people lost their faith in the economy, the Japanese economy suffered and has had a hard time recovering -Japan's failure is a lesson we can take heed from. Secondly, to foster the development of the Greater Bay Area, we must strengthen the rule of law and the legal system. The local governments of all the Bay Area cities must administer according to law, and ensure that the policy implementations are consistent and sustained - this would be imperative to the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Dr. Chen Hongtian giving an engaging speech

As a co-chair of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneur Union, Dr. Chen Hongtian has always paid attention to the development and infrastructure of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He has participated in various discussion panels organized by the organization, and has met with leaders from the government and authorities, as well as other business leaders in the region to discuss how the business community can play a role in strengthening the development of the Greater Bay Area, and the future outlook of the Greater Bay Area. During the Two Sessions this year, he also submitted the "Proposal on the Promotion of Mobility and Flow of Talent in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”. Dr. Chen is an ardent supporter of the development of the Greater Bay Area, and has been making his contributions to foster its growth.