Opinion | Government must reflect on its failures as we enter Year of the Horse

We are ready to head into the Year of the Horse. But, before we do, let’s take stock of what the Year of the Snake brought Hong Kong.

Some say the Year of the Snake is all about change and not meant to be comfortable. For Hong Kong, the past year has been a difficult one of shedding skin, baring our vulnerabilities for all to see.

Just weeks into the Year of the Snake, Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong and Macau affairs, Xia Baolong, made inspection visits, reinforcing the central government’s demand for progress. It was seen as Beijing officially putting the Hong Kong and Macau governments on notice, basically to get on with the programme – in this case, China’s 14th five-year plan.

Hong Kong, a city that prides itself on its efficiency, had been found wanting. The leadership, however, appears to have learned its lesson and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced this month that the government will formulate the city’s first five-year plan, to align with the new national blueprint.

And it wasn’t just in high-level policy implementation that the government’s performance was lacking. By March, it was also clear that it struggles with low-level communication, seen in the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park. It emerged that touts reportedly got people into the venue through the back door without a valid ticket while breaching security. Shortly after, Hong Kong snooker fans were kicked out while a match was still in progress because of a curfew imposed by the venue for the World Grand Prix. The ridiculous incident made international headlines.

The government then tried to introduce premium taxi fleets to counter services provided by ride-sharing platforms that have been operating in a grey area for years. The legislature did finally pass a law that should have been introduced a decade ago to regulate ride-sharing services. However, the introduction of premium taxi fleets didn’t really take off.