In his important speech, President Xi raised "four musts" for the new administration: we must fully and faithfully implement the principle of "One Country, Two Systems"; we must uphold the Central Government's overall jurisdiction while securing the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy; we must ensure that Hong Kong is administered by patriots; and we must maintain Hong Kong's distinctive status and advantages. President Xi also laid down "four proposals" for the newly inaugurated Government, i.e. further improving its governance, continuing to create strong impetus for growth, earnestly addressing people's concerns and difficulties in daily life, and working together to safeguard harmony and stability.

Over 1,200 participants took part in these four sessions, including Secretaries of Departments, Deputy Secretaries of Departments, Directors of Bureaux and other Principal Officials, Executive Council members, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Departments and directorate officers at various ranks. Apart from civil servants from bureaux and departments, the participants also included senior officers from organisations such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.

The Chief Executive said that President Xi’s speech is an important milestone of high significance and serves as crucial guidance on governance by the HKSAR Government in the coming five years. It is incumbent on the top echelon and civil servants of the HKSAR Government to grasp in full the core essence of President Xi’s important speech and build it into their own work. The Chief Executive encouraged colleagues to perform their best with a pragmatic and can-do attitude; make concerted efforts to enhance governance capacity and efficacy; proactively integrate Hong Kong into the country’s overall development and raise Hong Kong’s competitiveness; adopt a result-oriented approach in their work; respond actively to aspirations from the people of Hong Kong; and respect and safeguard the country’s fundamental systems on their own volition.

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan Mo-po; the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam Ting-kwok, SC, and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung Ho pui-yan, also shared their thoughts and feelings at the four sessions respectively. There were other participants sharing their views at each of these sessions as well.

Various bureaux and departments will also conduct sessions on President Xi’s important speech for their staff so that more colleagues from different ranks can grasp the core essence of the speech, build the spirit of the speech into their own work, and see to its manifestation in the policy objectives and initiatives under their respective purview.