Deputy President, I would like to express my views on two issues in this debate session, namely the teaching profession and the healthcare profession.

Firstly, regarding the healthcare profession, I would like to talk about the revised registration regime proposed in this year’s Policy Address, which provides new pathways for admission of qualified non-locally trained dentists and nurses. I think this can help ease the manpower shortage of local dentists and nurses. As a matter of fact, the Liberal Party has long been calling on the Government to admit qualified non-locally trained doctors to Hong Kong to address the acute shortage of doctors, and our efforts over the years have finally paid off. Now the introduction of qualified non-locally trained dentists and nurses can be regarded as the second step, which in my opinion will not only help alleviate the acute manpower shortage in the profession, but also provide room for lowering the existing high level of dental treatment fees, thus benefiting members of the public in need, especially the elderly.

On the education front, this year’s Policy Address proposes to build an international hub for post-secondary education and promote diversified youth development. The Liberal Party certainly supports these initiatives. However, we have advocated for years that on top of the existing 15-year free education system, a brand new “education voucher scheme” should be introduced for permanent residents of Hong Kong, under which all independent and privately-run kindergartens that are not currently subsidized by the Government, non-aided or Direct Subsidy Scheme primary and secondary schools as well as international schools will be covered. This will enable parents of students in such schools to have real freedom of choice in deciding how to allocate their resources, thereby increasing the incentive for childbearing among middle-class families. Such a proposal is not mentioned in this year’s Policy Address, and the Liberal Party will continue to fight for it.

Lastly, I call upon everyone to vote in the District Council Election on 10 December. I also appeal to employers in the catering sector to make facilitating arrangements for their staff so that those who wish to cast their vote may do so during non-peak hours.

Deputy President, we strongly support the Motion of Thanks on the Policy Address. The Liberal Party expresses its support for the motion.