Photo taken on March 17, 2016 shows Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing attending a news conference to announce his CK Hutchison Holdings company's annual results in Hong Kong, south China. Li had an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency lately as the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China is drawing near. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)
The fifth term of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government led by Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor will be sworn in on July 1.
Li believed that the incoming SAR government will push forward more effective policies to advance social development and economic diversification.
A flourishing "one country, two systems" civic habitat requires human mind and spirit to interweave with responsibilities and reason, as well as the importance of self-discipline, he said.
The renowned tycoon who will celebrate his 89th birthday next month has kept a young mind with visionary investment choice and swift response to the latest achievement of the world's science and technology.
AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence computer program, has become a tech-star since last year for defeating all human masters in the board game Go, which used to be considered impossible for computer programs in decades.
Li Ka-shing's Horizons Ventures was one of the early-stage investors of DeepMind, the London-based artificial intelligence company which created AlphaGo.
"Actually, Hong Kong has many unique foundations to support innovation and technology, " Li said during the interview, "which have not been well tapped over the past several years."
High housing price, the personal development of Hong Kong's young generation and Hong Kong's social mobility has been a major concern to both the government and society.
As an exemplary figure for operating start-ups, Li said Hong Kong has advanced significantly since 1997. "With new technology and mindset, we need to gear up for the future. Learning to think differently is more important than ever."
He believed that the clear winners will be those who know how to marry a high degree of creativity and discipline. "We must make good use of creativity and imagination," Li said, citing the Analects of Confucius: "it is the individual who can carry forward progress and development, not the other way around".
Asked about what kind of life attitude the young generations should uphold towards the future development, Li Ka-shing said "opportunities favor those with ambitions."
Li quoted Albert Einstein to encourage Hong Kong's young people: "Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts."
