As the government completes a public consultation exercise to craft the city’s own five-year plan to align with national development, the first of this five-part series looks at key questions, starting with the need for such a blueprint. Economist Heiwai Tang has a line he likes to use on free-market purists: “The market is almost always right, but it’s not always right.” By the end of September, Hong Kong will make a pivot in governance by rolling out its first-ever five-year plan to set the direction for the city’s economic and social development that is aligned with national strategy. This is uncharted territory for Hong Kong. From the 1970s under British colonial rule to the post-handover period, the city government, characterised by its laissez-faire policy, relied on annual policy addresses and budgets for overall planning.