Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), State President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has travelled down to pay an inspection tour in Guangdong.　　In the four-day tour, he opened an infrastructure project, inspected various sectors, and went down to the grass-roots.　　Fully affirming Guangdong's status and role as the "pioneer, first mover, and experiment area" [of reform and opening up], he opted for this birthplace of reform and opening up 40 years ago to deliver a strongest historic message to the whole country and whole world that China will hold high the banner of reform and opening up in a new era to create another miracle 40 years later for the world to marvel at again.

　　This is President Xi's second inspection tour to the south in six year, which is also made at the important moment when the whole nation is to solemnly mark to 40th anniversary of reform and opening up.　　It is surely of profound significance either in timing or location.　　Therefore, people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area including Hong Kong people, the whole nation and even the international media have been reckoning and expecting what important messages concerning reform and opening up would be released from President Xi's south tour, so as to further understand China's current situation and way forward.

　　During the four-day tour, President Xi successively travelled to Zhuhai, Qingyuan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where he visited and inspected infrastructure, enterprises, villages, development zones and a university to widely contact and talk with workers, peasants, specialists and young students.　　From such activities, three concrete messages can be read: to do everything for the people, to promote independent innovation, and to support private enterprises.

　　Yesterday afternoon, President Xi also listened to reports by CPC's Guangdong Provincial Committee and Guangdong Provincial Government about their works.　　Having fully affirmed Guangdong's performance as the pioneer, first mover and experiment area of reform and opening up in past four decades, President Xi set four requirements for Guangdong: to deepen reform and opening up, to promote high-quality development, to improve balanced and coordinated development, and to enhance the CPC's leadership and construction.

　　On deepening reform and opening up, President Xi pointed out that the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area should be regarded as a great opportunity to make good use of for Guangdong's reform and opening up, which must be firmly grasped and well carried out.　　Guangdong should expand higher-level opening up, construct the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone with high standards, and turn itself into a high-level hub of opening up to the outside world.　　Guangdong should continue to advance reform, and do a good job on working out coordinated measures for reforms so that they will advance together along the same direction.

　　In this regard, the Hong Kong SAR's role in Guangdong's further reform and opening up is self-evident, and the major "battle field" or "stage" is the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

　　Hong Kong people's contributions to [China's] reform and opening up in past four decades shall be recorded in history vividly and colourfully, shall never be forgotten by the Central Government, the whole nation especially Guangdong compatriots.　　But gone are 40 years.　　Hong Kong society never has the habit of resting on its laurels, and it will only arouse ridicules to keep taking a nostalgic look at the past.　　Today, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has already opened to traffic, high-speed trains on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express railway have already rolled into West Kowloon.　　Hence, "a deep chasm has already been turned into a thoroughfare" for Hong Kong people who wish for career development in the Mainland or to invest in the nine cities in the Greater Bay Area.　　Hong Kong people always have a loving heart for the country and their home towns/villages, the aspiration to forge ahead and the aspiration to start their own businesses.　　With such a loving heart and aspirations, they have in past years successfully thrown themselves into the reform and opening up to make contributions to the nation.　　Today, seeing President Xi's second tour to the south and listening to his call to hold high the banner of reform and opening up in a new era to create another miracle 40 years later for the world to marvel at again, and in face of this "big project" and "great opportunity" of developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, how could Hong Kong people stay aloof from it and remain indifferent?　　Surely, enthusiasm greater than 40 years ago is bound to upsurge in Hong Kong society for Hong Kong people to throw themselves into the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

　　After visiting the Spring Tide on the Pearl River – an exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up in Shenzhen, President Xi Jinping emphatically pointed out: [I] coming here around the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up is to declare to the world that China's reform will not stop, China's opening up will not stop, and China is bound to create a greater miracle for the world to marvel at.　　We must never forget why we started reform and opening up, must earnestly sum up the experience of our success in reform and opening up in past four decades and upgrade the quality and level of reform and opening up.　　We must stick to the commitment to our people-centered philosophy, use "all for the people's happiness" as the criterion to judge the effects of reforms so as to let vast masses better benefit from the fruits of reform and opening up. 26 October 2018