Hong Kong is actively taking part in the nation's development to achieve mutual benefits for the mainland and Hong Kong, Lau Siu-kai, Head of the Central Policy Unit, said yesterday.

Hong Kong will not only take part in the current 11th Five-Year Plan but will also be part of the national plans in the long run, he added.

"Hong Kong will also take part in the 12th Five-Year Plan and so forth," he told a press conference in the company of conveners of the four focus groups.

"As we will take active efforts to seize the opportunities and face challenges, there is no such a question of Hong Kong making up for the lost grounds."

Lau made his point in reply to a media question if Hong Kong had lost the first year of the 11th Five-Year Plan period from 2006 to 2010.

At the press conference, Victor Fung, convenor of the focus group on trade and business, said it was necessary to set up a high-level mechanism to deal with cross-boundary air pollution.

The possibilities lie with Hong Kong and the 60,000-plus factories that Hong Kong businessmen have opened in the Pearl River Delta, he pointed out.

"It is time for implementation as the time for studies is over, and it is very clear what should be done and what can be done.

"We must look to green production methods in order to deal with air pollution. What we need is a high-profile committee within the government to oversee various departments and commercial sectors at Chief Secretary or possibly Chief Executive level," he said.

Fung, speaking in his other capacity as council chairman of the University of Hong Kong, proposed raising the ratio of foreign university students to 20 percent.

"If Hong Kong aspires to be a world class city and develop the next generation of leadership, it needs to attract talents from around the world," he said.

Tung Chee-chen, convener of the focus group on maritime, logistics and infrastructure, said it was necessary to constantly increase the cargo and passenger handling capacity of the Hong Kong International Airport.

The Airport Authority needs to evaluate the need for a third runway, he added, while the Civil Aviation Department needs to liaise with the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China and the Macao Civil Aviation Authority to improve the use of regional airspace and replace the existing air traffic control system.

"As to cross-boundary transportation network, the government must adopt an anticipatory mindset with due regard to regional development.

"We must also consider a dedicated corridor option, instead of a shared corridor option, with regard to the Guangdong-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

"Otherwise, it is high-speed train service in the mainland but it becomes low-speed when it arrives in Hong Kong," he said.

Fung added that railway is Hong Kong's key mode of cargo freights.

He said: "Hong Kong faces greater danger of marginalization if its railways are not connected to the national network."

Hong Kong has good credentials to become the professional medical center in the region, said Leung Chun-ying, convener of the focus group on professional services, information & technology and tourism.

"We are not talking about the public healthcare system which is funded by taxpayers' money, but the private hospitals and doctors providing services to non-local citizens," he explained.

"In recent years, we have seen quite many medical graduates from our universities but they do not have enough work to do, while the pregnant women from the mainland is another issue.

"So I think there are enough doctors in Hong Kong especially Hong Kong doctors are quite good at chronic problems such as eye and tooth problems," he said.

Although Hong Kong lawyers had in the past encountered problems on the mainland, Leung said progress has been made with regard to reciprocal recognition of professional qualifications.

"Our hard work in the past had not been wasted," he said. "If doctors work hard like the lawyers, they may as well achieve breakthrough development to get the threshold lowered for Hong Kong professionals to start their businesses on the mainland."

He also urged the SAR government to help send Hong Kong professionals' wishes to the central government, in order to facilitate their businesses on the Chinese mainland.