The just-concluded year was so eventful that we should look back at it and undertake an analytical review.

If the central government's domestic and foreign policies, including those on Hong Kong, for 2005 could be summed up in one word, it has to be "harmony".

Some academics have already said the governance strategy of the new central leadership, led by President Hu Jintao, has been to maintain peaceful ties with foreign economies, preserve harmony within the country and achieve reconciliation with Taiwan.

In 2005, this strategy was put into practice with great success and fruitful results.

Externally, central leaders capitalized on various international events to promote the concept of peaceful development. They thus created a favourable environment for the mainland's economic advancement. The idea was to foster world peace and progress through the mainland's development.

Internally, they strongly advocated the building of a harmonious society, which went hand-in-hand with "economic, political and cultural development". These processes have greatly enriched the content of the country's scientific development and have become its key guiding forces.

When dealing with the issue of Taiwan, State leaders insisted on reconciliation across the Taiwan Straits under the premise of "one country" and inter-party exchanges with the Kuomintang, People's First Party and the New Party to bolster anti-separatist forces on the island province, aiming for the complete unification of the country and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The keyword in Beijing's Hong Kong policy is "harmony". Over the past two years, the central authorities have adopted a series of new political and economic measures, the essence of which is "tolerance, mutual assistance and fostering of harmony". Measures such as the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and Individual Travel Scheme (ITS) have been instrumental in bringing about Hong Kong's economic recovery by reversing the downslide since the Asian financial crisis. They have laid the groundwork for redressing grievances and creating harmony in the community.

Vice-President Zeng Qinghong's visit to Hong Kong, the lawmakers' trip to Guangdong, Beijing's support for the SAR government's political reform package and Shenzhou VI astronauts' meeting with locals were all vibrant musical notes that combined to form the score of a symphony with harmony as its theme.

It was this harmony policy of the central government plus the joint efforts of the SAR government and the people that markedly improved the social atmosphere and boosted confidence in the future of Hong Kong in 2005. With unnecessary disputes becoming less frequent and the confrontational sentiment subsiding, the chief executive and his administration were able to retain a relatively high level of popularity in society. According to the opinion poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong, about 60 per cent of respondents (the highest in 13 years) were satisfied with the territory's development last year.

Last year was exhilarating, too, in terms of economic performance and lifting of public sentiment. Beijing's notion and policy of promoting harmony was the key to these far-reaching changes.

In fact, the concepts of "peacefulness" and "harmony" are the essence of Chinese culture, and the quest for peace and harmony has turned into a global trend and theme of the era. It is the well-thought-out conclusion of our young central leadership drawn after the motherland went through numerous internal crises and foreign threats during its long history. This conclusion forms the solid foundation for speedy development and wealth and national building.

By looking at Hong Kong's changes in 2005 and the central government's policy to induce peace and harmony, every Hongkonger should be able to appreciate how significant a harmonious society is.

During his visit to Hong Kong last year, the vice-president put forward two points of hope: for Hong Kong people to seize the opportunity to expedite development and to be tolerant and helpful to each other in order to foster social harmony. These two points are inter-related, and they would become the recurring theme for Hong Kong in 2006.

Editor: Yan