Ever since Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty, there have been gloomy predictions about the city's future. But they have been confounded time and again. The city has emerged stronger from tests of its resilience - the Asian financial crisis, Sars, the global financial crisis. International confidence in our financial markets has been maintained. But recently doubts have returned, sparked by an acrimonious election campaign for the next chief executive, which has split the city, laying bare social unrest and perceptions of one law for the elite and another for everyone else.
Beijing's perceived favourite - who would normally be assured of winning - is being opposed by a credible loyalist alternative who enjoys more support in public opinion polls. Whoever wins, the campaign will be remembered for personal attacks and scandalous disclosures, prompting reflection on what has happened to Hong Kong and how Beijing could have got it wrong and misread pressures building up across the community. The Wall Street Journal sparked heated debate by publishing an opinion piece that compared former colonial officials - sensitive to their questionable legitimacy and accountable to democratically elected political masters in London - with a local ruling elite accountable to an authoritarian regime. It concluded that Hong Kong may have been better under the British.
That view glosses over the colonial government's sins, but at least it got people's attention. Our present government cannot deny that nowadays the income gap is wider, housing less affordable and the air less breathable. But has Hong Kong really changed that much? Perceptions may have changed, sharpened by revelations of the scandals and controversies that have engulfed the chief executive candidates. But the key elements that guarantee our rights and freedoms and underpin Hong Kong's success have not changed. They are the rule of law and freedom of speech, including freedom of the press. Evidence of the latter is to be found in the intense coverage of the election campaign controversies.
So long as these core values prevail, Hong Kong will remain an attractive place to live and do business. But there is more than that to social stability and harmony. Vice-President Xi Jinping told Hong Kong delegates to the National People's Congress last week to put aside personal interests to focus on the overall well-being of the city. That was seen as code, calling on supporters of both candidates to refrain from further smear tactics. It could equally be seen as a call to focus on public concern over housing prices, pollution, income inequality and the perception of government collusion with business. There is an urgent need for the Hong Kong government and people to unite to address these pressing problems.