The View | HK must introduce innovative technology model

It is no coincidence that Hong Kong and mainland China are rolling out ambitious technology policies at the same time.

Government planners in both places are either hoping to catch up with US technology or create high-value employment for young graduates. However, none of these policies can exist or succeed alone in a vacuum. Competitive and market forces make their goals elusive, creating  unintended outcomes.

One of the jokes during the 1990s tech boom was: “What was Microsoft’s corporate mission statement? Prevent the formation of other Microsofts.” Therein lies the seeds of destruction of any technology and the dynamics behind creativity in Silicon Valley. Bill Gates hoped that no offbeat entrepreneurs would emerge  to unravel  his near monopolistic dominance of desktop computing.

But of course that happened. History  shows that somewhere out there, someone is inventing the next new thing in their garage, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. Today, Google, Apple and Facebook and others have replaced Microsoft as highly regarded leaders.

Shaping policies or choosing winners in an industry that has thrived on constructive destruction is as difficult as catching lightning in a bottle.

As the new technology bureau of  the Hong Kong government tries to understand its role in fostering innovation in the post-%Occupy  economy, its most basic decision is whether it should bet on certain industries or confine itself to making policies that support technology and entrepreneurs.

The critical difference that  Hong Kong and  mainland government planners fail to understand is that Silicon Valley’s leading technologists are trying to develop businesses that are so profoundly innovative that they create entirely new industries.