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HK handover 20th anniversary
OpinionComment

Why Hong Kong can never be Singapore: just blame history

William Zheng says while the two cities have plenty to learn from each other, they have to mind the gap, as Singapore-style big government would be a misfit in Hong Kong

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Singapore is a sovereign nation with an established political process that allows firm interventionist approaches. Photo: Handout
William Zheng

Intuition leads us to believe that the grass is always greener on the other side. But Chinese philosopher Yanzi used the parable of “sweet orange trees can only bear sour fruit if moved to the wrong soil” to remind us that things can turn sour if the environment is not right.

While many Singaporeans were admiring the wonderful performance of Hong Kong’s MTR, and the city’s vibrant financial markets backed by mainland China listings, new Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor spoke about learning the interventionist approach from Singapore to compete with other economies, despite the laissez-faire tradition.
During her first official visit to the Lion City, Lam also indicated her interest in setting up a training college for civil servants, to provide more training “especially in areas like leadership, public participation and in terms of the application and use of technology”.

While pro-business civil servants can certainly play a bigger role in economic development, the government should be mindful of the fundamental differences between the Hong Kong and Singapore systems.

Many analysts like to compare the cities, but many fail to emphasise that Singapore is a sovereign nation with an established political process that allows its paternalistic government to formulate interventionist approaches with an iron-fisted resolve.

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