What's being said on facebook.com/southchinamorningpost
Hong Kong still has the edge, but must not sit idly doing nothing to improve further. Otherwise, other cities on [the] mainland may take over some day. Hong Kong will then drop to second or third place.
Hong Kong should not be complacent, or it will be overtaken by its neighbours.
A "leading international trading hub". Maybe it should try sorting out supplying its own population with sufficient baby milk formula first, before it even thinks about being a world leader in anything.
Moving away from common law will be a HUGE mistake. The secret behind the success of the anglophone world is the English common law system where judges are bound by precedent and cannot freely interpret the law on a whim. This creates the steady business environment that entrepreneurs seek.
China would have to have an elected government, free press and uncorrupted police force for a convergence of legal systems to work. I hope so.
Is there a practical need for the two systems to converge, even if China's one is up to scratch? To force HK's system to align with China's, the only purposes served would be to control dissidence and/or protect special interests.
Why do they need to converge at all? In Canada, common law is used except in the province of Quebec, which has inherited civil law from the French. Just let HK use common law, which is well established and respected in HK. The mainland can continue to use civil law - hopefully, by then, a version that can also be respected.
