City Beat | Business as usual in Hong Kong? No one's buying it

The "umbrella movement" has put Hong Kong in the global spotlight. In Europe last week, a curious Parisian taxi driver asked me what was going on in the city.

It's a good question. Sure, life goes on after more than a month of protests against Beijing's hardline stance on the 2017 chief executive election. But it certainly isn't business as usual - or at least it wasn't for the annual Trade Development Council delegation to Europe. The campaign, Think Asia, Think Hong Kong, aimed to sell the city as the gateway to the huge mainland Chinese market for businesspeople in Europe and, in particular, France.

More than 150 representatives from the finance, technology and professional services sectors as well as government agencies were trying to convince over 1,000 French companies that the city was the place to invest.

However, the absence of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying undermined the "everything is fine" message. Leung was supposed to head the delegation, but with no end in sight to the sit-ins, he sent Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah and gave up a long-planned meeting with Italy's president. The meeting with a head of state was seen as a chance for Leung to broaden his international exposure.

It must have been a blow for Leung, but he can rest assured that everyone was still talking about Hong Kong. Tsang did his bit, reiterating that the government remained confident in its handling of the impasse - and that the city was still an ideal place to do business.

Some saw this as Tsang trying to head off embarrassing questions on the subject, which would have distracted from the sales task: Hong Kong, with its low taxes, is ready and waiting for European investors.