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Make clear what ‘one country, two systems’ offers foreign businesses, AmCham urges next administration

Chamber’s new president Tara Joseph says government also needs to reassure international firms that rule of law remains strong in city

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AmCham president Tara Joseph, says the ‘one country, two systems’ model is hard for outsiders to grasp. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The American Chamber of Commerce has urged Hong Kong’s next government to reach out to international businesses still “unclear” about what opportunities the city can offer under the one country, two systems policy.

The chamber’s new president, Tara Joseph, also called on chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s incoming administration to give assurances over the continuation of the rule of law, which makes Hong Kong different from other mainland cities.

In an interview with the Post, Joseph said Amcham had enjoyed a good relationship with Lam, who as chief secretary had chaired the government’s international business committee, and agreed with her drive to spend more public money on education and health care.

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“Carrie Lam’s effort to reach out to the younger generation is something important for the reputation of the city in the long term – that reputation leads to business and people wanting to have their offices and headquarters here,” she said.
Lam was elected with 777 votes from the 1,194-member Election Committee on March 26.
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While forthcoming on investment in social policies, Hong Kong’s leader in waiting has not promised to restart the city’s stalled political reform process for universal suffrage. On this topic, Joseph said the chamber was “not here to be political”.

“What we see as very important in Carrie Lam’s administration is ‘one country, two systems’. That is crucial for businesses operating in Hong Kong,” Joseph said, adding that it was important for Lam to “come out and say” what that meant.

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