As the economic crisis deepens, gloomy news loses its shock effect. The rise in the unemployment figures to 4.2 per cent was not unexpected, and will be received more with resignation than alarm.
Instead, people are being encouraged to accept that things will get worse before they improve, but assured that everything possible is being done to alleviate the situation. The falling yen and a multiplicity of troubles in the region will hamper our ability to bounce back from the downturn no matter what measures are introduced.
The SAR's competitiveness is seriously damaged by the weakness of neighbouring currencies, the rise in interest rates puts commerce and industry under greater strain, property prices are reaching their nadir, and such short-term measures as can be imposed will only cushion the blow rather than introduce any genuine solutions.
One thing not lacking is advice on ways to cope, from wage freezes advocated by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to unemployment assistance funds from the trade unions. But the Government has already ruled out any move towards welfare benefits, and its own action in allocating generous wage increases and housing benefits to civil servants scarcely sets the tone for pay freezes in industry.
Positive measures, such as the Housing Authority's decision to cut rents for about 9,000 small shopkeepers in its properties, are proof that there is realistic help at hand for the modest business enterprises which are the backbone of the economy and a major source of employment. More grassroots help is needed, plus a little imagination.
Advancing infrastructure projects takes up construction industry slack after the completion of Chek Lap Kok, but even then the industry has questioned its ability to cope.
