In his letter headlined 'Does Tung have SAR at heart?' (South China Morning Post, October 15), Danny Au said people were worried about job security but Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was encouraging Hong Kong's business community to invest in the mainland. He wondered how this would benefit Hong Kong and suggested capital outflow would not help our unemployment situation.
Mr Au has a misguided view which is probably shared by the majority of Hong Kong people. These Hong Kongers have not fully appreciated that our future depends on our successful integration with the Pearl River Delta. They view the delta as our competitor instead of our most valuable partner. The fact is the more the delta is developed, the more Hong Kong will benefit.
Mr Au mentioned the Government should concentrate on attracting more foreign investors into Hong Kong. Which place in the world offers a better scenario than ours to foreign investors? Locating their headquarters in Hong Kong offers all the world-class facilities required by foreign corporations, not least of which is our low taxes and a judicial system compatible with the West. Locating their manufacturing operations in the Pearl River Delta also offers a competitive workforce and operating costs.
When the delta can offer world-class medical facilities, schools, etc., the world's best hi-tech engineers will want to invest and work there. When that happens, Hong Kong will benefit. The Pearl River Delta is our gold mine. The sooner Hong Kong people realise this and support the Government's efforts to jointly develop the area, the quicker we will come out of our current problems. Being xenophobic is not going to help.
ALEX WOO
Kowloon
Hong Kong's middle- and lower-income groups should be trembling at the announcement from Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings), that he supports Tung Chee-hwa for another term as Chief Executive ('Li Ka-shing backs second term for Tung', South China Morning Post, October 14). The same article mentioned that the Government announced a 10-month freeze on subsidised-flat sales last month after the same Mr Li called for cutting and eventually halting such sales, a move aimed at boosting property prices.