Hong Kong nowhere near grand New York
What do you think of Hong Kong? Or more appropriately, what comes to mind when you think of Hong Kong? Asia's World City? This seems plausible. Hong Kong being Manhattan-plus? That seems impressive too.
It no longer sounds impressive to me, though. Wait until you experience the greatness of Manhattan in person. I've just paid Manhattan a visit, and my conclusion is that unless Osama bin Laden drops an atomic bomb on the city (Heaven forbid!), Hong Kong should not daydream of being even on a par with it.
I spent a full day in Manhattan, following people to work and walking half the length of the city.
The more I saw, the less I believed that Hong Kong is of comparable eminence. New York's got Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, what do we have? The relatively lowly Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
There are world-class institutions like Columbia University and New York University, while we still argue daily over whether we should teach with Chinese or English.
Manhattan has theatres and opera houses everywhere, but we do not. There are also nice residences with balconies that one could enjoy, but some of us in Hong Kong don't even have enough room to stretch out. The Statute of Liberty simply knocks out the Giant Buddha. Being a Hong Konger, it is sad to say that Hong Kong is nowhere near being Manhattan. You may say: 'We have a Times Square!' But boy, ours is fake! (a copycat to be precise) And for your information, the World Trade Centre in Hong Kong is also an imitator.
Let us forget about Manhattan-plus and pursue the somewhat more reasonable goal of being Asia's World City.
Graphic: STUYP6GES
