The government's current review of Brand Hong Kong is, for some, about slaying the hapless 'flying dragon' which has been the city's logo since 2001. For others, it is about revisiting whether the slogan 'Asia's world city' rings sufficiently true for Hong Kong.
For Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who is leading the HK$3 million review, neither is the point of the exercise. 'Whatever we have at the end, I think it's important, but not as important as the process itself,' he said in an interview. 'If we have gone through the process and got a lot of people to understand or at least think about what we stand for and what we aspire to be, that is a very good outcome of this branding exercise.'
The task of revitalising the city's brand, which was announced in the chief executive's 2007 policy address, fell to the financial secretary, a decision that puzzled some, given the breadth of the subject. 'I don't think it matters who's doing it. We run a joined-up government,' Mr Tsang said. 'The chief secretary, the financial secretary, we are sort of those co-ordinating ministers ... This is something that can fall in anybody's portfolio.'
While critics of Brand Hong Kong question the need to spend money on a review, others wonder what can be achieved with such a relatively small budget, given that serious branding can be costly.
'I know it's not a whole lot of money to spend to do such a big job. But we also are mindful that this is taxpayers' money,' Mr Tsang said. 'We need to do this in an efficient way because we will be accountable to the legislature in terms of the money we spend on this. We have gathered very dedicated people who are really willing to do this for peanuts.'
In recent months, the Information Services Department, assisted by a consultant and a survey firm, has organised focus groups, one-on-one discussions, opinion surveys and an online questionnaire involving around 400 participants and 830 respondents in total.