Political stasis holding back Hong Kong's development
Joanne Cheung says we must move on or risk falling behind in the region
A mainland political expert well versed in Hong Kong and Macau affairs recently told me that leaders on the mainland have generally adopted two views towards Hong Kong, in the wake of the Occupy Central movement.
Supporters of one view see Hong Kong as inferior, and reckon the city will be marginalised as a result of the domination of politics over economic development and people's livelihood.
The other camp takes a more upbeat attitude, and believes Hong Kong still retains an edge in the region and the world because of its good and well-functioning judiciary and social system, as well as the generally decent quality of the people.
The theory also goes that Hong Kong is beneficial to the country's development due to the fact that it is already a free trade zone, and it can complement the country's growth by setting examples for it to follow, provided that Hong Kong manages to handle its political turmoil.
The question, however, is whether Hongkongers have the ability to grasp the opportunities.
The truth is, Hongkongers have been caught in a relentless political debate over the past two years. In 2013, we saw the brewing of the illegal Occupy Central movement to force the central government to make concessions on political reform, followed by the actual 79-day protest that commenced in September last year.