My TakeBeing the richest mainland city would be nice
The arrogant isolationism of many people worked against Hong Kong as Shenzhen turned into a hi-tech hub, and we must strive for a viable future
In a rapidly changing world, just a few years is a long time, let alone 50 years.
The constitutional guarantee of no changes to Hong Kong’s social, political and economic systems for 50 years after the 1997 handover might have helped preserve confidence for Hong Kong people during the first decade; it will be a hindrance to the city’s growth and development in the four decades that come after.
History, geography, economics and common sense have already conspired to make that guarantee obsolescent in the 21st century. Hong Kong, of course, can insist on it; it will just be left behind.
An obvious example: When Tung Chee-hwa first became chief executive, he said he would turn the city into a tech hub. Today, we are still talking about that in aspirational terms, while Shenzhen, home to the headquarters of Tencent, Huawei, ZTE, BYD and BGI and many more, has become China’s tech hub in the past 20 years.
The gross domestic product of the former backwater district hit US$342 billion in 2017, compared to the US$339 billion of Hong Kong.
If you are a young hi-tech professional, working across the border is the natural choice, from IT and bio-tech to automation, social media and gaming.