OpinionTo get Hong Kong back on its feet, we need to be three steps ahead

With Beijing’s blessing, John Lee’s administration has started the process of reconnecting with the world, but scrapping hotel quarantine is just a start

As Singapore overtakes us as an international finance centre, and with a massive deficit looming and tourism facing headwinds, Hong Kong needs a clear plan to jump-start its economy

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Chief Executive John Lee attends a press conference at government headquarters in Tamar on September 23. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Published: 6:45am, 26 Sep 2022

The World Dragon Boat Racing Championships have sailed on after the international federation moved its 2023 race from Hong Kong to the more welcoming shores of Thailand. Hong Kong has been cancelled, again.

The government had barely rescued the 25th Hong Kong marathon, which organisers had said they were cancelling but is now rescheduled for February. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu came out to say his government would do its best to support the event and others like it, because it was in everyone’s interests for “these things to happen”.

Indeed, a lot of things need to happen. But before we get to that, let’s be clear on what has already happened.

After months of warnings about Hong Kong losing out to Singapore as an international finance centre and amid repeated government denials – and assertions of confidence in the city – it has happened: Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong in the latest Global Financial Centres Index, a semi-annual survey by the China Development Institute and the London think tank Z/Yen Partners.

As for why, the report’s authors stated the obvious: “Continuing travel restrictions in places like Hong Kong and Tokyo affect their ability to conduct normal levels of business.”

None of this should come as a surprise, since former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, weeks before the end of her term, was very clear on where the city was heading should quarantine controls remain. Lam, too, pointed to the obvious: “If you cannot travel freely to other places and into the mainland, how could you be a hub?”