Opinion | For ‘super connector’ Hong Kong, it’s all about the economy – so Covid-19 rules have to go

All the government plans to revive Hong Kong need money. And only a growing economy will generate the revenues needed

That means we have to open up to the world quickly and drop all Covid-related restrictions, in testing, checking and masking

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People wearing face masks in Central on August 15. Our Covid-19 regime is a deterrent to visiting Hong Kong, whether for business or pleasure. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 1:30pm, 6 Nov 2022Updated: 11:26am, 7 Nov 2022

“It’s the economy, stupid” was a slogan devised by James Carville for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992. The words were framed and hung on the wall of the campaign office as a reminder to stay on message. It worked. Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush.

All ministers in the Hong Kong administration would do well to put the sign up on their walls too. They each have plans to improve different aspects of life in our city. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu spelled out the main points in his recent policy address, for housing, infrastructure, education, health care, investment in industry etc.

They all have one thing in common: they need money. And only a growing economy will generate the revenues needed to pay for the things we want to do.

Hong Kong’s economy was in recession when Lee took office and the third-quarter gross domestic product figure – a negative 4.5 per cent – showed a further deterioration. How do we turn things around? We have to accept that there are some things we can’t control and focus on those we can.

The war in Ukraine, the spike in oil prices, decisions on US interest rates, all these things happen above our heads. Like everyone else, we just have to live with them. Communities everywhere were caught out by the Covid-19 pandemic, but how well the governments responded and the economies coped differed – and these are things we can control.

The next step is to recognise who and what we are. In case anyone had forgotten, President Xi Jinping spelled it out for us during his July visit. The message was repeated in last week’s investment summit: we are the natural jumping-off point for foreign businesses wishing to engage with China and the launch pad for mainland companies wishing to go global. In short, the “super connector”.