As Hong Kong enters a new year, the challenges ahead are sobering
- The city will need to draw on its famous spirit and resilience as it recovers from the Covid years and adapts to new circumstances
A new year, even if beginning with a hangover from midnight celebrations, is a time for reflection, resolution and hope for the future. The last 12 months have been transformative for Hong Kong. It is easy to forget that a year ago, the city was only just beginning to break free from the bonds of Covid-19.
Social-distancing restrictions were lifted just in time for New Year’s Eve in 2022. But the wearing of masks was still mandatory, the border with mainland China yet to open and schoolchildren had to take daily Covid-19 tests. There was still a long way to go.
The crowds watching the new year fireworks tonight (Sun), the first since 2018, might feel that Covid-19 has finally been consigned to history. The city has played host to a string of international conferences, exhibitions and elite sporting events, ending three years of isolation.
Campaigns have been launched to get people out and about, especially in the evening, with night markets, concerts, exhibitions, and discounts for shopping and dining.
But while memories of quarantine, testing, and targeted lockdowns may be fading, the impact of the pandemic is still being felt.
The economic recovery has been weaker than hoped, with a downturn in the property and stock markets. A budget deficit of HK$100 billion is forecast.
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Tourists have returned, but not at the same level as before. Now, a new problem has arisen – persuading residents to spend their spare time in Hong Kong.
More than a million people departed in two days before Christmas, enjoying a festive holiday for the first time since the pandemic. Many are regularly taking day trips to Shenzhen to enjoy shopping and dining options considered better value. Hong Kong is trying, but needs to up its game.
The most disturbing legacy of the pandemic is the impact on the community’s mental health, especially children. There were at least 28 suicides among schoolchildren in the first 10 months of the year.
Children faced disruption to their studies and social lives amid school closures due to Covid-19. They have had to make the difficult transition to returning to the classroom. For some, it is an unbearable burden. They deserve understanding and support.
Hong Kong is not only striving to recover from the pandemic. The civil unrest of 2019 and dramatic political changes that followed continue to weigh heavily on the city.
An exodus of residents has left Hong Kong searching for talent. Various schemes have attracted thousands of new arrivals, with the overwhelming majority from mainland China. There is nothing wrong with that. But the city needs to also appeal to talent from overseas, if it is to maintain a diverse multicultural environment.
That will depend on rebuilding its international image. The government is trying to promote Hong Kong as a free and open international city while simultaneously pursuing a relentless national security agenda. The two objectives are not easy to reconcile.
If perception is reality, Hong Kong has a problem. Japanese Consul General Kenichi Okada told the Post last week: “Unfortunately, the image of Hong Kong in Japan [is] really negative.” Even leading businesspeople, he said, believe there is no longer any difference between Hong Kong and mainland China.
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It is not only in Japan that such perceptions have formed. Nor are they likely to be dispelled in 2024. Two of the biggest national security trials are due to reach their conclusion. And more national security laws are on the way.
Hong Kong can look ahead to 2024 with cautious optimism after a year that has seen normal life return. The dark days of the pandemic seem a distant memory.
But the battle to recover from the Covid-19 years and adapt to changed circumstances will continue.
The challenges ahead are sobering, appropriate perhaps for that new year hangover. Hong Kong will need to draw on its famous spirit and resilience. I wish the city and its people a happy and prosperous new year.
