OpinionHong Kong needs outside-the-box thinking to shore up the economy
- Shops and restaurants took a hit over the Easter break, when more than a million people left the city
- Maybe it’s time to make use of Hong Kong’s uniqueness and experience to tap into the mainland market
But while the city turned into a ghost town, the border crossings were crowded as people waited hours to get into and out of Hong Kong.
This situation will only worsen the city’s identity crisis.
Hong Kong has for decades prided itself on being a shopping and dining paradise. But if residents now find the shops and restaurants more appealing over the border in Shenzhen, what is the future for Hong Kong’s economy?
The exodus over the Easter break has only added to fears that Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre is over, as the stock and property markets remain sluggish, and as multinationals and wealthy mainlanders move their operations and money out of the city.
There has been much discussion among academics, officials and business leaders about whether Hong Kong has lost its edge and how it can try to get it back by maintaining the flow of capital and workers, by having a clean government, independent judiciary, even free internet.