Vote for Hong Kong

It's election time in the USA. It is where I am right now and as I write it is still Tuesday so it ain't over. Personally I shall be pleased when it is. Not because the outcome is not important, it is, but because of the months and months it seems to have been assaulting our ears in Hong Kong and elsewhere - and the money the process costs in America. Frankly I prefer the British electoral system. Call an election, keep the period for electioneering short and restrict the amount of money it costs.  (Similar to the USA, though, it still doesn't guarantee we get the right person at the top!)

So with elections being topical I started to think, as I often do, about Hong Kong. Not from a political leadership perspective, but from the point of view of Hong Kong's position in the world, in Asia and in China - particularly in the post "American Crisis" era.

 Historically Hong Kong has thrived on crisis; political or economic. It was done by a mixture of entrepreneurial and practical business people with common sense, a facilitative civil service and a hard working labour force. 

 What's changed? 

 Well not a lot when you think about it. The entrepreneurs are still there, university-educated perhaps but with less of the raw gut instinct of their fathers. The civil service is still there and has the ability to perform as before, even if it does not always show the inclination to do so (due partly to the presence and pressure of a less business savvy and more banana-driven and hirsute legislature), and the workforce still seems to be largely willing to perform as hard as before. So although we, along with everyone else, who has been caught up in the "American Crisis”, have some issues, we've nothing to be concerned about long term, right?

Well, maybe we'll be lucky, but this is no time for complacency and it is pleasing to know that at least some in the business community are looking seriously at the subject. Mind you, looking, debating and agreeing are only a part of the sum; action is harder.

 I was delighted to be asked recently to give my views to a group of business people. Delighted because at this stage of career I am pleased to be asked my opinion about something - well just about anything actually.

 I used a couple of stories to illustrate the points I was making but my main thoughts from the first story, in brief, looked at:

 - the world over the next 30 years; a more interconnected, interdependent and international world. A world in which Hong Kong, despite the ties with China and the obvious synergies, must remain international in focus unless we want to become just another city in China - and a small one at that.

- whether we need to ask ourselves some basic but sensitive questions. For example have we become all too comfortable in relying largely on China? Do we realise there are markets in directions other than north? 

- Simply put, Hong Kong is where it is today because of our international focus. Because this is a city where people from different places can do business together. If we want to remain relevant to China, and the world, our internationalism cannot be left behind - unless we want to be left behind.

 In terms of the second story, the salient point was that as Hong Kong moves forward we have to increase our appeal. In the comments above, I talked about our interconnected world. In such a scenario people we need in Hong Kong will only be attracted here if our city offers them and/or their families the best lifestyle. This means being honest with ourselves. Are we sometime soon going to go beyond paying lip service to cleaning up our environment or do we expect to be able to do as little in the next 30 years as the last 30 and still have a city worth living in? Simply put, if Hong Kong hopes to compete going forward, it must be a desirable destination for both business and leisure.

 Lastly I made a few points about aggression; being aggressive in defending our turf and our reputation. There is a re-balancing taking place in world economies. We are becoming increasingly volatile in the global economy - a volatility that is being partly driven by flows of information and misinformation. But in this environment we need to consider what we must do to stay ahead of the competition. 

Once again, these trends raise some sensitive but basic questions for Hong Kong. Questions about how to best fend off the competition, to make sure we stay ahead of ALL those cities in Asia that want what Hong Kong already has? But also questions about dealing with negative perceptions transparently and promptly and aggressively protect Hong Kong's regulatory reputation.

So, a few thoughts on this Election Day but for me - and I hope for those of you who have an interest in your future, when you have an opportunity - Vote for Hong Kong.

Comments

[Sze]

Sadly Hong Kong people are still narrow minded as before, they only care about their own community (sounds like villagers!) and ask the "grandpa" for sweets. Other than those four pillars of development (in which most of them are proved to be fragile in the financial turmoil), we have nothing indeed, even worse than some mainland cities,at least they have land and cheap labour and resources...