Hong Kong celebrates its 27th anniversary of reunification with the motherland on Monday. With the central government’s staunch support and Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s administration’s proactive governance, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has restored stability and gained momentum in economic growth despite the tense geopolitical rivalry around the world.
Looking back over the past 27 years, Hong Kong has given full play to the advantages provided by the “one country, two systems” principle, which has preserved the city’s capitalist and open economy with an independent judiciary, common law system and cultural diversity. Following the implementation of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) in March, Hong Kong has gone all-out on economic development and gained a bright outlook, with a soaring number of tourist arrivals, a rising amount of talent and enterprises from the mainland and overseas, and rapid development benefitting from further integration with national economy.
Hong Kong remains attractive to tourists. The HKSAR government and tourism industry players must further elevate Hong Kong’s glamor as a popular tourist hub, offering diverse tourism packages and experiences to mainland and overseas tourists. To synergize Hong Kong’s tourism development, the government can fully explore its rich tourism resources, develop new routes and enhance service quality to woo more tourists, particularly those living in Shenzhen and other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. At present, more and more visitors prefer joining cultural tours and visiting photogenic spots over splurging out on consumption. Some of them living in Shenzhen and nearby GBA cities have made day trips to Hong Kong. Earlier, Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, suggested that every corner of Hong Kong can be promoted as a tourist hotspot. Based on the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s figures, Hong Kong recorded over 18 million tourist arrivals in the first five months of this year, up almost 80 percent from the same period in previous year. On the mega-event economy, when more than 100 galas, sports events, exhibitions and conventions will be initiated in the second half of this year, the HKSAR government and organizers have to ensure that the mega events are appealing to visitors, thereby helping to drive economic growth and underpin the city’s reputation as a tourism hub.
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Also, Hong Kong has successfully attracted talent and wooed more overseas enterprises to set up and expand their businesses in Hong Kong. The HKSAR government can further trawl for talent from Southeast Asia. Under the current Top Talent Pass Scheme initiated in late 2022, it has enticed graduates from the world’s most prestigious universities, including those from the mainland and overseas, and professionals with high annual earnings potential to work and live in Hong Kong. Out of about 180,000 approved applications as of April, more than 120,000 of them have already chosen Hong Kong as their home. Some of the professionals have foreign passports too. Contrary to some Western media and politicians’ doomsaying on Hong Kong, the city has remained one of top destinations for mainland and multinational enterprises and entrepreneurs to invest. Based on Invest Hong Kong’s data, the government has supported over 380 mainland and overseas companies to set up and expand their businesses in the city in 2023 – up 27 percent from the previous year. Those enterprises are mainly from the mainland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore and Australia. Their investment has reached a staggering HK$61.6 billion ($8 billion) during their first year of operation. According to the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development’s latest World Competitiveness Ranking report, Hong Kong has climbed back two spots to fifth place in its annual global ranking of the world’s most competitive economies, which is attributed to improvement in local economic performance, business efficiency and infrastructure. All these facts and statistics affirmed Hong Kong’s economic competitiveness globally.
Meanwhile, the HKSAR government has exhibited a proactive stance and made notable progress in resolving the housing problem over the past two years. The government deserves credit for rolling out Light Public Housing (LPH) flats to address the substandard living conditions of low-income residents. Recently, the first batch of LPH flats was rolled out, with 4,400 units available in Yuen Long and Ngau Tau Kok. The government’s target to provide 30,000 LPH flats by fiscal year 2026-27 will greatly improve the living environment for many low-income families who are now living in dilapidated subdivided flats while waiting for public housing. The government will also increase the size of newly-built public housing in the coming years, and enough land sites have been secured to build some 360,000 public housing units over the next 10 years. All these initiatives will help eradicate substandard subdivided flats and ensure a good standard of living for low-income households.
In addition, Hong Kong has stepped up its integration into the GBA and into overall national development. In recent years, the enhancement of cross-boundary transportation infrastructure, along with better medical and healthcare services, has encouraged more Hong Kong people to work, live and retire in the GBA. With lower housing prices and living costs, more Hong Kong workers have opted to live in Shenzhen and commute to Hong Kong for work on a daily basis. The SAR government can consider allocating welfare to Hong Kong residents who live across the border. With the implementation of the government’s Northern Metropolis project, along with construction of more railway lines in the northern New Territories, it will become more appealing to Hong Kong workers to live in Shenzhen and commute to Hong Kong for work. At the same time, the development of the Northern Metropolis will further boost Hong Kong’s economic growth. For instance, mainland entrepreneurs and companies can tap into the pool of academics and researchers in Hong Kong’s universities to foster the development of new industries such as biotechnology.
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Above all, Hong Kong’s judicial independence and rule of law have been upheld to cement the city’s status as a global financial hub and international metropolis. Since the reunification, the principles of rule of law and common law system in Hong Kong have remained intact under the Basic Law. The implementation of the SNSO, as well as the National Security Law for Hong Kong, targets only activities endangering national security. Recently, two British judges, Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption, resigned as the Court of Final Appeal’s overseas nonpermanent judges. Sumption has hurled unsubstantiated allegations against Hong Kong’s legal system and rule of law. It is apparent that Sumption’s remarks were biased as he has disregarded some hard facts on Hong Kong’s legal system. Under the Basic Law, it clearly guarantees that judges exercise judicial power independently without fear and favor, free from any interference. Judges can only be removed from office for inability to discharge his or her duties or for misbehavior by the chief executive on the recommendation of a tribunal appointed by the chief justice. They cannot be dismissed for handing down rulings which are contrary to the government’s decisions.
With the central government’s support and the SAR government’s proactive governance, Hong Kong has preserved its unique advantages under the principle of “one country, two systems”.
Without doubt, Hong Kong will remain an international metropolis with an open and free economy, judicial independence and vibrant lifestyle; the city’s future remains bright, which explains why mainland and overseas professionals and enterprises keep coming to the city for career or business development.
The author is a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and founder and chairman of the One Country Two Systems Youth Forum.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
