
As I experience my 51st Chinese New Year here in Hong Kong, with the arrival of the year of the Snake, it seems appropriate to write a few words about this remarkable city.
I would like to address three key areas: politics, economics, and environment.
First of all, politics. With the momentous events of 2019 and the riots now very much in the rearview mirror, at least for most of us, Hong Kong has settled back into stability. The key issues of the government are the livelihood of its population and protecting our domestic and international security.
Meanwhile, the much-vaunted favourable immigration schemes launched by the UK and its five-eye buddies in response to Beijing’s implementation of the new national security law back in 2020 have turned out to be a bit of a wet blanket. The latest published figures from the UK show just over 180,000 applications to the UK under this scheme, or about 3% of the eligible 5,000,000 or so.
Those with long memories will recall that the schemes were launched with great fanfare as a lifeboat to flee the oppressive national security law launched by Beijing in response to the foreign-sponsored unrest in 2019, including calls for Hong Kong’s independence from Beijing. I do not doubt that Johnson, Trump and Trudeau saw these schemes as a way to bring Hong Kong to its knees as its population fled in droves to their “greener pastures”. It didn’t quite work out for them!
The HK National Security Law was seen by the usual Western pundits as extraordinarily oppressive and something everyone in Hong Kong should be fearful of. Well, as of mid-2024, three years after its enactment, there have been just 296 arrests, of whom 158 were charged with an offence under the law and just 77 convicted. A graph of these figures shows the vast majority occurring in the first 12 months after its enactment. These days, it’s pretty much out of sight, out of mind.
It is quite interesting to compare the criticism from the West of Beijing’s implementation of the NSL with the many policies coming out of Western governments these days, which are prefixed with the words “protecting national security”. It seems that what’s good for them is absolutely verboten for China.
A further development over the intervening four years has been the global recognition of the disingenuous manner in which the Western media portrays events such as the Hong Kong riots and the national security law. Sitting here in Hong Kong back in 2019, as rioters wreaked havoc on the city and the Western media cheered them on, we could only endure a significant amount of frustration with this misreporting. Since then, there has been a worldwide willingness to distrust nearly anything emerging from these propaganda mouthpieces, which is a welcome development.
Naturally, we are still grappling with some of the repercussions from those events. Earlier this year, we concluded the protracted trial of the 47 key political figures charged under the NSL for attempting to undermine the government by manipulating the political system. In this lengthy trial, most chose to plead guilty. However, when the verdicts were delivered, there were the expected outcries from the West, claiming that this was an infringement on democratic freedoms. Surprise !
And over in an adjacent court, we have the long-standing trial of Jimmy Lai, the proprietor of the late Apple Daily newspaper, which continues to elicit occasional involuntary responses from his supporters scattered around the world. These supporters find sustenance with the anti-Beijing brigade in Westminster, Washington, and elsewhere. I personally took the time to attend one of the trial days last year, which was as stimulating as watching paint dry. However, if anyone wishes to claim a lack of legal process, they will need to look elsewhere; this is no kangaroo court.
Enough of politics, on to economics. Hong Kong has always been a city that places economic prosperity at the forefront. As a city-state, it is well-positioned. There is no doubt that the riots, followed by Covid and various anti-China antics from the West, have dealt Hong Kong some challenging cards. However, this is a city that thrives on adversity, and whatever happens, we will always have our unique location and an extraordinarily hard-working and creative population to rely on.
It helps that, through prudent financial management, the Hong Kong government entered these difficult times sitting on an enormous cash reserve, which, even after four difficult years, still makes the country the envy of much of the West.
It would take too long to list out everything that is going on here today but to highlight just a couple:
First, late last year saw the inauguration of the third runway at our already enormous and impressive airport, which, among other things, remains the world’s leading air cargo airport. Furthermore, this month, our world-leading airline, Cathay Pacific, reached its pre-COVID operational levels and now has a very ambitious expansion program.
Back on land, we are seeing the inauguration in March of a massive, 50-60,000 seat new multipurpose event stadium. This stadium will host the iconic HK rugby 7s for the first time this year and then host four back-to-back Coldplay concerts.
Hong Kong continues to pour concrete in never-ending quantities, with public housing high on the agenda along with the continued expansion of our world-class mass transit system, while a whole new metropolis, located just across the border from Shenzhen, is firmly on the drawing boards.
When talking about Shenzhen, we cannot overlook the very rapid developments in the Greater Bay Area, a project encompassing roughly 70 million people and with a GDP more than Canada, created around the Pearl River delta.
With its world-class infrastructure and diverse industries—Shenzhen alone is home to EV giant BYD, drone giant DJI, and telecommunications giant Huawei—and with R&D expenditure exceeding 5% of GDP, we continue to witness breathtaking development from this extraordinary region of the world.
Hong Kong will play an important role as a connector between the rest of the world and China in banking, insurance, logistics, and mediation areas.
Last but not least, let me address the environment. Hardly a week goes by these days without reports of climate change-related events such as extreme fires, rain, floods, winds, and temperature extremes. This is no longer a subject that can be disregarded. Hong Kong is certainly no stranger to climatic events, given our proximity to the typhoon belt; any examination of Hong Kong’s history reveals numerous devastating typhoons, which is why, today, Hong Kong enjoys a high level of security thanks to its well-developed infrastructure. This is not to say we should bury our heads in the sand. On the environmental front, Hong Kong is making rapid strides toward the widespread adoption of electric and even hydrogen vehicles, as well as playing a pivotal role in fostering green finance through our banking system.
But we do have one extraordinary weather situation in Hong Kong, as it is raining pandas. We have long had Ying Ying and Lee Lee; then, early in 2024, it was announced that we would receive two more of these fur babies. Hardly had the excitement of this announcement died down when, out of the blue, Ying Ying became the oldest captive panda mum, giving birth to two panda cubs. Cue “Pandamania”, sweeping across HK, with regular updates on the cubs’ development. We are now just short of the first public viewing of the cubs, whose names are yet to be announced.
With this background, it’s not surprising that in a recent survey by What’s On magazine, Hong Kong ranked third in Asia after Bangkok and Shanghai while climbing to 14th overall worldwide from 49th last year, with top place for safety and convenience.
In conclusion, I would assert that those who choose to bet against Hong Kong during the difficult days of 2019 have once again backed the wrong horse.
Kung Hei Fat Choi