熱門搜尋

載入中 ...

Legislator Wu Chi Wai

2018-06-10
Dear Madam Carrie Lam,
 
The development plan of the Great Bay Area has been one of the most important agendas of the Hong Kong Government since you took office.
 
In the government’s propaganda, the development plan delivers a utopian vision regarding our future. With the integration of Hong Kong into the overall development of the Mainland and the Great Bay Area in particular, Hong Kong will find new engines of economic growth, and new room for our daily life activities. To integrate, the government claims they have three primary tasks. In short, the government would strengthen its role as an “agent”, helping innovation companies in the Mainland to reach the international market, and introducing international tech giants to the Bay area. In a more local perspective, the government would also encourage our industries which enjoy clear advantages to expand their operations into the Bay Area. To sum up, the government is encouraging us to have our future in the Bay Area.
 
The utopian picture may be true, but probably only true for a small group, and sadly, may not last long. In essence, these strategies actually weaken our strengths by hollowing out the economy. In particular, if our city’s talents all echo our government’s advocacy, they may make a fortune in the Bay Area, but our city will lose the talent required to strengthen the economy.
 
History always repeats itself. If we review the history of the 80’s and compare it to the situation today, we can spot some resemblance. In the 80’s, the Hong Kong economy grasped the opportunities posed by the Open Door Policy, entrepreneurs and professionals took advantage of the policy and made a fortune in the Guangdong province. This wave of investment did boost our economy and helped transform our economy. Yet, this first wave of integration quickly drained Hong Kong of its industrial and skilled labour and talent. In the 90’s and afterwards, luckily, we had financial and professional services to replace the economic vacuum and helped transform our economy, but the damage of the loss of talent was irreversible. Even when we want to develop innovation and technology today, we are still suffering from this loss.
                                
Of course, our talents are free to choose the place to start their career. Yet, it is the government’s supreme responsibility to provide an attractive environment to recruit talents, where talents can realize their potentials and contribute to the economy. The government hence should fully utilize our strengths, in particular the freedom of information, and our world renowned judicial system. Besides, the government should also restructure the taxation system and other policies, so as to increase our attractiveness to tech giants.
 
Officially, you said the development plan marks the era of cooperation between different cities within the Bay Area. You proclaimed that the principle of cooperation is based on mutual respect, and that the opinion and interests of Hong Kong should not be the Hong Kong government’s first priority. But in reality, our neighboring cities like Dongguan and Shenzhen have already started implementing strategies to strengthen their own economies in order to compete with Hong Kong. To attract talents and tech giants, for instance, they have delivered generous housing, tax subsidies and other packages. If the Hong Kong government continues to ignore this fact, or even encourage our talents to work in other cities, we will lose this battle for talents, and lose the opportunity to ride the wave of technological innovation.
 
Our neighbors are very proactive, and will inevitably always act in accordance with their own self-interest. In turn, I really cannot see why you cannot prioritize our interests. If the government cannot represent Hong Kong’s best interest and strive to strengthen our economy by all means, you are betraying your fellow citizens.
 
I know you may say development is not necessarily a zero-sum game. But that is not the case for the battle for talents. For instance, when a tech giant like Apple establishes its Asian research center in Shenzhen, this will lead to a cluster effect, attracting chains of horizontal and vertical economic activities. This cluster effect will affect the competitiveness and the comparative advantages of a city. Hong Kong still enjoys comparative advantages in various aspects now, but Shenzhen and other Bay Area cities are catching up. If we are not cautious and well-prepared enough for the challenge, we will lose our edge.
 
If Hong Kong is to keep its status as an international city, if we want Hong Kong to be irreplaceable, and if we do not want to fall behind other cities in the Great Bay Area competition, we should find ways to strengthen our advantages. We should immediately review our role and strategies in the Development Plan of the Great Bay Area.
 
As the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, I would expect you to make Hong Kong’s best interest as your top priority. Like every other local governments in the Bay Area, the Hong Kong government should strive to strengthen our economy, and make room to allow our talents to establish their careers in their hometown. That is a matter of choice. If we only focus on cooperation and neglect competition, other cities in the Bay Area will replace our leading role in the region someday. By that time, our talents may launch their own successful careers in other cities, but Hong Kong will lose its leading position and its unique position in the Bay Area. If this is really the case, we will not even be able to maintain our humble role as an “agent”. We will only become an ordinary city in the Bay area.
 
Yours Faithfully,
 
Wu Chiwai
 

Letter To Hong Kong

                                                               
Politicians and public figures from a range of backgrounds take turns to have their say on important matters of the day in this personal view programme.

Catch it live: Sunday 8:15am - 8:25am

Podcast: Updated weekly and available after broadcast. 
回頁頂