Mind The Gap | Lam Wing-kee’s accusations will shake Hong Kong’s business class out of their make-money-first complacency
The question that they will face is does the Basic Law really work to reconcile the inherent political contradictions of Hong Kong, or is it just ‘public relations wallpaper’
He who bears witness to history owns it. The bookseller Lam Wing-kee made sure that he told his version of the truth before it was washed away by time, speculation and hearsay. Now we know what it was all about: something intimate and ugly.
At its most cynical, the Hong Kong business establishment treated Beijing as another colonialist- time to make new friends. At its most optimistic, business and economic integration would continue with the Basic Law as the guiding document that tries to reconcile the most difficult forms of government- a city with civic freedoms administered by an undemocratic government.
But, China’s rapid development has spawned an economic schism rather than absolute opportunity for Hong Kong because its tycoons and leading business people are intellectually ill-equipped for playing a role in the world’s second-largest economy.
Despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy, multinationals continue to invest in the country. Indeed, HSBC’s balance sheet pivot to commit more capital to the country represents an important shift in risk perception. Foreign companies are increasingly willing to subject themselves to Chinese law.
Hong Kong is a sovereign territory of China. But, the booksellers’ affair makes the city’s citizens feel that they are only part of China - a subtle estrangement. Initially, the gambit worked. Beijing bet that Hong Kong people, in particular the ruling government and business establishment, possessed no principles that they would stand and fight for. They were right. Everyone just wants to make money.
