Letters | Let Hong Kong be Hong Kong and watch Greater Bay area prosper

Name: Hong Kong's competitive edge questioned as Xi says Shenzhen is engine of China’s Greater Bay Area
Uploaded: 2020-10-22T23:15:16.000Z
Duration: 5 min 25 s
Description: Hong Kong's competitive edge questioned as Xi says Shenzhen is engine of China’s Greater Bay Area

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Hong Kong’s value systems shaped by its colonial history, its can-do spirit and international reputation as a financial centre have contributed to the city’s uniqueness. Photo: Edward Wong

Letters

Published: 7:15am, 23 Oct 2020Updated: 7:15am, 23 Oct 2020

I am writing to respond to the article “Study and work on mainland, Xi urges Hong Kong youths” (October 15).

Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen are among the 11 cities under the Greater Bay Area project. Due to the rapid economic development of these cities, they have been playing an important role in national development. If the three cities could work together, they would dramatically boost the Greater Bay Area’s prospects.

Hong Kong and Macau, however, are special administrative regions and, owing to its history as a colony, Hong Kong has its own culture, business model and form of government. As a result, Hong Kong enjoys an international status and value system that are different from Shenzhen and other mainland cities.

Hongkongers treasure the uniqueness of their city; and its local businesses should be preserved to create a diverse society. Their famed “can do” entrepreneurial spirit inspires young Hongkongers to choose to establish their own business or inherit a local one. This could lead them to focus on the Hong Kong market rather than the Greater Bay Area.

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Hong Kong's competitive edge questioned as Xi says Shenzhen is engine of China’s Greater Bay Area

Besides the local market, Hong Kong’s youth are also looking for exposure to the wider world – beyond China’s borders. Hong Kong is an international metropolis, known globally as a financial centre and attracting tourists from around the world. Having grown up in a diverse and international city, young Hongkongers prefer to try to set up a business in other countries rather than limit themselves to mainland China.