‘Don’t exaggerate’: Hong Kong’s leader urges calm amid string of business closures, saying operators come and go during transition
- Chief Executive John Lee says Hongkongers should adopt ‘positive and enterprising’ attitude and stand united in telling others about ‘real and glorious’ side of city
- Concerns raised after two cinemas shut in about a week, with some residents flagging ‘wave of shop closures’ given empty stores on the streets
Hong Kong’s leader has called on residents to refrain from exaggerating business conditions in the city amid a string of recent shop closures, saying operators are bound to come and go during an economic transition.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday was addressing the demise of two cinemas in the space of about a week, as well as what some described as “a wave of shop closures” given the empty stores on the streets.
“Some businesses might not be too successful, but there are also new operators in the market so changes are bound to happen during our economic transition period,” Lee said ahead of the weekly meeting of the city’s key decision-making Executive Council.
Lee called on Hongkongers to see problems with a “positive and enterprising” attitude and stand united in telling others about the “real and glorious” side of the city.
“If we only focus on certain changes we often see in daily life and deal with it in an exaggerated way, it may not be the most correct approach for Hong Kong as a whole,” he said.
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Lee said Hongkongers were full of ideas, agile and creative, adding he had seen growing activity in several areas of the economy in the city.
“We should work together to promote the good things about Hong Kong to everyone, be they residents or foreign visitors, as carrying the city forward requires having confidence in ourselves,” he said.
The President Theatre cinema in Causeway Bay will shut for good on Tuesday evening after nearly 60 years of operation, just about a week after the closure of another cinema, GH Kai Tak.
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Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers spokesman Tenky Tin Kai-man said the string of closures sounded the alarm for the city’s cinema sector, which faced challenges including high rents and stiff competition from other entertainment platforms.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, also earlier estimated that more than 700 restaurants had shut down in the past few months amid a trend of diners increasingly heading north and overseas.
Meanwhile, more than 400 outlets had been set up in the city, Wong said.
He warned that the wave of business closures might worsen as restaurants had been hard hit by outflows of customers to the mainland and overseas.
The trend also prompted online users to document the closure of restaurants and other small businesses on Facebook page ‘Concern group on Hong Kong shop closures’, which drew more than 354,000 followers as of Tuesday.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun of the Roundtable group said he agreed with Lee that there were bound to be newcomers and leavers in the market.
“Hong Kong is a free market and we should not rely on the government to help us,” said Tien, founder of the G2000 clothing chain.
“If businesses only rest on their laurels and do not make any changes, their days in the market are numbered.”
Tien said local shops and eateries should either promote their high-end products or come up with innovations to survive in light of stiff competition from neighbouring mainland cities such as Shenzhen.
