Fiction: Group 2
have immensely inflicted pressures in traditional manufacturing industries, leading to migration and
outsourcing of basic manufacturing to other low-cost inland provinces in China and other developing
countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
On the contrary, Hong Kong as a neighbouring city, over the last decade, its ties with the PRD have
developed significantly as best witnessed by the rocketing growth in cross-border traffic. In 2013, the 11
control points along the Hong Kong-Mainland border record a daily average of 562,000 cross in both
directions. With the availability of more cross-border measures, notably, the Octopus-Lingnan Pass, the
140 km-long Express Rail Link with its terminus in West Kowloon as well as the 35.6 km-long Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will definitely expedite transit around the PRD region in less than an hour.
Does this closer tie benefit Hong Kong economically? Some comments saying that Hong Kong’s
competitive edge is weakening and may fade away as the Chinese cities are blossoming.
Though Shanghai and Beijing have good infrastructure and vibrant economies they are still far from world-
class cities. Choking pollution has been a threat for exodus of expatriates from Beijing. High cost of living
and low quality of life are other factors discouraging ambitious Chinese professionals from staying behind.
And, according to the 2015 Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom, Hong Kong still ranks the
first around the world with Singapore being the second but China, is much farther below at 139. Hong
Kong - my hometown, as long as it retains its uniqueness in areas of openness, international orientation and
strong civil society, which, perhaps China can hardly emulate, we could still be competitive.
Even Shanghai and Beijing cannot compete with Hong Kong, let alone to say Shenzhen and Guangzhou
which rank much lower as world cities, are not Hong Kong’s competitors but partners, would complement
Hong Kong’s excellence as if a prominent opera in collaboration with an outstanding orchestra would
definitely perform in a great harmony for Guangdong, which, I look forward to watching by 2030 desirably
under a ‘clear and blue’ sky!
