All throughout the Greater Bay Area, disparate ways of doing things and different expectations of how life works raise challenges for deeper integration. Hard work and open minds are necessary, as Hong Kong seeks to participate in the Greater Bay Area.
Past administrations have taken ‘communicating with the mainland’ to mean liaising only with the central government. But regional governments can also affect Hong Kong in profound and unexpected ways, and the new administration must learn to confer with provincial officials too.
With its R&D capabilities, the city could play a key role in making TCM more cost-competitive. Embracing it could help make the city a central figure in the Greater Bay Area and national strategic planning.
The exclusion of mainland spouses from the standard dependent visa system of Hong Kong permanent residents means they are forced to rely on the arcane and problematic one-way permit. This seems out of place, given Hong Kong’s ambitions to be a modern city. However, the solution is simple.