Hong Kong’s ‘immigrant DNA’ allows city to thrive as ‘super-connector’, seminar celebrating SCMP’s 120th anniversary hears

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Hong Kong has always flourished because of its exceptional connectivity, Financial Secretary Paul Chan tells ‘SCMP 120 Conversations’ event

Hong Kong stands out because of ‘an immigrant DNA, where we are adaptable, because you don’t know what’s going to change the next day’: MizMaa Ventures’s Catherine Leung

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Financial Secretary Paul Chan at the ‘SCMP 120 Conversations’ event on Friday. Photo: Edmond So

Martin Choi

Published: 9:10pm, 20 Oct 2023

Hong Kong’s edge as Asia’s “super-connector” with the world, combined with its resilience and adaptability, place the city in position to thrive in an uncertain world, said guests and panellists at a half-day seminar held on Friday to mark the 120th anniversary of the South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong’s extraordinary ability to bridge diverse cultures and religions, and to serve as a channel of dialogue between civilisations, will bolster the city’s super-connector role, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

“Hong Kong has always flourished [because of] its exceptional connectivity,” Chan said at the “SCMP 120 Conversations” event. “In short, this is because of Hong Kong’s unique advantage under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework.

“We may all be profoundly saddened by the recent conflicts occurring in various parts of the world. They serve as stark reminders of the need for empathy over prejudice, understanding over suspicion, respect over hostility, and engagement over separation.”

The newspaper, which was founded by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham on November 6, 1903, is also celebrating its anniversary with a pop-up exhibition that runs from October 20 to November 15 at Landmark Atrium in Hong Kong’s Central business district.

Friday’s seminar was also attended by Hong Kong business leaders such as Allan Zeman, the chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, Catherine Leung, council member of the Better Hong Kong Foundation and co-founder and partner at MizMaa Ventures, Ryan Lai, managing director of Foodpanda Hong Kong, and Ivy Au-Yeung, CEO of OCBC Hong Kong.