Opinion | Lunar New Year stall row only boosts critics of Hong Kong’s rule of law

At a conference organised last month to highlight relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Greater Bay Area, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu emphasised how this aspect of Hong Kong’s business environment would greatly facilitate our role as a superconnector between the two.

At the first meeting of a financial forum a week later under the theme “Hong Kong as a Global City: the Competitive Edge”, Lee extended the scope of the role to the whole of the world, including the entire mainland. At the same event, director of the central government’s liaison office, Zheng Yanxiong, said the superior business environment and comprehensive legal framework would continuously add robust momentum to Hong Kong’s development.

Both men were echoing similar remarks by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po following his visits to Europe in September and California as representative of Hong Kong at the Apec meeting in October. Chan said financial and business leaders from the UK and France expressed confidence in Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” principle, common law and rule of law.

During the German leg of his tour, which included meeting European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Chan emphasised one country, two systems, the use of common law and the rule of law as key features of the business environment. It was a similar story with Chan’s meetings with US business leaders.

Everyone wants to know whether the formula still applies in Hong Kong and if the rule of law endures. If required, Chan could point to President Xi Jinping’s speech during his July visit to Hong Kong last year, which emphasised that the differences between our city and mainland cities are what make us so useful for the country’s overall development, meaning these differences will be preserved on a long-term basis. Xi twice specifically mentioned the continued use of common law.