Opinion | A ‘panda economy’ is no cure for Hong Kong’s identity crisis

Things are not going very well in Hong Kong, and I doubt a “panda economy” – something Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung suggested after his return from Sichuan earlier this month – is the answer.

“It’s about the panda economy. In Chengdu, they have made full use of pandas as a means of economic development, which is not just about tourism,” Yeung told a radio programme. The minister was so impressed by what he saw on his trip that he suggested businesses, including restaurants, could get in on the panda craze and boost the economy.

Hold your horses – or pandas, in this case. Chengdu has a panda economy because it’s the panda capital of the world. Hong Kong isn’t. The two giant pandas are big gifts, and what’s not to love about them? This is not to take away from the significance of pandas and Beijing’s gift by any measure, but they will not save us. We are not Sichuan and never will be.

Hong Kong is struggling from a crisis of confidence. Just look at the Hang Seng Index, which has recovered somewhat but is still mired in years of losses. Its performance might be part of a larger, more volatile global outlook, but we are smack in the middle of it.

Also, look at how difficult it has been for our housing and development chiefs to sell land. Just last week, the government rejected the sole bidder for the first site put up for public tender under a pilot housing scheme for private developers to build subsidised homes. The tendered premium failed to meet the government’s reserve price.