Vijay Verghese

Opinion | Can Hong Kong find its Goldilocks zone?

Too much emphasis on ‘one country’ over ‘two systems’ will hobble the dynamism that made Hong Kong such a powerful magnet to talent and capital

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Pedestrians cross a road in Central in June 2023. Running Hong Kong through trickle-down mainland pronouncements - however well-meaning – runs the risk of pushing the city further into the shadows. Photo: Shutterstock

Vijay Verghese

Published: 9:30am, 28 Aug 2024Updated: 8:05am, 29 Aug 2024

As pressure mounts on Hong Kong to align with the mainland, it is often forgotten that the city’s great strength has always been its freewheeling style.

Hong Kong took risks, made fast decisions, and executed them with speed. It had a spirited attitude towards competition. And it learned from its mistakes. This anything-goes dynamism gave it the star power to attract adventurers and an endless supply of can-do talent and capital.

Such traits may be getting harder to spot in the city. A survey by the Employee Retraining Board determined that 36 per cent of young people who are not employed or studying have no interest in securing a job.

This dismal finding was compounded by another telling statistic from the Youth Development Blueprint: 52.7 per cent of people aged 25 to 39 are still living with their parents, and the number is growing. Where is the Lion Rock spirit that elevated the city from pirates’ bolt-hole to laissez-faire poster child?

While Singapore has been criticised for its overly cautious follow-the-leader approach compared with Hong Kong, these roles have seemingly been reversed. Across the border, even Shenzhen is racing ahead.