Letters | How Hong Kong can deliver on its brand promise as ‘Asia’s world city’

Readers discuss what it will take for the city to retain its competitive edge, and an exhibition on the ties between China and France

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Tourists at the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade in September 2023. Photo: Elson Li

Published: 11:48am, 12 Jul 2024

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Given the geopolitics between China and the United States, and with the centre of economic gravity shifting east, it is tempting to downplay Hong Kong’s historic positioning as an East-meets-West nexus. No doubt there is a strong case for strengthening the city’s economic and cultural linkages with the mainland, the rest of Asia and the Middle East.

But this doesn’t mean that we should let go of our ties with the global north. Hong Kong as “Asia’s world city” should not be a mere slogan but an integral strategy for every sector.

Hong Kong is on the cusp of transforming itself into an innovation and technology hub. The government, universities and many other organisations have allocated considerable resources to nurturing home-grown start-ups. While these efforts are laudable, we will miss many opportunities if we put all our eggs into one start-up basket. We should be more selective in betting on local start-ups. Not every person is cut out for entrepreneurship. And not many Hong Kong start-ups have the ambition to scale up their business regionally and globally.

Hong Kong could morph from an international trading hub into a laboratory for innovators from around the world to pilot and localise their offerings for the Asia and Middle East markets. We should encourage Hong Kong companies to become the go-to-market partners of innovators worldwide, instead of coming up with me-too ideas for the local market. Our government and businesses should develop a much stronger appetite for trying out innovative products and services from everywhere.

As for tourism, we should heighten Hong Kong’s appeal as Asia’s world city. If we aspire to become a mega events capital, how about staging monthly cultural festivals featuring different countries? To boost the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector, we should host events with global appeal and world-class quality.

Most fundamentally, we should nurture our next generation to be global citizens. Hongkongers should be more comfortable working with and befriending people from around the world. Our education system should nurture talent that can embrace the best of the East and West. We should value filial piety and social harmony, and at the same time excel in creativity, critical thinking and communication skills.