Letters | Hong Kong should be proud to be a Chinese city

Readers discuss the idea that Hong Kong is not ‘just another Chinese city’, the recent stock market rally, and a report on wealth inequality

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People walk along a street in Tsim Sha Tsui decorated with national and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flags on September 25 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 11:30am, 6 Oct 2024

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I was surprised to see the headline, “Hong Kong will never be ‘just another Chinese city’, finance chief says after meeting top UK officials” (September 27). Apparently, this was what Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at a dinner hosted by the Trade Development Council in London.

What I believe he was trying to say is that under “one country, two systems”, our unique features such as the common law regime, independent judiciary, low-tax system, and free flow of capital, goods, information and talent are intact.

Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997. With the enactment of the security legislation, similar to existing laws in most countries around the world, our city is once again one of the safest places to call home.

Hong Kong has been my home since I was two, as my grandfather moved the family here from Gulangyu to escape from the Japanese invasion of China around 1938. I have travelled widely during my career and lived in the United States and some of the Southeast Asian countries. To me, Hong Kong is by far the best place to call home – safe, vibrant and full of people with the get-up-and-go spirit.

We must encourage our younger generation to keep the faith and work hard to maintain our beloved city as an international financial hub and a trading connector for our country.

We are a Chinese city and we should be proud of it.