Hong Kong Not Over, says CY Leung

Are HK's days over? Leung says it has "irons in the fire"

Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying wants to have a chat with former Morgan Stanley Asia Head Stephen Roach to tell him Hong Kong's still got its mojo.

Last week Roach wrote in the Financial Times that China must fix its economy and allow Hong Kong to run itself if it wants the financial hub to have a better future.

"The most important thing Beijing can do is, number one, fix its own system," said Roach, a senior lecturer at Yale University.

Roach says Beijing needs to leave HK alone

"Beijing also needs to be more aggressive and transparent underscoring its commitment to the 'one country, two systems' model."

In his column he said Hong Kong's embattled stock market was a sign of the end of the city's economic success over the past 20 years, and Beijing's grip on the former British colony and China-US tensions made the case that it is fast declining.

"It pains me to admit it, but Hong Kong is now over," he wrote. "A city I once called home and have cherished as a bastion of dynamism has had the world's worst-performing major stock market over the past quarter of a century."

Leung has the opposite view.

"I think it's out of date and also out of touch. I'd very much like to sit down with him and have a conversation with him as to the new irons in the fire that Hong Kong has," Leung told RTHK.

Leung says HK can build marine insurance sector

"There are so many new economic sectors and sub-sectors that I personally have identified running around in the mainland of China in the past six years," he said. "What about maritime insurance? China is a major shipbuilding and maritime nation in the world nowadays. And Hong Kong is the most competitive international financial centre of China."

Is this one of the "hot irons" Leung is referring to?

He said the English language, fully convertible Hong Kong dollar, the legal profession and independent judicial system can help build a robust maritime insurance sector.

And? What of the other irons?

He also pointed to the audit business.

"In the high quality development of the country, many manufacturers and exporters need third party, independent, standard, and testing and certification services. And Hong Kong is very good at this. Hong Kong has the goodwill, has the credibility, and that's the reason why we have such a thriving audit business," he said.

Right...

Hong Kong No Longer World's Freest Economy

The mighty has fallen -- HK loses its freest economy title

Hong Kong is no longer the city with the freest economy of 165 in the world -- it is now Singapore. 

That's according to the Fraser Institute, a public policy research organisation based in Vancouver. It had ranked Hong Kong as the freest economy "since the first time comprehensive data became available in 1970", but now it has been demoted.

Singapore gains top spot in institute's ranking

The Fraser Institute cites China and its interference in the city's affairs as the reason for Hong Kong's second spot, though the government denies this.

It went on the defensive, rejecting several of the institute's conclusions, and insisted it had been "fully, faithfully and resolutely implementing the principles of the 'one country, two systems'," with "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high level of autonomy based on the Basic Law.

But the institute warned the city's ranking could deteriorate even more.

"This is the first year Hong Kong has not ranked number one on the index since its inception, and the expectation is that its score will only fall further as the Chinese Communist Party continues to suppress freedom of all sorts," said Fred McMahon, the holder of a research chair in economic freedom and a resident fellow with the Fraser Institute.

The report examined regulation, openness to international trade, the size of government, the legal system, and property rights of the 165 places.

Implementation of NSL caused HK ranking drop

Other criteria the institute looked at were new regulatory barriers to entry, limits on the employment of foreign labour and rising business costs as reasons to lower the scores for Hong Kong in its regulatory freedom component.

The survey also claimed the city allowed "increased military interference" in its rule of law and diminished confidence in its courts and judicial system, which had caused a decline in its legal system and erosion of property rights.

However, a government spokesman says the think tank's judgment of the regulatory environment are "factually wrong", and that Hong Kong continued to strive as an international financial hub.

He also said the city's judicial system was robust, as it is enshrined in the Basic Law. 

"Equality before the law is a fundamental principle observed in Hong Kong. The allegation against the independence and impartiality of our judiciary is totally groundless and unsupported by objective evidence," he insisted.

Survey says HK's legal system has declined

The spokesman also said the institute was biased in its opinion about the implementation of the national security law...

In case you were wondering, Switzerland ranked third, followed by New Zealand, and the United States in fifth place. Venezuela was in last place.

More Reasons Not to Violate NSL

Tong is spending 9 years in jail, must pay HK$1.38M in fees

Last July, Tong Ying-kit was the first person to be convicted and sentenced under the national security law.

He was handed a six-and-a-half year sentence for the charge of inciting secession for carrying a large banner on the back of his motorcycle with the now outlawed slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".

Tong on July 1, 2020 with the subversive banner

Tong was also sentenced to eight years in jail for terrorism, for crashing his motorcycle into a group of police officers on July 1, 2020, injuring three. Of his two sentences, 2.5 years will run consecutively, which means the 25-year-old will serve nine years in total.

Now a year later, Tong has been slapped with a massive legal bill -- HK$1.38 million -- for two failed legal challenges.

It is impossible for him to pay this bill, and crowdfunding will probably be considered aiding and abetting.

We already saw this happen a few months ago when domestic helpers in Hong Kong were being fined HK$5,000 (US$637) for not social-distancing because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There was no way they could pay the fine and an expatriate came up with a crowdfunding exercise called Helping Helpers to help pay for these fines.

Over HK$107,000 was raised in days.

Later the then Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong announced his department would consult the Department of Justice on the matter, claiming the fundraising effort was "maliciously obstructing our whole anti-epidemic effort".

Helpers fined HK$5K for not social-distancing

It is virtually impossible for helpers to pay these fines when they make a minimum salary of HK$4,630 a month.

The crowdfunding immediately stopped and all the money was returned to the donors.

So with Tong's case, it is obvious the government continues to weaponise the judicial system in a bid to further deter others into not challenging it in the courts.

In the meantime, in another sign that Hong Kong is suffering from a massive brain drain, job recruiters are having a hard time finding fresh graduates to fill entry-level positions across all sectors.

Anecdotally some recruiters said that previously their inbox would be filled with emails from young people looking for work, and now the tables are turned and it's the HR professionals trying to find anyone that fits the job description to go for the job.

They are not just looking for local residents, but also foreign students who have studied in Hong Kong, and know other Asian languages like Korean, Japanese, Hindi or Bahasa. 

Diverse pool of fresh graduates? Look again

Many have left because of Hong Kong's severe Covid-19 quarantine rules, making it very difficult for them to travel to see family or do business, while others are moving to places like the UK to start fresh.

In addition there are fewer international students interested in studying in Hong Kong. In 2019-20 there were 3,977, and 3,803 for the 2020-21 academic year.

Hong Kong is not a place young people want to be in anymore. And the government isn't making an effort to encourage them to stay.