Mark Pinkstone/Former Chief Information Officer of HK government
Tina Turner’s signature song “Simply the Best,” was used by the Hong Kong Tourism Board some years ago to identify the attributes of Hong Kong, known as the Pearl of the Orient. Today, about 40 years later, it’s still true.
International leisure magazine Time Out has lauded Hong Kong as having the world’s best public transport system world-wide, a view shared by international transport publication Infra journal (published in Milan, Italy) which headlined a story “A world class leader in public transit: here is the Hong Kong model.”
But transport is not our only top ranker in the world economies. Hong Kong was first in Asia as a Global Financial Centre and maintained its placing as third in global rankings in the index. And as far as our prophets of doom are concerned, Hong Kong ranks high in the rule of law index, even surpassing the US.
Yes, we are simply the best and doing better day by day. Hong Kong has a remarkable “can-do” spirit and is always willing to face adversaries head-on. The Steve Roaches (former Asian chairman of JP Morgan) of the world who keep reciting the death of Hong Kong, have kept their heads in the sand during their tenure in the city. They have learned nothing about the resilience of its people. At times we might be down, but never out.
In the rule of law index, Hong Kong was placed 23rd out of 142 jurisdictions, one point above the US. A Hong Kong SAR government said at the time that the city remained high in the overall ranking and continued to be ahead of some European and American countries which “often unreasonably criticise Hong Kong’s rule of law and human rights situation. Hong Kong’s score in respect of Absence of Corruption was higher than the previous year, ranking 10th globally, showing that it remains one of the most corruption-free places in the world.
Hong Kong has long been recognised as the financial hub of Asia and well placed in global rankings. The Global Financial Centres Index assessing some 119 financial centres around the world, picked Hong Kong third globally. A government spokesman said the report recognises Hong Kong’s leading status and strengths as an international trading centre. Hong Kong’s ranking for human capital, infrastructure and financial sector development rose to second in the world while business environment and reputational and general rose to third globally.
As far as public transport is concerned, Hong Kong is second to none. Hong Kong claimed top spot in Time Out magazine’s survey of 18,500 interviews globally. Shanghai was second and Beijing third. Asian cities claimed nine of the 19 spots world-wide. The US didn’t make the grade.
Infra magazine said that in many cities, transport planners dream of a future when most people prefer to use public rather than drive a car. In Hong Kong, the future arrived early.
“Hong Kong’s leadership in public transit is the outcome of government policies, multimodal investments, meticulous planning and a rail plus property business model which foster and sustains high levels of transit usage.” the magazine said, noting that 80 per cent of Hong Kong residents use public transport.
The magazine marvelled at the MTR’s rail plus property model which allows the corporation to build a world-class transit system and operate a self-sustaining entity, unlike most cities where public transport systems require government subsidies. The success of the MTRC has been recognised world-wide. Its expertise and its corporation model now extends beyond Hong Kong with railway-related projects and operations in the mainland, (including lines in Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou), Macao, the United Kingdom (the Elizabeth Line in London), Sweden’s Stockholm Metro, Melbourne and the Sydney Metro North West Line in Australia.
Yes, Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps. The lights in the business commercial district burn relentlessly 24 hours day and the bus services run throughout the day and night taking commuters to their workplace to keep the cogs of Hong Kong churning.
This is how Hong Kong maintains its status as a world-class city.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Ninety legislators will be sworn into office this week, 35 of whom will be taking the oath of office for the first time. It will be a combined act of patriotism, a far cry from the swearing in ceremony in 2016 when four potential lawmakers created their own oaths advocating self-determination and were subsequently disqualified from office.
The western media, including some in Hong Kong, brand “patriotism” as a bad thing for Hong Kong, inferring that there is no “opposition” in the legislature. But they are wrong. The legislators have their own mind and will vote according to their conscience.
Four pieces of legislation proposed by the government have not passed the test and were voted out while many others were heavily debated by the legislators. Regardless of what London’s Guardian newspaper and others say, Hong Kong does have a meaningful opposition.
It is unfortunate that the local Democratic Party, seen by the west as the “opposition,” did not field any candidates in the recent elections and eventually closed down. The choice was theirs and their recent actions indicate they did not intend to follow the rules of the council.
The Legislative Council is a place where lawmakers are elected to serve the people, not to use it as a platform for subversion as had happened in the past.
In 2017 four lawmakers – Long Hair Leung Kwok-hung, Nathan Law, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu – were stripped of their seats for failing to take their oaths of office in a “sincere and solemn” manner. They used props and amended the oath to suit their purpose. Others followed, including student Agnes Chow who also failed taking the oath of office but later jailed on subversion charges. The quartet’s disqualification followed the highly publicized ousting of two localist lawmakers, Baggio Leung and Yau Wai-ching, whose oath-takings involved anti-China banners and usage of derogatory wartime slurs for China.
Together, the quartet had mustered 185,727 votes in the 2016 elections and their selfishness left their followers void of leadership. Their actions were that of self-interest, to achieve their own hidden goals, and not to serve the people who put them in the seats of power. They abused their positions.
Obviously foreign forces had infiltrated the legislature and political unrest ensued as attempts were being made to unseat the base of Hong Kong’s parliament. In July 2020 the government announced that the nominations for 15 candidates were declared invalid due to their objection to the national security law or were sincere in statements involving separatism. And on November 11, 2020, Dennis Kwok, a founding member of the Civic Party and a representative of the legal profession in the council, was accused of delaying the legislative proceedings and passage of bills and was subsequently disqualified along with follow lawmakers Alvin Yeung, Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung. Just hours later 15 fellow lawmakers resigned in protest.
Kwok was later charged with collusion and fled to Canada and then to the US with a HK$1 million bounty on his head.
The festering germ of dissent even spread to the local district councils who also used their positions to undermine the government.
It had to stop and in March 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (SCNPC) approved changes to the Hong Kong’s electoral system allowing only patriots to serve the government and the people of Hong Kong.
What publications like Hong Kong Free Press, The Washington Post, London’s Financial Times etc. don’t understand is that Hong Kong is a target by the five-eyes network of spies and clandestine operators, led by the US and including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The ultimate target is, of course, China. By crimppling Hong Kong and especially its law-making process, it can crimpple China and hamper its progressive growth.
These publications will continue to use Hong Kong “Patriots only” legislature as a slur, not as a compliment. It’s in their DNA to be anti-Hong Kong/China. They are the vehicles of the west to bring discord to Hong Kong with total disregard to fact.
But “patriots only” apply to every democracy in the world. No place could be more patriotic than the US where the stars and stripes (the US flag) hang from the porches of almost every household. And legislators in all democracies have to swear allegiances to the country and their constitution. And like Hong Kong, they are vetted to ensure their allegiances are true to the country before standing for election.
