HK needs unified efforts to revitalize its economy – China Daily

Hong Kong is facing the greatest challenge it has seen for decades as a result of the persistent Sino-US trade war and ongoing social unrest. It is believed to be one of the most severe crises in Hong Kong history. Aside from the erosion of our much-cherished rule of law, the unabated violence and chaos has caused great damage to the economy, threatening the livelihoods of many residents. Predictably, the violent campaign will come to an end sooner or later, but the damage it has brought to the economy could last much longer than we have anticipated.

We have heard warnings from government officials, academics and leaders in various business sectors, but we didn’t take them seriously. As the economic situation remained stable for years, we took things like full employment for granted.

The government has just released the data on Hong Kong’s economic performance in the third quarter, making the predicted recession official. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently wrote in his weekly blog, “After seeing negative growth in the second quarter, the situation continued in the third quarter, meaning our economy has entered a technical recession”. Maybe the term “technical recession” is too difficult to understand; many people have paid little attention to it. Let’s put it in a way that is easier to understand: Those countries that suffered during the global financial crisis in 2008 all initially slipped into a technical recession. The significance of the term not only lies in the economic impact, but also in other consequences it could have.

The first thing we need to note is that the economic situation we now face, brought about mainly by internal disputes, is as dangerous as it was during the global financial crisis. If that is the case, we can see what will happen in coming months. Recent statistics have already shown that various business sectors suffered huge losses due to protests and social unrest over a period of more than four months. For example, sales in the retail sector fell by 25.3 percent in August, the most significant year-on-year drop ever. The fall is not due only to street protests and attacks on shops, but also a resulting major blow to consumer confidence.

The second consequence is that the radical protesters and demagogues from the opposition camp are using the tactics of a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. In the very beginning, they were trying to mobilize the masses by scaremongering and describing the Hong Kong government as a “tyranny”. They then created chaos and disruption, aggravating the economic downturn. They expect public discontent to grow – because more anger will be directed at the government as the economic conditions deteriorate. To achieve this end, the opposition camp and the radical protesters have tried every trick they can to shift the responsibility for all these problems to the government. For instance, they have claimed that the economic downturn is due to external factors such as the trade war; they have also blamed the government for the prolonged political disputes. But their arguments have fooled no one; people are well aware that one of their favorite slogans is: “If we burn, you burn with us.” It was clearly their intention to “burn” with the entire city from the very beginning.

Another important factor to bear in mind is that it is never too late for us to save Hong Kong. According to the latest World Bank ranking on ease in conducting business, Hong Kong has climbed one spot to No 3, with an overall score of 85.3 points out of 100. This means we still have the right conditions to return to if we want to. The government has rightly adopted some relief and support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises. However, these are merely palliative measures. If the violence and chaos continues, any relief measures are just like pouring water into a leaking bottle.

Hong Kong people, who are not resigned to being “burned together”, must now unite together to fight against those who wish for this to happen. Some lawmakers from the opposition camp have urged the government to adopt more relief measures to help save the economy. If they really care about society, they should disassociate themselves from the radical protesters and urge them to stop committing unlawful acts. Young graduates will suffer most in an economic recession. We hope the recession will not be too severe, but we can still manage to survive a deep recession if we all work together. As the old saying goes: “United we stand, divided we fall.” It is vital that everyone in society works at it.

(HK Edition 11/01/2019 page12)