Investments
ON
massive
scale may impress the outside world The overseas investor may be attracted if the Hong Kong Government is going this far to prove it's not a gamble. But will the local
businessmen,
professionals,
the bright and the talented be assured that this massive investment will secure their future in the territory?
There is a need to get our perspective right. Investors are going into Russia, China, East Europe and even to Cuba. There are businessmen in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok poised to invest in Vietnam and Cambodia, with much More than a fistful of dollars
in
hand. They bave investment blueprints with them
and
ideology is no deterrent. They seek
labour, most
stability.
skills, markets and
KONT
cheap
important of all
It
investors if
matters not to business
Scens from fatalism, OF gunpoint.
that stability contentment
01
is imposed at
The investors we are trying to lure hold stability to be important. But our stability is not going to be achieved by
replacement airport. new container terminals and other infrastructural
projects
alone. The human element is a key factor. people Cannot
productive
}
2
times requiring something pitched to the emotional level as well.
Instead, Sir David gave us litany of achievements, and a form guide for the biggest gamble in Hong Kong's history: a gamble on the restoration of confidence; તુ gamble on the loans coming in; a gamble on the labour supply; a gamble on there being enough business for the airport and two new terminals.
next
Can we afford to gamble with the future of the generation? A large investment will be made in education. That is to the good. But what sort of input into the minds of the young is contemplated? Will the curricula be revamped to give the next generation and generations to come the necessary input Co think of themselves as having a common future with the rest of the Chinese nation?
While Sir David's ambitious plans may demonstrate the
Government's commitment to the
future of Hong Kong, it is important to recognize that the future is dependent upon an equally committed populace.
16th October, 1989
A
demoralised provide
workforce.
And
The
there is going to be further loss of morale as a result of continued emigration.
out
Hong Kong people must saAP
Of their collective despondency. What was needed was a speech to galvanize the people and to give them a new sense of purpose. A clinical, businesslike speech would suit Hong Kong in noxmal times.
but these are abnormal
on
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expressed
t