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instantaneous and instinctive. They will therefore be able to sense and detect the differences, if any, as and when such differences shall arise in any dialogue between parties from China and from the west. They will instantaneously and instinctively say or do things to neutralize or synchronize the differences. Such ability is definitely not of the nature which can be developed within a short period of time but is, instead, a quality which requires decades to develop and refine.
At present, insofar as the communication gap between China and the west is concerned, Hong Kong is the only place in the world which possesses adequate number of people with such ability and quality to play the above role of communication bridge and synchronizer. Neither China nor the west can offer better synchronizers, as distinguished from interpreters, than those they can find so massively in Hong Kong.
(b) Place
The above quality of numerous Hong Kong people as communication bridge and synchronizers can, of course, be retained when used elsewhere. However, the place of Hong Kong itself has many unique advantages which can maximize the said quality.
To start with, Hong Kong adopts the capitalist economic system but is not a welfare state. In other words, it is capitalist in its extreme with no compromise at all. It is a typical Adam SMITH's free trade entrepot with little or no control or tariffs on imports, exports and exchanges. Travelling is relatively free, except permanent stay. Tax is the lowest in the world vis-a-vis cities of equivalent standing.
In a city like this, it is needless to elaborate on the incentive and pressure which the people are subject to. The social security is minimal. If they work hard, they can get rich. If they do not, their means of survival is pitiful and humiliating.
Since the city is so international and modern, its material attraction is maximal, attracting people to work extremely hard to maximize their own welfares. Their so doing, according to Adam SMITH, maximizes the welfare of Hong Kong in terms of stability and prosperity.
Furthermore, many Hong Kong people do not work just for their daily meals but for the winters unknown to them. In one day's work, they intend to make two days' money as they have to save up their own pension or old age benefit which they have planned to enjoy either in Hong Kong or elsewhere. Therefore, many offices, shops, factories and restaurants have lights on 24 hours a day. Many facilities are on 24-hour basis, thus making Hong Kong possible to be a city with 24-hour service on practically every kind of facilities.
(c) Re-exports
In the last ten years or so, the tertiary industries in Hong Kong have handled so much work per capita that they have undoubtedly gained tremendous amount of experience in their respective fields for reasons as mentioned above. This is especially true in the finance and re-exports sectors. Hong Kong is the third biggest financial centre in the world. It also possesses the third largest container terminal in the world. Its re-export trades zoomed up in the last five years as follows:
Year Re-exports Value HK$ million HK/US Dollars Exchange Rate 1980 30,072 5.130 1981 41,739 5.675 1982 44,353 6.495 1983 56,294 7.780 1984 83,504 7.823(d) Manufacture
In the manufacturing industries, the approximately eight to nine hundred thousand staffs and workers have also survived the growing competitions among many countries in Asia by their hard work, flexibility, adaptability, skills and strike-free atmosphere. Their results in the last five years are as follows:
Year Exports value HK$ million 1980 68,171 1981 80,432 1982 83,032 1983 104,405 1984 137,936Bearing in mind that they were the works of less than 900,000 people at the most competitive price, we will appreciate the per capita quantum of working experience those workers have gained and how useful such experience can be for whoever may wish to make use of them.
(e) Other Comparative Advantages
Hong Kong is a very international, dynamic and adaptive entrepot. It has the most flexible, efficient, skilful hardworking labour on the one hand and also the most modern and sophisticated high-technology facilities on the other hand. For instances, its Hong Kong Bank headquarter structure is one of the most modernly equipped buildings in the world. Another building worth mentioning is the 52-storey Exchange Square which is fully pre-wired for communication and computerization orientation. Its central nervous system consists of some 7,000 miles of cables that instantly speed information from room to room or city to city. The tenants can post electronic letters, send telexes or put their computers in touch with other computers half a world away. The facilities in the building, such as lift service and ventilation, are all computer-controlled.
Hong Kong also has adequate first-class hotels, restaurants and other facilities catering for the needs of the visitors. There are presently 18,000 hotel rooms which will be increased to 24,000 within three years. Its mass
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