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INGREDIENTS OF HONG KONG'S SUCCESS OUTLAST THE TRANSITION
THE ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS OF HONG KONG'S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS WILL OUTLAST THE TRANSITION, THE DEPUTY TO THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID FORD, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
DELIVERING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS TO A SEMINAR ORGANISED BY THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON "STRAIGHTENING BUSINESS CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG", SIR DAVID GAVE A BROAD PERSPECTIVE OF HOW THE GOVERNMENT SAW HONG KONG: HONG KONG ITSELF, HONG KONG IN RELATION TO CHINA AND HONG KONG AS A PART OF THE WIDER ASIAN PACIFIC REGION.
SIR DAVID POINTED OUT THAT EVERY TIME HE TRAVELLED ABROAD, WAS STRUCK BY HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO SHAKE OFF AN OLD IMAGE.
НЕ
HE SAID THE AMERICAN WHO SAW HONG KONG ON AN R&R VISIT DURING THE VIETNAM WAR HAD DIFFICULTY ACCEPTING THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE NOW ENJOYED A STANDARD OF LIVING WHICH COMPARED WELL WITH MUCH OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD: THAT ITS PER CAPITA GDP WAS HIGHER THAN SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES THAT HONG KONG HAD BECOME AN ULTRA-MODERN · METROPOLIS WHICH REVELLED IN HIGH-TECH GADGETS; THAT COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION WERE RAPID AND EFFICIENT, AND THAT HONG KONG'S STANDARDS OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION COMPARED WELL WITH THE BEST IN THE WORLD.
"FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT COME HERE TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES HONG KONG IS SYNONYMOUS WITH 1997," SAID SIR DAVID.
HE
STRESSED THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT PLANNED BEYOND THAT DATE AND REFERRED ΤΟ THE PLANS FOR BOTH PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
SIR DAVID OUTLINED HOW HE SAW HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC ROLE AND THE REASONS WHY HE BELIEVED THAT ULTIMATELY IT WAS THAT ROLE WHICH WOULD SURVIVE 1997 AND CARRY HONG KONG INTO THE 21ST CENTURY AS BUSTLING AND DYNAMIC AS EVER.
"UNDERLYING ANY CLEAR-EYED APPRECIATION OF HONG KONG'S
IS LOCATION," SIR DAVID SAID.
POTENTIAL
HE DETAILED THE ROLE PLAYED BY HONG KONG AS THE NATURAL ENTREPOT BETWEEN CHINA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD; AS AN ENTREPOT FOR NON-CHINA REGIONAL TRADE; AND AS A MAJOR FINANCIAL CENTRE.
"THIS IS NOT A NATURAL ROLE, BUT ONE WHICH WE HAVE CREATED AND BUILT UP FOR OURSELVES. I HAVE NO DOUBT WE WILL RETAIN IT.
"OTHERS STEER BUSINESS IN OUR DIRECTION BY RESTRICTING WHERE WE ARE LIBERAL, AND SWITCHING POLICIES WHILST
WE REMAIN STABLE AND
PREDICTABLE.
"BUT TO STAY AHBAD, WE MUST KEEP UP OUR RECORD OF CONTINUOUS RE-INVESTMENT IN COMMUNICATIONS," HE ADDED.
/ON HONG