ENG-1993 — Page 26

Y RARE ALCHEMY

I personal view by Sir David Ford, KBE, LVO JP. Sir David served in Hong Kong for 27 years was Chief Secretary from February 1987 to November 1993

He is now Hong Kong Commissioner in London.

FOR me, Hong Kong defines not so much a place as a people, not so much its tightly circumscribed location as the unbounded spirit of its inhabitants.

When I arrived 27 years ago, my reaction was that of most people who see Hong Kong for the first time. I was bowled over by a spectacular natural harbour, around which was arrayed - even thena no less spectacular architectural achievement. But this soon gave way to a more enduring sense of admiration -- for the human enterprise which projected that image across the world, to millions who may never have seen it except in the graphic representation of its unmistakable contours.

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The panorama looked compelling enough on a postcard, but it was a label that, on a global dimension, aroused the greater curiosity. 'Made in Hong Kong' it declared simple but telling label, small and modest in its earliest appearance, and then bigger and prouder as, with increasing confidence, year after year it attached itself to product after product.

What was the source of all this abundance of every known variety of manufactured produce for which the world could conceivably find a use? The typical atlas was unhelpful to those who did not know where to start looking. One needed a magnifying glass in the right quadrant.

Finding the location instantly prompted the question. Was it conceivable that an area so small could produce so much? The answer, as the world now knows, because Hong Kong has so magnificently proved the point, is a resounding yes if you have the right people living in it.

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What then are the ingredients alloyed in the character of such a people, who have surmounted tiny territorial confines to leave their imprint upon far wider horizons?

Many elements have been identified in the composition. Business acumen, quickness of eye in recognising opportunity, willingness to venture on the outcome, mingled with endurance, determination to succeed against all odds, adaptability to circumstance and, not least, total commitment of physique and intellect to the accomplishment of the principal goal.

Though these characteristics are neither unique nor unprecedented, they have combined here, in the crucible of Hong Kong, to produce a rare alchemy. An alchemy that resists analysis, retaining its properties of toughness and imperishability, however hot the flame.

Hong Kong, when I first saw it, was in crisis. The Cultural Revolution was in full conflagration across the border and had already ignited riots in Hong Kong streets,

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