when we speak up some people will claim we are whinning, not
being construtive, or worst still - all out to defame the
govt.
Hong Kong
Difference of two cities
Proposal for 10m population sparks lively debate unlike
Singaporeans relative silence about theirs. Littlespeck.
Jun 23, 2007
When the Singapore government first dropped the target of a 6-7m
population by 2030, it was greeted by a quiet almost non-response
from the populace used to being led.
There was little public questioning or debate in the media about
whether it was workable or about its social impact. Most people
simply took it as a established fact.
This wasnt the case reaction when Hong Kongs chief executive
Donald Tsang said HK should have 10m people, instead of the current
7m, there was active discussions among his people.
The media and the Internet, in English and Chinese, was platform
for lively comments from the public and columnists. Many wanted
answers; others were cynical.
This is a fundamental difference between the peoples of the two
cities.
One has been raised to accept without question what the government
tells them, while the other has independent views and not afraid to
air them.
A few brief reactions:
Hemlocks diary
With the world taking a rare interest in Hong Kong ahead of the
10th anniversary of its return to the glorious motherland,
visionary Chief Executive Donald Tsang decides the time is right
for a dazzling display of the high quality governance that has made
post-1997 life so interesting.
The city shall increase its population to 10 million, he decrees,
thus enabling it to compete with New York and London as a global
financial centre.
This intriguing idea arouses much chatter in the foyer of Perpetual
Opulence Mansions this morning.
No one asks the ponderously predictable questions of where will we
source and put the extra 3m people, because a letter from the
Government on the notice board next to the elevators makes it all
clear.
To accommodate the 40% increase in the number of residents, every
housing block in the city will have to take in a number of
newcomers.
Specifically, those of us living on my floor must give shelter to
the Zhang family from Shanxi Province.
Mr Zhang is a millet farmer with a wife who keeps chickens and an
eight-year-old son who is an experienced brick maker. They have
been earmarked for training in credit default swap futures.
My neighbour Mr Ng the banker points out that the American and
British financial hubs actually have populations similar to Hong
Kongs in the 7-8m range.
Ms Chan the marketing manager reminds us that if you add Shenzhen
to our own urban area, we instantly surpass the 10m mark.
In defence of Sir Bow-Tie, I suggest aiming for a figure of 19.15m,
which would make us as competitive as Mexico City.
10m not sustainable
Source Hong Kong Standard
Sociologists and environmentalists have criticized Chief Executive
Donald Tsangs vision of a 10m population for Hong Kong as
unrealistic and unwise.
Tsang told The Financial Times in an interview HK should increase
its population by more than 40 percent as part of the effort to
match New York and London as global financial centres.
Although Tsang stressed it is a long-term vision, sociologists and
environmentalists raised doubts.
A Swiss watch makes more money than four cars in Japan
Chu Hon-keung, environmental affairs manager of Friends of The
Earth Hong Kong, said Tsang is not very clever if he thinks a
population increase can lead to improved competitiveness.
The more the better is an old concept, Chu said. If he just
considers labour as competitiveness, hes not very clever.
He said Switzerlands gross domestic product is high while its
population is more or less the same as Hong Kong. He said
Switzerlands high GDP is due to its developed high-tech
industries.
The net profit from a watch made in Switzerland is equal to what
four automobiles brings in Japan.
People will leave
Chu said Hong Kong would have to pay a very high price to attain
what Tsang said Hong Kong needs to boost immigration and education
as well as the improved infrastructure necessary to build on its
status as a financial centre.
If the quality of life worsens in society, people will
leave.
"Distancing from Singapore"
In the interview, Tsang said Hong Kong had to move up the
governance scale so that we are in the same rank as New York and
London, distancing ourselves completely from the likes of Singapore
or Shanghai or everybody else where they are still very much a
territorial market, Tsang said.
Where success will lie is in an adequate stock of human resources
of the right quality to sustain and build a financial centre.
We need an injection of new blood from all nationalities,
particularly from the mainland, to grow our market in the
mainland.
But a sociologist said he doubts if Hong Kong can accommodate 10m
people.
Its good to have a target, but its not realistic, said Joe
Leung Cho-bun, head of Hong Kong Universitys department of social
work and social administration.
Leung said land prices are already very high and that the problems
with infrastructure, medical benefits and education are issues the
government needs to deal with.
He also questioned the sources of a higher population, saying Hong
Kongs fertility rate is one of the lowest in the world.
Its easy to have 10m if the government continues to allow more
people from the mainland to settle here.
Mainlanders not well-educated; is this what we want?
However, Leung added, most mainland migrants are family-reunion
cases involving mainly young wives of elderly Hong Kongers.
Their education levels are not high and I dont think this is what
our chief executive wants for our society, he said.
Leung said the quality of the population holds the key if Hong Kong
wants to increase its competitiveness.
A quarter of the population has only primary-school education. If
we want to attract talent, we are competing with the whole
world.
Its not easy to attract 3m of them. Singapore has begun
attracting talent in the last 10 years and their population
increase has just been 1m, Leung said.
(Earlier this year, the Singapore government said it wanted to
increase its population by 42 percent - from 4.5 million to 6.4
million over the next decade.)
According to Leung, it will take at least 50 years to achieve
Tsangs goal.
Chua Hoi-wai, a member of the population policy of the governments
Council for Sustainable Development, said 10 million is not
impossible and that Hong Kong can accommodate such a
population.
But he urged the government to pay attention to social problems and
to balance the various interests of society if the population is
raised.
The government must have a new model for population development,
Chua said.
