Just once I want to hear a policy address that doesn’t put me to sleep or drive me to drink. Last week’s was a double whammy: within minutes I was drinking in my sleep.
To be fair, it was not a complete disaster. There were some parts I quite liked. But there were also missed opportunities and some important areas were completely omitted. The good news is that the section on land for housing seemed quite strong. I counted more than a dozen sites and categories of land with indicative timings and identified development agencies. We now have a firm checklist against which to measure government performance over the next decade; by which time, there should be significant inroads into the residential accommodation shortfall.
Still, far too many Hong Kong flats are disgracefully small (why no legislation on minimum size?) and in very old buildings in urgent need of redevelopment, so we need land for decanting. I was therefore glad that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is sticking to her guns on the need to study the Lantau Tomorrow Vision.
Also encouraging were the measures to improve Hong Kong’s attractiveness for financial services. Reading some other sections of the speech, with its – perhaps excessive – emphasis on our role in boosting Greater Bay Area development, one gets the impression that some have started to see Hong Kong as little more than a major town on the fringes of an important technology city called Shenzhen. We are in fact one of the world’s most important financial centres, on a par with London and New York. It does no harm to remind some people of that.
Finally, there were proposals to redevelop Hong Kong Island’s Southern district to make the most of its natural beauty and heritage, including the rebirth of Ocean Park and preservation of Jumbo Floating Restaurant. To this former tourism commissioner, it sounds like an attractive and creative package. Well done.
04:47
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam delivers 2020 policy address
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam delivers 2020 policy address
What were the opportunities missed? Two jump right off the page. Soon, Hong Kong will be the only major city in the world in which Uber or similar services are illegal. Lam’s address also promises to stiffen penalties “to protect the interests of passengers”. Yet the truth is that Uber’s many clients in our city very much like its superior service and see existing restrictions as serving only the interests of the powerful taxi licence-owning lobby.
There is also a vague promise to cease sales of conventional fuel-propelled private cars. Why not a plan now: from April 1, first registration tax for electric vehicles will be 100 per cent, for hybrids 200 per cent, and for everything else 500 per cent; starting April 1, 2030, we will cease to license or relicense non-electric cars. There you go, job done.
Now for the complete omissions. Hong Kong has a constitutional obligation to enact national security legislation. Our failure over two decades to do so is described in the policy address as a national security gap. Not surprisingly, in the wake of the protest demonstrations that rocked the city last year – now dampened by Covid-19 social-distancing restrictions – Beijing has stepped in with its own version. But we still have to do ours. Lam has previously deflected questions on this except to say it is not a priority. That is no longer good enough.
Similarly with extradition/rendition. What are we doing to fix our deficient legislation? The answer, judging by the silence in the policy address, is nothing. The national security law refers to the possibility of trial on the mainland for serious cases. But there is no explanation as to how suspects would be arrested, or by whom, or the procedures by which such people could be removed from Hong Kong. This grey area cries out for clarification.
02:58
Family of 12 detained Hongkongers say government lied about capture
Family of 12 detained Hongkongers say government lied about capture
Finally there is the big one, political reform. Once again the address is silent. Lam has said the subject could only come back to life once social order is restored. This is upside-down thinking at its finest.
I have been in Hong Kong for nearly half a century. Throughout that time, politely but repeatedly, Hongkongers have made clear that they want a greater say in selecting their political leaders. The promise in the Basic Law that we could move towards universal suffrage was warmly welcomed. Some progress was made but the train has stopped in its tracks. Nobody except China’s enemies wants to see a return to the Occupy protests or the unrest of the last 18 months. The best way to head off the danger is to at least open the door to further progress.
Overall, the address has a few bright spots but some serious omissions. Much of it is a laundry list of routine government action. But it lacks something intangible – Hong Kong spirit? Vibrancy? Passion? What has Lam done with our soul? Perhaps, as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang, she owes it all to the company store.
Mike Rowse is the CEO of Treloar Enterprises. He is co-host of an RTHK radio show one hour per week
