Hong Kong’s future rests with the Chinese mainland, Ronnie Chan Chi-Chung, a prominent Hong Kong businessman, said on Monday, while urging the city to stop wasting energy with internal political strife, and instead work with the mainland to maintain its financial status in an ever-changing world.
The chairman of Hang Lung Properties, one of the city’s major realtors, made the remark inthe question-and-answer session following a speech titled “China and the world: Inside the dynamics of a changing relationship” at an event organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Women. The event commemorates the upcoming 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
To Chan, the answer for “Hong Kong’s future” is simple: Chinese mainland, as he told the audience at the seminar, broadcast live online.
The veteran businessman recalled that the port city has always followed international trends, relying on partnerships with major powers for its prosperity, such as the United States in the 1950s, Europe in the 1960s, and Japan in the 1970s. The Chinese mainland has played the most important role in Hong Kong’s development since the 1980s and will continue to play a decisive role, he said.
Chan took note of the US’ growing unilateralism and isolationism, while China remains one of the most peaceful and safest places in the world, especially for business investors like himself.
Despite the unprecedented challenges amid the pandemic and ever-changing international environment, Chan sees a bright future for Hong Kong, as long as it “wakes up” to the facts and improves “how it works with the motherland”.
The city must also put an end to persistent social disputes triggered by political divisions, he said.
In Chan’s eyes, internal political strife doesn’t create or improve productivity in society, it merely wastes resources.
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