Hong Kong is now at a critical moment in its socioeconomic development. When the Heritage Foundation released its latest Index of Economic Freedom a few months ago, Hong Kong lost its title as the world’s freest economy for the first time in 25 years. After being plagued by months of social unrest, the city has been overtaken by Singapore in the economic freedom rankings; this bears much significance.
In recent years, people have been fond of comparing Hong Kong with Singapore in many aspects. Despite the fact that the two cities are similar in size, it is not convincing or fair to directly compare them as the two places have followed their own unique development paths. That said, we could still take a leaf from Singapore’s book. The Lion City is also undoubtedly facing difficult internal and external challenges; but it is still on track to maintain its success and prominence by sticking to the path paved by its greatest leader, Lee Kuan Yew — Singapore’s first prime minister. His political wisdom and strong leadership, which was vital to a small and open economy like Singapore, are perhaps worth re-examining as Hong Kong tries to deal with its current political impasse. Lee, of course, visited Hong Kong many times. The wisdom he demonstrated in his speeches decades ago is still relevant. It is of great reference value to Hong Kong people.
In 1992, in a speech delivered at the University of Hong Kong, Lee said, “There is no need to challenge the PRC politically. I believe that China will leave things as they are in Hong Kong because the expertise of the professionals is needed and irreplaceable for a long time.” He was indeed prescient in the sense that the central government genuinely treasures the professional sectors and the rule of law in Hong Kong, which are also valuable in promoting the national interest. However, last year Hong Kong experienced one of the most radical political movements in its history. Initially carried out under the guise of opposing the now-withdrawn extradition bill, it ultimately became an anti-China movement. The opposition camp in Hong Kong is now hellbent on challenging the “one country” principle, and even promoting a kind of scorched-earth politics — holding Hong Kong’s future hostage. Misled by the opposition, many members of the community, particularly young people, have actively participated in this anti-China political campaign until it was halted by the coronavirus outbreak. In retrospect, had those people paid heed to the wise words of Lee, the opposition camp would not have succeeded in making them foot soldiers for their political campaign.
Many (Hong Kong) people were misled by the opposition camp to let politics override economic and social well-being
In 1999, Lee foresaw scenarios of a troubled Legislative Council when he said: “In the longer run, a LegCo, which is oppositionist and shoulders no responsibility, cannot contribute to good governance.” He then advised Hong Kong people: “You will have to find a solution to this because so long as Hong Kong electoral politics is responsibility-free, much energy and resources will be wasted.” His prediction was accurate, as we can observe now how some irresponsible lawmakers from the opposition camp are paralyzing LegCo with their filibuster tactics, which are increasingly despised by the public. Worse still, they are vowing to take control of LegCo by snatching a majority of seats in the upcoming election with whatever tactics they think are needed. The irresponsible behavior of these LegCo members recently caught the attention of the central government. Hong Kong will need to put in place a mechanism to tackle the principal-agent problem to ensure legislators properly discharge their responsibilities. Moreover, voting power is a potent right in a democratic society. Therefore, the most effective way to end the stalemate would be for voters to exercise this right to repel the opposition from LegCo in the upcoming election.
Equally significant was a lecture Lee gave to Hong Kong people on realpolitik. In a luncheon speech in 2005, he told the audience: “You can make the life of your next chief executive onerous and burdensome by making demands which you know he can’t support because there are limits as to what you can do within the ‘one country, two systems’ (framework). Or you can accept that there are these limits and within those limits, you can thrive and prosper. If I were a Hong Konger today, I would stay and do business.” Lee told the truth. The reality is that the economy is vital to all the people living in Hong Kong. However, many people were misled by the opposition camp to let politics override economic and social well-being.
To be wise, instead of dancing to the tune of these opposition politicians, Hong Kong people should heed the words of a great leader who led Singapore in successfully overcoming many difficult challenges. Lee said, “It is the will, the cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people and the quality of their leaders which ensure it an honorable place in history.”
The author is senior research officer of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
