Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his blog about the need “to work with the industry to revitalize Hong Kong’s evening economy” to “maintain the momentum of recovery”. 

What measures should the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government take to revitalize and bolster the night economy? One of the spectacles that has brought fame to Hong Kong is the city’s neon lights and signs. However, with the tightening signboard regulations enforced by the Buildings Department for safety reasons, neon signs, which are one of the most defining characteristics of Hong Kong, are to be extinguished. How would nights be full of life without neon lights? 

Moreover, nowadays, neon craftsmen can hardly find any successors to preserve the craftsmanship because Hong Kong society in general has a propensity to prioritize tertiary education over vocational education. As a result, the craftsmanship of neon lights is gradually disappearing.

Without proper policies for their preservation, neon lights could disappear in Hong Kong some day. Along with the tightening regulations and enforcement of rules by the Buildings Department, the neon sign industry, with its 60 years of history, is now on the brink of extinction. Hong Kong, known as “the Pearl of the Orient” renowned for its night views, is losing luster. The night views that were once on par with those of Manhattan have been a key element for the development of tourism. 

If the government really wishes to revitalize the night economy, it should review its current policies and relax the regulations.

The night economy was a matter of an entire ecosystem, simply more than the food and beverage (F&B) industry. A comprehensive package of services would be agreeable. For instance, people can drink during happy hour, have dinner afterward, then go to karaoke, followed by dancing in nightclubs, and finish up at a sauna with a foot massage. That makes it a culture by offering services as a one-stop shop.

In the 1990s, Hong Kong’s nightlife was booming with nightclubs, saunas and bars in Wan Chai, plus a plethora of restaurants serving Chinese food, hotpot, Chiuchow and many more cuisines throughout the night. That made an ecosystem. Yet, Wan Chai today, with no late-night eateries and shops, is in a rather desolate condition. The nightlife ecosystem is gone with it.

Above all, the Legislative Council passed a resolution in 1996 that said “Government is of the view that rent control”, under the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance, “should be removed”. Upon decontrol, businesses in Hong Kong generally operate on a standard two-year — also known as “one year fixed, one year flexible” — rental agreement. Businesses will require substantial investments in renovation, sourcing ingredients, installing wastewater facilities in the kitchens, etc, if they want to run late in the night. Taking Tokyo’s yokocho (alleyways) as an example, eateries, izakayas and pubs tucked away at the alleys are all unique in their own ways, as the owners are willing to pump money into renovations because the lease agreements in Japan can extend up to a decade or two.

However, in Hong Kong, with the “one year fixed, one year flexible” rental terms, some late-night shops and the F&B industry struggle to survive. On top of that, business owners struggle to hire workers while rising operating costs exacerbate the problem. The  removal of rent control has undermined the ecosystem, wherein the culture of nightlife once thrived. Without rent control, landlords are granted absolute rights. This leads to an imbalance in the overall societal development.

The government needs to think for the long term and consider whether there should be measures to protect tenants or incentives to encourage landlords to offer longer lease terms. Alternatives or mechanisms like rent control could also be put forward to sensibly safeguard industry development and prevent landlords’ monopoly of premises.

The government mentioned restoring the evening economy, street-stall economy, and bazaars. To manage bazaars, support would be required, but which department would be responsible? Would it be the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD)? Though the FEHD is responsible for issuing places of public entertainment licenses as well as restaurant licenses, it remains rigid and outdated, and is still operating in a fashion redolent of the 1980s and ’90s. The hawker-control bodies impose constraints on hawkers, and rarely manage, let alone address, their needs. Applicants for entertainment licenses need to look through myriad complex regulations and are mandated to engage with the Fire Services Department, Department of Health, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and Buildings Department. There is no single unified system that could handle applications related to entertainment, dining, culture and performances licensing. These constraints are making growth and development challenging for many sectors.

It’s not an overstatement to say the Asia Mansion is a mansion for theater in Shanghai, as the Shanghai municipal government has implemented measures for integration. So responsible people of private performance spaces can easily obtain licenses. In comparison, Hong Kong’s approach is complicated and unfavorable to the public. It will not be easy for the government to achieve the goal of revitalizing the night economy if it does not back its proposal with supportive policies. The government must develop short-, medium- and long-term strategies. Will this year’s Policy Address provide a concrete plan? On this subject, I have the following suggestions:

First, Hong Kong’s night views should be in the foreground of the development plan. Neon signs ought to be restored. As Hong Kong needs talents, more support should be given to skilled workers to help them put their expertise to good use.

Second, short-, medium- and long-term strategies need to be in place for further developing the evening economy. What role should the FEHD play? How can it be advantageous to the public? The granting of liquor licenses is governed by complex procedures. Is there any way to simplify this?

Third, building regulations must be re-evaluated. For example, small-scale bars in Tokyo do not have to go through elaborate inspections carried out by the fire service for licensing. But in Hong Kong, it is unreasonable for a smaller space to comply with requirements of having three or four exit routes. In Japan, regulations are determined based on the number of people in a venue, whereas Hong Kong adopts a rigid “one-size-fits-all” approach — everyone must comply with the same set of rules and regulations, lacking flexibility. That was merely for the sake of administrative convenience. In this regard, the government should review its approach and make changes. Even if there is no reform for the long run, temporary measures can help address the burning issues and relieve the burden. For instance, could temporary entertainment licenses be issued?

Apart from long-term measures, what actions can be taken for the short term? Below are some key points:

First, in the past, night economies could be found in the Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and Yau Tsim Mong districts. In this day and age, areas such as West Kowloon, cruise ship terminals, and Kai Tak are worth considering. There should be a few spots picked out as the focus of development. It’s also helpful to adopt the concept of clusters, i.e., a model that combines different services, even if the setup is temporary. The pop-up markets in Tokyo are a good example for Hong Kong to learn from.

Second, most shopping malls in Hong Kong do not possess the concept of a night economy. They open from daytime until 10 or 11 pm. Rarely do these malls share visions of the evening economy. This is primarily because of the constraints imposed by building regulations, not to mention the rising operating costs. That reflects the matter in question is the overall cultural policy. Without addressing this underlying issue, solely pouring money into night markets will not yield effective results in the evening economy.

Hong Kong’s bureaucracy follows administrative procedures rigidly. When there is no clear goal of achieving effective results, officials put their emphasis on ascertaining whether administrative procedures are done correctly or not. This makes development of night economies difficult. Hong Kong’s regulations are excessively stringent to businesses, hindering their growth. Local talents with creativity and capability could gradually relocate to the Chinese mainland. It’s possible that would emerge as a major trend.

Therefore, the government should elucidate how it plans to pull down barriers.

In the short term, the most effective routine is to put plans into action. To get the hang of how to proceed, the government needs to conduct research and surveys.

The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and artistic director of the experimental theater company Zuni Icosahedron.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.