Faced with profound internal and external challenges, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region requires a decisive break from its past development and governance models. A new, comprehensive strategy is needed — one that tackles pressing fiscal and social issues while laying the groundwork for long-term cultural and industrial renewal. By repositioning its Northern Metropolis as a potential World Expo site, overhauling district administration, and reforming education, the plan could propel the city beyond its current constraints and into a new era of competitive vitality under the “one country, two systems” framework.

First, the SAR needs a strategic repositioning — the city should shift is focus from local project to global stage. The development of the Northern Metropolis, a key domestic initiative, should be elevated to a platform for international competition. A proposal to host the 2035 World Expo in the area, with “Innovation, technology, and sustainable development” as its theme, would provide a transformative catalyst. Crucially, this should be a joint bid with Shenzhen, showcasing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s strengths in artificial intelligence and green technology. Such a strategy would attract global capital, break through Hong Kong’s spatial limitations, and create a synergistic “1+1>2” effect with its neighbor.

Second, the city’s governance and livelihoods are expected to improve, making it a service-oriented pivot.

Internally, Hong Kong’s bureaucracy must shift from procedural correctness to delivering tangible results. Piloting a new district administration model in areas like Central and Sham Shui Po, led by a directly appointed district head, could break down departmental silos. This “small government, big services“ approach would integrate resources from housing and social welfare to systematically resolve entrenched issues such as subdivided flats, demonstrating a more responsive and effective government.

Third, human capital and the urban fabric are essential for the transformation. The city’s future competitiveness hinges on its human capital. A radical rethink of the language policy in education is needed to build a bilingual system with Chinese as the foundation and English as a practical tool, leveraging AI-powered learning. Concurrently, urban renewal must evolve from luxury-led redevelopment to community revitalization. A new paradigm of “retention, renovation and demolition” would preserve the social fabric, supported by policy innovations like a community revitalization fund and transferable development rights.

Fourth, reinventing cultural and tourism assets is the first step to building up a healthy culture industry.

Two major assets — the West Kowloon Cultural District and Ocean Park — are underperforming. West Kowloon should be liberated from its financial struggles by adopting direct government leadership and a model to integrate the cultural and tourism industries, potentially inviting Chinese mainland and international institutions to co-manage venues. Similarly, Ocean Park’s revival requires outsourcing its operations to a world-class professional operator, transforming it into an integrated resort with a hotel-theme park-performances ecosystem to extend visitor stays and spending.

Fifth, Hong Kong should tap its hidden value in its cultural assets.

The courage to implement such a coherent and bold suite of reforms across governance, economic strategy, and social policy is what Hong Kong needs to resolve its challenges and achieve a true metamorphosis

Hong Kong’s unique street culture is a dormant economic asset. A policy of orderly deregulation, creating pilot specialty market zones for hawkers, could revitalize the community economy and preserve the character of the streets, much like Taipei’s night markets.

Furthermore, the city is sitting on a gold mine of untapped public data. A formal data strategy to establish an open platform for anonymized transport, healthcare, and cultural data — with proper privacy safeguards — could fuel innovation, inform policy, and foster a new market for data factors.

Finally, building a circular economy is essential for long-term sustainability. This requires integrating the fragmented waste management chain, accelerating the development of modern recycling facilities, and implementing a municipal solid-waste charging program to drive behavioral change through economic incentives.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s metaphor, breaking the cocoon to become a butterfly, is the correct diagnosis for the special administrative region to face the challenges in making the city a better place. The courage to implement such a coherent and bold suite of reforms across governance, economic strategy, and social policy is what Hong Kong needs to resolve its challenges and achieve a true metamorphosis.

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

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.