The notion that Hong Kong can be an 'economic' city in which politics plays a minor role has faded, perhaps for ever
past nine weeks and counting huge anti-government protests have rocked Hong Kong, with no obvious end in sight. On August 5th pro-democracy protesters organised the first general strike in the territory for half a century. It shut down parts of the transport system. Banks, advertising companies and many other businesses also closed, or urged their employees to work from home.
The structure of Hong Kong’s economy has changed little in two decades. In terms of their contribution to the economy, trade and logistics along with finance are remarkably similar . The same old family-run conglomerates in Hong Kong have a lock on property development, port operators, utilities and supermarkets.
Meanwhile, the number of multinationals with their regional headquarters in the territory has increased by two-thirds since 1997, to around 1,500. Hong Kong hosts the most valuable life insurer in the world, excluding mainland China,, while a global firm with a big Asian arm, Prudential, is about to shift its regulatory domicile to Hong Kong.
Should the party intervene more forcibly, says a senior administration official, it would be “a tragedy for Hong Kong, bad for China and the latest act of decoupling from the free world and regressing to the darkness of the Mao years.” The official likens Hong Kong’s status, in some respects, to “West Berlin during the cold war”. “‘One country, two systems,’” the official adds, “risks dying a premature death.
But it is not only students who are critical of the government. Even groups that in the past have been staunch supporters of the administration have been having second thoughts. This week many businesses made it clear to their staff that they would not be penalised for joining the general strike.
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