The world is standing at the crossroads of history.
Against the headwinds of protectionism and neoliberalism, we have come to the intersection of an era of global openness, pluralism and bipolarity.
Whether it is the Russian-Ukrainian war, Sino-U.S. relations, or the rise of local introverted ideology around the world, all idealists who advocate globalization and erase the barriers between countries have been continuously "battered" in the past decade. face" situation.
Many people once thought that globalization was an irreversible trend, but in the end, they found that if the goals and ideals of globalization were too unrealistic, they would only become a castle in the air, and it would be difficult to realize the benefits and advantages of globalization.
This is evident whether it is Brexit, the rise of anti-immigration ideology in Western Europe, or the mutual distrust between Chinese and American people.
In 2022, Hong Kong is also standing at the crossroads of history.
The increasingly intensifying Sino-US rivalry has turned Hong Kong into a battleground for major power games in the past few years.
The evolution of Hong Kong has become the best evidence for the US to smear and attack China and demonstrate its prejudice against China's "authoritarian" or "dictatorship".
In the eyes of the central government, Hong Kong is constantly causing trouble and chaos for the country in social turmoil and the epidemic, posing a shortcoming in national security.
Under the conflict and confrontation of two completely different systems of values and interests, Hong Kong has indeed undergone earth-shaking changes.
Today, it is time to reflect on Hong Kong's positioning within the country.
As a group of young people who love the motherland and are proud of themselves as Hong Kong people, we really feel very sorry for the ups and downs in Hong Kong in recent years.
Now we have friends who leave almost every month because they believe that the future of Hong Kong is conservative and single.
However, as young reformers who stick to Hong Kong, we are unwilling to give up, and we do not believe that the future of Hong Kong must be an unwise choice between the above pseudo-dilemma.
We are more inclined to promote reforms within the system that are in line with the national interests and the real interests of the Hong Kong people who remain.
As one of the special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong should adhere to the greatest degree of openness in the future, or move towards a conservative and unitary, or make an effective balance between these two ends. Based on the standard of being the most free and open city in my country, consider how to serve the country Strive for more international voice and influence in the great changes not seen in a century?
Some voices say that security must prevail – but it must be known that protecting national security and maintaining the pace of reform and opening up are not inherently conflicting; at the same time, there are also voices that cultural diversity will only lead to increased social conflicts and differences – but it must be Knowing that there are always differences and divisions, the question should be, how should we dismantle and face these interpersonal discussions and diverse opinions.
Today, it is time to reflect on Hong Kong's positioning within the country.
(Xinhua News Agency)
Hong Kong must adhere to economic openness and allow the motherland's capital and enterprises to continue "going out"
Hong Kong was once described by economist Friedman as the most open and free economy in the world.
Using the policy concept of "big market, small government", Hong Kong has opened up the flow of people, logistics, and information, and opened its doors; it has opened up the market to attract international enterprises and capital investment, and has successfully transformed itself from an entrepot to an international financial center, setting a record among the four Asian tigers. Economic miracle.
However, as the economy of the Mainland took off and the manufacturing industry gradually moved northwards and then to Southeast Asia and other places, Hong Kong's status as an entrepot port was gradually replaced by a Mainland port.
Hong Kong's industry is monolithic, and young people are overwhelmed by the value of Central.
We can't see our uniqueness, we haven't found our own position in the great era of my country's rise, and we think that Hong Kong can only be a regional hub.
Coupled with the perseverance of a free economy, Hong Kong continues to be lost in fundamental capitalism and trapped in a cocoon.
It is important to know that economic liberalization does not mean economic laissez-faire.
We believe the latter is out of date.
The Hong Kong economic model based on neoliberalism - whether it is oligopoly or monopoly anti-competitive behavior, land hoarding policies that push up property prices or the old bureaucracy and the business community - has indeed failed to make Hong Kong more than a Millions of poor people benefit, but the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
Regulation is Necessary - Regulating anticompetitive behavior in economic markets is not the same thing as outright denial of the market economy and capital markets.
From the perspective of national strategic development, Hong Kong must adhere to an open economy in order to help the country continue to "go global", expand internal and external circulation, and continue to elevate the living standards of ourselves and our hundreds of millions of compatriots.
Within my country, there is still no other international financial center and metropolis comparable to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's unique openness is an important part of the national strategic deployment.
Japanese scholar Hamashita Shino once proposed that Hong Kong is a hub connecting multiple hinterlands, including: connecting Shantou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, and even Zhejiang and other coastal areas along the high-speed rail to the east; backing the Greater Bay Area to the north; connecting Guilin and Guiyang to the west along the high-speed rail, Kunming; connecting ASEAN to the south, including Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and other places.
At the same time, Hong Kong also maintains deep cultural ties with Northeast Asia, including Japan and South Korea, which is conducive to the connection between people's hearts, consumption and investors.
Because of this, the SAR governor has the responsibility to maintain Hong Kong’s openness and diversity, and maintain its comparative advantages in business such as a low tax system; continue to promote more investment promotion policies, and address foreign investors’ concerns about Hong Kong’s financial system and geopolitical risks. Rather than simply overturning official propaganda and slogans to make listeners disgusted and suspicious); at the same time, more scholarships and talent introduction programs will be opened.
In this way, Hong Kong can play its multiple central roles as an international financial center, an international innovation and technology center, an international shipping and trade center, a Sino-foreign cultural and artistic exchange center, a regional knowledge industry trade center, and an international legal and dispute resolution service center in the Asia-Pacific region.
We believe that in the future, driven by the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can definitely implement industrial diversification.
If we can make good use of and attract young talents from countries along the “Belt and Road” to start businesses and take root in Hong Kong, a series of industries such as biotechnology, new manufacturing, and agricultural technology will only spring up like mushrooms after a rain.
This is because the vast sky of the motherland can accommodate our wildest imagination.
Some of our classmates set up a 50-acre aquaponics production base in Jiangmen, and won 4 national patents and over 10 million investment; we also have friends who went back to the mainland to participate in entrepreneurship competitions, and saw a project called "Reed Blossoms", which combined Baiyangdian's Reeds are regenerated into wood-plastic panels, which not only helps farmers get out of poverty, but also solves the ecological problems of Baiyangdian.
These imaginations are unimaginable in Hong Kong, where there is a lot of money, but it is absolutely possible for Hong Kong, which combines the development opportunities and space with other parts of the Greater Bay Area, to become a dream come true.
Of course, the premise must be that we are willing to accept our team role in the Greater Bay Area, and no longer view our compatriots with an arrogant attitude.
This kind of transformation at the ideological level relies on a sincere "re-opening" to the inside.
In the future, driven by the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong can definitely implement industrial diversification.
(Xinhua News Agency)
Hong Kong must protect cultural and identity diversity in order to safeguard the dignity and rights of all Hong Kong people
Once upon a time, as an immigrant city, Hong Kong had the inclusiveness of all rivers, and as long as they successfully reached the base, it was Hong Kong people.
Today, as a highly international metropolis, Hong Kong is home to more than 580,000 non-Chinese Hong Kong people. They are the mainstay of our city, bringing Hong Kong international network, professional technology, world vision, and high-quality labor force.
Although they are not the majority of the society, they are the key group in maintaining Hong Kong's humanities ties with the international community.
To maintain a diverse and open environment is to maintain Hong Kong's unique international character, attract foreign talents, and inject impetus for future development.
To protect cultural diversity, we must face up to the entangled atmosphere of "anti-mainlanders" discrimination.
In his book "Four Generations of Hong Kong People", Professor Lu Da-lok pointed out that each generation of Hong Kong people is shaped by the changes of the times to create inter-generational differences.
Today, Hong Kong has a fifth generation of Hong Kong people.
In this generation of Hong Kong people, in the process of constructing their identity, there is a strong exclusivity in part.
For example, behind the anti-parallel trade movement is the identity contradiction.
The core question is: Who are the people of Hong Kong, and are they willing to face and face up to their own history?
The contradictions and confrontations that surfaced nearly two decades ago, as well as the tense political situation and extremely xenophobic nativist discourse, have made it increasingly difficult for Hong Kong society to tolerate different voices.
Those who hold different opinions become a group without conscience.
Criticisms between people make it impossible to imagine that this is a Hong Kong that is proud of its diversity and openness.
After the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", the extreme and untrue populist abuse no longer exists. Many people believe that this is the first step for Hong Kong to set things right and return to normalcy. The identity of people is submerged in the cloud group in the Greater Bay Area, or slowly disappears in the integration of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
In fact, Hong Kong people, Cantonese people, people from other provinces, residents of the Greater Bay Area, and Chinese people, these identities are never opposite, just like a Shenyang person is a Northeastern person at the same time, or a Chengdu person is a Sichuan person at the same time, the identity of Hong Kong people , there is no fundamental conflict with our identity as citizens of the People's Republic of China.
If the local culture, especially the emerging culture, is blindly shaped into an "opposite state" that competes with the traditional Chinese culture, it will be harmful to the preservation of the local culture and the overall diversity of the national culture.
Over the years, the advantages of coexistence between Chinese and foreign countries have allowed Hong Kong to continuously absorb foreign cultures, connecting China and foreign countries, and integrating and integrating, thus forming a culture of its own cohesion with international attractiveness.
The macaroni, egg tarts, translated songs in the 1970s and 1980s, and even the legend of Lan Kwai Fong all permeate the unique charm of integrating foreign cultures.
Take an example this year - TVB and Mainland Mango TV co-produced "The Sound of Life", re-interpreting Hong Kong's classic golden songs and strengthening the exchanges between Hong Kong and the Mainland performing arts circles, which is showing the local culture of Hong Kong. There is no inevitable confrontation or exclusion with the country's broad performing arts culture.
On the other hand, some people resist the promotion of national education, as if knowing the motherland will make Hong Kong people lose their international vision.
This reflects a misunderstanding of our culture.
Diversity and openness are actually in the same strain as Chinese culture.
Although we have had a period of "not our race, their hearts must be different", but "the same as the real life, the same is not the same" is the main body of Chinese culture.
Historically, Han culture has shown great tolerance, absorbing many foreign cultures, forming today's broad and profound Chinese culture.
In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, "the nine heavens closed the palaces, and all the nations wore their crowns and adorned their crowns", which is an example of the openness and diversity of Chinese culture.
As long as we have fair and equitable access to history, we should not worry about so-called bias, and our next generation must and will be able to thrive in a society that gives them cultural confidence and institutional confidence.
There is no contradiction between promoting national education and letting young people know the world.
On the contrary, we should encourage young people in Hong Kong to understand the world.
Today's Hong Kong people do not really understand the world very well. The international society that many people understand is only Western European and American society.
Most of the college students who go to study abroad go to European and American universities. We don't know much about developing regions, such as ASEAN around us.
However, as a window to connect with ASEAN, Hong Kong should definitely deepen its understanding of ASEAN countries.
As the ruler of an international city, the SAR government must lead by example and embrace diversity at the governance level.
(Getty Images)
Hong Kong should promote a people-centred system and embark on a unique path of open governance
The new government has good advantages to adhere to the core value of openness and diversity.
First of all, under the protection of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", Hong Kong society has returned to the right track, and the malicious impact has gradually subsided.
Second, a ruling coalition based on election committees, political parties, and regional associations from different sectors will help the Hong Kong government to widely attract public opinion.
At the same time, a good relationship between the executive and the legislature will create a positive and interactive discussion atmosphere for Hong Kong.
We hope that these advantages will drive the future Hong Kong government to adopt a "strong government, big society" approach, linking all sectors of society, negotiating together, and solving problems rationally.
Hong Kong must unswervingly follow the path of openness, because openness is the true meaning of progress from generation to generation.
Some people may worry that if the government insists on diversity and openness, it will bring Hong Kong back to the political turmoil of 2019 and before, which will seriously affect the efficiency of governance.
But it must be known that a government that can win the hearts and minds of the people and gain their participation and support will be more adept at implementing policies.
On the other hand, if the government maintains the image of being viewed as a "closed door", it will not help the authority and smoothness of governance, but will instead plant a time bomb that damages the effectiveness of governance.
It is undeniable that diversity will increase contradictions, because not all values are compatible, but on the other hand, diversity is a reality and objective existence, and people have different backgrounds and positions, different values and standards. , with different ideas.
As the ruler of an international city, the SAR government must lead by example and embrace diversity at the governance level.
Today, my country advocates the promotion of a "community with a shared future for mankind" through international multilateralism, turning battles into jade and silk.
This is the historical mission of the contemporary Chinese people to spread their arms and go to the world.
As a part of the country and the most free and open city due to various historical reasons, Hong Kong must maintain a pragmatic and adventurous progressive mentality and break the dualistic world pattern.
To accomplish the historical mission of the Chinese nation to the world, Hong Kong is an important strategic city.
For this reason, we are not discouraged by Hong Kong, and we hope that Hong Kong will continue to play a major role and contribute to the country's deepening reform and continuous opening-up.
Shi Zhongjian,
a group of post-90s generation who have hope for Hong Kong's future, believe that Hong Kong must fundamentally improve its own governance in order to maintain its unique position in global politics and the rise of China, and bring "one country, two systems" back on track
The article is purely the author's opinion and does not represent the position of Hong Kong 01.
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