2008-03-17

Amb. Harvey Feldman of the Heritage Foundation on Hong Kong

Ambassador Harvey Feldman of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, has written an analytical piece on Hong Kong in which he argues that Hong Kong is in trouble because political development has stalled. He concludes:

"Hong Kong seems to be in a box with shrinking walls. The box is shrinking economically for most of the population and politically because important issues are going unmentioned and certain voices are being ignored.

"When people wondered a dozen years go whether Hong Kong would become more like Shanghai, they were thinking in economic terms. In fact, Shanghai is moving ahead economically and with an élan and optimism that seem to be lacking in Hong Kong today. Where Hong Kong most resembles Shanghai is in a sense that nothing is happening politically and that reform and reformers have no where to go."