Update on Readings

I uploaded to WebCT more of the digital files of readings that were retrieved from the WebCT site of the previous course.

Please note that for the book by Prof. Yash Ghai, the citation on the syllabus was incorrect. The title is Hong Kong's New Constitutional Order. I'm sorry for any confusion caused. This book IS available online through the MyLibrary resources of the HKU Portal. Access the EBooks electronic resources database and search by title. For other readings, please check the Library. I will try to put more readings on reserve at the Department. If you encounter any other citation errors, please let me know.

BTW, you might be interested in some books recently published by Civic Exchange, the policy think tank. They deal with constitutional development, political leadership, and the environment, and should be useful.

U.S.-Hong Kong Relations: A Business Perspective

Looking forward, our guest speaker on 10 October will be my former colleague Jack Maisano, who is now the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Jack will talk about Hong Kong's relations with the U.S. and how investors, particularly American companies, view Hong Kong today. Jack's background is in publishing so he might also have something to say about the role of the media. After hearing from Mike Rowse, it should be interesting to listen to a representative of the investor community - the people InvestHK is courting - offer his views on Hong Kong's competitiveness and business outlook.

The ICAC - Fighting Corruption

Believe it or not, in the 1960s and '70s, corruption was a big problem in Hong Kong. But the territory under the British did something about it. In 1974, the government set up the Independent Commission Against Corruption, which still exists today and is one of Hong Kong's main bulwarks against graft and corruption in the public and private sectors. On Wednesday, Daniel Fung will certainly be talking about the ICAC so I suggest you check out its website and the quick online presentation that outlines how the organization got started. The ICAC has become a model for other anti-corruption agencies in Asia and around the world because of its success at home.

You might be interested in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perception Index, which was released on Wednesday. Hong Kong ranks 14th, one position better than last year. Top of the ranking both this year and last, ie the countries perceived to be the least corrupt: Finland, Iceland and New Zealand.

Lurking on the "Blogospheric" Sidelines?

Nehru said: "The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all." Step forward and share your thoughts on anything on this blog, including the Questions of the Week - on Hong Kong's competitiveness and the impact of its constitution.

Want to see examples of very active blogs? Check out Rebecca MacKinnon's blog (she's the former CNN Beijing bureau chief who is now an assistant professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre here at the University of Hong Kong), blogs available through GlobalVoices (a good source for what bloggers are saying right now about what's going on in Myanmar), and blogs linked to huffingtonpost.com (one of the more popular political blog aggregators in the U.S.). Perhaps you will be inspired to come out from the shadows and contribute!

Further on the Question of the Week

I amended my original posting of the Question of the Week to add a link to this article by Prof. James Tang, which is a summary of a talk he gave in 2000 to the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation. Read this for a discussion of many of the central issues relating to the question I posed.

The Basics

While Mike Rowse was talking last week about Deng Xiaoping and his legendary indifference to the color of mice, I realized that I may have assumed that you are all well acquainted with Hong Kong's history and such terms as "The Basic Law" and "one country, two systems." But maybe not? For those who want to know the issues and what it was like around the time of the handover in 1997 when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty, you might want to read some of the news stories from around that time and some of the articles written during the 10th anniversary in July. They should give you the basic background. I included the following readings for later in the semester, but you might find it useful to read these sooner:

• “Hong Kong: The Long March”, in Time Magazine, Asia edition, Vol. 169, No. 23, 18 June 2007, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/asia/0,9263,501070618,00.html

• “The Death and Life of Hong Kong: Eating Crow” in globophobe.blogspot.com, http://globophobe.blogspot.com/2007/07/death-and-life-of-hong-kong-eating-crow.html (follow links to the two Fortune Magazine articles – “The Death of Hong Kong” by Louis Kraar and “Oops! Hong Kong is Hardly Dead” by Sheridan Prasso)

• Asiaweek Magazine, Hong Kong Handover special issues, 20 June and 11 July 1997. Follow links at http://globophobe.blogspot.com/2007/07/handover-hangover-what-were-we-doing.html

Here is an Asiaweek cover story that appeared nearly two years after the handover. It deals with Hong Kong's struggle to reinvent itself after getting hit by the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98.

For those who want to read about how the Hong Kong government works and recent political reforms, you should read this paper which was produced by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in the U.S. and Civic Exchange, a think tank in Hong Kong.

If you would like to watch clips of the handover ceremonies ten years ago, you can view these on YouTube. First, the British farewell and then the handover ceremony itself.

The Rule of Law - and the Question of the Week: How Does Being an SAR of the PRC Affect Hong Kong's Ability to Conduct its International Relations?

By the time of our next class, I will have been to the mainland twice since our last meeting. I was in Beijing last week to give a lecture to about 60 executives and government officials from Africa on a mid-career program at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. They were at the beginning of a study tour of China. Tomorrow, I will be in Shanghai to give a similar talk to a group of MBA students from the same university. I find it fascinating to meet people who are seeing China and what it has achieved for the first time. They are usually amazed by what they experience, particularly if they visit the big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai.

I also find it curious that, for many of these first-time visitors, Hong Kong is of limited interest. They want to know about China. To be sure, whenever I travel to the mainland, I am well reminded that Hong Kong is but a sideshow to the really big spectacular. But sitting here in this bustling city (and certainly after listening to a rousing presentation by that investment evangelist Mike Rowse), it is easy to think of Hong Kong as the main attraction.

Hong Kong of course is still one of the best places in the world in which to do business and it remains China's premier international financial center. Take a look at the "Doing Business 2008" report recently released by the World Bank. The study includes a ranking of economies according to how easy it is to do business. Singapore comes in at No. 1, followed by New Zealand and the United States. Hong Kong is fourth, while China is No. 83. What I find interesting is that if you look at the different sub-categories, Hong Kong ranks first when it comes to "enforcing contracts". This suggests something that I have long believed - that the key to Hong Kong's success really is the rule of law. I would argue that there is no other economy in East Asia with as reliable, efficient and honest a legal system as Hong Kong.

Now what does the rule of law have to do with Hong Kong's international relations? A lot. Because investors have a great deal of confidence in our legal system, they are willing to put their money here, to sign contracts here, to settle disputes in our courts, and to live here. We have kept to a minimum the inefficiency and wastage that can result from corruption and poor public governance. The rule of law has allowed Hong Kong to build up the legal infrastructure necessary to support its role as an international financial center and hub for business.

Daniel Fung will be able to tell us more about the uniqueness of Hong Kong's legal system, which I think goes to the heart of the concept of "one country, two systems". It's not just about communism and capitalism co-existing; it's also about two very different legal systems co-existing in the same sovereign entity. It is also about two different, separated societies that nonetheless are part of the same culture and share traditions, language and common history.

This brings me to the Question of the Week: How does Hong Kong's being a special administrative region (SAR) of China affect its ability to conduct its international relations? I guess what I would like you to think about is how Hong Kong's constitution affects its position in the world and its ability to interact with the rest of the world.

Now, I'm not just talking about the simple fact that Hong Kong is not an independent nation and so we cannot be a member of the United Nations. That much is obvious. But as an SAR of China, Hong Kong has to be conscious of its relationship with the mainland - even as it fosters ties abroad. Are we hampered from being fully engaged with the world because we are part of China and not an independent country? Or is it in fact an advantage, particularly since Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under Chinese sovereignty and China is a booming economy that is attracting investors from all over the world? What are the implications of closer integration with the mainland, particularly if the divisions between our two systems start to blur? Could the advantages we enjoy because of our separateness - the rule of law, for example - be compromised?

Those are quite a lot of questions. What I would like us to explore are the implications of Hong Kong's constitutional position - both the positive and the negative - for its relations with the rest of the world. Over the coming weeks, we will examine specific issues that will help us understand better the contours of Hong Kong's autonomy and the ways in which the SAR is connected to the international community: the rule of law, the business environment and economy, diplomatic relationships, the media, the political system, the financial system, and the role of corporations and civil society. Our discussions should help us better understand how our domestic situation affects our international relationships.

Any thoughts and comments are welcome. Take a look at this article by Prof. James Tang, which is a summary of remarks he made to the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation in 2000. It might stimulate some ideas for you to consider.

In framing your comments, you might consider the issues Prof. Tang raises, some of what we have already heard from Malik Peiris and Mike Rowse, as well as what you have read. But also bring your own ideas to the table. Don't hold back.

Still Questioning...

The "Question of the Week" on Hong Kong's competitiveness is still open for comment. If you haven't read them yet, check out the four great comments from your colleagues. I'll hold off posting a second question until next week since there are no classes until 3 October.

Daniel Fung on the Rule of Law

On Tuesday, I didn't have time to tee up the next lecture which isn't until 3 October. Our guest will be Daniel Fung, SC, senior barrister and former solicitor-general of Hong Kong. Check out his bio here. He will be discussing the rule of law in Hong Kong, which Mr Rowse mentioned as one of Hong Kong's core competitive advantages. For those who haven't yet read the Basic Law, in advance of the class, you might want to check out the sections relating to the Judiciary.

Mike Rowse on YouTube

As you will recall, Mike Rowse mentioned that you can now watch him on YouTube. Here are links to his two clips. The first part is about 10 minutes long and the second takes about three minutes to view.

Lecture Two: Summary - Dr Malik Peiris

Key points from the discussion with Dr Malik Peiris:

• Hong Kong is at the doorstep of a region that has long been a cauldron for infectious diseases.

• Hong Kong plays a role in spreading these diseases AND in combating them.

• The lack of communication and cooperation between mainland and Hong Kong officials led to a slow response to the outbreaks.

• Communications and cooperation (between HK and the mainland, international) have improved on the human health side, but are not where they should be when it comes to animal health. There is a commercial aspect to animal health issues.

• In contrast to Singapore, Hong Kong’s response to SARS could not be as draconian.

• Hong Kong research has been integral to the fight against infectious diseases.

• Public health threats must be viewed as threats to business, to competitiveness.

• What are Hong Kong’s responsibilities? Hong Kong should spend more on scientific research and the fight against infectious diseases.
  

Question of the Week: What Makes Hong Kong Competitive?

In anticipation of the presentation by our guest speaker on Tuesday, Mike Rowse, the Hong Kong government's point man for investment promotion, I thought I would pose the following two (okay, three) questions:

• What are the core reasons for Hong Kong's global competitiveness? (Remember the World Economic Forum ranking that I put on the screen in class - It might be interesting to look at the sub-rankings to determine exactly what Hong Kong's strengths and weaknesses are, according to the study. What exactly do we mean when we say an economy is "competitive"?)
• What are the key threats to the SAR's competitiveness? (In other words, what could topple the apple cart?) And should we be concerned?
  

I mentioned before this article on Hong Kong by Columbia University Professor Saskia Sassen, which appeared in Newsweek magazine last year. She makes some interesting points which I am sure will be echoed by Mike Rowse on Tuesday. Check it out.

What do you think?

Reactions, comments and more questions are welcome! Remember to include your name on any posting - or at least some way to let us know who you are!

(Mr Wong, who is handling the POLI0019 tutorials, may take up this discussion thread in the section meetings on Wednesday, 19 September.)

Update on Guest Speakers

We have had a flurry of confirmations from additional speakers. I already mentioned that Legislative Councillor and former journalist Emily Lau Wai-hing (far left) will be our guest on 24 October, while Jimmy Lai Chee-ying (left), the Chairman of Next Media and the founder of Giordano and Apple Daily, will be with us on 28 November.

I am now pleased to let you know that Teresa Au, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability for the Asia Pacific Region at HSBC, will join us on 14 November. On that day, we will have two guests! Our other speaker will be, as announced, Dr Olaf Unteroberdoerster, the Resident Representative of the IMF. They will appear separately.

I am also happy to announce that on 31 October we will also have a second guest. Xu Sitao, one of China's leading economists (he was formerly chief economist for ICBC Asia) and Chief Representative in China for the Economist Group, will join us. As you know former Hong Kong secretary of security Regina Ip is scheduled for that day. We will have both speakers one after the other.

While 31 October and 14 November will certainly be jampacked, I think that the additional speakers will provide valuable insights that will help us put Hong Kong's role in the world in proper perspective.

Finally, the more astute will have noticed that last week I had two guests on the schedule but only one - Dr Peiris - showed up. For completeness sake, I should mention that my other guest, Wayne Arnold, the correspondent for the New York Times in Singapore, who was going to provide insight into how Singapore has handled SARS and other public health crises, had a mini-health crisis of his own. He ate some bad uni (sea urchin) sushi at a restaurant the night before and therefore could not come to class. My fault - since I picked the restaurant!

Current Issues in Sino-Japanese Relations

For those who were unable to get the free places to the Asia Society lunch on 24 September (or if any of the six who are going want to hear him speak twice on the same day), you may want to know that Amb. Wu will be at the University next week to speak on Sino-Japanese relations:

6:00 pm September 24, 2007 (Monday), Council Chamber, 8/F, Meng Wah Complex, HKU

Ambassador Wu Jianmin, President of China Foreign Affairs University, President of International Bureau of Expositions (BIE).

Professor Ian Holliday, Dean of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, is pleased to invite you to a public lecture to be delivered by Ambassador Wu Jian-min, President of China Foreign Affairs University. Ambassador Wu's detailed biography can be viewed via http://www.hku.hk/socsc/jmwu.

The lecture will be conducted in English and is free of charge. Interested parties can register on-line at http://www.hku.hk/socsc/jmwu on or before September 24, 2007. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. Please bring along the confirmation print-out and present it to the reception desk for admission.

Tentative programme:
5:45pm Registration
6:00pm Public Lecture by Ambassador Wu Jianmin
Moderator: Professor James Tang, Department of Politics and Public Administration
6:45pm Open Discussion

Enquires:
Miss Petty Lee (Tel: 2241 5541 / Email: pettylee@hkucc.hku.hk)

Thanks - and Tomorrow's Tutorials

Thanks very much for coming to the special lecture. I appreciate that you attended the lecture and discussion outside our normally scheduled period.

A reminder: The first tutorials for POLI0019 students will meet tomorrow, 19 September, starting at 2 pm. As I mentioned, if you have a problem signing up, ie the time slot you need to be in is fully booked, please just go to the section which you can attend and let Mr Wong know of your problem. I think we should be able to accommodate clear cases of students who can only attend a particular tutorial. We don't want to overload any particular section, but we do want to make sure you can fit the tutorial into your schedule. After tomorrow's tutorials, I will confer with Mr Wong and we should be able to adjust the sign-up to meet the demand. But if you can make a tutorial that still has open places, please help us out by sticking to that section.

BTW, I should note at this time that we will have a lecture and tutorials on 17 October, the Wednesday of the reading week. The reason for this is that I will have no lecture on 21 November so I am using the reading week to make up for that.

Ranking Hong Kong

Here are links to some of the rankings I put on the screen during last week's lecture:

http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/country.cfm?ID=HongKong

http://www.weforum.org/en/fp/gcr_2006-07_highlights/index.htm

http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/TravelandTourismReport/CompetitivenessIndex/index.htm

http://www.quazen.com/Science/Social-Sciences/World-Happiness-Rankings.5398

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0708/

http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2006

http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres07_e/pr472_e.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

http://www.dataranking.com/country.cgi?LG=e&CO=111

http://www.nationmaster.com/country/hk/Top-Rankings

Update on Readings

I hope you have had a good weekend.

I just uploaded some of the readings for this week to the WebCT page - the articles by Bill Overholt, Chun Yang, and Michael Davis, as well as the Donald Tsang and Anson Chan speeches to the Asia Society. I'll try to upload more as soon as possible, but after the back-up of the old course site was made and the course site reset, the new course site no longer has on file the readings that Dr Cummings had used so I will need to upload those again. I will try to do this as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Remember to Sign Up!

POLI0019 students, please remember to sign up for a tutorial session through the PPA Department homepage at hku.hk/ppaweb. Just follow the links.

The first tutorials will meet on Wednesday, 19 September, starting at 2.00 pm.

Mike Rowse, Hong Kong's Investment Promotion Czar

I have asked the Faculty of Business and Economics to invite students and faculty to Mike Rowse's presentation on Tuesday. If you know any MBA students who might be interested in attending, please let them know the details. Thanks!

-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Keys to Success: How Hong Kong Stays Globally
Competitive"

Speaker: Mike Rowse, Director-General of Investment
Promotion, InvestHK, HKSARG

Time: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Venue: Theatre 6, Meng Wah Complex, University of Hong
Kong

Hong Kong consistently ranks as one of the world's
most competitive economies - and for more than a
decade has been recognized by the Heritage Foundation
as the world's freest economy. In 2006, the flow of
foreign direct investment into the SAR amounted to
US$42.7 billion, up 28% from the year before. Ten
years after the handover, Hong Kong remains a highly
attractive place in which to do business. What have
been the keys to the SAR's success? And how will Hong
Kong continue to be globally competitive? Mike Rowse,
Hong Kong's investment promotion chief, will discuss
Hong Kong's global competitiveness and the investment
outlook for the SAR.

This event will be conducted in English.

Note: This event is a special lecture-discussion session for
the course POLI0019/POLI0068 "Hong Kong and the World" offered
this semester by the Department of Politics and Public
Administration, University of Hong Kong. The course usually
meets on Wednesdays from 9.30 am to 11.30 am in Theatre 5,
Meng Wah Complex.

Update on Readings - and the Power of Cities

Here are links to two of the readings for this week.

Anson Chan speech to the Asia Society:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd9nk9p8_2d8qpr3

Donald Tsang speech to the Asia Society:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd9nk

These and many of the readings are available on the WebCT POLI0019 course site, but the site is still configured for last year's course. I'm sorry for this. I cannot yet make any changes due to technical issues. To find the readings, look into the "Learning Modules" section and then click into the various modules and you will find a number of the readings posted.

I have put the William Overholt article on Hong Kong/Shanghai, Chun Yang's article on Hong Kong/Shenzhen, and Michael Davis's paper on Chinese Federalism on reserve in the PPA Department office, room 622, Meng Wah Complex.

In many cases, I have provided a URL to access readings available online. If any links don't work, please let me know.

For any other readings, please try the Library.

For this week, btw, I suggested books by Prof. Saskia Sassen who is now at Columbia University. She has been at the forefront of scholarship on the concept of the "global city" and the role of the city in the global economy. She was in Hong Kong in August to give a lecture. Last year, she wrote about Hong Kong in Newsweek magazine. I should have included this essay as required reading. You might also check out another article by Prof. Sassen on the power of big cities, also in Newsweek.

We will certainly talk more about cities and how they are becoming dynamic poles of growth. Effective and business-savvy leaders in cities across the world, from New York to Shanghai, from Denver to Dalian, are driving competition among them to attract investors and visitors. Hong Kong is in that race - and I am sure that Mike Rowse will talk about this on Tuesday.