Those betting on Hong Kong’s bright future have backed a winner

Former governor Chris Patten once said nobody ever profited from betting against Hong Kong. Anybody wagering against its “one country, two systems” policy will undoubtedly be out of pocket.Since 1997, the policy has been the city’s lodestar. While the post-reunification settlement was repeatedly challenged, most notably during the 2019 social unrest, Hong Kong has emerged stronger. The Basic Law sustained it throughout and Beijing’s support was unwavering.With national security legislation, Hong Kong’s capitalist system and way of life are secure. Last year, its economy grew by 3.5 per cent while the number of foreign and mainland Chinese companies rose by 11 per cent to 11,070. Hong Kong is taking full advantage of the “high degree of autonomy” promised under the Basic Law. It is nothing if not an international city and attempts to paint it as “just another Chinese city” are delusional.The Basic Law guarantees its right to “maintain and develop relations and conclude and implement agreements with foreign states and regions and relevant international organisations” including in finance, trade, shipping, communications, culture and tourism. Its architects envisioned a global city, and so it has proved.At the recent 19th Asian Financial Forum, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s message was that Hong Kong is thinking big, seizing opportunities and reaching out to Asia. He wants to “boost our status as an international financial centre”, including by deepening the equity market, expanding the bond market and advancing the asset and wealth management sector. With more than 400 companies in the initial public offering pipeline, the city is collaborating with the Shanghai Gold Exchange on a gold trading ecosystem.Whenever the limits of the city’s autonomy were tested, the central authorities kept the train on the tracks. The Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong comes “directly under the central people’s government”, and no country could tolerate regional legislators seeking to undermine national objectives, subvert the government’s work and collaborate with foreign powers to endanger national security. The late Deng Xiaoping envisaged “patriots ruling Hong Kong”; problems arose when this was disregarded.