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Hong Kong’s edge as Asia’s “super-connector” with the world, combined with its resilience and adaptability, place the city in position to thrive in an uncertain world, said guests and panellists at a half-day seminar held on Friday to mark the 120th anniversary of the South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong’s extraordinary ability to bridge diverse cultures and religions, and to serve as a channel of dialogue between civilisations, will bolster the city’s super-connector role, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
“Hong Kong has always flourished [because of] its exceptional connectivity,” Chan said at the “SCMP 120 Conversations” event. “In short, this is because of Hong Kong’s unique advantage under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework.
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“We may all be profoundly saddened by the recent conflicts occurring in various parts of the world. They serve as stark reminders of the need for empathy over prejudice, understanding over suspicion, respect over hostility, and engagement over separation.”
The newspaper, which was founded by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham on November 6, 1903, is also celebrating its anniversary with a pop-up exhibition that runs from October 20 to November 15 at Landmark Atrium in Hong Kong’s Central business district.
Friday’s seminar was also attended by Hong Kong business leaders such as Allan Zeman, the chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, Catherine Leung, council member of the Better Hong Kong Foundation and co-founder and partner at MizMaa Ventures, Ryan Lai, managing director of Foodpanda Hong Kong, and Ivy Au-Yeung, CEO of OCBC Hong Kong.
MizMaa Ventures’s Catherine Leung at the event on Friday. Photo: Edmond So alt=MizMaa Ventures’s Catherine Leung at the event on Friday. Photo: Edmond So>
“Given the current geopolitical environment and the prevailing western narratives that surround us, it is crucial that we take proactive steps to engage and sustain our efforts,” Chan said. “Only by revitalising interaction and fostering more exchanges can we work to achieve better mutual understanding and clear any misconceptions or doubts that may exist.”
Referring to the Post’s “global reach”, he called on the newspaper to stay committed to its “fact-based, objective and unbiased reporting and commentary”.
“We need you as a window, a reliable source for the world to truly understand what Hong Kong and our region are like,” Chan added.
The Post CEO, Catherine So. Photo: Edmond So alt=The Post CEO, Catherine So. Photo: Edmond So>
Throughout the past 120 years, the Post has “embraced changes while honouring traditions, and documented the incredible transformations that have left an incredible mark on Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of the world”, said Catherine So, the Post’s CEO.
This year’s events are the first time that the Post has celebrated its anniversary since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.
Two panel discussions organised as part of Friday’s event looked at Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre and technology hub.
From left, Karen Tang, executive director of the Better Hong Kong Foundation; Ang Jin, chief growth officer at SCMP; Tammy Tam, the SCMP’s Editor in Chief; Financial Secretary Paul Chan; SCMP CEO Catherine So; Kevin Huang, the SCMP’s chief operating officer; Sylvia Wang, the SCMP’s chief financial officer; and Neil Anderson, director and head of office, commercial property, Hongkong Land, at Friday’s event. Photo: Edmond So alt=From left, Karen Tang, executive director of the Better Hong Kong Foundation; Ang Jin, chief growth officer at SCMP; Tammy Tam, the SCMP’s Editor in Chief; Financial Secretary Paul Chan; SCMP CEO Catherine So; Kevin Huang, the SCMP’s chief operating officer; Sylvia Wang, the SCMP’s chief financial officer; and Neil Anderson, director and head of office, commercial property, Hongkong Land, at Friday’s event. Photo: Edmond So>
The city’s low tax rate and robust legal industry are aspects of Hong Kong that everyone is familiar with, said MizMaa Ventures’s Leung.
“If you contrast Hong Kong to where I’ve done business, which is New York, London, the Middle East including Israel, the thing that makes Hong Kong stand-out is sort of an immigrant DNA, where we are adaptable, because you don’t know what’s going to change the next day,” Leung said.
“If you look at Hong Kong over the past 50 years, there have been so many changes … we’ve transitioned from manufacturing to financial services, riding China’s rise. These are a lot of ups, but a lot of downs as well. Witnessing Covid-19 and what’s happening to our city today, I would say that it’s all that immigrant mentality and the fact that we’re never quite settled and safe, that keeps us going from one place to another.”
Hong Kong is where West meets East, and the talent in the city really understands the market here in Asia, said Foodpanda Hong Kong’s Lai. “But it also knows what’s happening in the technology sectors and what’s happening on hot topics in the western markets.”
The city’s inclusiveness and the way it welcomes everyone from different cultures and ethnicities sets Hong Kong apart from other markets, said OCBC Hong Kong’s Au-Yeung.
“We’re just very dynamic. Whatever difficulties we have, we just figure out what’s next [and] what will work. That’s how I see Hong Kong,” she said.
Additional reporting by Xinmei Shen
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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