With Hong Kong at a crossroads, city needs a strong leader and a Build Back Better plan to reboot

Hong Kong is experiencing not only a public health crisis but also a crisis of confidence. That is probably the only certainty among the uncertainties surrounding Asia's World City, the present and future.

The Hong Kong government may have badly mishandled its response to the latest Omicron-fuelled outbreak of Covid-19 infections, but the city will tough it out one way or another in the coming weeks, particularly after the leadership appeared to have got its act together to ramp up vaccinations among other control measures.

But to restore confidence and social harmony is most likely to take years. The city's incompetent and incoherent handling of the pandemic has further added to despair and gloom over its future.

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Hong Kong appears to have lost its way as it lacks not only an exit plan that leads it back to normality, but more importantly, a well thought out strategy to bring back the shine and allure of Asia's premier financial centre.

It is a cliche but true that Hong Kong is at a crossroads. It has suffered a serious dent in international reputation because of what has transpired in recent years - the mass protests, riots, and now the mishandling of the Covid-19 outbreak. Local residents are exasperated, expats consider leaving, and mandarins in Beijing seem to be running out of patience.

Hong Kong needs its own version of a comprehensive Build Back Better plan and a new strong leader to guide the city out of the political mud, economic lethargy, and social disharmony.

The make or break moment will come on May 8 when Hong Kong chooses its next chief executive.

Despite the short lead-up time, it remains unclear as to who will be the most viable successor as stronger candidates may emerge at the last minute.

Whoever that person may be, the new leader must articulate a clear strategy to build our economy and society back better as Hong Kong cannot afford to just build back to the way things were before or the old ways of doing things. More importantly, our next leader must have the courage and wisdom to make tough decisions, take on the vested interests, and enlist the help of stakeholders to make things happen.

In fact, we all know what and where Hong Kong's structural weaknesses and inequalities are as they have been staring us in the face for the past two decades. Here is my take on what the Hong Kong version of a Build Back Better plan should include.

First, from day one, the new leader starts implementing a bold and aggressive plan to solve Hong Kong's perennial source of discontent - land supplies and housing woes.

Ever since former leader Tung Chee-hwa's first and probably only attempt to fix housing failed and partly contributed to mass protests in 2003, he and his successors have done lots of hand-wringing and talking but any meaningful attempt has been foiled by vested interests groups including leading property developers, the Heung Yee Kuk, environmentalists, or political opposition in the Legislative Council, just to name a few.

So many plans have been floated and shelved because of opposition from so many voices in society as tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars have been spent, or rather wasted on countless feasibility studies and consultancies.

Now the next government has no excuse to delay or dither. Beijing's imposition of the national security law on Hong Kong has removed political uncertainties and opposition as the new Legco is now in the firm control of the establishment figures. The leading property tycoons' sway over the government has also been considerably weakened and the top Chinese leaders have repeatedly said easing housing woes should be a top priority for the city's leadership.

Over the past few years, the Hong Kong government has floated a number of grandiose plans to increase land supply and housing including the ambitious and expensive reclamation project known as Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which is still in the feasibility study stage, and the Northern Metropolis Development scheme, another mega development championed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. In his budget speech, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has earmarked HK$100 billion for the latter project. But those two proposals may sound grand but they will take years to materialise, more like a pie in the sky for the moment.

What the city needs right now are concrete and feasible measures which are more immediate and impactful. All things considered, the next government should brave opposition and look at the fringe areas surrounding Hong Kong's protected country parks and green space.

Only 24 per cent of the land in Hong Kong is used and only 7 per cent is used for residential housing while about 65 per cent is utilised for green areas and country parks.

Shrinking this land by a few per cent would not compromise the core of Hong Kong's natural beauty but would ensure years of ample supply for public housing.

Second, the new government should do more to better enhance the city's status as Asia's premier financial and trading centre. As argued in this space last week, the new leader should waste no time in setting up a task force comprising of business and academic leaders as well as think tanks and chambers of commerce to work together to focus on international business and opportunities in Hong Kong and reach out to the various stakeholders to offer reassurance and stem the exodus. Hong Kong's institutional strengths have largely remained intact: its pro-business climate, legal system, fiscal discipline, transport, its geographic location and also the can-do spirit of Hongkongers. Just nobody talks about them any more.

Thirdly, with ample land supply and housing to come on stream soon, accompanied by first-class infrastructure including hospitals and schools, Hong Kong can rebuild its international reputation as Asia's World City to live, work in, and educate their children, as well as attracting more talent, not only from the Chinese mainland but from the rest of the world.

Former Chief Executive Donald Tsang did not do much for Hong Kong but his one suggestion back in 2007 is still valid today. To sustain a global financial centre, he said Hong Kong needed a constant injection of fresh blood and it should increase its population from the current 7.5 million to an optimal level of 10 million on par with New York or London. To do that, Hong Kong must negotiate with the Chinese mainland over the daily intake of immigrants with the focus on skills.

Fourthly, further integration into the Greater Bay Area should be another priority. As Beijing aims at boosting domestic consumption, Hong Kong's financial services and professional services can tap growing buying power in one of China's most affluent regions.

Last but not the least, the next leader must shake up the city's civil service which operates behind the premise of political neutrality. For instance, Hong Kong's politically appointed ministers have inadequate sway over civil servants as they are not believed to be directly involved in their promotions and salaries even though they sign off their annual performance appraisals. More importantly, the new leader must be bold in identifying and promoting those capable civil servants to align with that person's philosophy instead of relying on the old hierarchy.

As one reader commented on my column last week: Hong Kong needs "a fresh new team of capable leaders to lift this tremendous city out of its sad predicament".

Wang Xiangwei is a former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post. He is now based in Beijing as editorial adviser to the paper

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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