Forging ahead with humble confidence
20 May 2018
In the face of globalised competition and rapid development of the Mainland, people have diverse opinions about Hong Kong’s competitiveness in comparison with other places in the world. Pessimists think that the city is gradually losing its competitive edges, and question if its competitiveness can be sustained in the long run. Optimists, however, maintain that the role of the city cannot be easily replaced for its uniqueness and institutional advantages.
As Asia’s world city, Hong Kong has made good and steady progress in many aspects as reflected by its leading positions in various global rankings. To assure ourselves of the city’s strengths, I would like to share what is on my mind in this blog.
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First, our universities enjoy a high status in terms of international reputation. As compared with other developed countries and regions, Hong Kong has the most densely located world-class universities. We have 20 local degree-awarding institutions, four of which are ranked the world’s top 50 and Asia’s top 10 by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2018. Besides, according to the Times Higher Education Survey 2017, three universities of Hong Kong were placed among the top 20 out of 150 world’s best universities with a history of less than 50 years.
In the QS World University Rankings by Subject, the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has been rated the best dental school in the world for three consecutive years, while the Hong Kong Polytechnic University ranked third in the “Hospitality and Leisure Management” category for the second time.
The Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) programmes run by the universities in Hong Kong are among the best in the world. In the Financial Times EMBA Ranking 2017, the EMBA programme jointly offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and an overseas university was ranked world No. 1 for the second year in a row. This is the eighth time the programme has taken the top spot. The EMBA - Global Asia programme co-run by the HKU and overseas universities came second. Moreover, the Master of Business Administration programme offered by the HKU was ranked first in Asia for the eighth consecutive year by The Economist in 2017.
All along, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (SAR Government) has been investing heavily in education. The leading positions of our universities in world rankings not only prove that our efforts in nurturing talent have paid off, but also demonstrate the soft strengths of Hong Kong.
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Apart from education, our economic competitiveness and freedom are also highly regarded in the international arena. Hong Kong has been consistently excelling in areas such as business friendliness, economic freedom, competitiveness, business opportunities and ease of doing business.
Released by the Heritage Foundation of Washington, DC, the United States, the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom Report rated Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the 24th consecutive year, awarding the city top scores in Business Freedom, Trade Freedom and Financial Freedom.
The Fraser Institute of Canada has also ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy over a long period of time. The World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, crowned Hong Kong as the world’s most competitive economy in the past two years.
Through upholding free market principles, implementing prudent economic policies, maintaining high level of market openness, fostering an independent and transparent judicial system, safeguarding property rights and preserving good public order, the SAR Government has ensured that our city will keep its leading role as a global business and financial hub.
On innovation and technology, since its establishment in November 2015, the Innovation and Technology Bureau has been vigorously promoting scientific research and the development of innovation and technology. Building on our strengths, and taking the unique advantage of “One Country, Two Systems” and the new opportunities brought by the National 13th Five-Year Plan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development, Hong Kong is ready to develop itself into an international innovation and technology centre.
President XI Jinping made an important instruction in response to a letter from 24 Hong Kong academics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering about their concerns over cross-boundary remittance of state science and technology project funding to Hong Kong. Following this instruction, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance promulgated last week provisions on opening up the science and technology funding of the Central Government for application by the higher education institutions and research institutions in Hong Kong, which include the arrangements for cross-boundary remittance of approved project funding to Hong Kong, with a view to further enhancing the role of the local technology sector in promoting national technological advancement.
This new policy, a major breakthrough in our history, is a confidence booster for the technology and innovation development of Hong Kong and a fresh impetus for our research sector. Striving to promote scientific research and development, the SAR Government will leverage our strengths in scientific research and our international environment to make joint efforts with other places in the area to develop the Bay Area into an international innovation and technology high ground.
As evident from the above, our competitive edges lie in our strategic location, world-class infrastructure, highly open and free economy, well-established and independent judicial system, rule of law and good public order. These advantages, coupled with an efficient and clean government, and our core values of upholding pluralism, inclusiveness and freedom of expression, constitute the essential elements of Hong Kong as a metropolis.
Success does not come easy. We are still facing a number of challenges and social conflicts such as inadequate supply of land and housing, soaring property prices, tight manpower situation and aspirations for upward social mobility. Despite all these, I strongly believe that as long as we remain vigilant and proactive, keep spurring ourselves to strive harder, work together in a pragmatic manner and forge ahead with humble confidence, we can certainly overcome all obstacles and propel this vibrant city forward.
