HK must brace for inevitable impactby Andrew Wong
Last week, I spoke about how China's rapid development over the past few decades has not only brought labor and productivity to the world but also a huge consumer market due to the increase in per capita income.
So why does the world still not look at China the way Beijing expects it to?
In the United States, American antipathy towards China is rising, according to a poll, and this sentiment is not limited to America as the same situation exists in Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia and other nations.
And though German support for China has risen since the outbreak began to 36 percent - up from 24 percent six months go - it is still lower than the 37 percent of Germans who prioritize ties with America.
At the same time a public poll shows that 77 percent of Germans believe that China is responsible for the global outbreak.
So even if Beijing continues to herald that it has done its best to control the pandemic, it seems the rest of the world does not believe China.
China should now consider how to increase its soft power internationally.
However, Beijing's announcement that it will implement a National Security Law in Hong Kong at this time, will inevitably arouse global doubts and bring fresh risks to the country.
Now, let me be clear: the key point of this article is not whether the National Security Law should be implemented or not. No matter what different parties may think, this law is a necessity and there's no room for discussion on this point.
But how do we reassure the world that the implementation of this law will not affect the "One country, two systems" in Hong Kong, especially since western countries feel more negative than positive about the law.
At the same time, we must be aware that it is not just Hong Kong's status as an international financial center that is in jeopardy, as more importantly, China's economy will also be greatly affected.
In fact, according to official statistics, between January and April last year, China's actual use of foreign capital was US$45.14 billion, with 69 percent or US$31.06 billion coming from Hong Kong - which means a lot of foreign capital flowed into China through Hong Kong.
The biggest reason, however, is there are differences between the systems of the Hong Kong and China, including the use of common law in Hong Kong as well as Hong Kong dollar as the international currency.
But if global investors believe there is no difference between Hong Kong and China, they might not just give up on Hong Kong and invest in the Chinese market - there's a greater chance they might give up on investing in China totally because if they thought there was a way they could directly invest in China, then why did nearly 70 percent of foreign investment into China go through Hong Kong in the past?
Therefore, we must be prepared. The implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong will not only have an impact on Hong Kong but also may bring negative factors to the Chinese economy.
So, why is the international community being so distrustful of the National Security Law and reacting so negatively over the past few days?
Well, this is because China's soft power is not enough. In international politics, soft power is described as the ability to attract and choose rather than coerce, through culture, political values and foreign policy. Next week, let's look at which part China needs to work on.
Source: The Standard
https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... ble-impact
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