Hong Kong aspires to be a world-class, cosmopolitan city. The reality is that we are parochial and ruled by bureaucrats. In this regard, we have made little progress since the handover; in many respects, we have regressed. Most surprising of all, we are falling behind many of our mainland rivals in urban sophistication. It is this, rather than by any comparison of infrastructure or efficiency, that will erode our place in the world, as well as our self-confidence.
Hong Kong is famous for its 'can-do' attitude. It is also afflicted by a 'make-do' mentality - an acceptance of the second-rate. Aspiring to be a world city, we look to our neighbours and say: 'We're not doing too badly by comparison.' In water and air quality, we make do with standards that are high for Asia but low for the developed world. In other areas, we might (at best) aim for worldwide best practice, but is this good enough for a 'world city'?
With our wealth and intellectual resources, can we not seek 21st-century solutions for transport, energy, building, recycling, heritage and nature conservation, clean technology, and air and water quality that set standards for the world? This does not happen because we have a political leadership whose idea of modernity has become so old-fashioned.
Mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Ken Livingstone of London try to tackle traffic and emissions problems in novel and imaginative ways. Boston has just completed its 'Big Dig', a massive project to remove an elevated highway through the centre of the city and put it underground.
The mayor of Seoul in 2002 pledged to restore an ancient stream that had been capped by an elevated motorway: the proposal involved removing the motorway and creating a meandering 8km park through the city where the stream once ran. This project must have seemed mad when it was proposed but, today, it is a well-loved triumph of urban regeneration.
Few of these policies and projects are easy. Some have been costly and controversial. But their proponents have dared to dream and the results have almost always been worthwhile.