Where there is no vision, the people perish,' says the scriptures. For some years, this has been a criticism levelled at Hong Kong from within, as the city faces unprecedented competition from seemingly smarter, more ambitious neighbours. The recent 12th five-year plan has demonstrated China's determination to accelerate its service sector's development by aiming to raise its contribution to gross domestic product by 4 per cent. Meanwhile, a chapter was specifically dedicated to outlining Hong Kong's strategic roles in a wide range of service industries such as finance, shipping, logistics, tourism and information.
In light of China's push, Hong Kong can seize the horns of the service sector, just as it did decades ago with manufacturing.
Considering our past life as a manufacturing hub, I often imagine Hong Kong as a farmer who once owned a dutiful ox but gave it to his struggling cousin next door. The cousin's farm thrived while the farmer struggled. To survive, he did odd jobs for his cousin, but soon realised he needed another way to survive. So he leapt on his horse, and began a quest for a new ox.
After months of travelling and searching in vain, he decided to return home, and began to weep when he thought of how disappointed his family would be. As he looked down, he saw the horse he had been riding and realised that this animal had allowed him to learn about new customs, cultures and skills, such as how to divide the labour among villagers, so that some grow food, some bake bread and others educate the children.
Full of enthusiasm, he raced home to tell his family of his epiphany. At first, his cousin resisted the idea of allowing someone else to help them manage their assets, but soon came to realise that the methods the farmer suggested would allow them to collaborate more effectively with people from other villages and ultimately become more prosperous.
This story started, of course, some 30 years ago, before thousands of Hong Kong factory owners took their warehouses across the border into mainland China. In so doing, they taught people there how to run a manufacturing business and bestowed on them their know-how and well-established network of connections. Today, as Hong Kong worries that this may have cost us our competitive edge, we should remember that we still have a 'horse' and the experience from 'riding'.
