Opinion | If Taiwan is Hong Kong’s past, Guangzhou is our future
- The mainland city impresses with its buzzing centre, clean streetside air and a people full of optimism and drive. More than Taiwan, which in many ways has stood still in time, Guangzhou should be the growth model for Hong Kong
I had not been to either for years. Both had obviously moved forward, but the pace of development was markedly different. Guangzhou was bustling and vibrant, its Tianhe business and commercial district literally streets ahead of anything Hong Kong has to offer. Taiwan was, as all my previous trips have seemed, like stepping into the past; Taipei and Taichung were like looking into a mirror of Hong Kong a decade or more ago.
You can’t help but be impressed by Tianhe’s scale, its footpaths as wide as a square, shopping malls bigger and offering more choice than Hong Kong’s, office towers seemingly so close, but long walks away. The streetside air is noticeably cleaner as well; at the time of writing, mid-afternoon on a weekday, the reading for PM2.5 microscopic particulate matter in Tianhe is 21, considered good, and in Hong Kong’s Central business district, 65, which is moderate (for reference, in Taipei, it’s 55; Shanghai, 87; and Tokyo, 80).
There’s good reason for that. Most of the buses and cars on Guangzhou’s roads are electric, the result of a dedicated policy on the mainland to eradicate pollution and meet climate change goals, while Hong Kong’s government seemingly has little resolve to make roadside air more healthy by encouraging or forcing vehicle owners to switch from petrol and diesel.