How John Lee can secure his legacy beyond national security legislation

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will deliver the third of his scheduled five policy addresses next month. Given the time needed to turn new initiatives into completed actions, it is probably the last chance for him to make his mark in history for something other than enactment of national security legislation.

I have a suggestion about what Lee’s next major target should be – tackling subdivided flats. But before we get into that, I will urge Lee to first be completely frank about Hong Kong’s economic prospects in the next few years.

According to some commentators, including former Singapore diplomat Kishore Mahbubani, the coming decades will be dominated by the clash between the United States and China. That means the squeeze on this country – by way of trade barriers, obstructions to investment, normal business and technology dealings – is going to be a fact of economic life for the foreseeable future.