Is it necessary for Hong Kong to care about whether it is the site of an international financial center?
It would be unfair to assert today that Hong Kong is the site of an international financial center; and the motives of those who say this may not really be to find a fair and just truth.
Author: GUDORDI | 2023-12-29
Hong Kong once had its extraordinary places, and it still has certain conditions to try to do more extraordinary things. (Shutterstock)
The problem with fiat money is that it rewards the minority that can handle money, but fools the generation that has worked and saved money.
──Adam Smith
Recently, there has been widespread talk that Hong Kong has become the “site of an international financial center” and has become a hot topic in the city. I have always disliked participating in these disputes, for no apparent reason. But in any case, many things in the world cannot be established by just talking. Moreover, many people have motivations or purposes behind their opinions. They often look for reasons based on a presupposed position, rather than a truly objective discussion. This is essentially another kind of game. There is an English proverb that says, “People who understand things will agree with each other.” This is worth pondering.
Don’t deny the achievements of Hong Kong’s financial industry
Looking back at history, there are many cities that aspire to be international financial centers, especially in modern times, but few have actually succeeded, which shows that this is not an easy task. Hong Kong’s development from a small fishing village with basically nothing to at least appearing to have the potential to become a truly international financial center should be considered an achievement.
Although we are not interested in arguing, if we want to seriously respond to this question, we should ask: What is an international financial center? Or to apply the concept of “first principles” that Musk often emphasizes, we should ask: What exactly is finance? What functions should a financial center play? The answers to these cannot be found in books. In fact, the international financial and capital markets have undergone earth-shaking changes in recent decades. Many people in the industry can only act like a blind man trying to figure out the elephant, let alone people outside the industry?
Even if he leaves, he will still be an immortal legend
To be more imaginative, we can take the entertainment industry as an example to imagine: Has “brother” Leslie Cheung become a has-been artist? Of course, Leslie Cheung has passed away 20 years ago, but it does not mean that he has disappeared from the world. I believe many Hong Kong people feel the same way. Probably in 20 more years, he will still have a certain status in our hearts.
Looking back on Leslie Cheung’s life, he was not only a singer, but also an actor. During his 26-year acting career, he made many different attempts. Although he seems not to be familiar with music theory, he can still compose many songs with beautiful melodies based on his musical sense. His status in the local entertainment industry is believed to be difficult to replace, and even if it is shown to the world, his characteristics of “brother” are not rude. This makes people sigh. If he could overcome his depression, he would have become a world-class acting superstar, right?
Leave it to others to laugh and scold, live a free and easy life
From this point of view, whether Hong Kong has become an international financial center depends on what Hong Kong has done and what it can do in the future. Adam Smith was quoted at the beginning of this article, explaining that there are two types of financial centers. One is that it has provided long-lasting services of value to capital market users (this should be what the financial center itself should do), and the other is that it mainly provides services to capital market users. A financial center serving the few who can handle money. What kind of financial center should Hong Kong be?
All in all, in the author’s opinion, Hong Kong once had its extraordinary places, and it still has certain conditions to try to do more extraordinary things. It would be unfair to assert today that Hong Kong is the site of an international financial center; and the motives of those who say this may not really be to find a fair and just truth. Of course, these are just personal opinions and insights after studying Adam Smith’s thoughts and economics. Others may have different views.
Finally, the author remembered Leslie Cheung’s song “Silence is Golden”, which was composed by himself and written by Xu Guanjie as follows:
Speak with fairness and justice. Don’t offend others. Don’t be
too serious and confident when encountering cold weather.
Don’t bother with sarcasm, questioning,
laughter, and scolding. Let people be free and easy.
In addition, in the theme song of the TV series “One Sword Conquers China” composed by Gu Jiahui and written by Zheng Guojiang, there is another line of lyrics “Who wants to get a false name, and the world is proud of it” (lyrics of this level are rare today), for Whether Hong Kong has become the ruins of an international financial center, maybe we can look at it more casually and just laugh it off. Why bother worrying about it?
Contact the author: Gudordi@proton.me
