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Hong Kong’s critics urged to move on from “doom” narratives

A columnist argues Hong Kong has already adapted as mainland China’s economic rise reshaped the region’s role since the 1997 handover.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

In an opinion piece, Alex Lo for the South China Morning Post says Hong Kong should move past long-running narratives that the city is headed for decline, pointing to earlier claims that it would fail after the 1997 handover to China.

Lo recalls that Fortune ran a June 1995 cover story titled “The Death of Hong Kong,” forecasting the city’s demise and citing Stephen Roach and similar critics as continuing that line of thinking.

The columnist argues that Hong Kong, like people and cities, must adapt as mainland China emerges as a superpower, saying the city has “already moved on” and linking that shift to broader regional economic change.

He also contrasts Hong Kong with Shenzhen, saying Shenzhen did not exist as an economic entity in the mid 1960s when he was born, as part of his broader point that the regional economic landscape has evolved.

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