Biased Western narratives on Hong Kong will crumble if only foreigners would come here
- The lingering effects of Hong Kong’s pandemic response, social unrest and poisonous Western narratives have stained the city’s global image
- The more Westerners Hong Kong can draw, the easier it will be to overturn the negative narratives and subversion of antagonistic foreign governments
Hong Kong has a problem at the moment attracting foreigners to our city, whether as tourists, professionals, business executives, entrepreneurs or just young people getting to see the world.
So what are the causes, and what can be done to address the situation? Alas, the causes are many and varied, and not all can be tackled head-on. One major factor was our government’s draconian response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At this point several things went wrong simultaneously. Ordinary protesters were forced to withdraw support from the more violent sectors; the government continued to paint all protesters with the same brush; the international media proved incapable of recognising the nuances of the situation, prepared to overlook attacks on police officers or bystanders and damage to public property.
The result has been a public relations fiasco. The fact is we have a very negative image in overseas markets.
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Underlying all these developments have been the actions of some Western governments, principally the United States and Britain, to undermine and restrain China. Hong Kong is a useful stick with which to beat the whole nation. Moves by Washington on the economic and trade fronts have been well-publicised. More subtle have been other moves.
It is no good hiding behind these hardships or injustices. Complaining about them just sounds like making excuses. We have to deal with the situation as it is.
I think Amate is on to something here. The more people we can persuade to visit, even if only for a short time, the better. Even if they don’t immediately decide to stay, the message they will carry back to their home countries of an orderly city with exceptional public transport and outstanding scenery will start to undermine the negative narrative.
In particular, we should take a closer look at schemes for attracting younger visitors, such as six-month work visas on arrival, extendable if they get a job, and subsidised hostel places. Hong Kong is a great product. We should have confidence that it can sell itself if we can get people here to look.
Mike Rowse is the CEO of Treloar Enterprises