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Letters

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words.
Hong Kong is still marketed as a low-tax, global financial centre. However, if we listen to what people actually say about daily life – especially retirees struggling to afford household staples – the picture that emerges is quite different.
Hong Kong has become more affordable through scale, competition and connectivity. The retail sector has grown more competitive since major mainland e-commerce platforms entered the city. More supply channels mean more choice, and more choice means less pricing power for any single seller.
The result is not only lower costs for households but also a clearer signal to businesses: the city’s consumer ecosystem can adapt quickly when distribution and procurement become more efficient. However, affordability is not just a retail story. It is increasingly a workforce story.
Hong Kong benefits from an inflow of students through overseas recruitment and mainland study pathways, as well as from talent schemes that help graduates transition into local employment. When more highly educated and skilled workers enter the pipeline, employers gain a broader base of talent, supporting hiring and improving productivity. This is how Hong Kong can convert openness into economic momentum: smoother talent matching, faster capability building and stronger long-term investment confidence.
Finally, Hong Kong’s competitiveness needs a structural foundation. The Northern Metropolis offers that opportunity. By developing additional land for housing, offices and industrial buildings, the city can reduce the cost pressures that constrain both households and businesses. In a world where companies evaluate not only taxes and wages but also overhead, logistics and operational costs, land supply is an economic policy lever.
Therefore, InvestHK should sharpen its message. Yes, the financial system and tax environment matter, but Hong Kong can now credibly promote a second brand of strength: a liveable, competitive city powered by rapid consumer supply, expanding talent pipelines and growing land for economic activity. If we package this narrative well, Hong Kong can attract more global partners – not just because it is convenient to do finance here, but because it is increasingly efficient to live and operate here.
Joseph Chan, partner and principal director, Oriental Patron Financial Group
Action needed against unleashed dogs
I am writing to draw urgent public attention to an ongoing safety concern along the seaview promenade on Beach Road, Repulse Bay. Despite clear legal requirements, a number of dog owners consistently walk large dogs completely off-leash in this heavily frequented public space.
When politely reminded of the law and asked to leash their pets, these individuals show complete disregard for courtesy and public safety, simply shrugging and walking away. This lack of responsibility has already caused real harm. A few months ago, a large, unrestrained dog charged towards my friend; startled and fleeing the animal, my friend tripped and suffered a painful fall onto the road.
Despite multiple complaints submitted to the authorities, no visible enforcement or corrective action has been taken. The lack of active monitoring has only emboldened these repeat offenders, leaving pedestrians, including children and the elderly, to navigate a public walkway at their own risk.
Public promenades should be safe for everyone to enjoy. I urge the authorities to initiate regular patrols and strictly enforce local leash regulations along Beach Road before a more severe injury occurs.
Pradip Agarwal, Mid-Levels
Recalling Tung Chee-hwa’s dedication to education
Learning of former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa’s passing vividly reminded me of a special day in 1997 at Government House. Having recently arrived from the mainland and having scored seven distinctions in the public exams, I was invited to a tea party hosted by the chief executive for high-achieving students. When Mr Tung asked about our future plans, I shared my intention to study in the United States because of its four-year degree system, contrasting with Hong Kong’s three-year model at the time.
Years before Hong Kong’s 2012 academic reform, the chief executive listening directly to a young newcomer was unforgettable. As a university educator today, I deeply appreciate how his early dedication to education and talent integration laid the foundation for Hong Kong as a global education hub.
Dr Simon Wang, lecturer, Hong Kong Baptist University


For China’s hi-tech IPOs, it’s Hong Kong vs the mainland – but how much does it matter?

Hong Kong secures expanded equal treatment and investment guarantees across Asean

Housing prices surge near new Huanggang Port as buyers eye ‘dual-city’ lifestyle

Hong Kong’s first 5-year plan to give firms more long-term certainty: Paul Chan

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong has changed. So should its marketing message

Pedestrians in Causeway Bay, known for its shops, on July 2. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong aviation success today means more than just adding routes

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Passengers checking in at the airport’s newly opened Terminal 2 on May 27. The terminal is expected to handle around 8 million passenger trips in the first year of operation. Photo: Sam Tsang

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan speaking on August 19 at the ceremony as Qatar Airways Cargo opened its air cargo regional office in Hong Kong and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Airport Authority. Photo: Hong Kong’s Information Services Department

Design image of Skytopia, part of the Airport City development, which will have a standalone art storage facility to support art collections and art trading. Photo: Handout

Are we preserving the Hong Kong tourists come here for?

People throng Peel Street in Central on August 13, after a neon-lit Hong Kong streetscape is recreated for a Hollywood production. Photo: Connor Mycroft

Hong Kong should study the mainland gig worker insurance model

A food delivery rider in Mong Kok in 2025. When Deliveroo exited the Hong Kong market, many delivery workers were left without compensation. Photo: Sam Tsang

Belt and Road Initiative is more than a trade and investment platform

A Chinese communication engineer guides a Kenyan staff member on backup power replacement for the communication system at Mtito Andei station on the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya on July 23. The railway is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiaitve. Photo: Xinhua

How Hongkong Post can ensure it’s not boxed out of the future

Staff members help a customer at the General Post Office in Central on August 18. Some 200 employees still on probation will be affected by the decision to end offers of permanent civil service positions at Hongkong Post. Photo: Jelly Tse

A stamp collector buys special stamps on the theme of “Hong Kong Past and Present Series: Kowloon City District” at General Post Office in Central, on August 20.  Photo: Edmond So

Opinion

Readers discuss the city’s evolving appeal, unleashed dogs in public places, and former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa


Readers discuss the city’s evolving appeal, unleashed dogs in public places, and former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.


Hong Kong

China

Hong Kong Investment Corporation

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss the city’s evolving appeal, unleashed dogs in public places, and former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa

Readers discuss the city’s evolving appeal, unleashed dogs in public places, and former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa