HK leader lays out future tied to Beijing

Bloomberg

Last year, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam only made it through a few lines of her annual policy address before pro-democracy lawmakers forced her to flee the chamber and deliver it virtually.
On Wednesday, she spoke for more than two hours to a legislative body with no members of an opposition that has long resisted the city’s integration with the mainland. After quoting Chinese President Xi Jinping at the outset, Lam defended Beijing’s sweeping actions to exert greater political control over Hong Kong while outlining steps aimed at interlocking the two economies.
The address, which was delayed so Lam could consult Communist Party leaders in Beijing, featured a slew of
references to the mainland compared with last year’s
abbreviated speech.
They included a section on the benefits of a sweeping China-imposed national security law, which prompted the US to revoke Hong Kong’s special trading privileges and sanction top Chinese and Hong Kong leaders, including Lam.
The 24,000-word speech featured few immediate measures that would provide
relief for a city reeling from a new wave of virus infections, an economy in deep contraction and worsening wealth
inequality.
The Hang Seng Index pared an earlier gain of as much
as 1.7% to close up 0.3% on the day.
“For many small businesses that are still fighting to survive they would be disappointed, especially now that the city is entering the fourth wave of Covid outbreak,” said Tommy Wu, senior economist with Oxford Economics in Hong Kong.
“The main objective of the policy speech was really about Hong Kong-China integration in the post-national security law era,” he said.
“Many of the economic policies mentioned in the speech have a mainland China element to it, from finance to tech to youth employment.”
Lam’s remarks reinforced the extent to which Hong Kong’s future is tethered to China, a trend that has only accelerated as Beijing moved to snuff out any political dissent in the former British colony.
While the city remains a conduit for Chinese companies to raise capital, more Western businesses are questioning Hong Kong’s viability as a financial hub — particularly as doubts grow over the independence of the judiciary.