HK trade secretary takes swipe at Singapore

HONG KONG'S Trade and Industry Secretary Chau Tak Hay has lashed out at Singapore during a Legislative Council panel meeting.

Defending the Hong Kong government against criticisms that it had not been as proactive as Singapore in taking measures to boost the territory's economic competitiveness, Mr Chau said the HK government did not enjoy four "advantages" that its Singapore counterpart did.

The Singapore government, he alleged, had total control over the parliament, the media, the trade unions, as well as its people.

On the other hand, Hongkong enjoyed two advantages which Singapore lacked: creativity and imagination.

Speaking to legislators on Monday, he contended that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore had control of parliament, and there was hardly any opposition against it.

"Of course we are different from Singapore. The opposition parties in Singapore do not raise opposition. If they do raise opposition, they might be arrested... Our legislative council has 60 opposition members," he was quoted as saying in the Chinese newspapers.

He went on to say that the Singapore government controlled the media, and neither the electronic nor print media would criticise it. Rather, the media often helped the government.

The trade unions too were controlled by the government, being headed by members of the PAP.

Furthermore, he said, the Singapore government controlled its people, and Singaporeans dared not criticise the government openly. This was unlike Hong Kong, where radio talk shows devoted three hours in the morning to let listeners vent their frustrations against the government.

But he went on to add that such criticisms were good for Hong Kong, because the more people criticised the government, the more creative they became.

His remarks were published by most of the Chinese language newspapers. Both Sing Pao and the Hong Kong Daily News published editorials on his points, saying that Hong Kong did not have to "learn" from Singapore.

Sing Pao said that Hong Kongers would not admire Singapore regardless of how successful it was. The Hong Kong Daily News said that the cost-cutting measures introduced by Singapore would not harm Hong Kong as the territory depended on productivity for its future, rather than competitiveness.

Relations between Hong Kong and Singapore appeared to deteriorate last October when the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (Simex) announced that it would introduce a Hong Kong futures contract.

The Hongkong Stock Exchange reacted strongly, announcing that it would bar information providers from providing real-time price information to Simex.

Several newspapers in the territory also published articles saying that Singapore was trying to "steal" Hongkong's business. At the peak of the row, Financial Services Secretary Rafael Hui described Singapore as an "offshore betting centre", while Financial Secretary Donald Tsang said he had "sympathy" for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.