Focus on developing district economies

#RestartHK Let's focus on developing district economies

In times of crises and job losses, a focus on developing our local economy is needed. Here is how.

Coronavirus is the masked chariot racer in ”Asterix and the Chariot Race’’. Eventually Asterix and his sidekick Obelix win out over the villain and his sidekick Bacillus (Latin term for bacteria!). This virus is not new. It is part of a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Virology scientists in Wuhan identified in 2005 a cluster of circulating bat virus with a potential for human emergence. This knowledge unfortunately did not translate into a clamp down on the exotic meat markets.

Hong Kong in 2003 overcame SARS which infected 1,755 and killed 299 locally. It is hard to predict what the final tally will be this time. With the hygiene efforts made by all, the epidemic will hopefully be under control when the warm and humid weather returns. In the meantime, the focus is turning to the economy.

The outbreak comes at a time of intense struggle over the extradition bill and political reform; a trade war with the USA; markets stretched by decades of quantitative easing; and all time high rents. Especially small businesses and freelancers are facing hard times. Many jobs have been lost and this will take a toll on people. A health crisis of a different kind is forming, just as damaging if not more so.

While our international finance industry keeps up, the local business stutters. We need to address this. Besides caring for medical and environmental hygiene, we need to stimulate the economy.

It is the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau’s (CEDB) turn to do some heavy lifting. They have to go beyond finance, trade and tourism promotion. We need to identify drivers for jobs and grow the economy district by district.

In the Southern District, besides the large employers such as the hospitals and Ocean Park, the biggest driver for jobs is Aberdeen Harbour. Fish trade, seafood restaurants, boat building and servicing, cruising and recreational boating employs many. Skills have been passed on through generations for more than 150 years. The simplest way to invest in growth is by expanding the typhoon shelter with new breakwaters further out. This will allow more vessels to be moored safe from inclement weather. Today the harbour is overcrowded and the market for mooring spaces has gone stratospheric. By increasing supply, we create more job opportunities and more people can afford to enjoy Hong Kong’s great waters (1,500 square kilometres, 1.5 times our land mass), 800 kilometres of shorelines and some 280 islands.

Similarly, CEDB can identify opportunities for new jobs in the other 17 districts. By doing so we not only overcome today’s challenges, we create a better city for tomorrow.

(Based on 'Developing District Economies' by Paul Zimmerman published in Living Media - Sai Kung, MidLevels, SouthSide, 1 March 2020)

發展地區經濟

就目前挑戰及失業危機，我們實在需要集中發展地區經濟。

新型冠狀病毒並非完全是新鮮事。它來自一個龐大的病毒家族，這類病毒輕則能導致普通流感，嚴重則可引致中東呼吸綜合症及非典型肺炎等疾病。武漢的病毒專家在 2005 年曾辨認出一種在蝙蝠身上流傳病毒，有機會傳播到一般人類，只可惜這項情報並沒有為野味市場敲響警號。

2003 年香港經過非典型肺炎一役，一共有 1,755 人受感染，299 人不幸病逝。今次疫情造成的影響有多大，至今討論還是為之尚早，藉着各種防控措施，我們唯有期望疫情會因炎熱潮濕氣候到來之時逐漸受控。

今次疫情爆發正值各種本地及全部的政經動盪：反修例風波、中美貿易戰、量化寛鬆政策及租金高企，小型企業及自由工作者尤其是重災區。大規範裁員將對香港人帶來餘震，而這個影響與武漢肺炎相比可謂有過之而無不及。

香港維持國際金融中心地位的同時，本地產業卻不停收縮，這問題我們必須嚴肅面對。在應對現時的醫療及公共衛生問題時，我們亦要刺激本地經濟，而這就是商務及經濟發展局的工作了。

商務及經濟發展局應該在金融、貿易及旅遊推廣以外，按不同地區的需要及情況推出措施減輕經營負擔，從而達至刺激經濟及就業的效果。

以南區為例，醫院及海洋公園以外的主要僱主就是香港仔避風塘：魚市場及捕魚業、海鮮食肆、街渡、船廠、遊艇相關行業等等。他們近個半世紀的知識和經驗一代傳一代，而最直接能帶來產業增長的方法就是投資擴建香港仔避風塘，讓更多船隻可以在颱風時入港避風。今天的避風塘已過於擠擁，對泊位的需求急速上升。透過增加供應，我們就能創造更多就業機會，並讓更多香港人得以享用香港的海洋資源。（香港的海洋面積共有 1,500 平方公里，是陸地面積的 1.5 倍，當中包括 800 平方公里的海岸線及 280 個島嶼。）

同樣地，商貿及經濟發展局亦要為其他 17 區尋找發展地區經濟的機會，由此我們不但能渡過今次難關，亦能為這個城市創造更好的將來！