S'pore can count its blessings versus Hong Kong in property, identity

July 1, 2017 is the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China, and commentators have been busy evaluating the territory's progress ever since that fateful day in 1997. The usual comparisons to Singapore come up.

On the surface, there should be little cause for angst for residents of both cities. Both are well-developed financial hubs in Asia with high educational and healthcare standards. Infrastructure is excellent. Taxes are relatively low, both for corporates and for individuals. Median incomes are relatively high. Yet, there are political fault lines beneath both cosmopolitan cities. In Singapore, the government is bat…