Don't write off Hong Kong as a financial centre just yet

HUMANS seem able to ignore many great crimes against each other, but woe betide the individual who brings harm to a small, cuddly animal. Hong Kong is astir after the city passed a death sentence on thousands of hamsters, following 3 human cases of Covid-19 linked to a pet shop, where several of the rodents also tested positive.

Hong Kong's draconian pursuit of Covid elimination, with 3-week quarantines for returning residents, has left the city cut off from the rest of the world. Coming on top of the crackdown on democratic opposition, that isolation has led to real concerns about the city's survival as a financial centre.

But those who raise such doubts about Hong Kong are mistaken. For hard economic reasons, the future of the Chinese territory, which retains some separation from the mainland under the principle of "1 country, 2 systems", is more secure than any global rival except for New York. That is because China has capital controls.