HK's outlook bleak as China calls the tune

HONG Kong was struck by the worst storm in recorded history last month, with Typhoon Mangkhut felling more than 40,000 trees and generally creating havoc. Then, last Friday, the Hong Kong government set off a storm of its own by taking the unprecedented action of rejecting the visa-renewal application of a well-known and respected journalist, Victor Mallet of the Financial Times, for clearly political reasons.

On balance, Hong Kong is likely to weather the typhoon better than it will the blow to its reputation as a place where rule of law holds sway, where the civil service is efficient and politically neutral and where the government upholds such values as freedom of assembly, of speech and of the press. Instead, the visa denial will be seen as further evidence that Hong Kong has embarked on a downward spiral and there will eventually be little or no difference between it and mainland China, where the media is tightly controlled and freedoms of any sort cannot be taken for granted.

The government refused to explain its decision, saying that it does not comment on individual cases. However, the move came weeks after a high-profile talk at the Foreign Correspondents Club chaired by Mr Mallet, delivered by a controversial figure, Andy Chan, founder of the tiny Hong Kong National Party, which called for Hong Kong's independence from China.