Former chief executive (CE) of Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR) Tung Chee Hwa says he is proud of the SAR's
achievements of the past 10 years, and he is confident about its
future.
"In 1997 when Hong Kong returned to the motherland, some people
in Hong Kong doubted whether the 'one country, two systems'
principle could be implemented successfully and whether Hong Kong
could maintain its prosperity and stability," Tung said. "But now
the doubts are gone as the facts tell the truth."
Tung won the election for the first chief executive of the SAR
by a wide margin in December 1996. He was re-elected the CE for the
second-term in February 2002. But he resigned because of health
reasons in March 2005, and was elected vice-chairman of the
National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC) the same year.
Tung said that in the past decade, Hong Kong has experienced a
lot of difficulties, including the Asian financial crisis and the
SARS epidemic. But they proved that Hong Kong people are capable of
governing Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, shortly
after Tung took over as the CE. "To stabilize the financial market,
the SAR government decided to intervene, which proved a successful
and vital measure," he said.
Then the SARS epidemic worsened the situation. Tung said he
couldn't forget the days of the SARS epidemic and the support Hong
Kong got from the central government.
"I still remember the time when President Hu Jintao met me in
Guangdong in April 2003, asking me about the situation in Hong
Kong, especially the SARS epidemic," Tung said. Hu always "bears
Hong Kong residents in mind" despite being busy all the time.
Tung said the central government has taken several measures to
help Hong Kong pull out of crises. The Closer Economic Partnership
Arrangement (CEPA) between the mainland and the SAR, giving the
green light to mainland residents to visit Hong Kong individually
and allowing Hong Kong banks to conduct renminbi business are some
of those measures.
The joint efforts of the central government and the HKSAR
government have paid off, Tung said, because Hong Kong's economy
has enjoyed rapid growth for 15 consecutive quarters since
2003.
Hong Kong residents today understand the facts better, they know
Hong Kong and the mainland are bound together, and their sense of
recognition toward the motherland has intensified, he said. "It's a
good and very important change."
Even after resigning as Hong Kong CE and being appointed
vice-chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, Tung has always paid
especial attention to the SAR. He has spared no efforts to
introduce Hong Kong to the world and to promote exchanges and
cooperation between the mainland and the SAR.
"Hong Kong has a lot of advantages, including free flow of
information, a fair competitive environment, diversified culture
and a transparent, highly efficient local government," Tung said.
Putting all these advantages to full play, "Hong Kong will take a
big step forward in future competition".
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)