The Olympics and Paralympics have finished, and we at bc congratulate all the members of the Hong Kong teams who participated. Medalists will always get more coverage because they won, but while we’re parsing seconds and centimetres just to determine whom to award the medals, let’s not forget that any of the Olympic qualifiers could easily out-perform us Joe Average, that simply qualifying for the Games is nothing short of formidable. Our applause and thanks also go to the thousands who worked so hard to ensure that equestrian events ran smoothly.

Why am I writing about past events? Because the past is the foundation of the future (we hope): As bc goes to print, Singapore is basking in the global media spotlight as it hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix; Macau is receiving vast coverage for its gaming and burgeoning entertainment scene and is successfully repositioning itself as a lifestyle destination; China glowed with its global Olympic coverage and is on the front pages again with the launch of the Shenzhou VII and the its first spacewalk (…even if the Xinhua news agency is optimistically prescient by reporting on this successful event several days before it happened). Yet while flipping through the newspaper pages, the web pages, the tv channels, I wonder: Where is our hometown, what about Hong Kong?

In his 1999 policy address Tung Che Wa designated Hong Kong as ‘Asia’s World City’, a hard tagline to live up to, and one whose realization would render Hong Kong on par with London, Tokyo and New York. "Hong Kong needs to promote its unique position as one of the most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities in Asia to a wide range of international audiences,” he advised.

Granted. If you gaze at Hong Kong through the lens of business and finance, we certainly live in one of the most vibrant cities on the globe with a superb infrastructure for the creation of wealth. But if becoming Asia’s World City requires a comprehensive prescription, as all aspirational dictums do, HK’s fulfillment of the label is lopsided at best. Tourists come for pleasure (think shopping), and most non-tourists come for work. It’s the catchphrase dichotomy. ‘Business or Pleasure?’ But consider a third category, one that satisfies with gravitas all our sensations from sound, to sight, to thought - consider Life. We live in a city with a diverse, burgeoning arts, culture and music scene, the buds of which could easily bloom in full view of the world with a bit more recognition and promotion from the government. Certainly the LCSD and others make tremendous efforts to attract and provide for local audiences, but look at how HK presents itself abroad - the Hong Kong Tourism Board pegged its celebration of the handover’s 10th anniversary on a shopping festival. Hardly aspirational, hardly comprehensive.

Other major cities in the region are in the middle of long term plans to raise their cultural profiles. When, if ever, will the politicians and their big business bedfellows become sophisticated enough to realize that there are subtler ways to create wealth - for coffer and country - than direct cash flow from business, banking and retail. Think quality of life.

sd