The impact of cross-strait links on Hong Kong is not as big as you think

According to the Hong Kong business newspaper, Wang Yi, director of the National Taiwan Office, yesterday announced eight specific proposals for the implementation of Premier Wen Jiabao's five important measures to Taiwan, the second of which was to expand procurement of Taiwan products, which coincided with a recent visit by Professor Francis Lui Ting, director of the Economic Development Research Center of the University of Hong Kong intermediary role not to disappear he pointed out that Taiwan's overall economic interests were increasing as more economic contacts were made on both sides of the strait, but different social strata benefited from varying degrees. The biggest beneficiaries are Taiwanese and industry. Farmers and low-skilled workers in southern Taiwan may not benefit.　　Therefore, he suggested that the policy of the mainland would need to do more in this regard, such as procuring and importing Taiwanese agricultural products. Francis Lui ting that "more economic cooperation and interaction between the two sides and increased interdependence will help the unification." The role of Hong Kong, whether in strengthening official and semi-official dealings, is mainly to enhance communication in the economic and cultural areas. He said Hong Kong's role as an intermediary between the two sides will weaken again, but not disappear. Francis Lui Ting said that Taiwan would continue to use Hong Kong's financial services to interact with the mainland, and that Hong Kong was indeed better than Taiwan in terms of finance. As for the loss to Hong Kong caused by direct flights on both sides of the strait, there is actually room for adjustment, for example, if the Hong Kong Dragon and Cathay Sea Airlines can apply for the right to travel to the mainland, they can make up for the shipping losses caused by the three links.　　He also pointed out that the impact of the three-links on Hong Kong, such as shipping, tourism consumption and freight forwarding, was not as big as imagined. "The intermediary role of Hong Kong on both sides of the strait will fade," said Timothy Wong, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Institute. However, the pace of progress depends on the level of openness between the two sides. "Hong Kong's integration into the PRD attracts Taiwanese businessmen," he said, "The key to Hong Kong is to play the special status of" one country, two systems "and to integrate more effectively into the PRD. The development of the relationship between Hong Kong and Taiwan is only one of the steps towards internationalization.　　When foreign investors use Hong Kong to enter the mainland, they face the barrier of double clearance, so we should improve the transport and logistics facilities so that Taiwanese businessmen will continue to use Hong Kong to do business in the mainland. Timothy Wong that many of the proposals put forward by the Intellectual Research Centre merit consideration. In the end, Hong Kong should maintain its own quality services and different international networks, hoping to attract Taiwanese businessmen to continue to use the Hong Kong platform to engage with the mainland. Hong Kong needs to play its part by strengthening its integration with the PRD and developing more financial and renminbi business.