A panel discussion organized by the Council of PR Firms of Hong Kong this week brought together a collection of influential journalists to muse over the top stories of the past year. A disappointingly small audience heard some entertaining debate from KC Chan, editor in chief of the respected Hong Kong Economic Journal, Allen Cheng, Asia bureau chief at Institutional Investor, Tom Easton, Asia business editor at the Economist, and Bettina Wassener, Business editor at the International Herald Tribune.
So, here was the news:
In top spot, according to Allen Cheng, China’s multi-trillion dollar economic stimulus package. Not only the fact that it is seen by many to be working, but also a reminder that Hong Kong’s future depends on continued Mainland prosperity. Bettina Wassener gave a clear pointer for the PR pros in the audience: “Give me stories that can bring this macro trend to life.”
KC Chan noted a distinct change in the way this small city sees itself – the so-called baa-sap-how (post-80s generation) recognizing it’s dependent on China, yet increasingly rejecting the older generation’s wisdom about the terms of Hong Kong’s traditional compromises between political and economic freedom.
“A year of noise” is how Tom Easton characterized the last year of the decade, noting that from Obama’s first year to China’s post crisis recovery, we don’t yet really understand which of the year’s events will have lasting significance and why. Looking forward, Easton cited Google’s initiative to resist censorship in China as already one of the business stories of this year, calling into question the very credibility of China.
“The Google story is really about trust,” said Easton. “Companies that develop trust in an age of mistrust will have the advantage.”
The talk was a reminder about two great things about Hong Kong: Its unique mix of global and local media and themes keeps the news interesting. And Hong Kong remains one of the few places where you can hang out and meet the people writing that news.
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