Chan Ka-ying， or Nicole， lives with her cat in Shenzhen， a booming tech city in the south of Guangdong Province. Born in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region（HKSAR）， she is currently working in a stateowned enterprise after graduation from Peking University.
　　“I work as a policy analyst for the business in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area （GBA），” Chan told Beijing Review. “I plan to work here for a few years and then return to Hong Kong， where my family lives.”
　　“I hope more young adults like me can bring the development experience of the mainland back to Hong Kong，” Chan added.

A global player

　　“Hong Kong is still an international metropolis，”Chan said.
　　A report released by the International Monetary Fund on June 9 reaffirms Hong Kong’s position as an international financial center featuring a resilient financial system.
　　The report acknowledges that Hong Kong’s banking system holds assets equivalent to around 9.5 times the SAR’s GDP， while the assets under local banking institutions’ management amounted to 10 times the regional GDP in 2019. Hong Kong’s stock exchange and life insurance sector are also amongst the world’s largest， and it boasts the largest foreign exchange swap market in Asia.

　　In the first quarter of 2021， the Hong Kong economy recovered visibly with real GDP resuming an appreciable year-on-year growth of 7.9 percent， led by the strong growth in exports of goods， according to the HKSAR Government.
　　Hong Kong has also contributed a lot to the mainland’s development. “In the 1980s， Hong Kong manufacturers moved their manufacturing facilities to the mainland to lower labor costs. The move brought investment into the mainland and contributed to its economy，” Curtis Jung， a Canadian Chinese who has been living in Hong Kong for 28 years， told Beijing Review.
　　“On the other hand， Hong Kong has also benefited from the process. It’s a win-win situation，” Jung added.
　　Born in Guangdong Province， Jung went to Canada at the age of 11 and later moved to Hong Kong in 1993. He now runs his own international trade and manufacturing business， which， headquartered in Hong Kong， operates across the mainland as well as Pakistan， Cambodia， Viet Nam and various African and South American countries and regions.
　　“The business environment in Hong Kong is of international standing， still，” he said. 　　HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam stated during a business summit on June 20 that Hong Kong’s role as a global financial hub is only bound to become bigger and stronger.
　　Given the thriving capital market， Hong Kong will further seek to strengthen its role in the mainland’s financial development， such as helping with the yuan’s internationalization and providing financing services for mainland enterprises， said Lam.
　　“Today， Hong Kong continues to be a unique business bridge between the mainland and the rest of the world，” Jung said.

From chaos to order

　　In 2019 Hong Kong witnessed violent disturbances ranging from rioters hurling petrol bombs at police to trashing public property. Yet Hong Kong’s financial system has remained stable and resilient in this turbulent environment of the past two years， according to Lam.
　　Fu Penggang， a mainland student who studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong， told Beijing Review that in 2020， he hesitated over whether to physically come to Hong Kong to study. “I worried about the social instability and the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong at the time，” he said.
　　Fu said the actual situation in Hong Kong was better than he expected. He explained that Hong Kong people are nice and follow the rules of epidemic control and law. “Society went from chaos to order，” he added.
　　The implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in HKSAR is effective in restoring peace and order and freeing residents from the grip of fear following the violent activities in 2019， John Lee Ka-chiu told Xinhua News Agency. Recently， he was promoted from secretary for security of the HKSAR Government to the position of chief secretary， a very important role in the SAR’s administration.
　　According to Lee， in the first quarter of this year， crime in Hong Kong decreased by some 10 percent year on year， in sharp contrast to the increase of 9.2 percent and 6.8 percent in 2019 and 2020， respectively. Illegal activities involving violence and “Hong Kong independence”have reduced significantly.
　　“The national security law has been the most recent legal development in the implementation of the ‘one country， two systems’ policy，”Huang Mingtao， associate professor of law at Wuhan University， told Beijing Review.
　　Additionally， the decision to improve the HKSAR’s electoral system was passed by the National People’s Congress， China’s top legislature on March 11. “It will reduce institutional obstacles on the Hong Kong local government in promoting reform on issues including youth development and poverty，” Huang said. 　　“The radical social defiance that has appeared in Hong Kong in recent years brings harm to the region’s social consensus，” Huang added.
　　Nearly every day， Fu receives targeted and biased Hong Kong-related news snippets on Facebook， zooming in on the region’s alleged snowballing social instability. “Yet this does not give readers the full picture given most things are running well，” he added.

　　Chan elaborated， “I don’t think those media outlets really care about where Hong Kong is headed and how its people are doing. For me， their mass reports describing only chaos and confusion aim to demonize the region and serve as a tool to attack China.” Chan suggested that a new approach might get Hong Kong to calm down and return to order.

Embracing change

　　“Hong Kong people are proud of the SAR’s international status； however， many of them only focus their attention on the UK， the U.S. and a handful of other countries in the West，” Chan said. “They seldom turn their eyes to the mainland and emerging economies.”
　　A misunderstanding of the mainland on the part of Hong Kong residents hails from a limitation of the narratives they’ve received， Chan said， “Many do not realize the changes that have occurred in the mainland. I hope they can come to see what is happening here and think about why the mainland has been developing so fast.”
　　“Hong Kong should accept the reality and the fact that we need to rely on resources and products from the mainland， as well as its support. Hong Kong has limited space， whereas the vast mainland is always wide open to Hong Kong，”he said.
　　Additionally， Hong Kong should acknowledge that the mainland did a great job in eradicating extreme poverty， Fu said， adding that he wants the people of Hong Kong to see that， and care about the development of the region.
　　Today， China is stepping up efforts to develop the GBA around the Pearl River Delta into a world-class city cluster that will spearhead the country’s opening up and innovation in the decades to come， as well as provide shared opportunities for Hong Kong.
　　Earlier this year， the HKSAR Government expressed its encouragement for enterprises in the GBA with operations in Hong Kong and mainland cities to recruit more university graduates from Hong Kong. As of April 30， 2，394 jobs had been provided by 321 enterprises， far exceeding the originally expected number of 2，000 jobs， Lam said at a youth forum on May 6.
　　“It is hard to reach your goal if you restrict yourselves in Hong Kong，”Jung said. “Go to the GBA， the mainland， and think outside of the box and get yourself out of the box.”
　　“Change is happening every minute in the mainland and in the world at large. You are seeing changes and you are living the changes. The choice is always there， for everybody，” Jung concluded. BR