10 | Monday, April 29, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY COMMENT HK

Dean Stallard ‘One country, two Innovative solutions needed for Bay Area talent shortage

he opening of the Hong Kong- to o set higher tax rates for talents from Hong systems’ still vibrant Macao-Zhuhai Bridge last Septem- Kong working on the mainland. Subsidies ber was a memorable event and a overcome the higher income tax rates on key step forward in the development the mainland vis-a-vis Hong Kong. Overseas ofT the Pearl River Delta region. The bridge high-end talents and professionals in short has improved the fl ow of goods between all supply will receive subsidies from Guangdong ports. It’s also proving a tourism boom on province and the Shenzhen city to o set the despite the detractors both sides of the boundary. di erential. Not long after the bridge opened, the central While the government is helping, com- government authorities unveiled the outline panies will need to review their pay scales. Grenville Cross condemns some overseas critics of HK, plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Employers internationally o er higher sala- Greater Bay Area development. The goal is to ries, on average, compared with similar roles saying they are downplaying the positive aspects of life develop the region into a model of high-quality on the mainland. development, an infl uential global innovation Second, policies are being introduced to here, exaggerating problems and peddling half-truths and technology hub and an internationally encourage the freer fl ow of people across competitive fi rst-class city cluster. the region. That will ease the visa and travel f their criticisms are justi- tection of the rights and freedoms of oth- To achieve these goals, having a good supply concerns for multinational employees, and fi ed, it is concerning when ers”, which is precisely why the HKNP had of talents is the key. However, the development provide more cross-regional opportunities for foreign parliamentarians fi nd to be proscribed. of the Bay Area is outpacing the supply of tal- skilled employees willing to embrace a pan-Bay fault with Hong Kong. When, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu ents, making innovative approaches to recruit- Area perspective. Senior executives in the tech however, their assessments studied the evidence and found that, quite ment and retaining skilled workers a top prior- sector can live in Hong Kong or Macao and are not soundly based, those apart from whipping up hatred against ity across sectors and companies. work in southern mainland cities, or vice versa. concerns diminish. The reports Grenville Cross mainlanders, the HKNP, which advocates According to a recent survey, a total of 47 It’s not unusual to see cross-boundary workers The author is a senior counsel, law of any committee are only ever as good as a “Hong Kong republic”, was prepared percent of companies said they were not con- fi lling immigration halls each morning. professor and criminal justice analyst, its ability to get to the facts, and there is to “use all methods, including the use of fi dent they will locate talents with the skills Companies also play a key role in realizing I and was previously the director of always a danger when reliance is placed public prosecutions. force, and also encouraging its support- necessary to meet business needs in the year free movement across the Bay Area. Pony on people with axes to grind. ers to use force”. Since it constituted a ahead. The skills gap has widened in the last Ma Huateng, founder and chief executive of A case in point is the Foreign A airs Their (Patten and his direct threat, Lee was obviously within year — up from 36 percent who said the same Tencent, believes rigid restrictions on the fl ow Committee of Britain’s House of Com- his rights in closing it down. After all, the thing in 2018. of talents in the Bay Area prevented Hong mons. Although it has recently published ilk) objective is to strike same thing happened in the UK in 2016, This means most enterprises will struggle Kong companies from hiring sta from the a report which concludes that Hong Kong at China by blackening when the British government proscribed to meet their talent needs in the year ahead. mainland and has raised the idea of Bay Area is moving toward “one country, one and National Action, a far-right political party, But as well as challenges, there are opportu- ID Card and suggested storing Hong Kong a half systems”, it has relied heavily on Hong Kong, and we must together with its a liates. As recognized nities, especially for key industries enjoying and Macao residents’ Mainland Travel Permit biased sources. A submission, for example, by international civil rights instruments, fast growth. information on mobile phones to give them from Hong Kong Civil Hub, an obscure hope that at some point no civilized society can be expected to tol- The demand for skilled workers is particu- greater mobility as well as access to services group co-founded by professional agitator the Foreign Affairs Com- erate threats to national security or to the larly acute in four fast-growing industries: such as mobile payments. Joshua Wong Chi-fung, was highlighted safety of its people. Patten, needless to say, research and development within innovative What we are seeing now is a real demand in the report, even though it is little more mittee will get wise. was hell-bent on blackening China, and technologies, fi nancial services, trade and for trilingual candidates who speak English, than an anti-China rant. explained none of this to the committee. logistics, and the medical industry. Putonghua and Cantonese. They are essen- There was also a submission from In August 2017, for example, after However, the committee should itself R&D in technology lacks data scientists, tial to facilitate cross-boundary cooperation. Benedict Rogers’ Hong Kong Watch, a UK- several activists were imprisoned by the have approached Patten’s evidence with cloud architects, user interface designers, Eventually the region wants to be more open based think tank which acts as a cheer- Court of Appeal for street violence, Patten a healthy skepticism, given his increasing solution engineers and artifi cial intelligence and able to bring in international talents to leader for anyone with bad things to say weighed in. He told the Financial Times eccentricity on the home front. Although professionals. The success of these industries support this development — which is happen- about Hong Kong. Rogers, whose antics that “responsibility for this deplorable he always preaches democracy for Hong is essential for the Bay Area to become a global ing now. But we are seeing a high demand for led to his exclusion from Hong Kong in decision rests solely on the Hong Kong Kong, he has used his seat as an unelected technology and innovation hub. returnees who have study and work experi- 2017, once bizarrely described Wong and government’s shoulders”, which beggared member of the House of Lords to seek to In fi nancial services, demand is highest for ence in Western countries. fellow agitator Nathan Law Kwun-chung belief. It was, of course, the judges who undermine the overwhelming decision relationship managers who can work cross- And a lot more Hong Kong talents are now as his “heroes”. Notwithstanding its lack took the decision he deplored, as every taken by the British people in 2016 to boundary within the banking sector. Chinese more willing to work on the mainland, espe- of objectivity, the committee also drew on layman knows, and not the government. leave the European Union. While many and international banks based in Guangdong cially in the innovation and tech sector. Relax- this submission. Realizing that his confusion had dented people have assumed that, as a Europhile are looking for relationship managers from ation of boundary controls would encourage As usual, the former Hong Kong gover- his credibility, Patten was careful this time and former EU commissioner in receipt of Hong Kong who can speak Putonghua and more of them to seek career advancement on nor, Chris Patten, was trotted out, to give to tell the committee that “by and large an EU pension, he is simply stuck in the are willing to move. They can bring with them the mainland. his now familiar spiel about how Hong the judges have behaved pretty well”, but past, it has recently emerged that there is their relationships, networks and knowledge Doing so would o er them a competitive Kong is going to the dogs without him. He he could not leave matters there. more to it than that. to help banks grow their businesses on the edge through upskilling (upgrading one’s work called the Department of Justice “a transi- He announced that there had been In 2018, on a visit to Ireland, Patten mainland. Also in demand are professionals in skills and abilities) as they are acquiring a cer- tion mechanism for the United Front or “a lot of pressure” on the judges, which once again made the case for the EU, but risk and compliance. tain experience that makes them more valu- Beijing”, notwithstanding its constitution- was the identical allegation made by his this time the mask slipped. He claimed Hong Kong will be the jewel in the Bay Area able to any employer. ally guaranteed independence and highly acolyte, former chief secretary Anson “mercantilist Leninism in China” was crown as an international fi nancial center. It Shenzhen, for instance, is developing into an professional lawyers. He was apparently Chan Fang On-sang, when she visited the seeking global economic domination, will still be the world’s largest o shore renmin- innovation hub. If you’re in the tech industry, upset because the department has pros- United States in 2018. Although Patten which was why the UK should stay in the bi hub. It will play a crucial role in the growth you will work for the most innovative, excit- ecuted political activists for causing public went out of his way to praise Hong Kong’s EU. Speaking subsequently to the BBC, he of the fi nancial sector in the entire Bay Area. ing, well-funded technology businesses in the disorder on the streets, something that, Chief Justice Geo rey Ma Tao-li, whom branded the pro-Brexit politicians in his Exports will remain one of the core econom- world. They will potentially be exposed to the of course, would not have been tolerated he called “full of judicial integrity”, he, like own Conservative Party as “Maoists” — ic drivers for the foreseeable future. With the latest cutting-edge technologies. This is going during his own time in Hong Kong. Chan, failed to reveal to his audience what presumably his insult of choice — which Bay Area being positioned as a key location in to strengthen your career development and Since Patten has sought to egg such Ma had actually had to say about pressure was extraordinary, at least while language the Belt and Road Initiative, trade and logistics put you ahead of others who are not working people on, he can hardly be surprised on judges. retains its meaning. He then accused his will be a key sector and there are going to be in this type of innovative environment. You when the criminal law catches up with Ma said that, although judges face fellow parliamentarians of having worked unbeatable opportunities for distribution man- will gain a very unique experience no other them. As usual, he gilded the lily, telling pressure, it is “not pressure from outside “away like rodents in a basement for agers, supply chain managers, procurement markets can o er. the committee that the activists who occu- sources or persons”, but pressure from years”, nibbling away at Britain’s relations managers, and logistics experts. The key to the future success of the Bay Area pied Hong Kong’s streets in 2014 were a “heavy workload”, and that the “real with the EU. This prompted one mem- In the medical industries, there is a chronic is having a good policy to attract talents. While “extraordinarily moderate” and “believers pressure is for judges to come up with ber of the European Parliament, Margot shortage of medical professionals, doctors, the government will play its part by o ering a in the rule of law”. What, however, he did the right outcome”. This, of course, would Parker, to brand his words as “appalling”, and nurses. China is shifting from relying on helping hand to attract international talents, not explain was that their leaders had have been of great interest to the com- a widely-shared view. What is revealing, emergency room care to networks of general companies will have to do their bit by review- stormed a restricted area at the start of mittee, but it would have interfered with however, is the extent to which Patten’s physicians and family practices. With the ing their pay scales and ensuring employees the occupation, leaving 10 security guards Patten’s narrative, and was therefore con- Sinophobia now permeates all aspects of growth of medical technology, there is grow- can upskill. Candidates on their part will need injured, in what the Court of Appeal cealed, like many other things. his political discourse. ing demand for biopharmaceutical engineers to adopt a pan-Bay Area perspective if they later described as “a large-scale unlawful Although the committee, for example, What Patten and his ilk have been and research engineers. want to tap into the many ambitions of the assembly, involving violence”. was concerned at the banning of the Hong doing for years is, to borrow his own Companies in these sectors are seeing Bay Area to realize their own. The dynamic Patten’s problem, however, is more Kong National Party, under the Societies terminology, to behave like rodents in a acute shortages of skilled workers; they pre- development of the city cluster o ers compa- fundamental. What he cannot rationalize Ordinance, Patten chose not to allay its basement, nibbling away at the founda- dict an even greater need for talents in the nies and candidates fantastic opportunities, to himself is the fact that it is the indepen- worries. He might have explained that the tions of Hong Kong’s relationship with coming years. but also challenges. Both companies and tal- dent judiciary that has tried and convicted ordinance was enacted by the British colo- the Chinese mainland. They downplay The central government has rolled out ents will need to ensure they are ahead of the the activists, and not the Department of nial government in 1949, and provides for the positive aspects of Hong Kong life, new tax regulations and policy measures to competition curve if they want to leverage the Justice. After previously getting his fi ngers both the registration of societies and, in exaggerate the problems, and peddle facilitate the cross-boundary and regional opportunities o ered by the Bay Area. burnt by criticizing the judges’ verdicts, some circumstances, their prohibition. It half-truths. Their objective is to strike at fl ow of talents — which will weave the Bay this time he rowed back. He still failed, allows a society to be banned if this is nec- China by blackening Hong Kong, and we Area together and help the region overcome The author is the managing director of an however, to give the committee an accu- essary “in the interests of national security must hope that at some point the Foreign its talent shortage. international recruitment fi rm in the Guang- rate picture, and for this he has form. or public safety, public order or the pro- A airs Committee will get wise. First, new subsidies have been announced dong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Vigilance needed on negative impact of social media and video games on kids

Children’s easy access to all forms to me that this child, who studies in a more grown-up. independence. They think repeating bad ing policies could lead children astray. of social media and their obsession Band-A school with strict discipline, was I reported all this to his mother who language or behavior is chic. The good news, however, is that with video games often have a negative using bad language. I found this disturb- knows little English. She told me: “Yes, Studies examining the impact of lan- some studies have shown that chil- impact on their behavior. Sometimes, ing. What concerned me was that he yes! The school teacher called me this guage use in digital media content on dren playing video games in modera- Monday Vibes the harm is not observed by parents blurted it out without even realizing it! week and said the same thing. I also young people have produced alarming tion are likely to acquire better skills, until it is too late to correct it. Obviously, he believes that saying this noticed he now has a new pet phrase, results. A research fi nding published in such as coordination, problem solving, Wang Yuke A few weeks ago, I dropped by a phrase is acceptable. but I just brushed if o because I didn’t the Pediatrics medical journal in 2011 and communication than their peers The author is an suggested that children exposed to pro- deprived of this activity. editor with China friend’s home. She has a son who is in I couldn’t help grilling him: “What know it was bad.” Daily Hong Kong. Primary Four. I played with him and did you say? Say it again.” Blushing, he Still in the process of developing fanity in the media think such language Therefore, the fine line between tutored his English. While I was giv- replied: “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to say character and values, teenagers are a is “normal”. This in turn often leads to harmful and healthy play lies in “time”. ing him some dictation, I overheard that…it just slipped o my tongue.” He vulnerable group when exposed to a physical aggression and relationship Parents and caregivers should ration him murmur the “f” word. I thought quickly added: “But I didn’t say the ‘f’ mishmash of good and bad online con- problems. And children who use profan- children’s online video games and I must not have heard him correctly word…other boys…in my class say it tent. They can have poor judgment and ity are more likely to be aggressive. online consumption. They need to be and so I ignored it. I assumed this word more often than me.” often just don’t have the ability to tell Although most parents may impose vigilant about children using bad lan- would not be part of a fourth grader’s It reminded me of a previous incident good from bad. What is more troubling restrictions on video games and screen guage and becoming aggressive. Such vocabulary. However, I heard him mut- when I saw him play a video game with is behavior which is frowned upon by time for their children, it’s unlikely and behavior might occur unwittingly or ter something again, this time with the a younger friend. I heard the “f-bomb” their parents and teachers (or is socially impractical for parents to always super- spontaneously. The rating mechanism “f” word omitted. In the next half an being used several times by characters unacceptable) has considerable appeal vise them. Despite stringent ratings on in Hong Kong should be reviewed and hour, he muttered something a couple in the game. The boys probably picked to rebellious young people. Some of fi lms and TV programs, it seems that tightened to censor video game prod- of times when he misspelled or forgot up the phrase from the games. They them tend to do the opposite of what digital games are not given equal atten- ucts and remove any obscene content how to spell some words. It confi rmed probably feel using it makes them feel their parents want just to show their tion. The oversight and loopholes in rat- harmful to children in the fi rst place.