Economic expert: Health code system for cross-border travel vital to HK economy

A health code system for cross-border travel is crucial to get Hong Kong's economy rolling again, economic expert Ho Lok-sang told China Daily.

Ho — a senior research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute at Lingnan University — said the launch of a health code system that enables Hong Kong residents to travel to the Chinese mainland would be a "good start" to revitalizing Hong Kong's coronavirus-hobbled economy.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Friday that the groundwork for a health code system is well underway for people to travel to the mainland once the local outbreak is brought under control. In a system widely used on the mainland, a health code on one's cellphone verifies if the holder has been to high-risk areas.

Tourism, a driving force of Hong Kong's economic growth for years, has become "lifeless", Ho said in the interview on Monday.

By rolling out a health code system, the city could form "travel bubbles" with low-risk COVID-19 countries and regions faster, as it could serve as an "assurance" to the travelers' destinations, he added.

Amid escalating tension between China and the US, the economic expert admitted that Hong Kong's economic outlook could be "pretty gloomy" in the short term, but he expected that the adversity will be over soon since the city has resolute backing from the Chinese mainland.

Because of the US sanctions, more high-profile mainland companies are looking for a stock relisting, which has certainly benefited Hong Kong's stock market, Ho said.

Noting that Hong Kong is a city with a huge concentration of professionals across all sectors such as the legal, accounting, arbitration and engineering fields, Ho said the city's huge talent pool is its unique advantage, and he called on the special administrative region government to capitalize on it.

Recalling a Fortune magazine cover story in 1995 that proclaimed "the death of Hong Kong", Ho said many Western media outlets have predicted many times before that the mainland and Hong Kong are going to have a grim future. "And it never happened, and I don't think it's going to happen this time," he said.

"China is going to march forward. And with China marching forward, the SAR will follow," Ho said.