‘One country, two systems’
Amid fears that the European debt crisis is spreading from Greece to Italy, and with the United States amid its own economic woes, Hong Kong’s chief executive touts onetime Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s “one country, two systems” philosophy for his region’s economic fortitude. “In some ways Hong Kong has had an easier time over the past decade than many other economies,” said Donald Tsang, M.P.A. ’82. “Our freedom from public debt, our position beside China’s growing economy, our prudent banking supervision — these have all helped to cushion us from some of the shocks that have come our way.” Tsang spoke Tuesday night at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School. The chief executive, whose term is ending in June, focused his talk on the relationship between Hong Kong and China, and how it has worked in recent history. Once a British colony, Hong Kong now is a special...