综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

'World's freest economy' title boosts global confidence in SAR

Updated: 2016-02-03 08:02

By Peter Liang(HK Edition)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small

Ranking Hong Kong as the world's freest economy for the 22nd year in a row, Heritage Foundation of the United States has greatly boosted confidence in this city that is facing what could be the greatest economic challenge since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

This affirmation from one of the most influential think tanks in the US shows that "the determination of the Hong Kong SAR government to safeguard economic freedom is beyond doubt", according to Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. She said the government recognized "the free market principle is the cornerstone of our sustained economic development and prosperity".

That principle has been called into question in recent years by some politicians and many social activists. They have been pressuring the government to take a more active role in addressing the issue of income inequality, which has become a major source of public discontent. These lobbyists have argued that the majority of Hong Kong people have been let down by the free market which works only for the minority rich.

The government responded by mounting a massive housing program to increase the supply of affordable homes, and openly declared it was abandoning the traditional economic guiding principle in favor of one it described as "judicial pro-activism".

Meanwhile, the debate on the government's role in wealth distribution was brought to the forefront of public attention by the government-initiated consultation on the proposed universal pension scheme. In the consultation paper, the government emphasized that the proposed scheme would be financially unsustainable without raising taxes. The alternative is to include a means test that would limit the beneficiaries to those most in need.

The business sector has always maintained that any encroachment, such as higher taxes or government intervention, would distort the functioning of the free market. This, they argue, would be damaging to the economy by undermining Hong Kong's unique advantages and investor confidence - of particular significance at a time when the Hong Kong economy is facing such challenging economic times.

The affirmation from the Heritage Foundation is, therefore, a timely reassurance to potential investors around the world that Hong Kong is still one of the best places to do business.

(HK Edition 02/03/2016 page7)

淳安县| 年辖:市辖区| 崇明县| 揭东县| 彩票| 湖州市| 托克托县| 新兴县| 万载县| 澳门| 巴东县| 洪洞县| 湟源县| 苍山县| 黄平县| 霍林郭勒市| 白银市| 昌乐县| 郁南县| 化州市| 肥城市| 加查县| 申扎县| 三穗县| 茂名市| 双鸭山市| 永宁县| 沂源县| 南通市| 固镇县| 漳平市| 乌兰浩特市| 营口市| 弥勒县| 繁峙县| 赣州市| 勃利县| 两当县| 新宁县| 奉新县| 福海县|