Hong Kong night view Photo: Courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board

 
Hong Kong people are excellent, the city has also attached more importance to innovation in recent years, but the conservative atmosphere is still obvious.

For example, young university students are still more likely to choose majors like business and finance, and lack the spirit of adventure, and always feel that innovation is a "game for the minority, interviewees told the Global Times (GT).

According to the annual Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum, China's Hong Kong has ranked in the top 10 in recent years.

In the latest report released by the forum in early October, Hong Kong ranked third in global competitiveness, after Singapore and the US. But in terms of innovation, the financial center preformed relatively poorly with a ranking of 26th.

Such data shows that Hong Kong is still a competitive free economy, but the potential for innovation has not yet been fully explored, experts said.

Hong Kong's economy, supported by traditional industries, which lacks new growth points, has often become a hot topic. After all, apart from solving problems such as housing and land, innovation is also a key link for Hong Kong to get out of the recent predicament.

In addition to the four traditional pillar industries, namely, financial services, trade and logistics, tourism, industrial and commercial support, the innovation and technology sector has been regarded as a key development target by the Hong Kong Special Administrative region (HKSAR) Government. 

Government support

In November 2015, the Hong Kong Government officially established the Innovation and Technology Bureau. 

In her first policy address in 2017, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of HKSAR, proposed the "eight major directions" for the development of science and technology, such as the provision of additional tax deductions for qualified R&D expenses of local enterprises.

In the 2018 policy address, she also talked a lot about innovation and introduced a plan about building a "medical technology innovation platform" and artificial intelligence development, saying she is confident that Hong Kong will become an international innovation center.

In this year's policy address on October 16, although there was a relative reduction in the length of talk about innovation, Lam still introduced new measures to support small and medium businesses, and stressed that in the past two years, the SAR Government has made great efforts to develop the innovation and technology industry. 

Data shows that within five years from 2017, research and development (R&D) spending in Hong Kong is expected to rise from 0.73 percent of GDP to 1.5 percent.

According to data, the number of startups in Hong Kong grew from 1,065 in 2014 to 2,625 in 2018, and the number of jobs provided by these startups rose from 2,381 to 9,548. 

A survey released by Invest Hong Kong in August shows that the main R&D priorities of Hong Kong startups include information and communications technology, the Internet of things (IoT), data analysis, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and new materials.

In terms of applications of these technologies, financial technology, smart cities and smart homes, health care and big data applications are some of the most popular areas.

At the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, there is an exhibition hall designed to showcase scientific achievements of the school.

In the hall, GT reporters saw a mirror wall with lots of LED lights, which is a new energy efficient lighting system developed by researchers of the university.

Doctor Liu Yun, who works at the School of Accounting and Finance at Hong Kong Polytechnic University told GT that for prompting the innovation and technology industry, Hong Kong had two advantages: talent and support from the government.

Citing an example, Liu said that the earlier research and development of DJI drones was finished in Hong Kong before moving back to the mainland. But Liu also noted that the disadvantages such as high land price and labor cost and rent are big burdens for startups.

Liu said that beside finance, Hong Kong Polytechnic University has its own advantages in other fields, such as textile technology and space technology.

In addition, the university has also set up an enterprise center to promote partnerships for the research results, which helps them complete the transformation of the results, to actually land on the ground. 

Hong Kong Polytechnic University is not the only one. Other universities in Hong Kong are also vigorously promoting scientific research and transforming results. 

According to Wang, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, this August, the university set up the "Venture Fund of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology," with plans to inject HK $50 million within five years to invest in startups set up by students, professors or alumni of the school.

Joshua, a Hong Kong student majoring in biomedicine at the University of Hong Kong, told GT that, in fact, there is no lack of innovative atmosphere in colleges and universities in Hong Kong. 

From the beginning of his freshman year, he has participated in workshops and creative lectures held on various campuses. And students always have some "whimsical ideas," but Hong Kong society does not seem to take innovation seriously enough, and many people still feel that industries such as "real estate and finance make money faster."

Su Zhiqi, director-general of the Hong Kong New Generation Cultural Association, does not agree with the discussion about the lack of "space for innovation" in Hong Kong. 

He gave an example: the Hong Kong Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition has been held 22 times since 1997, and the number of schools that participate in the event has grown from 12 to 400 a year.

This shows that the importance of innovation and technology education in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong is increasing, Su said. 

In order to enhance the atmosphere of creativity, the Hong Kong government has also made great efforts to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) interdisciplinary education. 

Hong Kong students have won awards in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world's largest science and technology competition.

Conservative atmosphere

Therefore, Su believes that Hong Kong's innovation has huge potential. But he said that the problem in Hong Kong is that some basic research results are difficult to be industrialized. As a result, relative talents cannot find suitable jobs in Hong Kong.

Su said that if they do not start a business, go abroad or go to the Chinese mainland for development, they have to change careers. 

He said that it is complicated to reverse this situation, which takes time. He suggested that the Hong Kong government should improve efficiency. 

"Although there are many funds, the examination and approval system is cumbersome and strict," Su said.

Geng Chunya, chairman of Hong Kong EastSpider, who came to Hong Kong in 2002, said that the innovative atmosphere of Hong Kong science and engineering students should be further strengthened. 

He told the GT that the conservative atmosphere in Hong Kong society is still strong, and doctors, lawyers and other professions are still the first choice for students.

Now, the habit of young people handing over their salaries to their parents after graduation, as well as the high economic cost of starting a business, also objectively makes it more difficult to start a business, Geng said.

In Geng's view, talent is the core of innovation and technology, followed by products, and finally companies, but Hong Kong government's current idea of subsidies is obviously based on projects or companies.

Importance of the Greater Bay Area

Su told the GT that "Hong Kong's innovation cannot be separated from the Greater Bay Area, and the city alone cannot make a breakthrough." 

In his view, industries in Hong Kong lack innovation, and by contrast, Shenzhen, as a representative of the Greater Bay Area, has more advantages such as an integral industry chain, vast territory and low cost of land and labor. 

Therefore, to strengthen cooperation with the Greater Bay Area is the only way for Hong Kong to further promote innovation and gain new opportunities.

Su said that Hong Kong should regard cooperation with the mainland as an opportunity for development, rather than a local loss or challenge. 

On the contrary, if Hong Kong develops well in the future and the supporting conditions are attractive, it will certainly attract talents from the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world.

When young people in Hong Kong see hope and prospects, more and more people are willing to devote themselves to science and engineering to promote the development of innovation and entrepreneurship and form a virtuous circle.

Joshua told the GT that the scientific research capabilities of universities in Hong Kong are famous in the world, but some research results are difficult to reach the market because of Hong Kong's industrial structure. 

Out of his love for biology, Joshua chose a more distinctive biomedical major at the University of Hong Kong. 

"This major combines science and medical courses and is aimed at the huge demand for advanced medical technology," he said. "And the biggest market is undoubtedly the [Chinese] mainland. I have long made up my mind to go to the [Chinese] mainland for employment or to start my own business in the future. "

Liu also said that in the past, most Hong Kong students preferred to engage in the financial and trade industries, but with the development of the Greater Bay Area and the increase in scientific research funding, Hong Kong students will have a more mature sense of innovation. The prospect of choosing a creative field will also come to fruition.