CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
One of the judgments we have had to make is to cancel this year’s BritCham Ball. I know this is our social highlight and something that many of our members look forward to. But as we weighed up the risks, we concluded that it is the right thing to do. Due to the renewal of social restrictions we also had to revert to holding our AGM in a virtual format. As a result, we used video conferencing technology to conduct the meeting and to reach out to our members. I thought I would summarise some of the messages from the meeting that I made on the day.
Dear Members, I cannot remember who said this: “If you’re lonely when you’re alone then you’re in bad company”. However, it seems appropriate to me now because, like many people all over Hong Kong at this time, I am currently spending two weeks in quarantine in my flat after returning from a fortnight break in the UK. Of course, I am very far from lonely. That’s not because I enjoy my personal companionship. It’s rather because we are all linked up through technology and speak to each other via video and conference calls all the time. The ‘Work From Home’ lifestyle has meant that, despite my selfisolation, I can slip back with ease into the workplace environment and no one really knows that I am in fact not allowed to cross the threshold of my flat. And at 6pm all restaurant and bars close too so I don’t even miss out on the office gossip. In my last Chairman’s Message, I spoke encouragingly about the lifting of social restrictions by the government and how these would allow us to resume the Chamber’s events programme in person and we would get back to meeting each other again. I spoke too soon. Shortly after, COVID-19 infections began to rise at a worrying rate and the government moved quickly to impose a new round of social restrictions. I suspect that we will have to live with this modus operandi for some time as infection rates come and go. The impact on our membership and on the Hong Kong economy is very significant, however, particularly for those operating in businesses that require social interaction like hospitality, retail, creative arts, travel and of course education. At the Chamber, we will continue to lobby on your behalf and put the case to government to support the easing of restrictions where these are on balance the right thing to do. But this is a very difficult tightrope. The judgments are finely balanced.
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The period since the last AGM has been unprecedented in Hong Kong’s recent history. The economic and societal challenges which have confronted business across the board have been unique: • The peaceful protests against the Fugitive Offenders Bill in the course of 2019 which turned violent, at the extreme, in the latter half of the year. • The side-swipe from COVID-19 since February of this year which has hit us all hard. • The introduction of the National Security Legislation to the Hong Kong statute book. • The decision of the United States Secretary of State to certify that Hong Kong no longer enjoyed sufficient autonomy from mainland China and the revoking of favourable treatments, including for trade. • The passing by the United States Congress of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act which allowed the President to impose sanctions on individuals and institutions in Hong Kong and the subsequent issuance of such sanctions in respect of eleven individuals in Hong Kong. • The decision by the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary to allow British National (Overseas) passport holders the right to stay in the United Kingdom for up to five years (instead of six months) and thereafter to apply for settled status and ultimately for UK citizenship. • The suspension by a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, of extradition arrangements with Hong Kong. • The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31 January this year.
