Quote:
Originally Posted by destroycreate
Interesting, I thought HK was now under the China model, with relatively decent welfare. Can you explain the "laissez-faire" of it all and how it differs from mainland China?
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Hong Kong remains vastly capitalist, still an entirely different world from the mainland. We're an open economy and the government remains off on the sidelines regulating businesses. That means few labour rights, weak unions, very low social benefits, but companies don't need to worry about government over-reach and make money. This system was supposedly safeguarded under the handover agreement.
The logic is you can make as much money as you want, pay barely any taxes, but save up for your rainy day. Don't expect the government to help you if you fall. That's great if you're a well-paid executive or middle management, but awful if you are the lower classes struggling to pay rent in this super expensive city.