HK urged to leverage 'bridge' role

Facing the selective narrative of some foreign media, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has a unique mission and role in building a correct image of China on the global stage, Leung Chun-ying, a deputy head of the nation's top political advisory body, said at a high-profile local forum on Monday.

The vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said in his keynote speech that China has been actively opening its doors to the world and reforming its economic sectors, but some international media have confined their reports to politics and made many false allegations against the country.

Leung, who is also general convener of the Hong Kong Coalition, which co-organized the event, believes this is "a result of agenda setting" by Western politicians who want to distract from their own government's poor performance and failures.

He also suggested that the level of resources allocated by media organizations for coverage of China doesn't reflect the country's increasing importance and the changes that have occurred in the country.

It is cause for concern that the international audience gets "selective, patchy and sketchy" coverage about China, Leung added.

To help China better tell its stories to the world, he encouraged Hong Kong to leverage its unique advantages.

Leung noted that most countries have seen the HKSAR as the best conduit for connecting with the Chinese mainland, as well as the best transshipment port for not only goods and capital flow, but also news, information and analysis on Chinese political and economic matters.

He said he hopes the city can better use its bridging role and the "one country, two systems" arrangement to reach out to the international community.

Noting that there are approximately 370,000 people from Hong Kong living on the Chinese mainland, Leung said each of them is a good story source, and he encouraged them to share their stories.

"We should present the people of the world with a full range of stories of China. The real China story must come out, the balanced narrative must come out. Hong Kong should take this international podium."

The forum, with the theme "International Communication in the New Era", attracted many leaders and scholars from the city and abroad. HKSAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po and Lu Xinning, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, also attended the opening ceremony.

The forum featured two panel discussions－one focusing on understanding Hong Kong as a multifaceted city and the other on how to tell China's story in a polarized world.

French businessman Julien-Loic Garin, who attended the event, told China Daily that Hong Kong could leverage its strengths in branding and marketing to help China enhance its soft power on the international stage.

Garin, an art insider who has lived in Hong Kong for more than a decade, said he believes the city's diverse, mature and internationally active art community will make Chinese culture "tangible" to the Western world.

The SAR's role as a bridge not only offers China an opportunity for more cultural expression, but also satisfies the world's desire for more windows into China.

While attending a forum panel discussion, Hong Kong business leader Pansy Ho Chiu-king said China has long been misunderstood due to the selective narrative of some foreign media. She called for concerted efforts to build a correct national image. "We can't let people portray us in their context," she added.