The Hong Kong government has earned top marks both for efficiency and credibility among all municipal and city-level administrations of China, according to a survey conducted by the China Institute of City Competitiveness (CICC).

The Hong Kong-based ranking organization lists the SAR government at the top when it comes to government standards, government credibility, overall efficiency, the quality of the civil service as well as public appraisal.

CICC Chairman Gui Qiangfang said the Hong Kong government exercised power in line with the legal system which has been established for so many years.

It is the law and order that makes Hong Kong government outstanding when compared with others, said Gui.

Following Hong Kong government in efficiency are those of Taipei, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing.

On the chart of government accountability, those of Macao, Taipei, Weihai and Zhengzhou rank after Hong Kong.

This year, the institute studies 295 Chinese cities above the prefecture level.

Appearing on the chart of comprehensive competitiveness of all provinces and regions, Hong Kong retains, in a second year, its standing in second place, behind Taiwan.

The third to fifth places belong to Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong.

The overall ranking appraises provinces and regions in terms of economy, society, environment and culture.

Despite the city's standing atop the chart for entrepreneurship and at the second in terms of business-friendliness, it is only regarded as 10th competitive in the potential of growth among all provinces and regions.

Gui said Hong Kong now faces competition as a result of great strides by mainland cities to improve competitive edge, even though the city's development is "healthy".

Still, Hong Kong's neighbor, Shenzhen, experiencing annual double-digit GDP growth, is likely to surpass Hong Kong within six years, he said.

Hong Kong people, despite being wealthy, are not the "happiest" in the nation, the survey says.

Hong Kong ranks only ninth in the happiness chart which Hangzhou tops, followed by Chengdu.

The institute assesses cities' happiness by measuring residents' confidence in their future, their living conditions, environment, safety and social welfare.

CICC's report is somewhat optimistic about Hong Kong citizens' happiness when compared with a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences annual survey announced in May, finding the city's people among the least happy in the nation.

That survey showed Hong Kong had dropped 73 places to 271 out of 294 cities.

mingyeung@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 07/09/2011 page1)