Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Tuesday that Hong Kong's economic philosophy remains unchanged to uphold free-market principles, clarifying misunderstandings of his recent remarks on "big market, small government."

Facing the city's business elite at the Hong Kong Business Community luncheon, Tsang cleared his recent labels on "big market, small government" instead of "positive non-interventionism", saying the philosophy behind the HKSAR government's prudent financial management has not changed in the past 30 years.

"However you word it, the bottom-line is that the government works to sustain a competitive, business-friendly environment," Tsang told the business audience." We continually press for market opening."

Tsang's explanation was in response to a hot debate on the cosmopolitan's exact economic philosophy, which was triggered by his terms of "big market, small government" to describe Hong Kong' s policy instead of "positive non-interventionism" last month at a press conference.

Tsang said the government's public spending has been reduced to 18 percent of the entire economy, not only below the 20 percent target, but less than half of the OECD average of 40 percent.

"We adhere to the principles of free enterprise and free competition," he said.

Hong Kong's free-market credentials have been recognized annually since the mid-1990s by public policy institutes such as the Heritage Foundation, the Fraser Institute and so on.

"In their estimation, Hong Kong has long been, and continues to be, the world's freest economy," he said. "Intervention is an exception rather than rule."

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