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Where have all the Christmas lights gone?

By Hong Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-23 07:44

In a town as intensely commercialized as Hong Kong, signs of a sick economy show up in the streets like dark rings around the eyes of a man coming down with a terrible cold.

These signs are particularly obvious in the pre-Christmas shopping season when we take mental note not only of the scale of the decorations in the shops, but also the atmosphere of the crowds on the streets. And, of course, we cannot ignore the often-unsolicited diagnosis by taxi drivers, who keep their fingers constantly on our social and economic pulse.

The many signs I read in my short trip to Hong Kong last week told a story that seems even more depressing than the one I actually lived through after the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis back in 1997. Horrible as it was, the bursting of the asset bubble at that time was a clearly identifiable and localized calamity that shook the confidence of the Hong Kong people but did not threaten to rock the foundation of the Hong Kong economy.

Although the asset value meltdown in the past several months seemed considerably milder than the one in the 1997 crisis, this so-called "financial tsunami" is far more destructive because it is shaking loose the main pillars that are holding up the Hong Kong economy.

The sharp fall in global demand had dealt a serious blow to Hong Kong's export trade, which consists mainly of re-export of goods made in factories in the Pearl River Delta region. Many of those factories are either owned by, or contracted to, Hong Kong exporters.

Hong Kong's financial services sector has taken a direct hit from the global credit crunch. Other than the basic commercial banking services, most other high-value-added activities that involved more complex structuring have been drastically curtailed.

The Hong Kong government has warned that worse time is yet to come. It predicted further slowdown in economic growth and a sharp rise in unemployment in 2009.

Indeed, the Grinches of Wall Street, who polluted the global financial markets with toxic securities, have stolen our Christmas.

On the way to the hotel, the taxi driver kept repeating that times are bad. Taking a hand off the wheel, he made a sweeping gesture as the car sped past a shopping district, and urged his passenger to see for himself how few people were there in the streets. "This is going to be a very lackluster Christmas," he pronounced.

Retailers in Hong Kong apparently shared his view. On sale sighs were everywhere and many stores were giving unseasonable deep discounts of up to 50 percent. Such price slashing to promote sales before Christmas was unheard of in recent years. In the past, we'd have to wait till after the New Year to see this kind of cuts.

Most disappointing, to me at least, was the lack of Christmas decorations on as grand a scale as those we saw in previous years. The tall Christmas tree that adorned the atrium of a large shopping mall in past years was replaced by an exhibition of the works of an artist. In another mall, the Christmas playground that delighted so many children in the past was all but gone.

Such scrimping was most obvious at night. There were no Christmas lights on the walls of the tall buildings on both sides of the harbor to cast a multi-color reflection on the gentle waves.

I used to make a point to take my daughter to see the Christmas lights that turned the streets of the normally dour central business district into a fantasy land. Now, the only lights in that deserted place were those from the street lamps.

It may be too late for the government to do anything for this year's Christmas. But there is still time to add some zest to the Lunar New Year festival. Hong Kong people deserve a break from the prevailing gloom.

E-mail: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/23/2008 page8)