For the most excruciatingly indigestible jargon-laden waffle since we hit peak One Belt One Road Vision-Concept around three years ago, here’s your personal copy of the Outline Development Plan for the Blah Blah Bay Area. As the South China Morning Post front-page cheerlead-story breathlessly enthuses, Hong Kong is mentioned 102 times compared with a pitiful 41 for crummy old Guangzhou so there yah boo sucks. (In its eagerness to shoe-shine, the paper ruins what was supposed to be an oh-so-subtle deliberate message-hidden-in-number-of-namechecks.)
Xi Jinping decreed that the grand vision come into being, and after working overtime, many minions have finally delivered their frantically concocted components to put together in a ‘blueprint’.
A quick check shows that the word ‘green’ – a rough proxy for BS – appears 31 times, five of them in the quintessential horse-crap phrase ‘green finance/bonds’. The Communist-demonic curse ‘cooperation’ is used an incredible 162 times.
At the risk of encapsulating an over-simplified nutshell: Relevant central ministries will leverage ecologically sustainable fintech to nurture Lusophone cross-boundary innovation and talents through in-depth cooperation [told you] between the Dongguan Binhaiwan New District and youth development to enhance the radial effect of Lingnan culture.
It’s not all plucking dreamy vision-concepts from thin air. Some junior minions have been forced to rummage around for specific stuff to meet box-checking requirements. Thus they grant the most humble jurisdictions special important individual roles, so even Jiangmen, Zhongshan, Hengqin of Zhuhai and others don’t feel left out. And they found actual visible comprehensible items to put some roughage into the otherwise substance-less verbiage. These are, of course, depressingly awful – right down to ‘development of international cruise terminals’. And something about yachts. They had to find something.
This is not a plan for Hong Kong’s integration with the motherland. This barrage of wrist-slashing, soul-crushing lameness is the Chinese Communist Party’s idea of sugar-coating, designed as a distraction.
Maybe I’m turning local but I got much more excited by the 75 HKD I got back with the Public transport subsidy scheme.
The guiding ideology seems to be “packing 219 words in one sentence”.
“To fully apply Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese
Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th National Congress of
the Communist Party of China, coordinate the implementation of the
“Five-sphere Integrated Plan” and the “Four-pronged Comprehensive
Strategy”, fully and faithfully implement the principle of “one country, two
systems” under which the people of Hong Kong govern Hong Kong, the
people of Macao govern Macao with a high degree of autonomy, act in strict
adherence to the Constitution and the Basic Laws, remain committed to the
new vision of development, fully understand and utilise the systemic
strengths of “one country, two systems”, the unique strengths of Hong Kong
and Macao, as well as the strengths of early and pilot implementation of
reform and opening up in Guangdong, emancipate the mind and explore
boldly, continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation among
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, further establish a mutually beneficial
relationship in regional cooperation, promote coordinated regional economic
development, give new impetus to the development of Hong Kong and
Macao, provide support for national supply-side structural reform, the
implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy and the
building of a new system of an open economy, develop a vibrant and
internationally competitive first-class bay area and world-class city cluster,
and build a role model of high-quality development.”
The Civil Service needs English grammar lessons for a start.
Their ideas on technology are extrapolations of existing technology without acknowledging that, for instance, wireless transmission of AC is possible but not yet feasible.
I am really disappointed that this Plan is just more concrete-pouring.
And stop using that misused word “cluster”.
I can’t bear to read the whole thing in case my brain curdles – from a glance at the contents, I thought even Poland was getting a role in it (“Building a Spatial Network Driven by Poles”)! In any case, Casira has summed up the contents pretty neatly.
From last night’s TVB News, I understand that under the plan Hong Kong will focus on finance, transportation and trade, while Macau will be a leisure and tourism centre. So, no bold innovative change there then.
They’ve stopped studying English entirely, concentrating instead on simplified Mandarin.
I was told Jiangmen, in Cantospeak, translates as “Asshole”. True?
“Hi Carrie where do you come from,” I’m from the Greater Bay Area of Southern China,” Get over yourself you mean Hong Kong”
This complete bollox is just giving a label to justify building obnoxiously expensive, under utilised cross border infrastructure. Which, of course, disguises its real purpose of further isolating that uppity little SAR before its official termination date in 2047.
Carrie can pontificate on this as much as she likes however it has no substance and will therefore be forgotten as quickly as the “Pearl River Delta.”
@Casira
Much like the similarly slimy, slippery and betentacled cephalopods, the politburo, when threatened by dangers they feel are unsurmountable, will excrete large quantities of ink to baffle their enemies and cover their rapid retreat by jetting away.