Ordinary Gweilo

More enlightened views brought to us by the letters page of the SCMP:

Expats have done little to benefit city

Recently the concept of Hong Kong’s competitiveness or the competitive edge of Hong Kong has again been quoted in your editorials, for example ("ESF  debate merits a conclusion soon", December 28).

In all these cases, the South China Morning Post related the concept to the presence of expatriates in this city. Is our competitiveness due to the presence of expatriate businesspeople or individuals?

I am sure most local people know the answer. Expatriates who have come to this city to work do so because they can’t get a better job at home.

If these people’s talent had anything to do with the competitiveness of Hong Kong, they would have enhanced the competitiveness of their respective home country.

The sad state of the economies in the US and Europe is a reflection of the talent of these people.

Expatriates who are making a living in Hong Kong are no different from domestic helpers earning their livelihood here, except that no domestic helper is claiming that he or she has enhanced the competitiveness of this city.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. Misleading statements which were never challenged during the colonial era will no longer enjoy the same privilege.

Sam Wong, Sha Tin

What a load of old nonsense.  I won’t even dignify this with a response.

Gotta love that last sentence, though:  “Misleading statements which were never challenged during the colonial era will no longer enjoy the same privilege.”  Eh?