Markus Shaw

Many of you will have heard of the expression "From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations". What is true of businesses can be true of cities also.

Hong Kong is in a race with competitors near and far. We have many advantages: rule of law; a free and open economy; a free and open society; an honest and efficient bureaucracy; social harmony and safe streets; good infrastructure; hardworking, decent citizens; a beautiful natural environment.

With so many advantages, the race is "ours to lose". We must use every effort to protect the advantages we already have, and ensure that they are not diminished or diluted in any way.

But we cannot rest on our past success. Cities, like societies and individuals, must grow and innovate, or they will stagnate.

The model of development which we pursued in the last 50 years, driven by dramatic population and economic growth, brought us to where we are today. Today, our population is stable and our economy has reached a greater stage of maturity. We no longer have to compete on the same terms as our neighbours, many of whom are facing the same pressures that we faced in the past. We have been through the 20th Century model of growth. Now we must create a 21st Century city.

New policies are needed in the areas (in no particular order of priority) of town planning, energy, transportation, education, immigration, healthcare, taxation, and conservation (both of our built heritage and our natural environment), amongst others.

But beyond the role of setting the framework for sustainability and providing municipal and social services and legal infrastructure, government should step aside and allow individuals and businesses the freedom to create and the freedom to compete. It is not the role of government to "encourage" any industry or business sector. The market is the best planner; it is the best arbiter of what will work and what will not.

Perhaps the most urgent issue of all is political reform. We must proceed towards a system that not only satisfies the aspirations of citizens for a greater say in the political process, but also one which gives government the legitimacy it needs to implement policy in an efficient and effective manner.

As your representative in LegCo, I will seek to bring a new voice to the debate about our future direction as a city. Naturally, I will be very mindful of the needs of the business community, but following the line that "what is good for business is good for Hong Kong" is not going to get us far enough. My views will be determined by the philosophy that what is good for Hong Kong is good for business: a thriving city is a city that is good for business.

My voice will be independent. I will not be tied to any party platform. Nor will I be bound by the narrow sectoral interests of any functional or business sector: I am free to propound policies that are good for Hong Kong and its economy as a whole.

The advantages that we already have are the basis of our confidence in the future. Let us use that spirit of confidence to take a leading role amongst the cities of the world which are forging a sustainable path in the 21st century.

2008 July 17

Markus Shaw today announces his candidacy in the Commercial (First) Functional Constituency for the Legislative Council elections in September 2008.

"The aspirations of Hong Kong citizens have changed in the last 10 years. I want to give voice to that change. I want to be the voice of that change," said Mr. Shaw.

"We have grown in our sense of citizenship, our sense of belonging to a place with a future, and our desire to have a say in what that future should be. That comes out in the clear majority opinion in favour of democratic government, and in the strong growth of civic society."

Mr. Shaw is running as an economic liberal. "A free, open and competitive economy, which safeguards private property, is a guarantor of individual liberty. It is also the most effective economic system for the creation of wealth. Government should interfere as little as possible: we should trust Hong Kong businessmen and entrepreneurs to find profit-making opportunities, as they always have done. It’s not for Government to decide winners and losers."

Mr. Shaw is well known in the community as a conservationist, having been Chairman of WWF Hong Kong since 2000. "I am a strong advocate of conservation and sustainable development. In a world where 1% of species are going extinct every year, and where climate change is a threat to human civilisation, no one can stand by. Sustainable development is not just a nice thing to have: it is absolutely essential to our survival. None of us, least of all businessmen, can continue to hide our heads in the sand. Hong Kong’s business community has a strong voice and powerful influence. It should be a leading agent in promoting sustainable development."

Mr. Shaw’s family has been in business in Hong Kong for three generations. He himself grew up in Hong Kong, graduated from Cambridge University with a history degree, trained and practiced as a lawyer before eventually joining the family business.

"We need to create a 21st Century City", he said, "not simply plough the same furrow that we did in the last century. I see Hong Kong not merely as ‘Asia’s World City’, but at the forefront of showing the world how it can and should be done."

11 electors in the Commercial (First) constituency have so far expressed an intention to nominate Mr. Shaw as a candidate.

For further information please contact Markus Shaw 2844 0100 or 9467 8462 or by email markus@markusshaw.com

Dear friends and fellow citizens of Hong Kong

I have formally announced today my candidacy in the upcoming Legislative Council elections, running for the Commercial (First) functional constituency seat, whose voters consist of members of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

Many of my friends are asking me: "What are you doing?"

So let me explain.

I want to give voice to what has changed in Hong Kong in the last 10 years. I want to be the voice of that change.

We are all citizens now, no longer colonial subjects. That is an irreversible change. Hong Kong has a future. We are part of that future, and we want a say in it. We want a say in how we are governed. We want representative government, and we are waiting a very long time to get it.

What kind of Hong Kong do we want to see?

Economic growth and increasing wealth is the natural aspiration of many. But we have to be careful that in pursuing that goal, in gaining wealth, we do not lose what is priceless.

What is priceless? Clean air and good health and quality of life. Natural wilderness and historical heritage. Beliefs, traditions and neighbourhoods that make us Hong Kong. These are priceless and we have lost a good deal of it. We have not lost faith in material progress, but it is not a be all and end all. Material progress without losing what is priceless: that can stand as a very short definition of "sustainable development".

The astonishing material and technological progress of the 20th century has brought us to where we are today. We are wealthier than we have ever been. But environmental problems have caught up with us: local environmental problems and global ones. Climate change is a leading threat. If we do not sincerely face it, the world as we know it will change, and quicker than we realise. Life in some form will surely continue. But human civilisation will not.

Human society can rise to the challenges which we face today. But we need to be smarter and cleverer. We need to find 21st century solutions and a 21st century model of growth. Hong Kong, with our wealth and human resources, is ideally placed to show the way to the world. We can become the example of intelligent, sustainable, growth. We can create a 21st Century City.

Hong Kong's business community has a strong voice and powerful influence. It should be a leading agent in the definition and the pursuit of this vision. Businessmen are also citizens. They pursue profit and growth, but they value what is priceless. They may say that "What is good for business is good for Hong Kong", but in their heart-of-hearts they know that "What is good for Hong Kong is good for business." A thriving Hong Kong with a bright and sustainable future: that is good for business.

Help me bring this vision to the community. Vote for me in September! In the meantime, go to my website for more information about me and my platform.

At the HKGCC "Town Hall" yesterday I had a very interesting exchange and discussion with members, who asked a number of searching questions. Let me highlight a few of them.

Are you an opportunist hijacking this LegCo seat just to be able to speak your views about the environment?

The environment is a very important issue to the business community. But I am not running as an environmentalist – I am running as a businessman who happens to be an environmentalist. My views on the environment are well known - but it is not the only part of my platform. There are many other concerns which I jointly share with fellow businessmen and citizens. I will take my responsibilities as a representative of the HKGCC and of the business community very seriously. I will always be in consultation with the Chamber and working together to determine our positions. As an economic liberal, you can count on me to defend our business-friendly economy.

If, on a matter before LegCo, your view is different from that of the Chamber, how will you vote?

A LegCo member must lead as well as follow opinion; this is true of any elected politician. I hope to be a contributor to the Chamber’s policy-making, bringing my input as a LegCo member with a finger on the political pulse. Also, I am running on a very clear platform and if I win, I will work to ensure that my vision for a better Hong Kong becomes a reality. If there has been proper consultation on an issue with the members of the Chamber, fair opportunity for my input and provided it is not a matter of conscience, and there is still a difference of view, I will vote with the Chamber.

Your vision for Hong Kong is nice but what will you do for the business sector in the next four years as a LegCo member?

I will be an articulate and outspoken advocate of the Chambers views on all business-related issues. The two most important issues coming up in the next LegCo session are competition law and minimum wage. I am trained as a lawyer and worked six years in a top international law firm. I will put this to good use in the review of legislation. I appreciate the amount of work involved in Panel and committee work at LegCo and I am prepared to put in the time. Whilst working pro-actively to realise the vision of a better Hong Kong on which I will have been elected, I will in the next few years consult the Chamber to advocate or defend the Chamber’s views on many areas of legislation.

Mainland connections?

China is changing rapidly. The old-style guanxi is declining in importance as far as influence on policy is concerned. There are many avenues to China: my own contacts are with a younger generation, sons and daughters of senior officials, overseas educated and reform minded – the new China. In addition, the professional-level interchange between the Chamber itself and its Mainland contacts is very effective. I will seek to reinforce this through my position as a LegCo member. But there are many issues which Hong Kong faces today in which we cannot look to the Mainland for solutions; these should be the focus of a LegCo member, who is elected to a legislature responsible to Hong Kong. We should get on with solving our own problems, without constant recourse to the Mainland.

These are some of the more searching questions asked of me yesterday. For a better idea of what kind of LegCo member I would be, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAZ0gADbGCs

For my vision of Hong Kong as the cleanest, greenest, most advanced city in the world, a city offering both economic opportunity but also the world’s most pleasant place to live in, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfEvalpVSrA