A tale of two cities

Shenzhen's transformation from rural backwater to one of the major economic powerhouses of the mainland has been breathtaking. Arguably, enlarging the area and elevating its status to a municipality directly under the central Government, equivalent to a province, is a logical step.

The city's development of hi-tech industry and its burgeoning future as a major port surpassing Shanghai and rivaling Hong Kong justifies its upgraded status.

But it is a move with profound implications for Hong Kong. Most of the changes will be welcome. But not all. The SAR Government will have to study the proposal in depth before it gives its response to the central authorities.

On the positive side, if this plan becomes reality, direct communications with the Shenzhen authorities will mean mutual enterprises getting off the ground quickly.

Pollution and enhanced transport links, for example, can be tackled in a joint effort, with the urgency they need. At present, all too often approaches from this end get swallowed up in the cumbersome Guangdong bureaucracy.

On the other hand, Hong Kong is currently the core city of the region, an extended metropolitan area of 42,000 square kilometers. Economic and cultural ties are interlinked.

The Commission on Strategic Development envisions the Pearl River delta becoming a unified whole 30 years from now. Under that plan, the region would grow into a mega-city with the SAR at its center.

Shenzhen's elevation, however, could make it a friendly rival, encircling Hong Kong by land and water, and dominating life in that locality.

Without a careful response, what should be an opportunity for the SAR could become a hurdle, possibly making the hierarchical arrangements more complicated by adding an extra tier to the existing administrative system.

If Shenzhen grows into a big brother, absorbed in its own development, it might become less easy to get past it and through to other cities in the region.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong