【NewsBuddy】外籍優才紛回流 抹黑論不攻自破 HK draws more than 31,000 foreign work visa applicants, challenging claims of its decline
摘錄自8月8日香港《文匯報》：彭博報道指，近日數以千計外籍優才和白領人士，被香港的低稅制、機遇，以及新股IPO蓬勃發展所吸引回流香港發展，單計去年已有逾3.1萬外國人申請留港工作簽證，是5年前的兩倍，當中金融業的簽證去年躍升17%，為2022年以來的新高。
More than 31,000 foreigners applied for work visas to stay in Hong Kong last year, double the figure recorded five years earlier, as the city's low-tax regime, opportunities and booming initial public offering (IPO) market continue to attract foreign professionals and white-collar workers, according to Bloomberg.The number of work visas for foreign professionals in the financial sector jumped 17% last year, reaching the highest level since 2022.
來自美國、從事數字資產及文化交流的張明信（Brandon Zatt）昨日接受香港文匯報訪問時表示，他曾聽一些西方高層主管指香港「已完蛋」，「最後他們一次又一次錯失良機。」他指出，香港始終是一座聯通內地與世界的橋樑，機會處處，其韌性並非粉飾，而是事實。
Brandon Zatt, an American involved in digital assets and cultural exchange, told Wen Wei Po on Aug. 7 that he had heard some senior Western executives say HK was "over".
"They missed opportunities again and again," he said. Zatt said HK remained a bridge connecting the mainland with the rest of the world, with opportunities across the city. Its resilience, he stressed, was not a matter of window dressing but a fact.
入境處數據亦顯示，適合外籍專才或專業人士申請的「一般就業政策」每年獲批個案持續上升，今年上半年錄得13,640宗。外資用真金白銀投資香港，外籍專才用腳撐港，種種鐵證都狠狠地令摩根士丹利亞洲區前主席、美國經濟學者羅奇的「舊香港已玩完論」被打臉。
Data from the Immigration Department also showed that approvals under the General Employment Policy, which is available to foreign professionals and talent, have continued to rise in recent years, with 13,640 applications approved in the first half of this year. Foreign investors putting real money into HK and foreign professionals choosing to come and work in the city have provided tangible evidence challenging the "Hong Kong of old is over" narrative advanced by Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and a US economist.
入境處回覆香港文匯報查詢時表示，「一般就業政策」由2021年至今年（截至6月底），獲批的申請數目分別為13,821宗、13,495宗、26,270宗、35,058宗、31,278宗及13,640宗。
In response to an inquiry from Wen Wei Po, the Immigration Department said the number of applications approved under the General Employment Policy from 2021 to June this year stood at 13,821, 13,495, 26,270, 35,058, 31,278 and 13,640 respectively.
張明信表示，自己見證香港這座城市承受的每一次衝擊，卻從未見過香港崩潰。
他強調，羅奇所謂的「舊香港」只是錯覺。這座城市從來就不是一成不變的，它始終是一座橋樑，並且會適應所連結的地形。
Zatt said he had witnessed every major shock faced by HK but had never seen the city collapse.
He said Roach's notion of "Hong Kong of old" was based on a misconception. The city had never been static, he said, but had always served as a bridge and adapted to the terrain it connected.
他指出，羅奇的第一個錯誤是，IPO復甦並非依賴的標誌，而是功能的標誌。他指出，每個成熟的金融中心都依賴一個經濟腹地。「紐約的腹地是美國，倫敦的腹地是歐洲，而香港的腹地恰好是世界第二大經濟體—中國內地，決不能把腹地理解為負擔。」
Zatt identified what he called Roach's first mistake: the recovery of HK's IPO market was not a sign of dependence, but a sign of its function.
Every mature financial centre, he said, depends on an economic hinterland. "New York's hinterland is the US, London's hinterland is Europe, while HK's hinterland happens to be the world's second-largest economy——the Chinese Mainland. The hinterland should never be understood as a burden."
他提到，數據講述了一個截然不同的故事。去年，香港透過106家公司首次公開募股（IPO）籌集了近2,750億港元的資金。這些資金來自全球，並非僅限於中國內地。去年的基石投資額達1,066億港元，瑞銀集團、簡街資本和新加坡政府投資公司（GIC）等巨頭都參與其中。一個「封閉式」平台絕對無法吸引來自三大洲的主權財富基金。
The data, he said, told a very different story. Last year, HK raised nearly HK$275 billion through IPOs by 106 companies. The funds came from around the world rather than solely from the mainland. Cornerstone investments amounted to HK$106.6 billion last year, with major institutions including UBS, Jane Street Capital and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC taking part."A closed platform" would never be able to attract sovereign wealth funds from three continents.
張明信又指，羅奇的第二個錯誤是，香港的韌性並非「粉飾」，而是事實。張明信親身經歷這種韌性，而非從報道中讀到。他憶述，曾與一些西方高層主管同台，他們「確信」香港已經完蛋。「我親耳聆聽過他們的篤定，又親眼目睹他們一次又一次錯失良機，因為他們被外國灌輸的觀念蒙蔽了。然而那些成功的人沒有理會那些陳腔濫調，而是專注於實際情況。實際情況是，這座城市依然運作良好。」
Zatt said Roach's second mistake was his portrayal of HK's resilience as "window dressing". Zatt said he had experienced that resilience first-hand rather than simply reading about it in reports. He recalled appearing alongside senior Western executives who were "certain" that HK was finished.
"I heard their certainty with my own ears, and I watched with my own eyes as they missed opportunities time and again because they had been blinded by ideas fed to them from abroad," he said. "Those who succeeded ignored the clichés and focused on the facts. The facts are that this city continues to function well."
張明信指出，羅奇的第三個錯誤是，國家安全法並非背叛，而是一種保護， 也反映羅奇的雙重標準，「在所有西方國家，國家安全法都被視為維護國家主權、防範外部威脅與恐怖主義的必要法律工具，但西方社會卻視香港制定國安法為非法之舉。」
Zatt said Roach's third mistake was to portray the National Security Law as a betrayal rather than a form of protection. He also accused Roach of applying a double standard.
"In all Western countries, national security laws are regarded as necessary legal tools to safeguard national sovereignty and guard against external threats and terrorism, yet Western societies portray HK's enactment of a national security law as illegitimate," he said.
他提到，在香港，涉及國家安全的案件僅佔刑事訴訟總數的不足0.2%。這座城市的商業法律架構才是真正關乎資本運作的關鍵所在，然而這方面依然完好無損：合約得到執行、財產權得到尊重、法院在商業事務上保持獨立。
He noted that cases involving national security accounted for less than 0.2% of all criminal proceedings in HK. The city's commercial legal framework, he said, was what truly mattered to the operation of capital, and that framework remained intact: contracts were enforced, property rights were respected, and courts remained independent in commercial matters.
他認為，的確「舊香港已成過去」，新香港才得以開啟。香港過去的成功建立在如今已不再適用的模式之上：自由的經濟與全球金融緊密相連，高度依賴地產業等曾為香港帶來數十年的繁榮，但終究是有限的。
Zatt said it was true that "Hong Kong of old is gone", but that this had created an opportunity for a new HK to emerge. HK's past success was built on a model that was no longer applicable today, he said. Its free economy was closely linked to global finance and heavily reliant on sectors such as property, which had driven decades of prosperity but ultimately faced limitations.
香港從來不是懷舊的堡壘，而是未來的實驗室，這方面證據比比皆是，例如香港在國家科技轉型中扮演重要角色，其法律體系和仲裁專長賦予其塑造數字資產、管理人工智能和跨境資料領域全球規範的影響力，來自內地的專業人士和全球人才均帶來了技術和資本，這正是香港的鳳凰涅槃時刻。
HK had never been a stronghold of nostalgia, but rather a laboratory for the future. Evidence could be seen across a range of areas, including HK's important role in the country's technological transformation. Its legal system and expertise in arbitration gave it influence in shaping global rules governing digital assets, artificial intelligence and cross-boundary data.Professionals from the mainland and talent from around the world were bringing technology and capital to the city, he said, describing the development as HK's "phoenix moment". ●DotDotNews Deepline
