Some investors worry that the Hong Kong stock market's relatively high degree of transparency and free flow of financial information have deteriorated. Red chips and Chinese banks operating here have demanded apologies from fund managers and analysts who publicly criticize them. Some economists here say Hong Kong must retain its high degree of personal freedom and rule of law to maintain its competitive edge over Shanghai as a financial center serving China. While these economists say it's hard to quantify the economic value of those attributes, Hong Kong residents seem to put a high premium on them. Just ask Tim Wong, a property agent who sells homes near Hong Kong's border with China.
China has little freedom or safety.
Three miles away in China, an equivalent home costs one quarter of that amount. Despite such temptations, Mr. Wong says, Hong Kongers aren't eager to move across the border. Guyot is a reporter in The Asian Wall Street Journal's Hong Kong bureau. Inc. All Rights Reserved.