Stephen Roach vs. Hong Kong government: Is the city 'over'?

Debate rekindled as economist pays first visit since declaring end of glory days

20240606 Stephen Roach

Noted economist Stephen Roach has caused a stir in Hong Kong with his bleak assessment of the city's present and future. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images) 

KENJI KAWASE and PEGGY YE, Nikkei staff writers

HONG KONG -- Since prominent China economist Stephen Roach wrote in February that "Hong Kong is now over" due to a confluence of eroding autonomy, economic pressure and geopolitical tensions, local critics have issued repeated rebuttals. The spat flared again this week as Roach made his first visit to the city since his declaration.

Roach, a senior research scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School and a former chairman at Morgan Stanley Asia, doubled down Wednesday as he spoke to a packed house at the Foreign Correspondents' Club.

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