Hong Kong can’t set the terms of the contest, but with Track 1.5 diplomacy, it can decide if it is the room in which competition is managed
3-MIN READ3-MINNeville LaiNeville Lai is the co-founder and CEO of Trigrams Research Group (TRG), an independent boutique research firm dedicated to helping organisations build future-proof capabilities and resilience through market research and strategic foresight to develop critical sectors in Asia. Published: 9:30am, 22 Sep 2026When Tung Chee-hwa died, the obituaries predictably described a Hong Kong shipping mogul who became the city’s first postcolonial chief executive. How his government navigated the Asian financial crisis and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) epidemic and its retreat from Article 23 were highlighted. There was less attention paid to the political hybrid he embodied.
