Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been under British rule for the majority of the 20th century. It was acquired rather accidentally by the British during the Opium War (1839-42). The tiny region only boasts of a reasonable harbor that was a convenient site for transshipment of goods from other parts of China or up the Pearl River to Canton. The ultimate attraction was that it was a free port where traders of many nations could operate without the constraints they faced elsewhere.

Hong Kong's government had abided by its policy of non-intervention strictly. In some ways, it adhered to the philosophy of laissez-faire. Refugees flooded Hong Kong after World War II. And fortunately, within the whole lot of refugees, there was a small number of entrepreneurs that formed a creative core and launched various ventures.

By running a lean administration, the government did not have to collect very high taxes or customs duties. The fact was that many residents of Hong Kong paid almost no income tax. The first major industry was the textile industry as the earliest entrepreneurs were textile manufacturers.

This was followed by the electronics industry that produced goods for the rapidly paced world. It began with the standard production of radios, but after America found it to be a very good base, the electronics market began to grow aggressively.

The growth rate of Hong Kong is ever on the rise, given its size, over population and lack of resources, the ability for Hong Kong to become one of the 4 Asian tigers is a miracle indeed.