Hong Kong bills itself as “Asia’s world city” and the boast is justified¹. The cosmopolitan² territory was returned to mainland Chinese control in 1997 but remains³ autonomous⁴: it presents itself to the world as a link to China that has a separate legal system and financial regulation. After finance, the property, retail⁵ and leisure sectors⁶ dominate activity.

香港号称“亚洲的国际都会”，这种自许是有道理的。1997年这个国际化都市的主权回归中国，但仍保持自治，它将自己定位于世界与中国之间的一座桥梁带，拥有独立的司法体系和金融监管机制。除了金融业以外，香港的主要经济活动还包括房地产、零售和休闲业。

The case for: English is the lingua franca in business, law and the professional sectors. The city has excellent infrastructure⁷ and transparent⁸ regulation, and setting up a bank account is easy. It also has a pool of highly skilled workers, thanks to academic institutions such as the University of Hong Kong, which ranks 28th globally. A low income tax rate, warm climate and high standard of living attract talent from around the world.

正面依据：英语是香港商业、法律和各专业部门的通用语。这座城市拥有优良的基础设施和透明的监管，开设银行账号也很方便。香港还拥有大量高技能人才，得益于当地的学术机构，比如全球排名28位的香港大学(University of Hong Kong)。此外，较低的所得税率，温暖的气候和较高生活水平都吸引着世界各地的人才。

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the big cities of south China’s manufacturing heartland, can be reached by train within a couple of hours.

从香港乘火车到广州和深圳——华南地区制造业中心的两大城市——仅需两小时。

The case against: The political system and Hong Kong’s future have become more complex over the past year. In 2014, widespread protests brought many districts to a standstill as protesters held sit-in demonstrations⁹ to oppose a Chinese plan for electoral reform in the territory. Opposition¹⁰ lawmakers rejected the Beijing-backed reform package, but the scale of the protests shook the territory.

反面依据：过去一年，香港的政治制度和未来走向变得更为复杂。2014年，大量抗议活动令许多地区陷入停顿，示威者举行静坐示威，反对中央为这个特别行政区安排的选举改革。反对派议员最终否决了北京方面的改革方案，但抗议活动的规模震撼全港。

High rents are a perennial¹¹ challenge for businesses and for their employees finding somewhere to live. However, rents are forecast to dip because of a corruption¹² crackdown and the slowing Chinese economy.

对于企业以及寻觅住所的企业员工而言，香港的高租金是一个永久挑战。不过由于内地打击贪腐和经济增长放缓，本地租金预计将小幅下降。

Support for start-ups: The Hong Kong government is supportive, and runs funding schemes for technology start-ups and those that focus on reducing poverty, in particular. InvestHK, the official foreign direct investment body, launched the StartmeupHK festival last year. A week-long event, it awards prizes to nascent¹³ businesses and features talks such as how to pitch to investors¹⁴. The next festival is in January.

对初创企业的支持：香港政府持支持态度，尤其是面向高科技和专注减少贫困的初创企业运行资金计划。香港投资推广署(InvestHK)是统筹外国直接投资的官方机构，去年推出StartmeupHK Festival。在这个为期一周的活动期间，除了向新兴企业颁奖外，还安排了一些演讲，包括怎样向投资者推介自己的企业。下一次活动将在明年1月举行。

Nest provides seed capital and mentoring¹⁵, to start-ups with potential for fast growth. Headquartered in Hong Kong, it is open to businesses from anywhere in the world but looks for “businesses driven by talented entrepreneurs based in Asia”.

Nest对有快速增长潜力的初创公司提供种子资金和辅导。该机构总部设在香港，向世界各地的企业开放，但它的目标是“立足亚洲，由优秀企业家经营的企业”。

Local hero: Snaptee, which launched in 2012, is an app and a retailer¹⁶ and enables customers to turn photos into T-shirt designs. They can then buy the finished item of clothing or sell it to others. Last September the company raised US$750,000 from investors to help it expand in Japan and the US.

本地英雄：于2012年成立的Snaptee集应用(app)与零售商于一体，客户可以用这款应用将照片变成T恤设计，然后可以购买或向别人出售服装成品。去年9月该公司从投资者筹到75万美元，用于在日本和美国扩展业务。

Getting there: The Hong Kong International Airport, regularly voted among the world’s best, is used by more than 100 airlines operating flights to about 50 destinations in mainland China. There are eight direct flights between London and Hong Kong every day, and four between San Francisco and Hong Kong.

交通：香港国际机场(Hong Kong International Airport)经常被评选为全球最佳机场之一，有100多家航空公司在此运营，从这里可直飞中国内地约50个目的地。每日有8个直飞航班往返伦敦与香港，4个航班往返旧金山与香港。