Who We Are
The humble beginnings of our group started from the feverish discussions between two public policy aficionados, Regina and Ronald, on Hong Kong's political system and future directions. Regina and Ronald took the same course on "Comparative Democratic Development" taught by Professor Larry Diamond, the indefatigable Hoover Senior Fellow who trots the world studying different patterns of democracy and educating government leaders, politicians and students on what democracy is and is not, and what makes democracy work. In the course of attending the classes and reading the wide-ranging political science literature on democratic development, Regina and Ronald thought they found some of the answers to Hong Kong's structural political problems. Their passion was infectious and soon they were joined by William, Jonathan and Charles. Patrick, Walter and Alfred, the "grown-ups" of this group, all of whom are Hong Kong-origin scientists or executives with strong backgrounds in research, entrepreneurship, consulting, business and technology management fortified their enthusiasm by quickly adding new dimensions to the students' discussions. Their enthusiasm spread to Hong Kong, and several Hong Kong residents with deep experience and expertise in economics, construction and property management decided to join them. Out of the initial, informal discussions on the campus of Stanford, a new think tank, Savantas Policy Institute, was born. What We Think We think there is a lot of untapped potential in the people of Hong Kong. We believe we can create a better future for ourselves and our children if we work together with a new vision, new purpose and new direction. Out of the devastation of World War II the people of Hong Kong created an economic miracle and made important contributions to the economic modernization of China. Today, the world has changed: "the world is flat", as Thomas Friedman has pronounced. Technological development, particularly in information technology, has shrunk the world and created new modes of production and business organization. The intensified pace of globalization has changed fundamentally the business environment in which Hong Kong competes. Globally there is growing recognition of the impact of globalization and the importance of science and technology-based innovation as the major source of long-run economic growth. Leading cities in Mainland China, Taiwan, and countries ranging from Finland, Israel, Ireland, to Singapore are making innovative, technology-based industries and services the motor force of their economic development. Hong Kong risks being left behind in the global race for higher value-added enterprises if the community as a whole does not grasp the nettle of the new globalized, competitive environment and resolve to get the better of it. The government needs to re-consider its time-honored policy of non-intervention (which has in any event been breached from time to time) and develop more finely calibrated and sophisticated models of interaction with the private sector and academia to stimulate the growth of higher value-added economic activities. The core vision of Savantas is Hong Kong's transformation into a knowledge-based economy, which Peter Drucker defines as "the emergence of knowledge as the new capital and as the central source of an economy, and of men of knowledge, that is managers of institutions, as the new power center and leading group." 3 Our objectives are as follows:
How We Operate As a think tank, we are part of the civil society of Hong Kong, civil society being defined as the "realm of organized social life that is voluntary, self-generating, (largely) self-supporting, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or set of shared rules." 1 As such, we will need to think independently of the HKSAR Government; otherwise we will not be able to add value by providing alternative policy options. Secondly, we agree with prominent political scientist Professor Lucian Pye that "no one has a monopoly on absolute truth and that there can be no single, correct answer to public policy issues." 2 We are part of the ideological marketplace of Hong Kong and we want to engage other civil society or political organizations in a creative dialogue about the future of Hong Kong. Thirdly, we want to provoke the people of Hong Kong into thinking about what sort of ideal we have of Hong Kong and what sort of society and economy we want to make of Hong Kong in the long term. For this reason, you may find us to be provocative sometimes, or contrarian at others. It is not the aim of think tanks to be crowd-pleasers: think tanks ought to be at the leading edge of knowledge and ideas, and contribute to the intellectual life of the community by being true to their ideals and putting forward positions and perspectives based on what they perceive to be supported by the soundest arguments. To ensure that Savantas is firmly embedded in the international system and stay in touch with the cutting edge of technological and business innovation, Savantas will be establishing a chapter in the U.S. It will also be recruiting Hong Kong-origin graduates from the best universities in North America to return and work for a better Hong Kong, as well as channelling the contributions of Hong Kong-origin professionals who care about Hong Kong. In the long term, it will consider establishing chapters in other parts of the world where resources so permit. Notes |
Savantas was founded by a group of Hong Kong belongers studying or working in the U.S. who care deeply about Hong Kong. As those who have lived abroad will know, Hong Kong people residing overseas derive the greatest pleasure banding together eating Hong Kong-style food and debating Hong Kong current affairs, whether it be the "bus uncle" saga or more serious constitutional or economic issues. Our group was born out of a passion to contribute what we have learned from our valuable experience of studying or working in one of the world's most dynamic, innovative and technologically oriented growth areas to making Hong Kong a better place to live.