I'm guessing you may be unaware of the fact that Hong Kong was re-acquired by China in 1997. It had been allowed freedoms that were nigh-unbelievable in mainland China, which allowed it to surge in growth and expertise at an extremely rapid rate during the 80s and 90s. The transition was a tense one with the world watching to see what would happen. China let the 'startup' city run independently for a while, and now it's finally reigning it in to be more aligned to toe the'corporate line.'