The annual Heritage Foundation has dumped Hong Kong altogether from its economic freedom index, one year after a local official claimed it would return to the throne.
After ranking in the top spot for 25 years in a row before falling to second place in 2020, the Heritage Foundation’s 2021 index of economic freedom took Hong Kong completely out of the rankings. Singapore took the top rank for the second year in a row, followed by New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Ireland.
According to the study’s authors, the city – together with neighboring special administrative region Macau – is now viewed as part of China to reflect changes in its regime.
«[D]evelopments in recent years have demonstrated unambiguously that those policies are ultimately controlled from Beijing,» the study’s authors wrote.
Edward Yau
Last year, Hong Kong secretary for commerce and economic development confidently claimed that the city would return to the top after losing the throne to Singapore for the first time in over two decades.
«I can confidently say that the conditions that have long made Hong Kong a place with a high level of economic freedom won’t change because of what we experienced in the past,» Yau said.
