Anthony Wu, director of the Bauhinia Foundation, said, “Hong Kong has only got seven million people, and Shenzhen has 13 million people. You need to merge the two to create a bigger metropolis to take advantage of China and the world”. He says the first goal is to build a direct express train link between the two cities’ international airports. Next would be to ease visa procedures for residents of Shenzhen to come into Hong Kong more readily. At present, Hong Kong residents can move in and out of China on a thumbprint if they have their permanent residency smart card. Mainland Chinese must apply in advance for visitor permits, and can only get two at a time.

More controversial is the Lok Ma Chau Loop — one of those quirks of history that may have huge repercussions. When Hong Kong was a British colony, its border with China was marked by the Shenzhen River. When the river was straightened, it left a square kilometre of land, technically owned by China and now under Hong Kong rule, known as the Lok Ma Chau Loop. It sounds exciting for those Chinese local government officials, who stand to make a fortune if the Loop is developed, Hong Kong’s leading business commentator, Jake van der Kamp, says.
Does a bigger population make a greater city? Wu, whose research report was promptly followed by a seminar hosted by the government’s Central Policy Unit backing the same idea, says yes.

Put it to him that what makes cities great is culture, history, traditions and values more than mere numbers of people, and Wu barely rests for breath. That is why Hong Kong should merge with China, he argues, as Hong Kong has the legal system and China the 5,000 years of culture.

This barrage of big ideas has left not a few Hong Kong residents breathless, but in a different way to Wu. No sooner has the idea of merger arisen, than it seems to have become a political re-arrangement, in which Hong Kong risks losing its status as an independent international city and becoming just another bit of China.
It is left to a population geographer, Jianfu Shen at Hong Kong’s Chinese University, to bring the grand plans back to earth. He says, the two cities have different wishlists and finding a consensus will not be easy. Hong Kong wants the airports connected, a clear division of labour, coordination so that the ports do not compete, better environmental measures and more investment. Shenzhen, he says, wants easier travel arrangements into Hong Kong for its people, and more co-operation of scientific research.

“It will never become a single city, it’s not possible,” Shen says.

NYT