I believe I speak for most of Hong Kong as I condemn the attacks on the United States and mourn the victims, some of them ethnic Chinese. Secretary of State Colin Powell correctly describes the tragedy not only as an American but a global one since those who perished came from more than 40 countries.

But pain never translates into paralysis for resilient New York. Rather the anguish, once eased, and the anger, once vented, can provide an impetus for a people, for a nation. I agree with President George W. Bush who enjoins his citizens to continue with life and work, however hard this maybe for the bereaved, as a statement to terrorists that they have failed to crush the American spirit.

New York has a unique meaning for me because it is a place I visit often since the mid-1960s - one I want Hong Kong to emulate with its vibrancy, diverse culture, cosmopolitan flair, ethnic tolerance, enterprise, and creativity. My son is an alumnus of an up state university and my daughter lived and completed her graduate studies in New York City. I have frequented Lower Manhattan, gazed at and am inspired by its skyline that attests to a city's confidence.

President Jiang Zemin was instant in conveying our nation's condolences and explicit in offering support to the US in the campaign against terror, which also visited Chinese cities from Urumqi to Wuhan where, in one atrocity, a bus packed with passengers was blown up on the entrance to a bridge. Beijing went into a state of siege after several similar bombings blamed on Muslim separatists from Xinjiang who are said to have been trained by the al-Qaeda group affiliated to Osama bin Laden.

What is apparent now is that terror respects neither lives nor boundaries. Economies and cultures have globalized and so has terrorism. I support the US and the coalition as they root out the perpetrators but I also strongly urge the Bush administration and its Western allies to get to the root of the problem - the never properly addressed grievances of the Arab people. Because unless that is done, the elimination of bin Laden would only leave room for many other bin Ladens to take his place.

The Middle East has become such a fertile ground for terrorists because of perceived American and Western foreign policy biases. Mr. Bush must learn a lesson from his predecessors, both George Bush and Bill Clinton, by commiting the US to finding a permanent settlement of the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians based on an historical accounting, security and dignity for all. The source of the conflict that has to be dealt with goes right back to the 1948 United Nations decision to found the state of Israel without any resolution on the issues of refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

Hong Kong, a small but dynamic place like New York, is not an indifferent spectator to the unfolding drama. We are affected directly by instability in the Middle East, which provides us with a lot of our fuel, and by worries in the US, which is our most important overseas market. Right now Hong Kong can do little in the efforts to bring the masterminds of the violence to justice but that does not mean we are not standing by America's side. Our city has grown extra vigilant and is determined to remain one of the safest places for our residents and guests. We are willing, each and everyone, to endure the inconvenience, delays, and extra precaution to ensure our security will not be breached.

Our economy was already suffering along with that of the US even before the attacks, which could yet tip us over into recession. I think it is moot, if not callous, to speculate on what our growth this year maybe when our minds are preoccupied with the gathering storm. The unemployment rate has gone up to 4.9 per cent and may yet hit six per cent as it did during the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Reports from the mainland indicate that a million orders for goods destinated for the US have been canceled or deferred. We are braced for the turbulence ahead and, like the US, will prevail. The Legislative Council may yet reach a consensus on measures that could cushion the blows. The Liberal Party asks the government to suspend the collection of $14.8 billion of property rates for a year that would benefit all the people who own or rent their homes and offices. We also seek to freeze the Mandatory Provident Fund contributions for a year that will increase the cash flow for employees and busineses alike by five per cent. MPF was designed to give people a proper pension when they retire. For many, however, the proverbial rainy day is not 30 years from today but right now.

The immediate economic prospects are bleak. I appreciate our Financial Secretary Antony Leung's candor because truth is a good medicine. We can tough it out as we always have. But the economy will not be down for long. We will have to focus and make sacrifices, just as Americans are doing in the struggle against terror. China, having signed all the necessary memoranda last week, is poised to join the World Trade Organization, which should provide Hong Kong with risks to dodge and opportunities to seize. The US will recover and it also be more engaged in the world. I am certain that the American people now appreciate how China is not their enemy but a partner and friend. This climate of goodwill being fostered, to be dramatized by Mr. Bush's state visit next month, should help them overcome their differences, especially over the eventual reunification of China through peace and perhaps some version of "one country, two systems". If the world is made into a better place after the terrorists have been routed and the US has reviewed its policies towards the Middle East, missile defense, the Kyoto Protocol on the environment, and its opposition to the ban on biological and chemical weapons plus landmines as well as the turning over of all war criminals to the international court, then the victims will have received their just honor.

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