Driving forces
"In reality, I'm encouraged by two factors — the rapid development of digital media and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area taking off," he says. He has carved out his career on the cusp of the Chinese mainland's digital transformation.
In recent years, the Chinese mainland has set its sights on the fast-growing digital economy — a mode that uses digital computing technology to boost production and consumption. The added value of the mainland's digital economy reached 35.8 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 36.2 percent of the national gross domestic product, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
In July this year, 13 central government departments co-signed a document backing the development of the booming industry. The digital economy is expected to stimulate the consumer market and increase employment in the face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the document said.
"Everyone, and cities as well, has a goal to hit the finish line. We've to keep running," says Cheng, noting Hong Kong has been struggling to find a path for itself.
(Photo provided to China Daily)
He hopes Hong Kong will feel it's not satisfied with what it has achieved so far or its present position. Cheng's father had helmed a large logistics company in Hong Kong. Before retiring, his business had been shrinking as throughput at Hong Kong's ports gradually lost out to those of cities on the mainland.
In his profession, Cheng feels Hong Kong's cultural influence has been in a free fall. When his colleagues consulted him about getting quotes from Hong Kong movies or TV series, they were always referring to classics from a decade or even decades ago.
With the cultural difference posing a bit of a challenge, he says it's rare for him to see Hong Kong people in his industry although a growing number of young Hong Kong people have been settling down in Guangdong and other regions on the mainland to explore career opportunities. As of November last year, more than 600 startup projects initiated by young people from Hong Kong and Macao had taken root in more than 50 innovation platforms in Guangdong, according to rough estimates.
But some Hong Kong people's knowledge of the mainland's contemporary culture is still trailing, not going beyond a few entertainment stars, says Cheng.
The solution is to get involved. "No book can cram in all that knowledge about where you're living. It must be constantly accumulated every day."
Living on the mainland for the past decade, Cheng has met people from different backgrounds. In his first year at Jinan University in Guangzhou, Cheng founded Barefoot — a volunteer group — and donated supplies to rural areas in Guangdong and taught children during long vacations. The experience made him determined to start his own business after graduation and open up a network that would connect secluded mountains with the cities.
