Avoid a 'Chinese-wine only' headache
Money glitz | Mary Ma 20 Aug 2024
Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying repeated his call for Chinese wines to be served exclusively at Chinese National Day receptions as the anniversary fast approaches.
Ever since he gave up seeking re-election to the top post to enable then-chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to take over from him, Leung has continued to be active in politics.
At the same time, he has transformed himself into a strong advocate of Chinese wines -a liquid that appears to be apolitical.
That might have been the case until he repeated the call to serve only Chinese wines at tables celebrating National Day, insisting it would be inexcusable if officials and members of the public failed to do so.
This was not the first time Leung had made the call. Over the years, he has led groups to visit wineries and wine schools in Ningxia, meeting local leaders and winery owners to promote Chinese wines, saying: "Chinese people should drink Chinese wines."
It would have been a non-issue had the former SAR boss been just an ordinary member of the public exercising freedom of speech - a right that is supposedly protected by Article 27 of the Basic Law.
But the fact is, Leung is more than an ordinary member of the public. Although he is no longer chief executive, he ranks among the state leaders as a vice-chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Following his high-profile appeal on Chinese wines, will they be the only ones served at National Day receptions hosted by the government and business associations?
Will community leaders take the lead and turn their backs on imported wines that account for a major share of the local market?
This could send a mixed signal to overseas business people that they are not welcome.
Worse still, this could be taken as a dangerous sign that the city was changing course from an international trading hub to an economy practicing protectionism despite the expectation for it to remain as the nation's window to the world.
If patriots are of the view that former US president Donald Trump was wrong to "make America great again" by quitting globalization, would it also be a mistake to refuse wines from other countries on this important occasion?
That would be a symbolic move.
It is agreed among wine critics that Chinese wines from certain wineries passionate about making good wines have made remarkable progress over the years.
So good, in fact, that Cathay Pacific Airways included four of them in its Discover Wine Series for its business- and first-class passengers on long- and ultra-long-haul flights from March to May this year.
The wines good enough to be included were Grace Vineyard Tasya's Reserve Cabernet Franc 2018, Silver Heights Jiayuan Marselan 2021 and Xige Estate Jade Dove Single Vineyard Cabernet Gernischt 2019 from Ningxia, as well as Domaine De Long Dai 2020 from Shandong.
They were chosen from a pool of 40 Chinese wines.
The fact that tremendous progress has been made in Chinese wines is no excuse to exclude others - unless the city is prepared to dwell in isolation.
