Economist Stephen Roach Declares ‘Hong Kong is Over’

While his opinion has triggered a strong reaction among some, the city’s indexes of real estate, finance, and other areas have corroborated what he’s said.

Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University, speaks on the panel "China's Future: The Sky Is Not Falling" at the 2016 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. on May 3, 2016. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Stephen Roach, former Morgan Stanley Asia chair and once considered a friend of Beijing, recently sparked controversy with his statement, “Hong Kong is over.”

“It pains me to admit it, but Hong Kong is now over,” Mr. Roach wrote in a commentary in the Financial Times on Feb. 12.