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Life in China The Spirit of Hong Kong
Life in China The Spirit of Hong Kong | The Spirit of Hong Kong |
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| Monday, 02 July 2007 | |
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During my last 15+ years in Asia, I have had the chance to experience first hand, the great, the not so great and the pros and cons of Asia. As you can appreciate, this area of the world has roads filled with great opportunities, as well as some with great big potholes. These gaping caverns will either rip the undercarriage out from under your business vehicle or open up beneath its wheels and swallow it whole. Such is the charm of Hong Kong. To underestimate your competition here would be no different than turning your back on a tiger. Hong Kong alone can make a man or woman, with the guts and determination, rich overnight - or at least that used to be the case. Nowadays it takes wise investment, painstaking promotion and nerves of cold steel. According to most Hongkies (Hong Kong people), what it takes to make it big in Hong Kong, is a well planned bank robbery, a win on the horses or first prize in the elusive mark six lottery. Gone are those times they will tell you, as they rush on the way. The unrealistic question of getting rich in Hong Kong is now becoming more of a myth. Most will argue that if it hadn't been for China opening the gates to the many Chinese tourist wishing to come to Hong Kong, the Tung administration could have all but bankrupted Hong Kong. When you look at the growing billions of renminbi that Mainlanders are spending in Hong Kong per annum, it is clear to see who is in control of Hong Kong's destiny financially. "Big mother" China is continuing to cautiously manoeuvre "little daughter" through recovery and troubled times. No doubt this has been hampered further by the series of minor disasters, what with the Bird Flu, and the dreaded SARS. These were diseases that brought a humble Hong Kong to her knees, but even this failed to stop the wheels of progress in this part of greater China. So what has this got to do with the handover, I hear you saying? Well just this, no matter what has been said before the handover, or dare I say after, the real truth of the handover of Hong Kong seems to be the proud looks of Hong Kong people as they went back to their history and back to their roots. It reminded me of a song in Mandarin that was being broadcast on the radio on the eve of the handover. The lyrics were about a child going back to its mother to be cradled and suckle on its mother's teat. This to me summed up a part of the handover's impact on fellow Hong Kongers. But the real impact of the handover to me is the stories that were running rife in the years running up to the handover. One in particular was being argued by two mainlanders who were sitting behind me in a little side street in Leng Kwai Fung at a great little Vietnamese restaurant I used to haunt. These two twits were sure their fellow countrymen would come over the hills like a huge red carpet and would walk into any Hong Kong house of their choosing and take possession of the property, as would be their right after the handover. Foolish - perhaps. Far-fetched - well that depends on who you talked to in Hong Kong. There were so many different ideas and versions about what would or what would not happen at the time of the handover, that making a safe bet was the same as keeping quiet and adopting a wait and see attitude. During SARS and the occasional bout of the bird flu, I have seen a side of Hong Kong that sums up the place, the people and their position. I also witnessed the power of wanting to be free to choose, as hundreds of thousands marched against what they deemed to be Central Government interference in their freedom and way of life and against Article 23. This to me symbolised that the handover was the roof protecting the one country, two systems policy, and that the beams supporting the roof were the strength and the spirit of freedom here being voiced by the Hong Kong people. Hong Kong will continue to be a place with world renowned charm and excitement. The home of the one and only Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Dragon Boats and Hongkies climbing up a pole to grab some unknown bakers' buns. It is a place like no other. So if you asked me whether the Hong Kong people could change, or be made to change, I would tell you straight...No way! Or Mou Ho Lum! Michael S. Fletcher |
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