I think it's doing relatively well. HK officials enact their own laws and censorship is actually little to non from my experience. China has been surprisingly liberal in handling HK especially after the huge rally against Article 23 in 2003. If anything, many immigrants who initially left HK prior to 1997 are now returning and it's job market/economy is doing really well. The lifestyle of the people from what I know hasn't really been affected much. Still very much westernized with little influence from it's communist mother. Let's hope this can stay the same after 2047 when China will officially have a more commanding role.
Well said, I think that sums it up. I don't feel that much change except many of my friends have left and gone back to the UK or the States... I am finding HK boring now, it's all about the mainlanders... ever since China has allowed them to visit here and open local bank accounts. They have seeped into society through tourism and real estate. Most locals think this is the end of HK from what it used to be... Maybe I am grumbling too much being here since 1992, but I am in need of inspiration from art and culture. HK has none of that. The lack of creativity and galleries here is making me think about moving elsewhere... We are constantly hearing horrific stories in China like man-made eggs from pulp and chemicals, soaking a sea bed of dead carcasses to extract oil to sell as cooking oil, peanut butter made from rotten sewerage, industrial bleach for better looking rice noodles, unripe bananas sprayed with chemicals to make it look ripe and many many other fucked up stories. So it's not just the Gov we are scared of since it's more than politics and the people that filter through into our daily lives... I don't read or write Chinese so I don't get that freaky exposure that my wife gets to read in the local newspapers or see on the news... but hearing it is bad enough... Also seeing the recent Tibet documentary has made me more scared of being in HK. Probably just paranoia but it's hard not to think about that when you hear daily things about China in the newspaper and from friends... I am sure Eric -> Garadama has his different view on it too since he is 100% born and bred HKer..
Partially right, but I immigrated and stayed in vancouver for over 10 yrs. Goshhh, I will back there for retirement coz I love there. I don't think there is much difference after the 1997 - china take over HK. Even though HK is now is part of china instead of a colony of england. We still exercise our own legal , economic, health, education system. Thanks china that give 50 yrs to hk for our own way to play with. It is guaranteed that nothing will be changed for the coming 50 yrs (starting from 1997). We maintained our legal system (british way, common law) except basic law is injected into the system. With such a stablized legal system as foundation, all aspect of the society is running and growing pretty well. I admitted that there are quite some horrific breaking news usually stunted us. Especially during dinner time, the news like kidclam mentioned is true but it didn't bother us. HK is running under a different system, people here never worry bout those horrific news, coz hk is like an encapsulated region - they call it "special administrative region". They had their own system, their own custom department, health control, police force,... etc. All we eat, we watch, we listen is quite different from mainland. All food import are well monitored, the book , the school you attended is running under a different system totally different from mainland china. The police force is separated, and we even have an efficient department to fight corruption. According to basic law, we are given the freedom of speech, freedom of publication, freedom of this and that. I don't see anything wrong with our different aspects of freedom here. It is correct, we are now seeing more and more people coming to HK for sightseeing, doing business, investing.. The trend I only see is that more and more wealthy people are coming; but the drawback is nothing is cheap here including apartment, food, transportation, clothes, luxury coz people with strong buying power is coming here everyday. OH !!! Nothing is cheap except my salary !!! 2 types of people from china are flowing in HK, 1)the wealthy one coz their investment are well protected here , their investment especially properties have a lot potential since hk had been built as a financial hub here. 2) the people who live under the line of poverty. They come and enjoy the free benefit provided by government. They tried to enjoy the medical service, the welfare. Regarding the TIBET, Chinese government had been trying ways to improve their living standard, their economy, their health system, their exposure for years. Like the TIBET railway just brought to production in 2006. That is a great railway to bring the TIBET people closer to other place in china. With such, tourism, hotel, retail business are greatly improved. Lots of banks are open there even population may be well supported to let the bank to make a fortune. Why the government is going that ? Friends of mine who visited there a few times just see their living and the evironment is improved. And one thing we just know... some countries are backing up some kind of groups or people to perform and carry out some sort activities. Some countries trying to stir and create CHAOS (not chaos in RxH) to imped the growth of the red dragon. http://www.senate.gov/~clinton/news/sta ... ?id=248604 "I was pleased to co-sponsor the Tibetan Policy Act to support substantive dialogue between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives and to strengthen the capacity of the United States Government to promote such dialogue. " By Hillary Rodham Clinton I was intrigued why Hillary had to create chaos, and provide money to people over there way back in 2001. p.s. I am not a 100% bred HKer coz I only live there from 1 to 10 , then enjoyed my high school and University in vancovuer. And worked in japan, taiwan, bharain, kuwait afterwards.[/b]
Hey Eric I forgot you were in Canada. Oops. Also I know many Mainlanders come down to have their children born here to get citizenship right?
I'm a bit confused with what you are saying here, are you supporting China's destruction of the enviornment and abuse of human life? If so, are you rationalising it with banks, retail stores and the Red Dragon economy? I can't see any of that as a good thing. Allowing tibetian culture to just be destroyed fr the sake of HSBC, McDonalds etc... In our ever decreasing global, more and more cultures are being destroyed. I mean, even here, in England, I moved from the states cuz I was bored of America, but in my time here it's becoming more and more Americanised. We don't need that sort of crap happening in places that actually have real culture (I'm not saying that England doesn't have a culture... I'd just be hard pressed to put a finger on what exactly it is beyond getting rat assed and watching footie... oh yeah, and whinging a lot, but not really doing anything about it. Either way, I love Britain.)
Did you know the pollution is so bad in China it actually blows all the way to California? Thats like environmental warfare. Another view on the railway: "Criticism Opponents of China's Tibet policies claimed that the railway was built to strengthen its political control over Tibet. [13] It is alleged by these opponents that the railway will encourage further immigration from the rest of China, reducing the proportion of Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Tibetans find it increasingly difficult to compete in the job market against skilled Han workers (most of the workers on the railway were of the Han ethnicity).[14] Tibetans and activist groups have also expressed concerns that the Chinese government will use the railway to strengthen its military presence in the Tibet Autonomous Region as well as to further exploit Tibet's natural resources and damage its environment. As a result, Bombardier Transportation, a Canadian company, has faced international criticism from some pro-independence organizations for its involvement in constructing rail cars for the project.[15][16][17]" I think that to say Tibet must be doing better because HK is doing fine is like saying New Orleans shouldn't complain about Katrina and the govt since California is doing well. Just my view.
This topic recently came up with a friend of mine and I found this on the Dalai Lama's Wikipedia page: "In his view, oral, manual and anal sex (both homosexual and heterosexual) is not acceptable in Buddhism or for Buddhists..." Down with the Dalai Lama! ;p
