I was at a Hong Kong currency exchange station counting my coins when suddenly it jumped out at me.
A 10 cent Hong Kong coin with a profile of Queen Elizabeth the second was staring at me with one cold right eye. Though I’m sure it would be an all too common sighting if I lived and worked in Hong Kong to the point where the significance of that worn piece of metal would be lost on me, at that moment I felt like I was holding a piece of history, a history that still permeates the streets of Hong Kong but is quickly being submerged and quieted by an increasingly influential modern China.
Not 20 years ago, Hong Kong was part of the British Commonwealth, and the impact the Brits left on Hong Kong is still highly visible today. The streets signs are all in English. They study the King’s English in school. The subway announcer sounds distinctly British. There are signs that tell you to use the “lift” when you have a baby “pram”. Parents will often send their children to British universities. Even Hong Kong food is a messy fusion of East and West cuisines. And despite this lasting legacy, the new China is slowly but surely eroding the Britishness of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was officially handed over to China from the UK in 1997, but with a caveat. Hong Kong gets to remain sovereign for 50 more years, under a “one country, two systems” rule, and thus is not fully under Chinese control… yet. This is made extremely obvious at the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, where you have to go through an often crowded customs and immigration line, and have your passport stamped upon entry. So although Hong Kong is legally Chinese territory, it’s as if you’re crossing the border of any two regular countries.
The mainland Chinese influence may not seem obvious at first, but there are a few telltale signs that it’s there, and there to stay. As the wealth of the average Chinese family increases, more and more of them are making spontaneous weekend excursions to Hong Kong to spend their money as they please. The many crowds in Hong Kong are peppered with mainland Chinese people, and the Mandarin language sometimes competes with Cantonese in certain situations. An increasing amount of students are now learning Mandarin in school, with the government promoting it as a language of business. The subway announcer, in addition to Cantonese and English, now speaks Mandarin. Many people who work in retail will also be proficient in the language, eager to snag an easy sale from a visiting mainlander.
So what does all this influence mean for Hong Kong in the near future? I nor anyone can be completely certain. The Hong Kong people frequently protest against what they see as dangerously encroaching Chinese influence, ready to fight what they deem to be the battle of their generation. You may question why there should be such an uproar over being under Chinese rule. Having lived in Shenzhen (in mainland China) and making many frequent trips across the border to Hong Kong, I can tell you this for sure: Hong Kong and China are so vastly different, you would wonder how these two places even sprung up next to each other. The people behave differently, think differently, care about different things, and overall live a different day to day life. Which is why so many are worried that once their 50 years are up, all that could change. They are afraid that the institutions that built the city: democracy, capitalism, trade and finance, and a unique Hong Konger culture, would no longer be relevant in daily life. Though legally part of China, Hong Kong doesn’t quite fit in with the idea of China at all.
If we look at culture as an institution, then we can see why Hong Kong is so reluctant to give up what they spent centuries building. From its beginnings as a port city with a strong European influence to its evolution as a global financial capital, Hong Kong is one of the few cities in the world that can lay claim to being called a “world city”, where people from all walks of life and every continent not only visit and live there, but actively contribute to an international culture that is recognized as being one of a kind. This “worldly” aspect of Hong Kong is so strongly evident in everyday life and held deeply by many citizens of the city that they are afraid that with a Chinese government, all of that could be erased in a generation or two. Hong Kong is neither a “Chinese” nor a “Western” city. It is what it is: uniquely “Hong Kong”, and that is the moniker by which a majority of the citizens identify themselves. It is this, I believe, that is keeping the anti-China movement going strong: an unparalleled belief in Hong Kong’s individuality, its own culture, its unrivaled way of life that any abrupt change would be tantamount to assimilation.
Here’s to preserving one of the most fascinating cities in the world.