An increasing lack of freedom of speech. Zero right to elect our own leader. Unforgivable property prices. Endless worries about what our future holds.
For Hongkongers — and in particular my own cohort, young Hongkongers — there seems to be no more reason left to defend our city.
All of which could explain why many of us don’t even want to be here anymore. We’re supposed to be the keepers of our city’s future and all of that – but, apparently, 60% of people aged between 18 to 29 are ready to ship out.
How did it come to this?
I grew up with the idea of ‘An Unchanged 50 Years,’ a premise that was enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. It was supposed to guarantee a number of things instrumental to Hong Kong retaining its way of life — under a ‘One Country, Two Systems’ arrangement — for five decades after the ‘handover’ to China, from Britain, in 1997.
I remember being reprimanded at school when – asked by a teacher what I thought ‘An Unchanged 50 Years’ meant – I told him “the horses will keep racing, and the dancers will keep dancing.” That was a common saying in Cantonese at the time and one that essentially expressed the idea that Hong Kong would carry on as it was, remaining prosperous and free.
Among the things we were promised would stay the same were Hong Kong’s much-cherished rule of law, and various laws guaranteeing our basic freedoms.
Well, fast forward 20 years and you don’t need to know much about Hong Kong’s current state of affairs to know that in many regards ‘An Unchanged 50 Years’ is a phrase that already rings hollow.
Are we truly free to express our opinions here in the SAR (Special Administrative Region) when banners bearing pro-independence slogans are landing university students in hot water? Let’s not forget that pro-independence sentiment has only grown because Article 45 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law – a section of our mini-constitution that stipulates our Chief Executive is to be selected by universal suffrage “upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures” – has been trampled over and buried by the powers that be in Beijing.
A sense of political dejection and cynicism is becoming widespread: almost en masse, young people simply no longer trust the government.
It’s hardly a coincidence that a large proportion of young entrepreneurs in this town are either former bankers who decided to quit their jobs in finance and put their savings to work in other ways, or are fortunate enough to have come from families who can support them in their innovative ventures
What’s the correct response? You can choose to shut it all out if you like. I know some people who do. But just sticking to the daily grind doesn’t make me feel any more confident about what lies ahead.
With the city’s housing market being one of the most expensive in the world, it’s very difficult for members of my generation to get on the property ladder. That might not be such a big problem were it not for the fact that property-owning is generally a measure of success here — a way of thinking that is deeply ingrained in the city’s culture. And paying sky-high rent every month instead is hardly a thrilling alternative.
The pressures faced by young people in Hong Kong, financial or otherwise, cannot help but cut into all aspects of our lives. Let’s face it: it’s hard — some might say impossible — to be creative and ambitious and far-sighted when, even in a “good” job, you struggle to pay the bills every month. It’s hardly a coincidence that a large proportion of young entrepreneurs in this town are either former bankers who decided to quit their jobs in finance and put their savings to work in other ways, or are fortunate enough to have come from families who can support them in their innovative ventures.
For the rest of us, though, it’s a case of no real freedom, no say in what happens next, and no space to dream. Can you blame us for running out of reasons to champion Hong Kong?
Like the disqualified pro-democracy lawmaker Yau Wai-ching said in 2016: “Even if we wanted to go banging (yeah, she meant sex), we couldn’t find a room to do it. Under debt, young people are facing limited options in spaces to bang in… What dreams can we have for our future?”
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-gnor, is fond of pointing to dissatisfaction among young people in other parts of the world when reminded of their disenfranchisement here. But the more she and others ignore the counsel of despair sweeping through my own generation, the more likely large swathes of us are to want to escape.
A stupid article with cheap and ignorant sentiments! Hong Kong has its own government which is a lot better than being under UK’s boot and being exploited.
My father’s friend retired to Hong Kong from Penang around 1960 and had to sleep in a bunk bed in the corridor of an apartment building. Living conditions are a lot better now in Hong Kong.
The door is always open, Andrea. The freedom to choose is there.
Nice read.
I realised I made a huge mistake during my time at Nottingham Trent university, all I did was sell my classmates and new friends even lecturers, of how great Hong Kong is. So much better than Nottingham or England at times, people didn’t like my opinions, 2006-2010. I came back to HK in 2011, went to sha tin new town plaza, the go to mall for Shatin college kids. I couldn’t believe the cognitive dissonance walking through the mall. I started regretting how much I built up Hong Kong to people who had never even visited. I hope they don’t cos everything I told them about how great it is. Doesn’t exist anymore.
So, being under Beijing’s boot is better than the "British boot"?
This article shows how spoilt and brainwashed these youths are from UK. A real shame. These kids want freedom but never bear any responsibility. Does she really think it’s easy for anyone to own a place when US has printed cheap money for a decade and inflate home prices everywhere in the world? She wants independence but does she know what water and food rationing is, when HK is dependent from mainland for 70% and 95% for water and food? Is she prepared to go to jail like the Catalan leaders are, or is she just going to join a relay hunger strike like that idiot Joshua? If she gets universal suffrage and elects an idiot like Trump, is she responsible for the carnage? The truth is, without any sacrifice, one cannot get ahead in life. When there’s obstacle, all she can do is complain. Well, you can’t really blame her as the entire pro democracy camp in HK is a bunch of cheap self entitled clowns.
Its the same everywhere. Try live and grow up in the City of London, or lower Manhattan NY and be there all your life and never go anywhere even within the NY state, you’ll suffocate too. A large part of it has nothing to do with China-British joint declaration or democracy or what not, its about being restrained to living in a highly develped, capitalist, overly congested financial city all your life. The young (and clueless) people think independence or more political say will better their life in such setting, its like have a say in what spoon you can use but its the same old soup!
Go ahead, embrace "hongkong exit" and get out of there. Expand your life out rather than constrain yourself as a "hongkonger" sit and gorw gray in one city on this planet.
You want freedom of speech and all the jazzy human rights bill of goods Western democracy having been selling yet fail to see the many advantages of living in a harmonious society. You can have freedom, but in having freedom, you deny freedom to someone else. It’s the way of the world, it’s a consequence of living in a society, any society. Living together means we have obligations to each other; it must be so for society to exist at all. The freedoms you seek are illusory. A deserted island is the most free place on earth.
The rule of law does not exist in HK anymore? Really? There’s no freedom in HK? The Umbrella protests lasted nearly 3 incredible months. On the whole, the HK authorities were lenient and measured in their response. Compare it to the way the US govt cracked down on the Occupy protests. It was a sharp and shock response. And that’s right in the holy land of democracy.
There seems to be a conflation in the writer’s mind between political freedom and better economics (reasonable housing, cost of living etc). But the one does not necessarily beget the other. Unfettered elections and rights to protest this and that do not guarantee you prosperity. The many social problems that the US, with its now dysfunctional democratic system, faces currently demonstrates this clearly enough.
HK’s housing problem is not peculiar to HK. In part, the problem is capitalism, the idea of the survival of the fittest, profiteering and limitless growth. Land scarcity will always put a pressure on property prices. It’s no different in KL or Singapore or Sydney, for that matter, though admittedly HK could take a leaf from Singapore and initiate cheaper public housing.
As much as she would like to believe it, more democracy is not the panacea to the problems that HK faces.
Hongkies, if you don’t wake up, lie flat and be the "sick man" of Asia.
Ken Nguyen: You have shown to be a fine surrogate to praise the virtues your commie friends. Keep it up!
Defending HK is a mirage. Remember Tien Mien square mesachre? Chinese , if they don’t like you, simply water to HK and make HKongians go thirsty. No need to send tanks!
The truth is the truth and all the bullshit propaganda cannot hide the truth.
We remember Cornell University where students were massacred by the National Guard only only a few days of protest.
WOW Andrea, you really know how to stir the pot …. good for you !!!
Is there any reason left to defend the People’s Republic of China, which will likely be depopulated by ICBMs with neutron bombs?
Attaboy, Sheldon.
Terry Westerway They are more successful, have much more development, can at least have some democratic say into who their executive leader is, and they went from around 60th to one of the best in the world on the World Banks listing of least corrupt societies.