Hong Kong - Is it China?

It's best that I travel solo because any company I have would probably become quickly annoyed with my insistent engagement with the locals. I want to learn about the life and culture of the people by spending time with them. I think you can remove a lot of the mystery that way as well as feasting on a Thai curry or French croissant (which actually originated in Austria). In a different life I’m sure I would have been aspiring to the role of a foreign correspondent but I won't get ahead of myself 😉

Here comes your Ebay item

There appears to be an overwhelming majority of Hong Kong citizens that do not want to live under Chinese rule post 2047 but over time that balance could move the other way as the migration of about 55,000 Chinese mainlanders per year continues. Slightly offsetting this number are several thousand Hong Kong natives receiving British National Overseas passports - the application criteria stipulates that they must have been born before July 1997. Carefully study netween the lines here.

Legacy of British rule still stands amongst the concrete and glass syndrome

I try not to generalise but after seeking out opinions from people of Hong Kong and mainland China I was surprised with the consistency from both sides. My abode in Kowloon was nestled in old areas amongst markets and third world laneways despite the glitzy plazas and modern streets just metres away. Quite a contrast but a perfect space to blend in and have some interesting personal dialogue. In a crowded coffee shop I met a Chinese-Malaysian who was interested in my journey and more than happy to translate for me while she practiced her english. Yes - of course I paid for her lunch and coffee and she knew a great vegetarian restaurant for later - yessss!

The Chinese mainlanders I spoke to think that Hong Kong people are spoilt, opinionated and despise the 1997 change to China's domain. They also said Hong Kong people are not interested in conforming to China’s will and are always complaining about theIr own Hong Kong Government. Sounds like democracy to me.

The Hong Kong natives see mainland Chinese as a nation of rude, money-hungry, uneducated and materialistic people. One academic I met on the train said “that due to China’s long legacy of a 'one baby per family' policy an army of ‘spoiled brats' has morphed into a burgeoning middle class on a scale never seen before in any nation - not even India”.

They also have issue where Chinese mainland women are giving birth in Hong Kong hospitals to gain permanent residency thereby directly competing for places paid for by tax-paying Hong Kong women....ouch!! One woman's dreams of a better life was soon shattered when all she and her new-born daughter got was a space in a shared apartment no bigger than a double bed. She probably would have been better off staying in regional mainland China than as another economic refugee in an already overcrowded megalopolis. Her other daughter and husband still remain in Nanchong

In 2008 China experienced an infant milk scam where thousands of Chinese infants became sick and some died due to tainted milk, China's apparently inadequate quality comtrol standards at the time appear to have allowed dubious practices to occur. Chinese milk producers were adding water to increase item volume and make more profit but this reduced the protein level so they added melamine crystals to increase the nitrogen levels thereby increasing the perceived protein levels to pass the production test. Hard to believe they would knowingly poison their own young. Most modern kitchen bench tops and cupboards are made of melamine.

Up to four families per apartment

After this, Australia's ‘safe green' reputation quickly became attractive to young Chinese parents. I can totally understand a parent wanting safe milk for their children - I would.
Immediately this triggered an infant milk powder buying frenzy in Australia where a network of several hundred thousand Chinese women shoppers in Australia called the ‘Daigou’ were cleaning out all the stores across Australia, re-packaging them and sending back to China at huge profit margins. This still continues to this day and unfortuntately many shop staff are being abused by these women for trying to limit their purchases indicating the sign that displays 'Only eight per purchase' but the Daigou come back again later or send another person to buy for them the next day. This also directly competes with Australian parents trying to obtain the product which in many places are empty shortly after the shop or pharmacy opens.

This network now permeates many sectors of the Australian retail industry where the Diagou are happy to explore other products to send back to China. We’ve seen the impact in the real estate sector. On the other hand the Australian retail sector for instance has quickly developed some new niche markets to capitalise on this new wave of Chinese middle-class consumerism. How can a nation of 25 million compete with a nation of 1.5 billion? I'm not passing judgement as any nation, developing or not will have material opportunists. Welcome to the new world.

In 1982 I saw a compelling philosophical futuristic film called Blade Runner set in the year 2019 starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, directed by the gifted Ridley Scott. Quite a prophetic impression of Eurasian cities of the future.