The horse race, the handover and my evolution as a Hong Konger

My parents and I came to Hong Kong as immigrants from Mainland China when I was two years old. Like most other immigrants, my parents hoped to make a good living in this capitalistic, British-ruled colony, since the rest of China was under communist rule.

Not surprisingly, I grew up feeling different from my peers. Even though I spoke fluent Cantonese and knew as much about Hong Kong as any of my friends, I didn't feel like one of the "Hong Kongers". I was a "Mainland boy" — an unwelcoming nickname local people called Main-land immigrants.

As I was growing up, I began to hear about "97," when Hong Kong would be handed over to China. Secretly I longed for that day — the day when Hong Kong would unite with her "motherland" and the day when I would feel more at home.

Back in the 80s, people talked about "97" as if it were a distant myth. There were jokes about how a "good life" should entail making as much money as possible before "97" and flying off to some tropical island to enjoy life. There were even postulations that the British government might force the Chinese government to give up Hong Kong.

Then came the Tiananman Square incident on June 4, 1989. The myth of handover became a dreadful reality. People feared the famous promise a senior Chinese official delivered in 1984 — to "keep the horse race and dance going" (two all-time favorites for Hong Kong adults) — would be an empty one.

In the years that followed, I noticed a number of my classmates, especially those coming from wealthier families, leaving for foreign countries like Canada. I saw on television long lines of people hurrying to get a British national overseas passport (which has nothing to do with British citizenship), while lines for a local Hong Kong special administrative region passport were hardly visible.

I also learned from the media that the "good life" would not exist in Hong Kong after 1997. There would be no more democracy or autonomy. I wondered, though, if we ever had either of these as a colony.

Support nonprofit student journalism. Donate to the ‘Prince’. Donate now »

Then my turn to leave Hong Kong came. Thinking that I had experienced all of Hong Kong, I decided to study abroad in Singapore in 1996. My parents supported my decision. Strangely, on the first night I spent away from Hong Kong, I felt a strong desire to go back there. But I couldn't explain why.

In Singapore, I was able to observe Hong Kong from a distance. There were major outcries on the "death of democracy." I empathized with the protesters, but I didn't understand the absence of such outcries in the past, when the British appointed all Hong Kong governors.

One year after the handover — after people calmed down from the various celebrations — Hong Kong was caught in the tides of the Asian economic crises. While people were cheering for the government's unprecedented move to back up the stock indices (against the views of international speculators like George Soros), they also fervently criticized the government's decision to increase the supply of public housing when the real estate prices were at the lowest they had been in several years (incidentally, the latter policy was a remnant from the colonial government).

I started to understand that the people of Hong Kong focus more on their economic and social livelihood than on politics or ideology. Their fears about the handover and their dislike for Mainlanders are the product of their desire to live undisturbed lives. This lack of understanding among Hong Kong's people has kept me from feeling at home in Hong Kong since childhood.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Now it has been almost five years since the handover. The members of the democratic parties are still complaining about the "death of democracy," while some of them are losing in elections because of their lack of focus on improving the livelihood of the Hong Kong community. Yet, the horse race and dance still seem to be going on.

Life in Hong Kong hasn't changed much due to the handover, other than the fact that the political figureheads have changed. I don't know how long the status quo will continue, but then, who knows what will happen five years from now? After all, five years ago, few people guessed China would become a member of the World Trade Organization.

One thing I do know now, though, is the reason I felt strangely homesick the first day I left Hong Kong. I guess my heart was just faster than my mind in recognizing my true home.