Recently, I had a chance to revisit Hong Kong after more than 5 years. My last trip was in Feb 2017 for my previous banking job. My wife was also on a business trip this time and I tagged along for the free accommodation plus we decided to also add a weekend extension for a short vacation.
I had always found HK to be a fast-moving city with its citizens always on the move. They have a never say die attitude for life and believe that no one owes you a living except that you have to work hard to get what you want. The laissez-faire environment with minimum government intervention means that it was a great place to do business in. I wanted to see how HK has changed after COVID and the after-effects of the 2019 riots clampdowns.
For the first few days, I had the opportunity to roam around the city on my own to soak in the sights. I had also signed up for 2 walking tours to experience first-hand via the insights of local tour guides. It was enlightening and heartwarming to re-engage with the country again. My association with HK goes back many years with HK ex-colleagues and vacations with the family there.
My timing was also perfect as the government decided to suddenly remove all requirements for mask-wearing on the second day of our arrival. It was initially targeted to be phased in within the next few weeks but given that Macau had done it a day earlier, they decided to cut short the rollout of the relaxation of the restrictions. It felt odd for the locals to show their faces after more than 3 years of hiding behind face masks.
I started the vacation with an introductory walking tour in Central with a female guide and 3 other fellow travellers. She showed us a number of land renewal projects like the Central Market Building, Tai Kwun (Former Central Police Station Compound) and PMQ (historic site of the old Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters) as we walked around the Central business district.
As I understand Cantonese, I had a good conversation with the tour guide to understand the HK situation over the past few years and how it has affected their livelihoods there. Everyone was cautiously optimistic coming out of the lockdowns. Many are trying to come to terms that a slow return to normal is finally happening after almost 3+ years.
I also had good sunset drinks meet-up with an old schoolmate who had settled down in HK for 20+ years with his HK wife. He had also set up a successful accounting firm in the city. The pub he chose for our drinks was next to the Jockey club. The cool 16-18 degrees Celsius weather under the setting sun was a lovely setting for a few pints of Guinness.
The following day, I met my friend again at his office before going for lunch. I see the old electrified narrow HK tram cars moving through Hong Kong island as a nostalgic reminder of its past. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to take the tram from one end of the city to the other and back. It was only HKD 3 per trip each way and it took me a total of 2.5 hours to enjoy the rich history of HK as a tourist on the upper deck of the double-decker tram bus to watch the world go by.
HK has many old buildings along the tram journey which remain untouchable as the crazy rise in real estate prices made it hard to acquire for redevelopment. Those that are lucky to have owned properties cling onto them as rental costs shoot up. Public housing is so difficult to obtain and the younger generation seems resigned to not being able to experience home ownership. New private rental units are also becoming smaller and 200+ square feet units are the norm now.
Over the next 2 days, I explored the Kowloon side to try to discover the real HK where most of the population put up at. I signed up for another walking tour on Friday which was called the “Dark Side of Kowloon”. The well-spoken guide brought us 4severalo a number of historical sites and the rich stories behind them. We visited the flower, aquarium fish and pet bird markets to understand the history of how they are created.
The final part of the 2 hours tour was the most unforgettable part. He explained about the terrible housing situation of the unseen and unheard population who are surviving below the poverty line. As an example, he highlighted that a citizen earning an average annual salary would need up to 30 years of his pay just to be able to afford to buy a new shoebox apartment at current prices.
We were ushered into an actual micro apartment in Kowloon to see whlike. It was basically a space formed from the segmentation of a dark and narrow upper floor of one of the old buildings. The room measured 10 by 10 feet wide without any windows. They managed to squeeze in a shower point and cooking area with a bed for a family to live within. The rental cost was about HKD 5,000 per month.
We often hear about coffin-like human cages being offered as a cheaper alternative. We were shown one such space which was just big enough for a single bed that the renter can put all his belongings within the coffin-like box cage and use a lock to secure his belongings. It was going for HKD 1,800 per month. Bed bugs are a constant problem in these cramped living quarters.
The government has historically been profit-driven and depends too much on land sales (>20%) for revenue. Too many people have been stuffed into these unlivable quarters in Kowloon that the real number is unknown. The government doesn’t have a solution to offer. Public housing is non-existent and the last thing they want to do is to have a proper consensus on this situation to discover that most are fire hazards waiting to happen with many safety issues. It is a hornet’s nest they prefer not to stir.
I have bittersweet memories of HK. It was the gateway to China and prospered for many years because the northern China Dragon had opened up in the 1980s. The false pretence of British-influenced democratic ideas before the 1997 handover to China had doomed a new generation to failure. This came to a head in the 2019 riots. Big brother has patiently waited for Covid to settle down before clamping down on the “traitors” to the motherland in 2022.
Chinese cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are now ready to steal the limelight away from HK. Its strategic value will continue to diminish over time as it continues to experience more brain drain in the ongoing China/USA tensions. Those that remain will continue to have a mixed sense of loyalty to HK or to China. Hopefully, there will be a push to increase public housing as it was and continue to be a big sore point for its citizens.
HK’s past glories seem to be impossible to relight again post-Covid given its current situation. It will require more governmental changes and willpower to help its citizens reposition for the future. I wish it the best of luck as the city starts to open up now.
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