HONG KONG CONTEXT |
The People of Hong Kong |
Hong Kong, originally a British colony, blends western and eastern lifestyles very well. The people of Hong Kong often still enjoy forms of entertainment that were brought over by the British, such as horse racing, jazz clubs, and they have a wide variety of cuisine from all parts of the world. Their lifestyle is fairly hectic, but are traditionally relaxed and time for fun. Because it is such a dense area, people of all social classes will have a lot of interaction and shows Hong Kong as a very unified community ("Hong Kong Local Lifestyle"). The mass protests, as bad as they are for Hong Kong, prove this sense of unity of the Hong Kongers have with one another; People of all sorts, from billionaires to the blue collar workers join in on the protesters to fight for a unified cause. These protesters, although have slowed down business and day to day activity "doesn't mean [they] have to put [their] lives on hold" says Jeffery Mok who was interviewed by Russel Goldman of The New York times. Traditional day to day activities remain operational, but with extra caution to not get caught up in the wrong crowd, literally. These protests have definitely also slowed down business activity and decreased sales, but businesses are still selling goods, restaurants are still operational and taking reservations, and schools have still started on time. On weekends, which as we established as traditionally laid back, have become the opposite of that as protest days are the most prominent on weekends. Despite the activity of citizens in the protests have been high, come "Monday, everyone goes back to work" (Goldman). |
Issues in Hong Kong |
Since 1997 Hong Kong has been identified as a part of China, but be able to have its own government that can make decisions within the city. This has lead Hong Kong to be known under the principle of "one country, two systems". Since most of the Hong Kongers do not deal with international problems, they have lived under the democracy, as opposed to the Communist party of China, which was set in stone by this principle. The people also can express freedom of speech and assembly. These luxuries, however seem to be on a decline. China is starting to implement its traditional rule of the mainland China to the self sustaining state. The people of Hong Kong are not happy with this and many issues have resulted from the rule of the Chinese government.
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What Makes Hong Kong Beautiful? |
Hong Kong's existence as a seamless blend between western and eastern cultures. Daily life is similar to Europe or the United states, with its own Asian flair. The city is also so dense and compact, that all sorts of people interact with each other and their is very little social divide ("Hong Kong"). Hong Kong's existence, for now at least, of being "one country under two systems" is in its own way beautiful. The sense of self autonomy and self-sustaining away from their parent country of China (Hughes). Hong Kong, with it being such a small space, the only way to fit more people is to build upward. This has led to a plethora of skyscrapers, making it a true concrete jungle. These buildings contain residences and businesses alike so their is always movement in the city. The city is also a very active and successful port city, leading to even more activity within the country. The country seems to be in constant movement, which seems super unique. Hopefully all of the issues regarding the protests in Hong Kong end soon, so the true beauty of the city can shine. |