this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
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And here again, come the misinformed people putting words into an article they didn't read to justify their misinformed viewpoints. I will add this as a Hongkonger—
Everything in the article is more or less true. Before the handover of Hong Kong to China, Hong Kong's minority of Europeans were much more active and prevalent (because they had a disproportionate amount of political power and controlled a lot of the wealth). After the handover, this special status went away and naturally, the Chinese majority took over the Government. Through the decades, Chinese investment and the power of the Chinese economy have wrestled away economic hegemony from Western companies, although American and European money still holds a lot of power in Hong Kong. Infamously, after US President Donald Trump put HK Chief Executive Carrie Lam on the sanctions list, the banks closed her accounts and she was forced to receive her salary in cash.
Nonetheless, the white minority in Hong Kong were still active from a cultural and economic standpoint, but they are leaving. These are the reasons—
I will, however, give a brief mention of the fact that this article mentions the exodus of white people, but it is important to note that there is also more than ever a growing minority of South Asian people (Indian subcontinent, Indonesia and Malaysia, &c.). I think it is pretty racist to not count those people as contributing to the internationalism of a city. Nonetheless, these people tend to be employed in an exploitative system of domestic labour rather than participating as genuine equals. They do not enjoy the same rights as Chinese Hongkongers or white Hongkongers and labour laws do not afford them nearly the same protections. They form an underclass, something that Hong Kong likes to sweep under the rug. More Hongkongers than will admit are openly racist to them; a slang term for an Indian person is a homophone for "a worse [person]"
I would assume that being poorer both limits their voice when raising issues and makes their ability to leave harder. It sounds like the non white minorities are major victims and hit with a double whammy here. I suppose that happens a lot in history but I agree that it should be pointed out here as well.
Most non-white minorities employed in Hong Kong are still paid wages high enough to sustain their families back in their home countries. But there are few legal protections for them. Most labour laws don't apply to them. Just as an example, the Minimum Wage Ordinance doesn't apply to domestic workers. They are paid a pittance compared to those who employ them (just a few thousand HKD a month) and cannot survive if they aren't given the free room and board by those who employ them.
Still, there is a vibrant culture. Just walking down the streets of Sham Shui Po you can see them congregating in the streets, around the Western Union office, or Jollibee on their weekly one day off. There are also places like the Chunking Mansion in Tsim Tsa Tsui, which some people have called a "Kowloon Walled City 2.0", but that is false; it's a thriving centre of South Asian culture in Hong Kong. There are probably other places too that I just don't know of.
Lol you could earn more than 2.5k USD as an IT intern in Shenzhen
I'm sure I could but I would rather eat my own shit than live in Shenzhen.