A short note about Hong Kong

Posted here is a short note I wrote to summarize some of my (admittedly superficial) impressions of Hong Kong in the past few days (and the few previous stays). I am not willing to endore the validity of these prepositions; it’s only written to provide a set of themes that can be modified, challenged or confirmed in the rest of my (real or intellectual) journey. Apparently many of the following concepts are interrelated, or at least can be traced back to the same historical cause. This would need further elaboration.

 

1.       Social fragmentation, not only of social-economical classes, but also of the diverse and complex pattern of identities (from the divided political identities after China’s civil war to the de-national identities in later generations). Such fragmentation is also correlated with various social-spatial aspects like housing, schooling, employment and so on.  

2.       A Sense of Insecurity, a legacy from its war-time memories (majority of the population were decedents of WWII refugees) and the long memories of having a pending, post-97 future.  

3.       (1.2.>) Mentality of Transitional State, with emigration widely considered as an option.

4.       (1.2.3>) Low level of social coherence and commitment.

5.       High Population Density

6.       (5>) High concentration of interpersonal encounters, which led to (1) the need for a clear distinction between in-group and strangers, (2) inter-stranger contact well channeled in professional modes of interaction.

7.       (5>) High level of Urbanization, which creates the unique landscape and made a comprehensive and frequently-served public transportation system possible.

8.       (partially 7>) Penetration of Governance Rationality. Colonial government legitimized by its capabilities in creating an efficient and economically competitive city-state. The imperative of efficiency and competiveness can well be discerned in its traffic construction, facilities, urban design and etc.

9.       A sense of elitism, as manifested in its education system design and public discourse. 

10.    Penetration of Consumerism and Market metaphor with an underlying individualistic philosophy.

11.    High level of Competition for Attention, as manifested by the size of advertisement board, lighting box, speakers and screens, which imposes much stress on our sensual system and therefore deprive the space for pondering and patiently reading.

12.     (10, 11.>) Self-presentation (dress, cv-building) as a demanding task.

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