Not many people in Hong Kong care about politics but some political issues do come up from time to time.
--In the previous edition, I mentioned that one of the harbors is going to be filled in so they can put buildings on it. The government is telling the public that the area will be responsible for 30,000-40,000 new jobs. My relatives don't seem to be too enthusiastic about it, though, because according to them at least half of those jobs are going to go to people from mainland China rather to Hong Kong citizens, and the government "knows" this will happen but is still trumpeting the 30,000-40,000 number. People from across the border allegedly stealing jobs from citizens ... hmmm ... that sounds familiar ...
--Local elections are next week. A lot of campaign posters all over, every one of which have a large number in a circle, which since I can't read Chinese I can't figure out whether that is the number next to their name on the ballot or the district to which they belong. All the candidates seem to be men. The government is putting out a lot of commercials urging people to vote. One funny commercial involves people with big smiles on their faces after inserting things into slots in toasters, mailboxes, etc., and so they should go insert a ballot in the ballot box. Haven't seen any commercials from candidates or what issues are in play, but then one wouldn't expect Hong Kong elections breakdown from CNBC Hong Kong ...
The government needed to put out ads for voting because this is something new to Hong Kong. Before handing it over to China in 1997, Great Britain was Hong Kong's protectorate, and they put in their own people to run the place. But ironically elections occurred
after it was transferred from a democratic government to an authoritarian one. It's probably not so ironic from a Realpolitik perspective since China can't really install their own people immediately after they take over. They do, however, control 36 of the 60 seats in the Hong Kong legislature and they had been trying to get it to pass some restrictive laws last summer before nearly one-tenth of the population took to the streets to protest. Hong Kong is probably the best example of how democracy and freedom don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.
--Heard one of my uncles complaining about people from mainland China crowding train stations in China trying to get to Hong Kong for work. They can't find work in the mainland because the people keep having children despite China's one-child policy, and the country continues to be overpopulated. I suggested this was because the people want kids to take care of them when they're old since they know the government might not. This led to my thinking that Europe can solve all its underpopulation problems by ending social security for the elderly. Of course this is about as improbable as ending terrorism by being more understanding of different cultures.
--According to my mother, the restaurants in Hong Kong aren't as good as they use to because all the competent people immigrated to the US or Canada to get away from the commies. Score one for democracy! Maybe if this trend continues we can do away with American-styled Chinese food.
