Hong Kong » Journey to Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Tibet?

Feb 042012

There is bitter hostility between Hong Kongers and mainlanders these days. For Hong Kong government and its officials, this is like a slap in their face. They have been preaching the integration of Hong Kong and mainland and all the accompanying benefits to Hong Kong. They did not envisage nor could recognize that there are serious issues with “integration”. Expectedly, the government is not saying anything on the conflict between Hong Kongers and mainlanders, not to mention doing anything about it.

I do not want to delve into the reasons, the history and psychology that may lead to the conflict. While I think it is absolutely wrong to disrespect people and label each other as “dog” or “locust”, I am most concerned that Hong Kong is losing its character, press freedom, academic freedom, and all in all its value system.

In other words, I feel that Hong Kong is becoming another Tibet, where the immigration/strong presence of newcomers not only dominates its economy but also change its economic, cultural and social fabrics.

Let me lay bare these facts to you:

- In 2010, 37% of the babies born in Hong Kong are of mainland parents; in 2011 the year of dragon, the first baby born in Hong Kong is of mainland parents.

- In 2011, mainlanders accounted for 28% of the total number of transactions and 37% of the total transaction amounts in the primary property market.

- In 2011, Hong Kong received over 25M mainland tourists, representing over 60% of the total number of tourists of the year.

- In Hong Kong’s universities, mandarin was heard spoken everywhere, with many mainland students either being offered scholarships to study here or whose families are rich enough to afford them studying here. Mainland scholars who have obtained their doctorates overseas also heavily fill the faculty rank in the local higher education sector.

Here’s what I see and hear:

- In Hong Kong’s main shopping areas, there remain only cosmetics shops, jewelers, luxury watch shops, and pharmacies which sell baby formula, all of which cater to the needs and purchasing power of mainland tourists. The smaller / traditional shops are dying due to soaring rents.

- The simplified Chinese is everywhere, even in supermarkets. (To date, I cannot read / refuse reading books in simplified Chinese – they are eye sores, a distorted writing system that is in force in the mainland for political reasons only.)

- Hong Kong’s housing price is among the world’s highest, with cash from mainland buoying the local property market.

- Uncivilized behavior is easily seen. A friend of mine told me she actually saw a mainland parent allow her child to pee in the middle of a shopping mall. As a mother, she also told me she genuinely felt lucky that she became a mother some years ago, not now otherwise she would have to fight with mainland mums for maternity service and school places for her kid.

- A mainland scholar in a Hong Kong University just caught himself in a scandal for publicizing a survey of the Chief Executive hopefuls even before the survey was properly done and was completed. Allegedly he wanted to curry the favor of one of the hopefuls.

- A Hong Kong based Beijing official recently repeatedly lambasted a scholar in The University of Hong Kong for “serving the interests of a specific political group” after this scholar’s public polling recently shows that a low proportion of Hong Kongers identify themselves as Chinese, and this same scholar proposed an online election of the Chief Executive involving all the residents.

- 440 people were arrested by the Hong Kong police for protests and demonstrations in 2011, compared to 57 in the previous year.

- The press has been having a hard time conducting interviews and doing reports in the new government headquarters at Tamar because of strict rules and unfriendly press arrangements and security guards.

Can the Hong Kong government see what is happening to the city? Of course it can. It just refuses to see. An unelected Chief Executive and government, they do not need to listen to the people, anyway. They need only to look up to Beijing. Next month, the government will implement a new policy that would allow mainland drivers from Guangdong Province to drive and travel in Hong Kong. Are they sane? Is Hong Kong not polluted and congested enough? Are there not enough mainland tourists? With Hong Kong reachable by MTR, where is the need to travel in Hong Kong by car?

If you can find some hope for Hong Kong, let me know.

Nunnery and park: more compassion needed?

Where to Eat/Drink, Where to Visit 2 Responses »

Jan 232012

Chi Lin Nunnery is a Buddhist nunnery built in the Tang dynasty architecture style, consisting of gardens and temples. Construction of the complex started in mid-1990s and opened to the public for visit in year 2000.The nunnery has little heritage value in terms of history, but the complex is grand and elegant, worth a visit.The temples of the complex are open until 4:30pm. So make sure that you get there early enough.

Next door, Nan Lian Garden is a public park designed and managed by Chi Lin Nunnery. It is also in the ancient gardening style of Tang dynasty. The park is beautifully landscaped with trees, timber structures and rocks of special shapes and formation. Such a beautiful park, however, has aroused public anger because of the despotic management style – you are not allowed to eat, even snack, in the park, for example. I personally saw a foreigner being stopped from eating nuts from a small box by a security guard on the day I visited the park. Here, you are constantly under the watchful eyes of guards.

There is a sign at the entrance to the tea house, saying that if you are not a patron, you shouldn’t enter the area. It is not a welcoming park.

I have to recommend the vegetarian restaurant inside though. A very nice place to sit in with decent vegetarian dim sum and food.

the restaurant is behind the waterfall

A set meal per person is HK$120, with four courses. I liked it. This dish of vegetarian dumpling dim sum – thrumbs up.

To be consistent with its “despotic” management style, no photography is allowed in the restaurant and there is minimum charge of HK$80 for lunch and HK$40 for afternoon tea. Shouldn’t a Buddhist related place have more compassion?

Besides the restaurant and the tea house, there is a cafe. A small cup of coffee sells for HK$12 and tastes good. How to get there:

Exit C2 of Diamond Hill MTR station.

Train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (part three)

HK-Shenzhen Transport No Responses »

Jan 202012

Hong Kong train operator MTR has updated its customer website so that users can not only search the route, time and fare of Hong Kong train service, but also the underground system of Shenzhen. You will find this very useful if you are planning to travel to Shenzhen from Hong Kong for a visit.

Check out this link. It allows you to shift between the two train systems and gives you some visual concept about the train connection between the two cities.

Train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (part one)

Train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (part two)

HK-Shenzhen Transport 2 Responses »

Jan 182012

I have blogged about the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. I guess there is still strong interest in more information. So I am writing again on this topic.

MTR East Rail line is the line going to Lo Wu / Lok Ma Chau, from where you can cross border to Shenzhen and be connected by Shenzhen’s underground.

The East Rail line train service is very frequent, just like all other MTR lines. In the peak hours of weekdays, say 8-9am or 6-7pm, the train can be every minute. But do avoid peak hours – too crowded. Other times, it is about every 2-3 minutes. So checking the train timetable is a bit pointless. Just go and take the train on the day of your travel.

East Rail line’s starting point is Hung Hom. From Hung Hom to Lo Wu, train time is 45 minutes, and the ticket fare is HK$34. The first train starts at 0530, and the last train at 2307.

Kowloon Tong station platform for the East Rail line

If you are not starting from Hung Hom, it is likely that you use Kowloon Tong station, a major transfer station, which is two stops from Hung Hom. From Kowloon Tong to Lo Wu, it is 37 minutes and the ticket fare is HK$34. The first train starts at 0536, and the last train at 2313.

If you want to use the less popular station Lok Ma Chau for crossing border to Shenzhen, the train line is still East Rail and the starting station is all the same – Hung Hom. The journey time from Hung Hom to Lok Ma Chau is 48 minutes, and the ticket fare is the same as that to Lo Wu, i.e. HK$34. The first train starts at 0535, and the last train at 2135.

The timetable of the last train is tied up with the border closing time. Lo Wu border closes at midnight, and Lo Ma Chau / Fu Tian port border closes at 10:30pm.

Train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen (part one)

Kowloon City

Where to Visit No Responses »

Jan 152012

Kowloon City is where the old airport stood. It is an interesting area because some old shops still operate there despite the rapid pace of change in Hong Kong. It is also a known food area where thai restaurants, big and small, dominate.

A paper shop with a worker working at paper sacrifice.Does this shop selling Chinese sausage look like a shop in Spain selling ham? A stall that sells fish and meat balls.