The Hong Kong government appears to have launched its own Smile Day ahead of World Smile Day, which is usually held on the first Friday of October. Smile CampaignYes, this is another campaign by the government.
The move is part of an effort to attract tourists by showing Hong Kong people, particularly those in the service industry, their hospitality and courtesy with smiles. Kevin Yang Yun-hoon Officials said they were coordinating efforts to promote the campaign across the hospitality industry and government sectors.
So if we all smile more, tourists will come. Of course, it’s important to be welcoming to tourists. And it starts with something as simple as a smile. For example, if you’re genuinely happy and smiling and someone asks you for directions, you’re unlikely to walk away.
But smiling on its own can be a superficial act – as World Smile Day suggests, making the effort to smile on specific days is a reminder of the importance of spreading happiness, kindness and positivity through simple actions – but therein lies the point – a smile is an expression of true positivity.
Yang’s digging beneath the surface may help explain the city’s unhappiness. In fact, all it takes is a refresher. Last year, the government said,Happy Hong Kong“The campaign is a series of activities to encourage people to go out and spend more money after the holidays. The downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
It is clear that the “normalcy” that the government presumably envisioned has not yet emerged and the government is still struggling with the new normal. Locals’ Weekend Escape For better deals and services across borders, Night Economy Still struggling, closures continue Shops and RestaurantsThese are just a few examples. It is easy to understand that it is difficult to smile in these situations.
A pedestrian stands near a closed store in Hong Kong on February 25. Photo: Bloomberg
And when a Schroders survey last week revealed that the average Hong Konger faces a HK$2.4 million (US$307,298) gap between their expected retirement expenses and the money available in their pension funds, I found it hard to laugh myself.
Nearly three-quarters of every 1,000 people Mandatory Provident Fund Members surveyed believe they will need to continue working after retirement to make ends meet. Needless to say, my stress levels skyrocketed when I saw the shortfall. The race has seemingly been extended indefinitely.
It’s one thing to choose to work after retirement for fulfillment and satisfaction, but it’s quite another to have to work past your prime simply to survive. And with the cost of living rising, public transport And utilities like water and gasit’s hard to be optimistic.
Many Hong Kongers are in survival mode and the associated stress is having a serious impact on our mental health, regardless of age. Mental health epidemic The city vibe won’t disappear just by increasing the number of smiles.
A passenger stands in front of a fare meter at Kowloon Tong MTR station on April 12. Photo: Jerry Tse
Happiness comes from within and is also influenced by the environment in which we live. World Happiness ReportIn the global economic rankings released in March, Hong Kong dropped for the third consecutive year, to 86th out of 143 countries surveyed. Finland came in first, and Singapore topped the Asia-Pacific region at 30th. Mainland China was 26 places above Hong Kong.
You can’t just put this on Yang because he’s only focused on tourism, sports and culture. But the whole government can’t just tell people to laugh more, A campaign to make taxi drivers more polite” is not enough. We cannot continue with superficial campaigns without focusing on addressing the fundamental issues facing the people of Hong Kong.
The same goes for increasing your income. birthrateThe government must do more to make child care more accessible in order to reverse the falling birth rate. Our life expectancy may be one of the highest in the world, but we are far from being happy enough to enjoy the days ahead.
Again, there is still a long way to go in terms of increasing the happiness of Hong Kong people.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and former associate director of the UCLA Asia Pacific Media Network.
