About 10% of Hong Kong’s residents are foreigners from around the world, including more than 80,000 Americans. Uber drivers, hotel staff, and other service staff are fluent in English and are friendly ambassadors for Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong is hoping to attract more Muslim tourists, but is the city lacking in halal restaurant options?
Hong Kong is hoping to attract more Muslim tourists, but is the city lacking in halal restaurant options?
Hong Kong is unique among Chinese cities in that it has no restrictions on access to the internet, allowing journalists and editors to report freely on important news related to China’s political, military, economic and social affairs. Hong Kong is also a major international media hub.
Hong Kong universities remain hubs of free student debate, even as the right to public protest is restricted. My Georgetown students spent three days on the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus, meeting students eager to engage with today’s global issues.
For example, Hong Kongers need to find local leaders who can speak for them on the world stage and defend Hong Kong’s relative autonomy vis-à-vis Beijing. In the past, prominent members of Hong Kong’s business community have played this role, giving Hong Kong status and enabling it to converse on a relatively equal footing with its masters in Beijing.
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“Freedom Swimmers”: People who risked everything to flee to Hong Kong
“Freedom Swimmers”: People who risked everything to flee to Hong Kong
Instead of focusing on the damage Beijing has inflicted on Hong Kong, it is time to protect the people of Hong Kong by recognising and supporting the unique role they continue to play in East Asia.
I remember asking a Chinese official before Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 what he thought of Hong Kong people. He condescendingly replied that they were a sorry lot who didn’t know who they were, but that Beijing would soon teach them.
We should support the people of Hong Kong in any way we can, and ensure that the “one country, two systems” framework remains valid and thrives, reassured by the knowledge that we have international allies.
Dennis Wilder is a former senior US intelligence official and policy maker who is currently a professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a senior fellow at the Georgetown University U.S.-China Dialogue Initiative on Global Affairs.
