The ultimate putdown of Hong Kong now has become that it is now “just another Chinese city”. Defenders of Hong Kong and those who oppose this shallow view often point to aspects of Hong Kong that no other Chinese city has yet to have — notable examples include a fully-convertible currency and a common law system.
But there is one more aspect of Hong Kong that is hardly ever mentioned — that is the ever pervasive and present multiculturalism of Hong Kong. Just to name a few instances where the multiculturalism of Hong Kong stares one in the face are the transformations of the Central business district into a “Little Manila” and of Victoria Park into a “Little Jakarta” every Sunday.
Then there is the “Little India” of Tsim Sha Tsui, and within that, the recent transformation of Chungking Mansions into a “Little Africa”. And of course, there is also the “Little Nepal” in parts of Jordan, and the “Little Bangkok” of Kowloon City, while Discovery Bay lays claim to be at least half as good as some of the suburbs of San Francisco and could be rebranded as “Startup Bay” or “Silicon Bay”.
On Hong Kong Island, there are areas where people with certain dialects from various provinces in China congregate. There is North Point, where one can hear the Fujian dialect commonly spoken, and Sheung Wan is dominated by Chiu Chow-speaking seafood traders from Guangdong province.
Apart from the above traditional ethnic enclaves, Nepali enclaves are also springing up in remote parts of New Territories where rents are cheaper.
Nor are there only enclaves populated with people from Asia and Africa. Lan Kwai Fong, with its narrow, cobblestone streets can quite justifiably be called “Little Europe”.
In contrast, Singapore has gone out of its way to project the soft power attraction of multiculturalism, highlighting its “Little India”, Malay culture, Arab culture and even its Chinatown — imagine that in a city which is more than three-quarters Chinese!
Hong Kong on the other hand — where even a Russian influence is present in the form of borscht soup served in most coffee shops; not to mention the strong vestiges of British and American influence — seems unaware or even embarrassed by its own cultural influence, unless you discount its movies, production of which has drastically fallen over the last two decades.
It may be argued that Singapore has an advantage over Hong Kong, due to its bigger population of non-Chinese minorities. While the demographics do favor Singapore, it is also in practice a mostly a monolingual and monocultural society where almost all street signs are in English. Hong Kong presents a more varied palette.
There are complex historical and cultural reasons why Hong Kong has chosen to see itself as a Cantonese city rather than a multicultural one. But history and culture, particularly international culture, have moved on and it is time for Hong Kong to move on too, or face the prospect of being “just another Chinese city”.
Hong Kong can reap rich dividends from spending a few million dollars on a PR exercise to rebrand itself as a multicultural city and get rid of tired cliches exemplified by the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong.
After the energy crisis and the city’s bankruptcy, New York City decided to rebrand itself with its “I Love New York” slogan, presented with a heart shape in place of the word “Love”. It was such a hit and much imitated by so many other cities that most people didn’t realize it was a PR exercise by a city that was down and out trying to pick itself up. And there was the “Cool Britannia” campaign launched by Britain when Tony Blair was prime minister.
Hong Kong is a developed economy with good infrastructure and an aging population. It does not need one more tunnel or highway. It needs a new purpose and a new brand.
The strong presence of ethnic minorities — long seen by some as a liability — can be an advantage. Multiculturalism takes generations to take root. What Hong Kong has will take other Chinese cities generations to catch up with.
Go “Multicultural Hong Kong”!
The author is a former foreign correspondent and has worked in Hong Kong for many years.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.