Thank you to Paul, SoCo, the people who showed us their homes, and everyone else to made this video what it is. If you’d like to learn more about what SoCo do, you can find a link in the description!! ❤️❤️
Makes me laugh! Mixed with good information and entertaining host. Are you ex forces? You got that attitude to just keep going regardless of situation, Love watching from the UK
As a resident of Hong Kong, I am very grateful that you highlight not only the wealth and glamour of the city but also the lives of those who are most in need.
a very clever way to show the housing situation - volunteering with a local organization seems so much more impactful than the generic “voluntourism” so many of us are pitched in the West. thanks for your work mate, truly an inspiration for my next round of travels!
How? By exploiting under developed areas, taking advantage of people's kindness, acting entitled to places he hadn't contacted beforehand to VERIFY it was open, and then continuing to whine about his situation he put himself in because he came unprepared? Seems so predictable of an Englishman.
As a resident of Hong Kong, I will say that even though the government says they will redevelop Choi Hung Estate, most of the elderly strongly disagree because Choi Hung Estate has a long history and elderlies lived there when they were a kid or adult. 1:31 the green tall building is where i live in.
Incredible, puts it into perspective people moaning about having to mow lawns, having to water the garden, getting to sleep in an actual room, let alone a house with three bedrooms and running water. Well done again Mike, excellent video
Yeah but that's normal! I don't think it's a case of us being so grateful and to remember how lucky we have it it's just that this is completely fucked and inhumane living conditions it a shocking comparison to have but one that should not exist at all.
There are many YouI have seen many UA-camrs making videos about the current situation in Hong Kong, but this video is the best. It feels authentic and personal. I can sense the passion in your work. As a Hong Kong Chinese person who has moved away from Hong Kong, your video has brought me many bittersweet memories, unanswered questions, and a glimmer of hope that things can improve. Thank you! Keep up the great work!
Let me ask you this question. Are you really happy wherever you are ? I live in the US and I have seen what lives are like in the UK and Canada. If I could I would hop on the next flight moving back to HK. I just came back from HK and China, let me say this; I had no problem going where I want and saying what I feel. In fact, in HK people have more liberty to say what is on their mind. They have no problem talking about your mother. Try saying that in another country, you'll get your ass beat up.
@@rf4evermyL it is alright to stay that short of time, as in HK, there is no need to worry about safety issues things at all, it is all about the political. ✌🏻✌🏻
@ yeah, i got it pretty well, just when thinking about the time i get there but there's not many local ppl speak cantonese as I expected🥲 Just a feeling of emptiness for not experiencing Hong Kong the way I saw it as a child.
@ yeah, i got it pretty well, just when thinking about the time i get there but there's not many local ppl speak cantonese as I expected🥲 Just a feeling of emptiness for not experiencing Hong Kong the way I saw it as a child.
Hey Mike! I know you said in this vid, that with traveling to so many places you tend to see alot of the darkness hidden beneath. But, your videos ALWAYS highlight the happiness and generosity in the world. Please don’t ever stop making these videos. The world might not change in our lifetime, but this is how it will start, love- even to strangers. 💗
That is because the "darkness" is an illusion. It is only noted to get people to open the podcast. It is for click-bait. Many, many UA-cam "real" videos do this. I've been to all of these places and they are not negative locales (Kowloon is crazy busy, but it is not a bad place to visit). It is just people in the west want these places to be dysfunctional, so they look for disparaging videos on these places.
Mate you’re an absolute machine travelling as much as you do in the conditions you find yourself in. Mad respect. Awesome video and thank you for the great content!
I spent the last couple weeks binging every last one of your videos.. so I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to get the notification for this one!! You are without a doubt my favorite UA-camr and watching these just genuinely makes me happy... so thank you for blessing us with a 45 minute video Mike!! You're a real one
"Private property" being rented out. The people who rent these holes out are the ones driving Lamborghinis and Ferraris. They live up on Victoria Peak while eating their own people. It's wickedness to the max.
As a viewer from Hong Kong, this is my favorite video from you yet. Thank you for showing the city with your unique perspectives. Safe travels and all the best Mike!
Hey Mike! You've quickly become one of my favorite travel UA-camrs. Cranking back local beers, smoking cigs with the locals, it's a vibe! If I may make a small suggestion - there's parts of your videos that could really use subtitles, as I can't understand what's being said. Other than that, keep up the amazing content! I always look forward to your uploads
As a resident of Hong Kong, I would like to thank you for this wonderful documentary. You covered many of the main issues, not only that, but also treated our home with great respect and love. We appreciate it more than you would know. Thank you very much once again!
Great stuff. I love the rawness in these videos, just showing the real daily lives of people, no filter, no bullshit. Real stuff, what's sorely missing on UA-cam right now. Sending love from the Philippines 💙❤
My favourite channel on UA-cam so far, with a hilarious mix of adventure, humour, truth and just showing how things are REALLY like. I visited Hong Kong a year ago and the very stark divide of inequality struck me equally. You are truly great storyteller and please keep doing the videos!
@@mikeokay If you're still around the area, go to some of the beaches! They're almost empty (at least when I was there on a weekday), very beautiful, and so logically I ended up skinny-dipping!
Hello Mike, I'm from Gansu, China. I sincerely invite you to come to China again. Thank you for showing the real China to the world. I really want to have a face-to-face talk with you and treat you to local food.
@@mikeokayI'm from Gansu, and I met you on social media in China. I really regret that you didn't see you when you passed through Gansu from Xinjiang, because I just saw your series of Chinese videos now, and the location where you filmed them is in my hometown. It's really a pity, and I'll send you a beautiful one again.
2 Things: 1. Paul is a legend! 2. Your military experience really prepared you for your crazy travels. Weather, sleep deprived, hungover, tons of gear, and have to hike in the middle of the bush just to turn around. Excellent field work private.
Mike I’m somewhat new to the channel but you have quickly become my favorite channel. You travel and tell stories in such a great way, I can easily see you becoming a modern day Bourdain-esque figure. Keep up the great work man, keep telling these stories.
Mike, i am from England, am 20 years old and i grew up in china, lived there for 7 years actually. China is probably my favourite place on earth, recently went back for a few weeks. But boy am i glad that you show china for the way it is and not how the media portrays it. it really is amazing, the nature is mind bogglingly beautiful and the people are just fantastic and so hospitable. i unfortunately i haven't been to hong kong, always wanted to but i most certainly will after watching this video. Mike you are a fantastic person and an insanely good youtuber, you're vibe is immaculate, you should be super proud of what you do bro i am so glad i found your channel, you are a hell of a human and deserve great things, lots of love man
HK indigenous here. The volunteer's idea of the solution is all well and good. But the word she didn't use is "land reform". That is what HK desperately needs. But China cannot land reform HK, as it's one country two systems. That said, even after 2047, it's still questionable as to whether China can land reform HK without upsetting majority of HK people, as a large proportion of them do own their own property and would no doubt be financially impacted by a reform. The ridiculous housing price is unfortunately a legacy of the housing system the British left behind, so it's a bit ironic that Gilly likes the Royal family as well. Let us not forget that the London appointed governor and all the rich British expats were all living up in Victoria peak mid level, where they comfortably look down on the diametrically opposed infamous kowloon walled city which was just a symptom of such a system coupled with the prejudice Chinese faced under colonial ruling. This is not a comment against the British people. I am just about old enough to remember that the British public played a key role in abolishment of apartheid south Africa and it was also the British people that marched the streets against Iraq war. It was just unfortunate that the ruling elites of Britain ignored such voices.
I am literally always looking forward to these videos coming out! With the loss of some of my favorite "travel" shows like parts unknown and even top gear/grand tour, this has the same interesting and humorous vibe that I really love! Awesome job Mike, and thank you for such positive and genuine content, it is truly appreciated.
Hey Mike, thought I'd leave a comment here as well. I watched the whole thing! Thanks for making it. Even though I'm a local, grew up and been here most of my life, you showed me places I've never been, and things I've never noticed in the streets I've passed by a million times. Also your spotlighting of the homes had me acknowledged again about how privileged I am in comparison, and reminded me to treat strangers who live below their means with compassion and empathy, and help them out whenever there's a chance.
Your experiences are so positive, even in the sketchy situations. I'm sure you're aware of other tubers who have been doing the same thing and visiting the same places and they're so negative about everything. They thrive on saying how much a place stinks or how racist the people are towards visitors who aren't like them, etc. You seem to just take everything as it is and seem like a genuinely upbeat person and the people you interact with respond so well to it. I wish you good health continuing to do what you enjoy doing. Thanks for letting the rest of us who live somewhere inconsequential get an insight into places all over the world we will likely never visit.
Can't imagine how you got through that night during the typhoon. I live in Hong Kong, and T8s are notorious for wreckages and the destruction they have on the environment/roads etc; camping during a T8 might not have been the wisest of choices 🤣. Great channel, extremely underrated.
Hi mike, I’m not sure if you’ll read this, but I wanted to thank you for your really informative videos. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and I actually traveled to more than 20 countries, but your videos make me feel as if I’m traveling alongside with you. For some reason Asia wasn’t on my bucket list, but after seeing you interact with the different cultures, you’ve awaken the need to see those places. Thank you for showing us the world and being so positive.
Fascinating video, I've heard news from Chinese radio covering this and also other peoples vlogs. Thanks for sharing and informing the viewers the changes that HK is going
31:45 this guy really knows the thing 😂 and such a sincere production with him even wearing a Hong Kong cap! Easily able to interact with different kinds of people from different countries, I can’t believe I can finish watching his videos each talking about 45 mins, subscribed already.
I loved Paul so much!! Mike has such a special aura about him that just attracts the best people, and it's a big reason why I love this channel so much
very good video capturing multicultural aspects of HK and the complexities of extremes of wealth. Love the ending part and hope you caught the flight in time !
The housing problem has a long history, dating back to the days of British rules. This problem is not being solved because the HK government (just as it was under British rules) does not want to upset the wealthy property developers and middle class. If the Chinese communist party can rule HK directly, the problem might be solved more quickly. However, the Chinese government cannot be seen to be having too much influence in HK under "one country, two systems".
As a Hong Konger, what you said is 100% true. Hong Kong's problems can all be attributed to its economic system inherited from the British which was designed to benefit the elite (who were British, and who are now local HK billionaire). One can make a direct comparison between HK and Shenzhen to see which system works better, who has a housing crisis and who doesn't. HK would benefit from having Shenzhen's economic system and property laws. But as you said, HK is stuck because the Mainland can't interfere, even though the Mainland system would benefit the majority of HKers.
Hey brother, cheers from Singapore. You have earned my subscription, I have seen a few other of your videos, the faith, respect and purity you have when you speak with the locals and how you navigate conversations is something many of us have forgotten or have lost as we grow older. I like that in this video where you did something different and highlighted some of the social and economical issues. Hope to see more content of that nature in future from you.
UA-cam made you pop up on my feed a couple weeks ago and I was so immersed in your journeys, as if I was somehow there with you. It's all so raw and real. Not picking a side, just showing how things are and showing that the preconceived notions we may have due to "TV media" are not necessarily true. Also quite telling that everyone seems so friendly and willing to open themselves up to you, which seems to be a rarity in our home country.
Another great video, Mike! I have been binging your channel heavily since I found you a couple months ago. Truly amazing content, and I'm living vicariously through your adventures. Take care brother and thanks for everything!
Your videos are so well filmed don't be shy to do more narration your voice is spot on I think you're doing a great job on editing I don't know who does your editing but it's perfect your videos are quite long but they feel short full of details and visual death the way you're filming is like if I'm standing beside!! Keep up the good work 👏 🙌 A fan from Québec,CA 🇨🇦
Interesting video, I was born in Hong Kong but moved to UK two years ago. I consider myself a middle class in HK, I was a homeowner but while my living condition was certainly better than those you visited, it was still miserable. I had a family of 3, my apartment only had one bedroom that is about half the size of a normal living room in UK, the kitchen & toilet combined had about the same size of a normal kitchen in UK, the so-called living room had about the size of a tiny dining room in UK which I can't even put in a sofa. That's all I had and I fared better than a lot of others already. Sold my apartment in HK and used half of the money to buy a mid terrace in UK that is 3-4 times bigger. Sometimes we complain about the high level of taxation in UK, but there's always a price to pay for low-tax system like HK. The government has to get revenue through land auctions, so the land is expensive, the rent is expensive, the cost of everything is crazy. It is some form of indirect tax.
Tbh, the UK isn't well governed either. Compared with HK, maybe the UK is still better (slightly). The last few times I was there, I was shocked by the amount of homeless there are in every city in the UK. There have been documentaries showing elderly people living in poverty have to choose whether to buy food or heat their homes. Europe is going through an economic crisis of its own making, and a lot of it has to do with mindlessly following the US (economically and geopolitically) to Europe's doom. As for HK, life sucks for ordinary people because it is effectively a tax haven with an artificially low flat tax rate. The British intended it this way because such a system benefits the elite - who were them. Since handover, the benefactors of the system are Hong Kong's own billionaire class. I was born in 1981, moved out in 1990 to New Zealand. Looking back, the biggest regret I have in my life is the wrong side won the Cold War (and I personally admit guilt that I also backed the wrong side). Since the 1980s, the working class in all Western countries have been the losers! The US shoved its hyper-individualistic neoliberal economic system down the throats of the entire world at the barrel of a gun. I am old enough to remember a more egalitarian society, when greed wasn't viewed as a virtue, the interests of an individual wasn't viewed above the greater good of society, and there existed relatively strong social solidarity. The Cold War era was the Golden Age of the western working class because western elites lived in fear of socialist revolution exported from the Eastern Bloc, so they caved to their workers' demands for better wages, pensions, a robust social safety net, a generous social welfare system - all the things that made socialism attractive. As the Cold War was ending, the elites stopped fearing their own workers and reverted back to form. In truth, life for working people in the west has always been miserable except for a few decades after WW2 - one can read Charles Dickens and Hugo Victor as social commentary to living conditions for working people in the 19th century. There is a reason why Karl Marx sought to analyse why western capitalism produced its extreme inequalities and internal contradictions, and summarised his theory in Das Kapital. If I have one hope, it is that I live long enough to see all the neoliberal changes made in the 1980s and 1990s (mas privatisation, de-regulation, wholesale gutting of the social safety net) completely reversed.
Thank you for shedding light on the underbelly of Hong Kong. They are currently trying to introduce a bill to increase the minimum required living space and crack down on subdivided flats. With that being said there’s actually so much more of Hong Kong to see. As an indigenous villager in Hong Kong, I'd actually like to invite you to visit the New Territories to explore some of our villages and traditional customs and festivals! Notes: A big issue with reform here is that the government makes most of its revenue in land sales and land tax. Therefore, the government has a vested interest in keeping the supply of land and housing limited to inflate the cost of land. Roughly 70% of Hong Kong's land is undeveloped or protected or classified under different usage zones Take it however you want but there have been several indicators from the Mainland that there is no real intention to alter the one country two system model after 2047 as it actually benefits both the mainland and Hong Kong to keep a level of distinction between the jurisdictions. Every city changes but as long as the heart is the same that’s all that matters. Just my two cents from living and growing up here in HK Final note: Been following your channel for a few months now especially for the China series and I got to say it’s some of the best China coverage I’ve seen. It’s honestly such a refreshing take. Keep it up and keep it real!
"Take it however you want but there have been several indicators from the Mainland that there is no real intention to alter the one country two system model after 2047 as it actually benefits both the mainland and Hong Kong to keep a level of distinction between the jurisdictions. " There are clear signs of intention to alter that two system model now, never mind 2047
There are so many ways Beijing to reshape one country two systems, the constitution of basic laws had been already gave number of amendments. The China Communist Party have so many power to interpret about basic laws. What it could be is always up to who are the Beijing leader by that time. There is not any way to counter that power.
I'm a Hong Konger too. What you wrote about land sales is totally correct. I also think Beijing will keep some sort of one country two system model even after 2047, as China is very much a status quo country with an aversion to making too many changes unless it is broken. In HK's case, the system actually is broken. Even if they keep two systems, I should hope the internal border is removed after 2047. The housing crisis in HK should naturally go away if people were free to move around the rest of the Bay Area, buy property where it is more affordable. The region is already well connected by public transport, which should keep improving over time. With the internal border, HKers are actually stuck in the city, forced to live in a bad system and it's not easy to move out.
@@pineapplesareyummy6352Actually, Hong Kong residents are free to move to mainland, buy apartments, get social medical benefits, and seek employments if they want to. It’s a good choice for Hongkong residents to retire at mainland, as the living cost is much lower than Hong Kong.
Man this put things in a lot of perspective. ITs like you don't believe it until you see it. And it makes you appreciate what you have a lot more, especially when you see different kind of living conditions each person is in. It does makes me wonder how would the future look like moving forward for sure; Thank you for making these videos.
That cramped space is something I could never do. I feel so much anxiety just watching that, there are no windows either. I can't deal with that. I am 6'4" and not small.
Watching this in my HK room makes me appreciate of what I have. Those living conditions are tough most especially for seniors. Thank you for letting us to show the other side of life behind of beautiful sceneries that we can see here.
Fun fact to share, the cubical flats in Sham Shui Po has the highest rent among HK (per feet), thank you Mike for sharing what's really happening in what our gov claimed the richest and well-developed city.
Absolute legend Mike. Glad I hopped On a video of yours a week ago. And the darker things get to you discovering new things about this world, remember there is some light around and humane people existing like you are. Love your adventures, hope I’d get on it one day too. Stay safe
What I’m hooked on in the randomness (to a degree) and spontaneous decisions you make. It’s the best part of travelling (can also be the worst). Love the content, would love to see some of the roads less travelled in Phillipines too. I have been in some amazing off the track parts there, but with so many islands, there’s literally a thousand different journeys to experience
I wonder why did you use the umbrella at the end when it hasn't been used it the whole video, but then I realised why. Thank you for the video Mike. Lots of love from Hong Kong. Hope you come back soon and safe travels. 🇭🇰
Hey Mike, great video. I am also from the UK and have been living in Hong Kong since 2018. I am married to a local and I live far north new territories, It looked like you camped on the mountain road coming over from Tai po area. My house is in ta kwu ling about two minutes form the border to the mainland just north of sheung sheu where you took the bus too, I love the quietness that these northern areas provide. Still so much land to be occupied in these areas and its much cheaper, yet people still want to live in the densly populated areas, for what reason i don't know why. new subscriber
Pretty good how quickly you got into the vibe of the city in such a short time. Hong Kong is already just an empty shell compared to how it was. At the end, you were at one point very close to the beach - maybe an hour or so walk and then you went in totally the wrong direction. In the end the point you reached was indeed one of the best places to overlook Shenzhen and better than if you had continued on your original route. The installation was once occupied by the British army and the round building was a lookout against incursions from mainland China. There used to be bullet proof glass in the windows and there is a mounting point for a machine gun. At night time during clear weather the view is even more spectacular.
Hello Mike, even though it is the first time watching you, I’m really happy to see you understanding Hong Kong’s troubles I wish everybody would understand Hong Kong’s troubles😊
Mike, your adventures are so fun to watch! You made the best of it even though it was raining the whole time. I love your perseverance and enthusiasm for life! Brother, please take care ❤
I am from Hong Kong, born in 1981. The housing crisis has always existed for as long as I know. There were documentaries in the 1980s about elderly people living in cage homes who never left their apartments in years. You mentioned "One country two systems" - that is correct, and the truth is Hong Kong's system sucks. HK is just a microcosm of the US, a laissez-faire, hyper-capitalist system with artificially low taxes that favour the rich. The British intended it this way because it favoured the elites who were British. Since the British left, the elites are now Hong Kong's billionaire class who benefit from British-era economic system. It should be mentioned that the HKSAR government does not collect enough taxes to pay for its expenses - it relies heavily on land sales. Therefore, it is incentivised in the same direction as property developers, which is to keep property prices sky high. Across the border, Shenzhen is China's richest city. While it does have an expensive housing market, it is also nowhere near the scale of HK's problems (property prices are about one-third of HK's). They actually have laws on the Mainland that property developers can't just squat on undeveloped land, limit supply, and push up prices. The Mainland government is concerned about public sentiments and doesn't want unrest. It goes out of its way to try to pamper its people. This dynamic isn't true in HKSAR. In fact, HKSAR's government has been repeatedly reprimanded by Beijing for being derelict in its duty, as Beijing doesn't want unrest in HK, so it is more acutely aware of problems in HK than those who actually rule HK itself. But under One Country Two Systems, the Mainland actually can't interfere in HKSAR's affairs, even though HK would benefit enormously from having an economic system closer to the Mainland than its inherited one from the UK, which was never intended to benefit ordinary people but the elite.
People vote with their feet. They almost unanimously moved to capitalist societies with law and order. I suppose you’d rather live in Venezuela, Haiti, or anywhere in Africa. Don’t bother responding, people like you adhere to their beliefs, like the religious all facts and evidence to the contrary, will not cause someone like you or the religious to give up their dogma
@@Notrocketscience101 Guy made a well thought out criticism before you came out straight up slandering him. Looks like you are the lunatic fanatic to be honest. Capitalism has run its course and if you think people living in literal coffins for the Profit of the select few you are Morally bancrupt of plain stupid.
Freedom of speech is not the same as freedom of violence, and the double standard of asking for freedom of speech for themselves while attacking people with different views is ridiculous.
Because this completely justifies the mindset that democracy is failing in the region, shutting down pro-democracy news outlets, book stores, creating vague laws to umbrella all the shit they can make up to arrest people. Don’t even get me started on the cops.
And the "British man" (now the American man) also made the rest of the world A LOT MORE DANGEROUS PLACE for the other billions who live on planet earth and who aren't white. Go to India or go to the Middle East, and ask the people there what they think of the British (or now, American) 🤦♂
It is always interesting to look at these HK documentary-style videos, my maternal grandparents originated from HK way back before WWII and even though I've visited HK a couple times it's still so fascinating. The stories I've heard from my mom painted such a different story from what I personally saw when I visited there, though I guess it made sense since the stories I've heard about HK were almost 80 years old when my mom told me.
If the Chinese government takes over Hong Kong completely, it can definitely do better. At least in China, no matter how poor a person is, their house is not that small. Those who demand to maintain Hong Kong's characteristics, do they want these people to continue living in such houses?
i think there are areas this bad in china, in some outer cities, but the government is much quicker in not letting it stagnate, for the better and also sometimes for the worse. They also have rapidly been forcing incredibly poor villagers to urbanize, which is backing up the system even more. One can only hope if HK was to fall completely to China, they would spend money as a reqiuem for the people and not just speed up existing policies, which would probably leave over a million people homeless if it was instantaneous.
Pardon me? give you a big house but living like in a prison, no way, a free spirit is most important to Hongkongers, it’s nothing people in the CCP regime can understand! It’s because CCP-HK government is giving the benefits to the 2M people coming from PRC that cause Hongkongers live a low life !
Is this video supposed to be backed by the anti-China campaign? The angle of reporting is somewhat dubious! The poor conditions of living you see in the video had already existed in the colonial days, only much worse back then. This could not have anything to do with the handover in 1997.
I would like to express my gratitude for the unvarnished and genuine nature of your video content. While I may not have the privilege of traveling myself, your minimally edited videos provide me with an authentic and immersive experience. I appreciate your efforts in showcasing the world to us, and I hope you will continue to share your travels with us.
What I’m hooked on in the randomness (to a degree) and spontaneous decisions you make. It’s the best part of travelling (can also be the worst). Love the content, would love to see some of the roads less travelled in Phillipines too. I have been in some amazing off the track parts there, but with so many islands, there’s literally a thousand different journeys to experience 👍
Mike, Hong Kong will remain exist even after 2047 if it keeps on with its benefiting role to China, as like after 1949. Hong Kong Special Administrative Zone or British Colony Hong Kong are just names, what matters is whether it can provide distinct value to China. You are ignorant about Hong Kong, just like other westerners ignorant about China. Let me give you some historical background of what makes Hong Kong Hong Kong to support my statement. The demarcation can be set at the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Before 1949, although Hong Kong was a British colony and there was a “Sino-British” border, there was no restriction on entering and exiting the territory so people move around freely. In the 1940s, Hong Kong had a population of about 1.5 million, and apart from the real locals who live at the rural areas, most of the population in the urban areas were actually migrants from the Mainland, HongKongnese were Chinese, no difference. In fact, as early as the 1940s, the China Kuomintang government had already asked Churchill for return of Hong Kong after the war, but the Kuomintang could not defeat the Communists and lost to Taiwan. So why did Hong Kong continue to be a British colony after 1949? It was not because the Communists were afraid of Britain - they had the guts to fight even the United States in the Korean War, so how could they be afraid of Britain? In fact, the only reason was that Hong Kong's status as a special region (a British colony) was favorable to China during the US-Soviet Cold War: it was the only window for China's external contacts - essential goods such as medicines could be shipped to China through Hong Kong, and China could learn about the Western world through Hong Kong. This is the only reason why the Hong Kong colonial government could exist until 1997. Therefore, the policy of the Chinese government after 1949 was not to let Hong Kong become independent(as like India and Pakistan), but to maintain its status quo. The population of Hong Kong swelled from 1 million in the 40s to over 4 million in the 1970s, many of whom were refugees fled from mainland or their next generation born in Hong Kong. Living conditions in Hong Kong from the 1960s to the 1980s were even worse than what you filmed here, with more than half of the population living in squatted house and resettlement buildings. The colonial government also did not let the new generation of Hong Kong understand China. For example, when we studied geography in the first grade of secondary school, we learned Australia geography instead of China geography! So in general the post-war generation was pro-Western and know little about China, and they were afraid of communist because most of their parents were refugees. It was weird, as starting from early 80s Hong Kong ride on the wave of China's reform getting more prosperous, the fact that the better we live, the more we distant from China(yes as were getting rich college boys went to Korea/Japan/Australia/Europe for fun instead of traveling in China like you Mike!). But I suppose maybe that is typical of a colonial society. This laid the basis for the riots a few years ago. It is because after 1997, the policy of the Beijing Government is to allow Hong Kong to remain unchanged as long as there is no need for it to change, and it does not take part in the actual running of Hong Kong. Therefore, although Hong Kong is now under China's rule(ie. one country), many Hong Kong people under the age of 60 think that Hong Kong is "independent"(mis-concept of two system), that Hong Kong people are different from mainlanders, and that Hong Kong people are even superior to mainlanders because of their western education background. This misconception led to the riots a few years ago, which you mentioned at the very beginning. As a matter of fact, the Hong Kong Government has been signing legislation on the transfer of fugitives with foreign governments (for example, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada), so that people who have committed crimes in these countries and fled to Hong Kong will be transferred back to their home countries. Hong Kong's relationship with mainland China is closer than that with these countries(to my memory more than 250 criminals were send back to Hong Kong from mainland since 1997 when the legislation was passed), it is unreasonable that people who have committed crimes in mainland China and have fled to Hong Kong (whether they are mainlanders, Hong Kong people or foreigners) cannot be transferred back to mainland China for trial., hey it is under "one country"!!! The legislation finally passed by the Hong Kong government was in fact proposed by a prominent member(Martin Lee) of the opposition camp in Hong Kong back to 1998 using a United Nations template. I guarantee 99.9% of those against the legislation don't know about that as it was only mentioned by the pro-government media though Martin admitted about it openly! The fact that such a very reasonable piece of legislation has been rendered by the opposition as “transport of Hong Kong people to the Mainland”, and that it has actually caused widespread riots, is a reflection of Hong Kong people's ignorance of their own situation, lack of modern China history knowledge, what a joke! Again it is typical of a colonial society, as even after 1997 the Hong Kong government follow the colonial educational policy mostly. You have visited the poorest area of Hong Kong, wish you enjoy the stay by trying some good food and look around at the newly built regions in recent 20+ years.
1. Most of the 2 million protestors in 2019 were not rioters, they were peaceful. 2. Most protesters did not want Hong Kong to be independent, they want more democracy, which was promised by the Basic Law. 3 to say that 2 million people are ignorant is itself ignorant.
@@darshanchung 1. supporters like you used to say "Brothers climbing the mountain each trying their best兄弟爬山各自努力“ , which means tolerance of violence as far as I don't do it.. Did any of the so-called pro-democracy members condemn the violence? NO! Did any of them show sympathy to the one stoned to death? NO! Court cases tell us that even if you were not the "rioters" throwing stones and petrol bombs to the police making all kinds of destruction directly, if you were in the scene giving support to them, you would be member of them and be in charge on conditions that police had declare clearance. Your so called "peaceful protest" claim was invalid. 2. As mentioned you are one of those who don't know what actually this case is about but just led by the media. You were saying NO to the transfer of fugitives to mainland, even though it cover only major offences that would lead to 5 years imprisonment. In fact this legislation was based on an United Nation template covering transfer of of fugitives to regions HK government didn't sign agreement with, including Taiwan, where a HK guy murdered his girlfriend just fled back to HK. The protest was nothing related to democracy, only that they named themselves as "pro-democracy" supporters. It was simply an anti-China show, and we all in HK bared result of the violence. Basic Law Chapter I - General Principles, Article 1 stated that "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China." Did you read it? Do you remember the "Hong Kong is not China" claim in the Legislation Council by the so called "pro-democracy member" which marked start of series of protest against the government? 3. Supporters always make use of the 2M figure to show that they are rightful even on violence, this is completely irrational. I have given reasons on why Hong Kong has so many afraid of China, you simply don't understand it or deny the reality. Actually I was a "pro-democracy parties" supporter for past 30+ years, only dropped support after their "Hong Kong is not China" show in the Legislation Council. I did my part telling my friends that Hong Kong would be like what right now is IF they keep on with their anti-China track but unfortunately WE Hong Kongers are too proud to admit our ignorance . This is our karma.
@@vajra1997 The person who was hit by a stone and died was involved in a brawl. And do you have any sympathy for those who were beaten, raped, injured by the police, falsely accused and convicted , imprisoned under made up charges? NO!
@@darshanchung Obviously you didn't watch the video on the TV to understand what has happened. The video shows a group of men in black trying to scrape bricks to make destruction as before, they were stopped by another group and there was a clash. The man who was stoned to death was just passing by after work, and he was trying to take picture of the rioter who were already in mask. Supporters of the riot mentioned that many rapes and even murders had taken place during the protest. Its all lies! What happened to the girl who said she was raped in CUHK hall? After getting sympathy from the vice-chancellor and public with crying, she didn't challenge the police as promised. In fact details of her being raped at the police station have proved be impossible because there was no such environment. She is now in Taiwan. In the Prince Edward Station event it is said that more than 120 people were killed and disappeared, and even elderly in nursing home said in fact, 2,000+ people were killed when my friend visited her! That's kind of atmosphere the whole society was in under these lies which spread around. The only person who was named be killed in this event is now living happily in England. Maybe you don't read the court news recently(or be always as obviously you don't know what is law about), Apple Daily's big boss Lai said in court just only two days ago that there was no murder, no rape during the protest and that the people who said that were going too far. Are you still living on these rumors?
This happens in any place that leans too much on one system. USA, China, Russia all have high income inequality. European countries who follow a mix of economic and social systems have the lowest rates of income inequality
@@remon9099the poor in America live better than this in a majority of places. I grew up poor and still had a normal house with separate bedroom kitchen and living room. I could barely afford to eat sometimes, but at least I wasn't in a box most of the day.. it's sad that people in Hong Kong have to live like that
@animeloveer97 Yea, it's worse in some places than others. The point of the commenter was that it's the result of capitalism. That's why I mentioned the US, China and Russia. They go by 3 different systems and yet you find poverty in all 3 of them. Leaning on one system doesn't work. Countries need to adapt a mix of different systems that allows for economic growth but at the same time protects the ones with lower income
Thank you for this amazing video. Awesome that you’re visiting some of the less fancy areas in SSP, MK and NT that many gweilos probably have never seen.
I am very glad that you pointed about this situation as I am a resident as well, lots of people in Hong Kong lives in car parks size houses and I do feel very sorry for them. Most of this is the elderly living through this. Some just randomly live on places on the streets and they always beg for money. Flats in Hong Kong are so expensive that almost no one can afford them. Some are 1 million for like a little flat. Thanks for pointing this out, this is very critical for younger and older people to know that this needs to change.
Thank you to Paul, SoCo, the people who showed us their homes, and everyone else to made this video what it is.
If you’d like to learn more about what SoCo do, you can find a link in the description!! ❤️❤️
@@mikeokay Nagaland is missing you. Please do visit again!!!
So awesome you’re doing this kind of stuff man. Watching your adventures from Florida. Keep up the work brother!
You are a hero
9:30 you might like India but BackpackerBen and Bald hate it 😅
Makes me laugh! Mixed with good information and entertaining host. Are you ex forces? You got that attitude to just keep going regardless of situation, Love watching from the UK
As a resident of Hong Kong, I am very grateful that you highlight not only the wealth and glamour of the city but also the lives of those who are most in need.
❤️
This video reminds of this song: ua-cam.com/video/mppGUMnS0-I/v-deo.html
After more than 40 years, the lyrics are still true.
Hk is still a exceptional rich place nonetheless
@@gmanlee575 the city of the highest and the lowest
@@gmanlee575 One of the rudest and most toxic cities for sure.
a very clever way to show the housing situation - volunteering with a local organization seems so much more impactful than the generic “voluntourism” so many of us are pitched in the West. thanks for your work mate, truly an inspiration for my next round of travels!
I absolutely agree. @mikeokay I loved this video! Kudos to you my brother :)
your channel is a breath of fresh air on youtube
Thank you! 🙏
Damn and I thought Vancouver/Toronto Canada 🇨🇦 was bad…😮💨
How? By exploiting under developed areas, taking advantage of people's kindness, acting entitled to places he hadn't contacted beforehand to VERIFY it was open, and then continuing to whine about his situation he put himself in because he came unprepared? Seems so predictable of an Englishman.
Definately... i just subscribe... breath of fresh air
@Lilmilshow Well, they are under the same ultra-capitalist system after all. (One China, two systems.)
Paul was truly the mvp of this vid. Such an easy going, loving, down to earth guy
Paul was the coolest. He even came through with the water proof tent spray 😂
Some people can travel the world, no problems. Then there are those who can't leave the trailer park without having issues with people.
As a resident of Hong Kong, I will say that even though the government says they will redevelop Choi Hung Estate, most of the elderly strongly disagree because Choi Hung Estate has a long history and elderlies lived there when they were a kid or adult. 1:31 the green tall building is where i live in.
Very interesting thanks for sharing
bro don't dox yourself
@@Buwolu-Bunthere's probably hundreds of residents there, plus it's hong kong not like the US or europe, doxing isn't a trend
@@alaakcm even still it better to be safe than sorry nowadays 😞
Fr
Bro you are by far the best reporter I've seen in a decade. You're a real dude. Totally chilled guy. I wish you the best of success here on UA-cam!
Thank you so much
Incredible, puts it into perspective people moaning about having to mow lawns, having to water the garden, getting to sleep in an actual room, let alone a house with three bedrooms and running water.
Well done again Mike, excellent video
quality of life is a given depending where you are
Well said!
Thank you Mike for this. 💜
Yeah but that's normal! I don't think it's a case of us being so grateful and to remember how lucky we have it it's just that this is completely fucked and inhumane living conditions it a shocking comparison to have but one that should not exist at all.
Moaning is part of bettering quality of life. If we don't moan and accept harsh conditions, we would be in a stagnant living in squalor lifestyle.
Literally belter after belter mate. Next big thing on UA-cam I'm tellin ya!
Thank you Ellis my bro ❤️❤️❤️
@@mikeokay next BALDIE, love it brother
@@mikeokay its insane to see your getting more and more subs! much better with these longer vids!
Or a future UA-cam anchor that will soon disappear under extremely strange circumstances 😅
I read that as "belter after belter" thinking of The Expanse and seeing the people in the video. It made sense.
There are many YouI have seen many UA-camrs making videos about the current situation in Hong Kong, but this video is the best. It feels authentic and personal. I can sense the passion in your work. As a Hong Kong Chinese person who has moved away from Hong Kong, your video has brought me many bittersweet memories, unanswered questions, and a glimmer of hope that things can improve. Thank you! Keep up the great work!
Let me ask you this question. Are you really happy wherever you are ? I live in the US and I have seen what lives are like in the UK and Canada. If I could I would hop on the next flight moving back to HK. I just came back from HK and China, let me say this; I had no problem going where I want and saying what I feel. In fact, in HK people have more liberty to say what is on their mind. They have no problem talking about your mother. Try saying that in another country, you'll get your ass beat up.
I can ask why u move out of HK? Im about to live there around 2 years, but i’ve heard many ppl left HK to go abroad 😢
@@rf4evermyL it is alright to stay that short of time, as in HK, there is no need to worry about safety issues things at all, it is all about the political. ✌🏻✌🏻
@ yeah, i got it pretty well, just when thinking about the time i get there but there's not many local ppl speak cantonese as I expected🥲 Just a feeling of emptiness for not experiencing Hong Kong the way I saw it as a child.
@ yeah, i got it pretty well, just when thinking about the time i get there but there's not many local ppl speak cantonese as I expected🥲 Just a feeling of emptiness for not experiencing Hong Kong the way I saw it as a child.
I will never complain about anything ever again in life. Thank you for sharing your adventure.
- cheers from U.S
Hey Mike!
I know you said in this vid, that with traveling to so many places you tend to see alot of the darkness hidden beneath. But, your videos ALWAYS highlight the happiness and generosity in the world. Please don’t ever stop making these videos. The world might not change in our lifetime, but this is how it will start, love- even to strangers.
💗
You’re awesome. Thank you for your thoughtful comment ❤️
That is because the "darkness" is an illusion. It is only noted to get people to open the podcast. It is for click-bait. Many, many UA-cam "real" videos do this. I've been to all of these places and they are not negative locales (Kowloon is crazy busy, but it is not a bad place to visit). It is just people in the west want these places to be dysfunctional, so they look for disparaging videos on these places.
Mate you’re an absolute machine travelling as much as you do in the conditions you find yourself in. Mad respect. Awesome video and thank you for the great content!
I spent the last couple weeks binging every last one of your videos.. so I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to get the notification for this one!! You are without a doubt my favorite UA-camr and watching these just genuinely makes me happy... so thank you for blessing us with a 45 minute video Mike!! You're a real one
That is awesome! THANKS YOU!
"Private property" being rented out. The people who rent these holes out are the ones driving Lamborghinis and Ferraris. They live up on Victoria Peak while eating their own people. It's wickedness to the max.
Eat their own people?
You are absolutely right. The Hk richness eat out the poor. 😢
Tourists never see this real HK
This is what journalism should be. Thank you for what you do mate, I hope you find all the success you deserve, by your own definitions.
Please never stop making content. This is the best stuff I've seen in a while.
As a viewer from Hong Kong, this is my favorite video from you yet. Thank you for showing the city with your unique perspectives. Safe travels and all the best Mike!
Hey Mike! You've quickly become one of my favorite travel UA-camrs. Cranking back local beers, smoking cigs with the locals, it's a vibe! If I may make a small suggestion - there's parts of your videos that could really use subtitles, as I can't understand what's being said. Other than that, keep up the amazing content! I always look forward to your uploads
As a resident of Hong Kong, I would like to thank you for this wonderful documentary. You covered many of the main issues, not only that, but also treated our home with great respect and love. We appreciate it more than you would know. Thank you very much once again!
Great stuff. I love the rawness in these videos, just showing the real daily lives of people, no filter, no bullshit. Real stuff, what's sorely missing on UA-cam right now. Sending love from the Philippines 💙❤
mike your videos are so addictive i cant get enough of them, thanks for the nearly 50 minute and amazing upload
Happy to hear that!
@@mikeokay please never collab with bald and bankrupt i would be so disappointed
My favourite channel on UA-cam so far, with a hilarious mix of adventure, humour, truth and just showing how things are REALLY like. I visited Hong Kong a year ago and the very stark divide of inequality struck me equally.
You are truly great storyteller and please keep doing the videos!
🥹❤
@@mikeokay If you're still around the area, go to some of the beaches! They're almost empty (at least when I was there on a weekday), very beautiful, and so logically I ended up skinny-dipping!
Hello Mike, I'm from Gansu, China. I sincerely invite you to come to China again. Thank you for showing the real China to the world. I really want to have a face-to-face talk with you and treat you to local food.
Definitely!!!
The world is beautiful because of your existence, thanks again.❤❤❤❤
@@mikeokayI'm from Gansu, and I met you on social media in China. I really regret that you didn't see you when you passed through Gansu from Xinjiang, because I just saw your series of Chinese videos now, and the location where you filmed them is in my hometown. It's really a pity, and I'll send you a beautiful one again.
Kowloon Walled City must have been an experience.
sounds like a threat
You seem so genuine it’s so refreshing to see! Thankyou for being so kind and showing such natural true footage. This was really nice to watch
2 Things: 1. Paul is a legend! 2. Your military experience really prepared you for your crazy travels. Weather, sleep deprived, hungover, tons of gear, and have to hike in the middle of the bush just to turn around. Excellent field work private.
Mike I’m somewhat new to the channel but you have quickly become my favorite channel. You travel and tell stories in such a great way, I can easily see you becoming a modern day Bourdain-esque figure. Keep up the great work man, keep telling these stories.
Wow, thank you 🙏
Mike, i am from England, am 20 years old and i grew up in china, lived there for 7 years actually. China is probably my favourite place on earth, recently went back for a few weeks. But boy am i glad that you show china for the way it is and not how the media portrays it. it really is amazing, the nature is mind bogglingly beautiful and the people are just fantastic and so hospitable. i unfortunately i haven't been to hong kong, always wanted to but i most certainly will after watching this video. Mike you are a fantastic person and an insanely good youtuber, you're vibe is immaculate, you should be super proud of what you do bro i am so glad i found your channel, you are a hell of a human and deserve great things, lots of love man
You should make a video about your life that would be well interesting.
HK indigenous here. The volunteer's idea of the solution is all well and good. But the word she didn't use is "land reform". That is what HK desperately needs. But China cannot land reform HK, as it's one country two systems. That said, even after 2047, it's still questionable as to whether China can land reform HK without upsetting majority of HK people, as a large proportion of them do own their own property and would no doubt be financially impacted by a reform.
The ridiculous housing price is unfortunately a legacy of the housing system the British left behind, so it's a bit ironic that Gilly likes the Royal family as well. Let us not forget that the London appointed governor and all the rich British expats were all living up in Victoria peak mid level, where they comfortably look down on the diametrically opposed infamous kowloon walled city which was just a symptom of such a system coupled with the prejudice Chinese faced under colonial ruling.
This is not a comment against the British people. I am just about old enough to remember that the British public played a key role in abolishment of apartheid south Africa and it was also the British people that marched the streets against Iraq war. It was just unfortunate that the ruling elites of Britain ignored such voices.
all great points
up u go!
I’m British and completely understand and agree, this is the future I see for the UK if something isn’t done.
Land reform? What does that entail? Uprooting the city, government invoking imminent domain and building new slums for these people to live in?
@@nickf8268 HK isn’t short on land, it’s short on zoned space. If you looked at HK from space you’ll understand how concentrated its population is.
You are such a kind man with a big heart. Never lose that.
Genuine, respectful and authentic content that is well-edited and put together in a great story format. This channel is going to blow up!!
I am literally always looking forward to these videos coming out! With the loss of some of my favorite "travel" shows like parts unknown and even top gear/grand tour, this has the same interesting and humorous vibe that I really love! Awesome job Mike, and thank you for such positive and genuine content, it is truly appreciated.
Hey Mike, thought I'd leave a comment here as well. I watched the whole thing! Thanks for making it. Even though I'm a local, grew up and been here most of my life, you showed me places I've never been, and things I've never noticed in the streets I've passed by a million times. Also your spotlighting of the homes had me acknowledged again about how privileged I am in comparison, and reminded me to treat strangers who live below their means with compassion and empathy, and help them out whenever there's a chance.
Really glad I could show you something new. Thank you!
Your experiences are so positive, even in the sketchy situations. I'm sure you're aware of other tubers who have been doing the same thing and visiting the same places and they're so negative about everything. They thrive on saying how much a place stinks or how racist the people are towards visitors who aren't like them, etc. You seem to just take everything as it is and seem like a genuinely upbeat person and the people you interact with respond so well to it. I wish you good health continuing to do what you enjoy doing. Thanks for letting the rest of us who live somewhere inconsequential get an insight into places all over the world we will likely never visit.
The little girl has such a bright mind, i bet her mom is very proud of her!
Heart goes out to those guys living there . Humanity helping each other .. well done mike 👏
Can't imagine how you got through that night during the typhoon. I live in Hong Kong, and T8s are notorious for wreckages and the destruction they have on the environment/roads etc; camping during a T8 might not have been the wisest of choices 🤣. Great channel, extremely underrated.
Hi mike, I’m not sure if you’ll read this, but I wanted to thank you for your really informative videos. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and I actually traveled to more than 20 countries, but your videos make me feel as if I’m traveling alongside with you. For some reason Asia wasn’t on my bucket list, but after seeing you interact with the different cultures, you’ve awaken the need to see those places. Thank you for showing us the world and being so positive.
Fascinating video, I've heard news from Chinese radio covering this and also other peoples vlogs. Thanks for sharing and informing the viewers the changes that HK is going
The way you connect with people is amazing.
31:45 this guy really knows the thing 😂 and such a sincere production with him even wearing a Hong Kong cap! Easily able to interact with different kinds of people from different countries, I can’t believe I can finish watching his videos each talking about 45 mins, subscribed already.
Paul is so nice, It is crazy how the world is full of nice people if you know where to look
I loved Paul so much!! Mike has such a special aura about him that just attracts the best people, and it's a big reason why I love this channel so much
very good video capturing multicultural aspects of HK and the complexities of extremes of wealth. Love the ending part and hope you caught the flight in time !
The housing problem has a long history, dating back to the days of British rules. This problem is not being solved because the HK government (just as it was under British rules) does not want to upset the wealthy property developers and middle class. If the Chinese communist party can rule HK directly, the problem might be solved more quickly. However, the Chinese government cannot be seen to be having too much influence in HK under "one country, two systems".
As a Hong Konger, what you said is 100% true. Hong Kong's problems can all be attributed to its economic system inherited from the British which was designed to benefit the elite (who were British, and who are now local HK billionaire). One can make a direct comparison between HK and Shenzhen to see which system works better, who has a housing crisis and who doesn't. HK would benefit from having Shenzhen's economic system and property laws. But as you said, HK is stuck because the Mainland can't interfere, even though the Mainland system would benefit the majority of HKers.
是的，如果一些老房子被拆除重建，香港人的住房就不会那么紧了。
Your videos are and how you show the different cultures is amazing.
I really enjoy watching them. Keep on the awesome work, Mike!
Paul is the goat, everyone needs a friend like paul
Thanks Mike for great content! Hats off to you from HK.
Thank you!!!
Hey brother, cheers from Singapore. You have earned my subscription, I have seen a few other of your videos, the faith, respect and purity you have when you speak with the locals and how you navigate conversations is something many of us have forgotten or have lost as we grow older. I like that in this video where you did something different and highlighted some of the social and economical issues. Hope to see more content of that nature in future from you.
UA-cam made you pop up on my feed a couple weeks ago and I was so immersed in your journeys, as if I was somehow there with you. It's all so raw and real. Not picking a side, just showing how things are and showing that the preconceived notions we may have due to "TV media" are not necessarily true. Also quite telling that everyone seems so friendly and willing to open themselves up to you, which seems to be a rarity in our home country.
Dude you are a natural at this, you are rapidly becoming my favourite travel youtuber.
Another great video, Mike! I have been binging your channel heavily since I found you a couple months ago. Truly amazing content, and I'm living vicariously through your adventures. Take care brother and thanks for everything!
The timing is insane! Soooo hyped for the vid:)
Yes broooooo
I love your videos man! It is so fascinating to me to see how other people interact in other countries.
Mike, you are absolutely the best!
Thank you for your videos, really enjoy them
Your videos are so well filmed don't be shy to do more narration your voice is spot on I think you're doing a great job on editing I don't know who does your editing but it's perfect your videos are quite long but they feel short full of details and visual death the way you're filming is like if I'm standing beside!!
Keep up the good work 👏 🙌
A fan from Québec,CA 🇨🇦
Interesting video, I was born in Hong Kong but moved to UK two years ago.
I consider myself a middle class in HK, I was a homeowner but while my living condition was certainly better than those you visited, it was still miserable. I had a family of 3, my apartment only had one bedroom that is about half the size of a normal living room in UK, the kitchen & toilet combined had about the same size of a normal kitchen in UK, the so-called living room had about the size of a tiny dining room in UK which I can't even put in a sofa. That's all I had and I fared better than a lot of others already.
Sold my apartment in HK and used half of the money to buy a mid terrace in UK that is 3-4 times bigger.
Sometimes we complain about the high level of taxation in UK, but there's always a price to pay for low-tax system like HK. The government has to get revenue through land auctions, so the land is expensive, the rent is expensive, the cost of everything is crazy. It is some form of indirect tax.
Because the government only answer to special business interest groups instead of the people.
Tbh, the UK isn't well governed either. Compared with HK, maybe the UK is still better (slightly). The last few times I was there, I was shocked by the amount of homeless there are in every city in the UK. There have been documentaries showing elderly people living in poverty have to choose whether to buy food or heat their homes. Europe is going through an economic crisis of its own making, and a lot of it has to do with mindlessly following the US (economically and geopolitically) to Europe's doom. As for HK, life sucks for ordinary people because it is effectively a tax haven with an artificially low flat tax rate. The British intended it this way because such a system benefits the elite - who were them. Since handover, the benefactors of the system are Hong Kong's own billionaire class.
I was born in 1981, moved out in 1990 to New Zealand. Looking back, the biggest regret I have in my life is the wrong side won the Cold War (and I personally admit guilt that I also backed the wrong side). Since the 1980s, the working class in all Western countries have been the losers! The US shoved its hyper-individualistic neoliberal economic system down the throats of the entire world at the barrel of a gun. I am old enough to remember a more egalitarian society, when greed wasn't viewed as a virtue, the interests of an individual wasn't viewed above the greater good of society, and there existed relatively strong social solidarity. The Cold War era was the Golden Age of the western working class because western elites lived in fear of socialist revolution exported from the Eastern Bloc, so they caved to their workers' demands for better wages, pensions, a robust social safety net, a generous social welfare system - all the things that made socialism attractive. As the Cold War was ending, the elites stopped fearing their own workers and reverted back to form. In truth, life for working people in the west has always been miserable except for a few decades after WW2 - one can read Charles Dickens and Hugo Victor as social commentary to living conditions for working people in the 19th century. There is a reason why Karl Marx sought to analyse why western capitalism produced its extreme inequalities and internal contradictions, and summarised his theory in Das Kapital.
If I have one hope, it is that I live long enough to see all the neoliberal changes made in the 1980s and 1990s (mas privatisation, de-regulation, wholesale gutting of the social safety net) completely reversed.
Welcome to England, brother. I'm English but lived in Hong Kong for over ten years.
You're my new favorite travel vlogger!
Love your content, how respectful and kind you are to others, and your willingness to connect with anyone and everyone - no matter their age
Mike you are now officially my favourite UA-camr I love every video
Thank you for shedding light on the underbelly of Hong Kong. They are currently trying to introduce a bill to increase the minimum required living space and crack down on subdivided flats.
With that being said there’s actually so much more of Hong Kong to see. As an indigenous villager in Hong Kong, I'd actually like to invite you to visit the New Territories to explore some of our villages and traditional customs and festivals!
Notes: A big issue with reform here is that the government makes most of its revenue in land sales and land tax. Therefore, the government has a vested interest in keeping the supply of land and housing limited to inflate the cost of land. Roughly 70% of Hong Kong's land is undeveloped or protected or classified under different usage zones
Take it however you want but there have been several indicators from the Mainland that there is no real intention to alter the one country two system model after 2047 as it actually benefits both the mainland and Hong Kong to keep a level of distinction between the jurisdictions. Every city changes but as long as the heart is the same that’s all that matters. Just my two cents from living and growing up here in HK
Final note: Been following your channel for a few months now especially for the China series and I got to say it’s some of the best China coverage I’ve seen. It’s honestly such a refreshing take. Keep it up and keep it real!
"Take it however you want but there have been several indicators from the Mainland that there is no real intention to alter the one country two system model after 2047 as it actually benefits both the mainland and Hong Kong to keep a level of distinction between the jurisdictions. "
There are clear signs of intention to alter that two system model now, never mind 2047
There are so many ways Beijing to reshape one country two systems, the constitution of basic laws had been already gave number of amendments. The China Communist Party have so many power to interpret about basic laws. What it could be is always up to who are the Beijing leader by that time. There is not any way to counter that power.
I'm a Hong Konger too. What you wrote about land sales is totally correct. I also think Beijing will keep some sort of one country two system model even after 2047, as China is very much a status quo country with an aversion to making too many changes unless it is broken. In HK's case, the system actually is broken. Even if they keep two systems, I should hope the internal border is removed after 2047. The housing crisis in HK should naturally go away if people were free to move around the rest of the Bay Area, buy property where it is more affordable. The region is already well connected by public transport, which should keep improving over time. With the internal border, HKers are actually stuck in the city, forced to live in a bad system and it's not easy to move out.
@@pineapplesareyummy6352Actually, Hong Kong residents are free to move to mainland, buy apartments, get social medical benefits, and seek employments if they want to.
It’s a good choice for Hongkong residents to retire at mainland, as the living cost is much lower than Hong Kong.
Love your video. My wife is chinese and i go to china every year and the people are always so nice
Man this put things in a lot of perspective. ITs like you don't believe it until you see it. And it makes you appreciate what you have a lot more, especially when you see different kind of living conditions each person is in. It does makes me wonder how would the future look like moving forward for sure; Thank you for making these videos.
Thanks!
Paul, you met people at the street corner where I grew up before moving to Canada. Your journey is very down to earth. Respect!!
I was feeling really depressed about having to return to work tomorrow after the holiday weekend, and this video cheered me up.
Feel you bro i work from home and still burned out😂
The journalism on this was genuinely top tier, getting that organization to give you access was wicked
That cramped space is something I could never do. I feel so much anxiety just watching that, there are no windows either. I can't deal with that. I am 6'4" and not small.
You Sir are a breath of fresh air, a real man indeed !
Loving your adventures, reminds me of my younger days !
You and I are a very lucky few :)
Watching this in my HK room makes me appreciate of what I have. Those living conditions are tough most especially for seniors. Thank you for letting us to show the other side of life behind of beautiful sceneries that we can see here.
Is no one going to mention the '9-Eleven' shop at 8:20? 😂
Was just about to comment XDD
So wild 😂
Hongkong has been dying for quite a long time, CCP just nailed its coffin
Fun fact to share, the cubical flats in Sham Shui Po has the highest rent among HK (per feet), thank you Mike for sharing what's really happening in what our gov claimed the richest and well-developed city.
Absolute legend Mike. Glad I hopped On a video of yours a week ago. And the darker things get to you discovering new things about this world, remember there is some light around and humane people existing like you are. Love your adventures, hope I’d get on it one day too. Stay safe
What I’m hooked on in the randomness (to a degree) and spontaneous decisions you make. It’s the best part of travelling (can also be the worst).
Love the content, would love to see some of the roads less travelled in Phillipines too.
I have been in some amazing off the track parts there, but with so many islands, there’s literally a thousand different journeys to experience
I wonder why did you use the umbrella at the end when it hasn't been used it the whole video, but then I realised why. Thank you for the video Mike. Lots of love from Hong Kong. Hope you come back soon and safe travels. 🇭🇰
Hey Mike, great video. I am also from the UK and have been living in Hong Kong since 2018. I am married to a local and I live far north new territories, It looked like you camped on the mountain road coming over from Tai po area. My house is in ta kwu ling about two minutes form the border to the mainland just north of sheung sheu where you took the bus too, I love the quietness that these northern areas provide. Still so much land to be occupied in these areas and its much cheaper, yet people still want to live in the densly populated areas, for what reason i don't know why. new subscriber
Walking ten minutes to the MTR is too much for most HK people because it’s so hot in summer.
@ that’s what mini bus is for 🤷♂️
Pretty good how quickly you got into the vibe of the city in such a short time. Hong Kong is already just an empty shell compared to how it was. At the end, you were at one point very close to the beach - maybe an hour or so walk and then you went in totally the wrong direction. In the end the point you reached was indeed one of the best places to overlook Shenzhen and better than if you had continued on your original route. The installation was once occupied by the British army and the round building was a lookout against incursions from mainland China. There used to be bullet proof glass in the windows and there is a mounting point for a machine gun. At night time during clear weather the view is even more spectacular.
It kind of got overshadowed by the rest of china in the recent decade
Hello Mike, even though it is the first time watching you, I’m really happy to see you understanding Hong Kong’s troubles I wish everybody would understand Hong Kong’s troubles😊
Mike, your adventures are so fun to watch! You made the best of it even though it was raining the whole time. I love your perseverance and enthusiasm for life! Brother, please take care ❤
Love the rawness in the video
❤️❤️
I am from Hong Kong, born in 1981. The housing crisis has always existed for as long as I know. There were documentaries in the 1980s about elderly people living in cage homes who never left their apartments in years. You mentioned "One country two systems" - that is correct, and the truth is Hong Kong's system sucks. HK is just a microcosm of the US, a laissez-faire, hyper-capitalist system with artificially low taxes that favour the rich. The British intended it this way because it favoured the elites who were British. Since the British left, the elites are now Hong Kong's billionaire class who benefit from British-era economic system. It should be mentioned that the HKSAR government does not collect enough taxes to pay for its expenses - it relies heavily on land sales. Therefore, it is incentivised in the same direction as property developers, which is to keep property prices sky high.
Across the border, Shenzhen is China's richest city. While it does have an expensive housing market, it is also nowhere near the scale of HK's problems (property prices are about one-third of HK's). They actually have laws on the Mainland that property developers can't just squat on undeveloped land, limit supply, and push up prices. The Mainland government is concerned about public sentiments and doesn't want unrest. It goes out of its way to try to pamper its people. This dynamic isn't true in HKSAR. In fact, HKSAR's government has been repeatedly reprimanded by Beijing for being derelict in its duty, as Beijing doesn't want unrest in HK, so it is more acutely aware of problems in HK than those who actually rule HK itself. But under One Country Two Systems, the Mainland actually can't interfere in HKSAR's affairs, even though HK would benefit enormously from having an economic system closer to the Mainland than its inherited one from the UK, which was never intended to benefit ordinary people but the elite.
People vote with their feet. They almost unanimously moved to capitalist societies with law and order.
I suppose you’d rather live in Venezuela, Haiti, or anywhere in Africa. Don’t bother responding, people like you adhere to their beliefs, like the religious all facts and evidence to the contrary, will not cause someone like you or the religious to give up their dogma
@@Notrocketscience101 now Hong Kong citizen visit Shenzhen every weekend. go to watch Hong Kong local news.
Let's be real. You are from Mainland China.
@@Notrocketscience101 Guy made a well thought out criticism before you came out straight up slandering him. Looks like you are the lunatic fanatic to be honest. Capitalism has run its course and if you think people living in literal coffins for the Profit of the select few you are Morally bancrupt of plain stupid.
Beijing can’t interfere with Hong Kong? That’s a laugh. They have been doing nothing but that in the past 10-15 years.
Freedom of speech is not the same as freedom of violence, and the double standard of asking for freedom of speech for themselves while attacking people with different views is ridiculous.
EXACTLY 💯
Because this completely justifies the mindset that democracy is failing in the region, shutting down pro-democracy news outlets, book stores, creating vague laws to umbrella all the shit they can make up to arrest people. Don’t even get me started on the cops.
There were very few violent attacks. Suppressing freedom of speech is even more ridiculous and is happening on a far greater scale.
I hate those riots who always said freedom since 2019
Brother your comedic timing is so good, sometimes I think by accident haha. Appreciate the laughs along the way.
I’ve just binged on a handful of your videos. Love the content, wish you well
6:32 why is she so shocked
Thank you
7:43 the guy just took a shit and washes his hand after shaking yours 🤣🤣🤣
I do hope you acknowledge that being a white, British man has kept you a lot safer than a lot of other people would be in these situations...
and? what does that have to do with a video about housing crisis
And the "British man" (now the American man) also made the rest of the world A LOT MORE DANGEROUS PLACE for the other billions who live on planet earth and who aren't white. Go to India or go to the Middle East, and ask the people there what they think of the British (or now, American) 🤦♂
It is always interesting to look at these HK documentary-style videos, my maternal grandparents originated from HK way back before WWII and even though I've visited HK a couple times it's still so fascinating. The stories I've heard from my mom painted such a different story from what I personally saw when I visited there, though I guess it made sense since the stories I've heard about HK were almost 80 years old when my mom told me.
I enjoyed this doc, such a huge city and it seems that the people you interacted with were very friendly.
If the Chinese government takes over Hong Kong completely, it can definitely do better. At least in China, no matter how poor a person is, their house is not that small. Those who demand to maintain Hong Kong's characteristics, do they want these people to continue living in such houses?
AGREE 👍
i think there are areas this bad in china, in some outer cities, but the government is much quicker in not letting it stagnate, for the better and also sometimes for the worse. They also have rapidly been forcing incredibly poor villagers to urbanize, which is backing up the system even more. One can only hope if HK was to fall completely to China, they would spend money as a reqiuem for the people and not just speed up existing policies, which would probably leave over a million people homeless if it was instantaneous.
I think it’s because they lack space in Hong Kong
Pardon me? give you a big house but living like in a prison, no way, a free spirit is most important to Hongkongers, it’s nothing people in the CCP regime can understand! It’s because CCP-HK government is giving the benefits to the 2M people coming from PRC that cause Hongkongers live a low life !
the chinese government would turn it into a dictatorship
Is this video supposed to be backed by the anti-China campaign? The angle of reporting is somewhat dubious! The poor conditions of living you see in the video had already existed in the colonial days, only much worse back then. This could not have anything to do with the handover in 1997.
22:06 so lucky we have communism in main land china, unlike HongKong😢😢
It’s actually socialism
I would like to express my gratitude for the unvarnished and genuine nature of your video content. While I may not have the privilege of traveling myself, your minimally edited videos provide me with an authentic and immersive experience. I appreciate your efforts in showcasing the world to us, and I hope you will continue to share your travels with us.
What I’m hooked on in the randomness (to a degree) and spontaneous decisions you make. It’s the best part of travelling (can also be the worst).
Love the content, would love to see some of the roads less travelled in Phillipines too.
I have been in some amazing off the track parts there, but with so many islands, there’s literally a thousand different journeys to experience 👍
Mike,
Hong Kong will remain exist even after 2047 if it keeps on with its benefiting role to China, as like after 1949. Hong Kong Special Administrative Zone or British Colony Hong Kong are just names, what matters is whether it can provide distinct value to China. You are ignorant about Hong Kong, just like other westerners ignorant about China.
Let me give you some historical background of what makes Hong Kong Hong Kong to support my statement. The demarcation can be set at the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Before 1949, although Hong Kong was a British colony and there was a “Sino-British” border, there was no restriction on entering and exiting the territory so people move around freely. In the 1940s, Hong Kong had a population of about 1.5 million, and apart from the real locals who live at the rural areas, most of the population in the urban areas were actually migrants from the Mainland, HongKongnese were Chinese, no difference.
In fact, as early as the 1940s, the China Kuomintang government had already asked Churchill for return of Hong Kong after the war, but the Kuomintang could not defeat the Communists and lost to Taiwan. So why did Hong Kong continue to be a British colony after 1949? It was not because the Communists were afraid of Britain - they had the guts to fight even the United States in the Korean War, so how could they be afraid of Britain? In fact, the only reason was that Hong Kong's status as a special region (a British colony) was favorable to China during the US-Soviet Cold War: it was the only window for China's external contacts - essential goods such as medicines could be shipped to China through Hong Kong, and China could learn about the Western world through Hong Kong. This is the only reason why the Hong Kong colonial government could exist until 1997.
Therefore, the policy of the Chinese government after 1949 was not to let Hong Kong become independent(as like India and Pakistan), but to maintain its status quo. The population of Hong Kong swelled from 1 million in the 40s to over 4 million in the 1970s, many of whom were refugees fled from mainland or their next generation born in Hong Kong. Living conditions in Hong Kong from the 1960s to the 1980s were even worse than what you filmed here, with more than half of the population living in squatted house and resettlement buildings. The colonial government also did not let the new generation of Hong Kong understand China. For example, when we studied geography in the first grade of secondary school, we learned Australia geography instead of China geography! So in general the post-war generation was pro-Western and know little about China, and they were afraid of communist because most of their parents were refugees. It was weird, as starting from early 80s Hong Kong ride on the wave of China's reform getting more prosperous, the fact that the better we live, the more we distant from China(yes as were getting rich college boys went to Korea/Japan/Australia/Europe for fun instead of traveling in China like you Mike!). But I suppose maybe that is typical of a colonial society.
This laid the basis for the riots a few years ago. It is because after 1997, the policy of the Beijing Government is to allow Hong Kong to remain unchanged as long as there is no need for it to change, and it does not take part in the actual running of Hong Kong. Therefore, although Hong Kong is now under China's rule(ie. one country), many Hong Kong people under the age of 60 think that Hong Kong is "independent"(mis-concept of two system), that Hong Kong people are different from mainlanders, and that Hong Kong people are even superior to mainlanders because of their western education background.
This misconception led to the riots a few years ago, which you mentioned at the very beginning. As a matter of fact, the Hong Kong Government has been signing legislation on the transfer of fugitives with foreign governments (for example, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada), so that people who have committed crimes in these countries and fled to Hong Kong will be transferred back to their home countries. Hong Kong's relationship with mainland China is closer than that with these countries(to my memory more than 250 criminals were send back to Hong Kong from mainland since 1997 when the legislation was passed), it is unreasonable that people who have committed crimes in mainland China and have fled to Hong Kong (whether they are mainlanders, Hong Kong people or foreigners) cannot be transferred back to mainland China for trial., hey it is under "one country"!!! The legislation finally passed by the Hong Kong government was in fact proposed by a prominent member(Martin Lee) of the opposition camp in Hong Kong back to 1998 using a United Nations template. I guarantee 99.9% of those against the legislation don't know about that as it was only mentioned by the pro-government media though Martin admitted about it openly! The fact that such a very reasonable piece of legislation has been rendered by the opposition as “transport of Hong Kong people to the Mainland”, and that it has actually caused widespread riots, is a reflection of Hong Kong people's ignorance of their own situation, lack of modern China history knowledge, what a joke! Again it is typical of a colonial society, as even after 1997 the Hong Kong government follow the colonial educational policy mostly.
You have visited the poorest area of Hong Kong, wish you enjoy the stay by trying some good food and look around at the newly built regions in recent 20+ years.
1. Most of the 2 million protestors in 2019 were not rioters, they were peaceful. 2. Most protesters did not want Hong Kong to be independent, they want more democracy, which was promised by the Basic Law. 3 to say that 2 million people are ignorant is itself ignorant.
@@darshanchung 1. supporters like you used to say "Brothers climbing the mountain each trying their best兄弟爬山各自努力“ , which means tolerance of violence as far as I don't do it.. Did any of the so-called pro-democracy members condemn the violence? NO! Did any of them show sympathy to the one stoned to death? NO! Court cases tell us that even if you were not the "rioters" throwing stones and petrol bombs to the police making all kinds of destruction directly, if you were in the scene giving support to them, you would be member of them and be in charge on conditions that police had declare clearance. Your so called "peaceful protest" claim was invalid. 2. As mentioned you are one of those who don't know what actually this case is about but just led by the media. You were saying NO to the transfer of fugitives to mainland, even though it cover only major offences that would lead to 5 years imprisonment. In fact this legislation was based on an United Nation template covering transfer of of fugitives to regions HK government didn't sign agreement with, including Taiwan, where a HK guy murdered his girlfriend just fled back to HK. The protest was nothing related to democracy, only that they named themselves as "pro-democracy" supporters. It was simply an anti-China show, and we all in HK bared result of the violence. Basic Law Chapter I - General Principles, Article 1 stated that "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China." Did you read it? Do you remember the "Hong Kong is not China" claim in the Legislation Council by the so called "pro-democracy member" which marked start of series of protest against the government? 3. Supporters always make use of the 2M figure to show that they are rightful even on violence, this is completely irrational. I have given reasons on why Hong Kong has so many afraid of China, you simply don't understand it or deny the reality.
Actually I was a "pro-democracy parties" supporter for past 30+ years, only dropped support after their "Hong Kong is not China" show in the Legislation Council. I did my part telling my friends that Hong Kong would be like what right now is IF they keep on with their anti-China track but unfortunately WE Hong Kongers are too proud to admit our ignorance . This is our karma.
@ don’t put words in my mouth. I have never been violent nor have I ever supported violent protests.
@@vajra1997 The person who was hit by a stone and died was involved in a brawl. And do you have any sympathy for those who were beaten, raped, injured by the police, falsely accused and convicted , imprisoned under made up charges? NO!
@@darshanchung Obviously you didn't watch the video on the TV to understand what has happened. The video shows a group of men in black trying to scrape bricks to make destruction as before, they were stopped by another group and there was a clash. The man who was stoned to death was just passing by after work, and he was trying to take picture of the rioter who were already in mask.
Supporters of the riot mentioned that many rapes and even murders had taken place during the protest. Its all lies! What happened to the girl who said she was raped in CUHK hall? After getting sympathy from the vice-chancellor and public with crying, she didn't challenge the police as promised. In fact details of her being raped at the police station have proved be impossible because there was no such environment. She is now in Taiwan. In the Prince Edward Station event it is said that more than 120 people were killed and disappeared, and even elderly in nursing home said in fact, 2,000+ people were killed when my friend visited her! That's kind of atmosphere the whole society was in under these lies which spread around. The only person who was named be killed in this event is now living happily in England.
Maybe you don't read the court news recently(or be always as obviously you don't know what is law about), Apple Daily's big boss Lai said in court just only two days ago that there was no murder, no rape during the protest and that the people who said that were going too far. Are you still living on these rumors?
這不就是資本主義嗎 極端富有與極端貧窮 有什麼好意外的?
This happens in any place that leans too much on one system. USA, China, Russia all have high income inequality. European countries who follow a mix of economic and social systems have the lowest rates of income inequality
@@remon9099the poor in America live better than this in a majority of places. I grew up poor and still had a normal house with separate bedroom kitchen and living room. I could barely afford to eat sometimes, but at least I wasn't in a box most of the day.. it's sad that people in Hong Kong have to live like that
@animeloveer97 Yea, it's worse in some places than others. The point of the commenter was that it's the result of capitalism. That's why I mentioned the US, China and Russia. They go by 3 different systems and yet you find poverty in all 3 of them. Leaning on one system doesn't work. Countries need to adapt a mix of different systems that allows for economic growth but at the same time protects the ones with lower income
In China most people earn less than $1000 a month while the country has the most billionaires in the world.
@@animeloveer97 dude, the poor in America live on the streets or in a shelter…
Thank you for this amazing video. Awesome that you’re visiting some of the less fancy areas in SSP, MK and NT that many gweilos probably have never seen.
Great to see you at Chungking Mansion! I remember going there a lot in 2011/2012 to eat the best indian food!
I am very glad that you pointed about this situation as I am a resident as well, lots of people in Hong Kong lives in car parks size houses and I do feel very sorry for them. Most of this is the elderly living through this. Some just randomly live on places on the streets and they always beg for money. Flats in Hong Kong are so expensive that almost no one can afford them. Some are 1 million for like a little flat. Thanks for pointing this out, this is very critical for younger and older people to know that this needs to change.
love your 100% authentic content, glad i found you!