Just like you won’t see topics like China’s occupation of Tibet or the racism of Chinese people being taught in Chinese schools. No nationality is immune to prejudice and every country frames events to suit their own point of view. Eg, the PRC’s frequent emphasis and condemnation of the unequal treaties that China was bullied into signing, yet China seems to have no issues with the 17th Point Agreement that It bullied the Tibetan government into signing in 1951, something I’m sure any ethnic Tibetan also considers an ‘Unequal treaty’
Being a university student here in Hong Kong, I see so much ridiculous nostalgia for the British colonial rule, even more ever since the Umbrella Movement and the 2019 anti-extradition protests. I understand how horrible and dystopian the Chinese government is, but my biggest pet peeve is how many young Hong Kongers born after the handover expressing their supremacy over others by waving a flag that implies nostalgia for wanting to be a second class citizen.
It’s hard to say for how long grievances should be held by future generations for what happened in the previous generations lives. I do think things that happened longer ago should be given less significance then what happened more recently.
An opinion poll in 1982 proved 85% of hker would like to remain status quo(british rule), I understand white guilt is a thing, but the local have a different perspective on colonial era, you might be surprise that many people would like to remain as "second class citizen". Youngsters wave union jack and Hong Kong flag just to piss CCP off, the supremacy thing is just your own perception. Some say Hong Kong is still a colony, just changed a flag. edited: (checked your acc seems you are not white,possibly mainland Chinese judging from the subscribed channel .But it's ok now all the "second class citizen" "supermacy" make sense)
I support the protests but I think it's odd that they want to be under colonial rule again. I understand that the last last 20 years of Hong Kong under colonial rule was great as it was the Golden Age, but I don't think colonialism is politically correct. It was also only the last 50 years since Britain started becoming more "kinder" (can't think of a better word right now).
@@etc21228 First off, I am not white. Secondly, I am not Mainlander. Also, the 85% support of the colony is overinflated and is just localist mythology. Anyone who knows anything about the pre-handover days knows that the British government was not well liked, however, it is no secret that the CCP was not well liked, in most cases, even more disliked and if most yellow ribbons had were forced to pick between CCP rule or late colonial rule, it would be colonial rule and I would pick that as well. However, similarly to Taiwan, most people at the end of the day want the status quo, and in Hong Kong it means actually respecting 1C2S and not 1C1.2S. Make of this what you will, but this is not 85% of Hong Kongers wanting to be under British rule. And lastly, the kids waving the Union Jack just to trigger the CCP, I initially thought that too and found it kinda funny until I saw just how serious they were about it while saying the nastiest shit about Mainlanders. To add, in Malaysia, there are lots of people who do not have such bad thoughts of British rule which I don't necessarily disagree with, but none of them will advocate ever living under colonial rule or even wave the colonial flag even at the height of political dysfunction.
@@Mori650 The opinion poll was conducted by reform club of hong kong,it is not inflated and certainly not a mythology.I believed the number would be even higher if the same survey conducted again in 1989,and almost all senior and middle age Hker I met prefer the British rules,without a second thought. in Gibraltar, Gibraltarians not only advocate to living under British rule but actually had a referendum and they told Spanish to fuck off. The British and UN own hker a referendum,a chance to speak up and tell Chinese to fuck off.
In 2017 South African politician Helen Zillie suggested that some aspects of colonialism in Africa was positive. Shortly thereafter she was forced to apologize “unreservedly for a tweet that may have come across as a defense of colonialism.” In 2019 rioters trashed the Legco building in Hong Kong and put up a Hong Kong colonial era flag at the podium. The western news media routinely refer to them as “pro-democracy activists”. So it seems racism and colonialism against Africa is absolutely forbidden. Racism and colonialism against China is actively encouraged.
wow - I never heard it put that way - but that is a great analogy. note also during the Winter Olympics in South Korea the American news guy tried to say the Japanese helped develop South Korea during the colonial period. The South Koreans were FURIOUS - so much so the guy had to go back to the US
Of course its actively encouraged. China is an enemy of the west, and they can't stand the fact they cannot control it nowdays, so they undermine it in any way possible. Therein lies their hypocrisy - they are not concerned with democracy, they are simply concerned with dominance. Otherwise they wouldn't be best friends with Saudi Arabia.
@@Amidat That makes sense because the Japanese occupation of Korea was quite brutal. They often took women from Korea to Japan for "services," they're called "comfort women." While UK rule over HK had its problems, I don't think it got as bad as the Japanese occupation of Korea (at least not systemically). And in 1983, when discussions about the handover were taking place, the GDP per capita of HK was 20x that of China. It also gave refugees a place to flee during the cultural revolution, as well as to keep traditional Chinese characters.
@@ntrgc89 The first major wave to Hong Kong was actually because of the Japanese invasion of China. Rich Shanghai people moved to Hong Kong and helped turn into what it became. Japan still attacked Hong Kong anyway. But no the British were not as brutal as the Japanese. But the Brits being racist against Chinese is not the same as Japan trying to take over it's neighbors. That would be more akin to what Japan's ally was doing in Europe.
Thank you for keeping it real and laying down the truth for some of these misguided youth in Hong Kong who've never opened up a history book, only math books. I'm from Mongolia which was a country under Soviet protection but I've never seen anything remotely similar to what you just described in your video. The British simply looked upon the Chinese locals as primitive monkeys whose only purpose of existence was to serve their masters obediently. I hope you make more videos about Hong Kong, I'm deeply interested in its racist colonial past.
I always found it strange that Hong Kong expat slang used the word "heathen" to refer to Chinese. It had such a Victorian drawing room ring to it. Now I see the mindset it comes from.
@@Mingbaakmei Well this is what I heard. You saying you never heard it isn't going to make me un-hear it. James Clavell also uses it a few times in "Tai Pan" as well. It makes sense. Hong Kong was part of the British Empire, albeit a part of it that mostly benefited from British rule, but the British imposed a hierarchy on their colonies which, however flexible, put some people on top and some people on the bottom. I'm not saying we Yanks did any better, of course.
Hong Konger, of all people, would choose to ignore their own unsavory history and worship the colonial era. How much hypocrisy the US government can show when they prosecuted the protesters in Capitol riot, but supported the violent protests in Hong Kong at the same time. The saddest thing is the average Americans would keep drinking the cool aids and believe their government is on a mission to save the world from China.
In the early 1970s, the British government under which Hong Kong was its colony agreed quietly (i.e. did not object - oppose) with the PRC to delist British Hong Kong from the formal UN List of Colonies. Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula were ceded in perpetuity to Britain as a result of the two 19th century Opium Wars. Britain in allowing the delisting of British Hong Kong as a former colony thus never intended to give independence to Hong Kong island and Kowloon upon the 99 year lease of the New Territories ending in 1997. Hong Kongers in British Hong Kong colony forfeited the political right to seek political independence from their British colonial masters (and PRC for that matter) with the formal legal delisting. The British were more concerned about continuing their commercial and economic interests in the Far East rather than democracy for those under their rule.
i was born in HK about 13 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed, we left in 1942 because the Japanese Military Intelligence was looking for my father. We came back in 1949 and I left to go to college in USA in 1957. I don't recognize the description of HK in this video. HK was NOT ruled by some tyrannical foreign power that oppressed the Chinese population, anyone who had been there would see this was obvious. It was a very free economy, not some slave plantation. The court system was based on British Common Law, the police were just like any British law enforcement. HK was one of the "Asian Tiger" economies the grew extremely rapidly during the 1950's and thereafter, it was a major port of entry for trade with China. I did NOT see opium dens for brothels or anything else like that, crime was very low, when I was 10 years old it was safe to go anywhere and do anything except commit crimes. It was a lot safer than any American or European city, the police were no more corrupt than police in Europe or USA, courts didn't discriminate and the British military respected the rights of local people as much as they would in England. If HK was ruled oppressively it would NEVER have developed the way it did, it was the respect for law and human rights that enabled the spectacular economic progress that took place in the '60's and 70's. Taiwan, and even Singapore were more authoritarian in those days. HK is no longer as free as it was then, the commies have cracked down extremely hard and I'm not so sure it would be that safe to go back, besides it would be very depressing to see how they changed everything, you never saw the kind of demonstrations where the local police would use triads to attack demonstrators. The triads are the equivalent of violent prison gangs, it would be like the San Francisco PD using a gang like this to respond to a civil rights demonstration. Anyone who's ever heard of these prison gangs will understand what that means. Basically it means it's something crazy that would never happen over here.. But these days in HK, it's what passes for "good law enforcement".. I never had a problem with the HK cops.. in fact I saw them as very professional, well disciplined and protecting us... all that's changed, and not for the better..
public hangings happened in England until 1868, that is why they were banned in HK too after that :) floggings was common in England too, even for such meager infractions as being unemployed
Certainly not condoning the British behaviour, but it’s also just worth mentioning that up until only about 80 years ago this is basically how every country / kingdom / empire / dynasty behaved. For most of Human history the world was a pretty horrible place to live.
Brits were the worst colonizers ever. Spanish and Portuguese colonists didn't segregated whites and natives while the Brits have always divided and conquered peoples whereever they go
Today HK people complaint about living in wood plank partitioned rooms. In my 30 years living in HK since the 50th, me and my family of 5 and all relatives , fiends lived in such partitioned rooms as the norm. There can be no hope of improvement whatever.
wow ! I had not realised. This explains about Hollywood Road that marked the Boundary in the mid levels between where the British lived. My Grandparents are of Anglo Portuguese Chinese mix born in HK. lived around Sheung Wan/ Sai Ying Pun. I guessing HK Eurasians faced the same level of discrimination which is probably why the migrated to Singapore in their early 20s.
@@charmander777 its the same if taiwan roc was in hk. If you were ally. usa trades with you and invest. taiwan one of the asian tiger. today hk and prc economy. going to toilet. taiwan grew by 4% g dp today. prc that time was sanctioned. Today hk is and prc are sanctioned.
@@charmander777 prc already showed that if usa invests in it, its power can grow. after the reforms. they just needed to trade into china. today hk as a port isnt needed. this doesnt even explain how once china was in the wto. before the handover. British hk administration was leaving. cost of rent went up, inflation. and chinese can work for 5 dollar a day. while British hk took in cantonese for cheap labor from 1960s-1980s through touch base. the problem of cost of living isnt solved in British hk, nor hksar UK economy isnt even that good, the investments all come from usa in modern hk and the past
Hong kong under the British was way better than the way they waould have been under mao In the end the brush shared freedom and markets with Hong Kong My best teacher I ever had was from Hong kong … he referred to Hong kong as a British crown colony and described looking out the window at their school at Chinese citizens trying to escape from communist China as they were shot at by Chinese communist soldiers Why would a Chinese national try to escape to Britain colony unless he thought if he made it he wouldn’t be dead The world has lost most of its free countries Most of them left were either part of the British empire
This reminds me of the classical TV series "Shangshai Bund", made in HK in the early 1980s. The setting was mostly in Shanghai French colony, but several episodes were in HK. The colonies were certainly not a paradise that the young generation fancied. The colony governments were corrupted and colluded with the local elites to maximize its profits, and would not be hesitant to use fatal force against the local population.
I find it a bit unfair that the Brit's racist ways was to allow local Chinese to be organized under Qing law, which they were most familiar and wouldn't create a border that only exists on paper until 1960s.
@@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022 Its like saying the Filipinos that fought the Americans wanted to go back under Spanish rule instead of wanting to preserve their republic.
There's an enormous amount of Outrage in the British media over the Chinese governance of Hong Kong. EVERY SINGLE Member of the British Media should be FORCED to watch this and similar videos and then be COMPELLED to Defend their ongoing Arrogance and Hypocrisy!
Why? Colonialism is enlightenment. Don’t you have any idea how HK was like back then? For example, Chinese slept with pigs under their bed as late as 1895! Racial segregation is for the protection of the weak Europeans.
@@Vincent.5080 Did you watch this. Hong-Kong under early British rule makes Jim Crow Segregation look like paradise and the Worst type of Apartheid look like a Sunday School picnic. But that's the British for you. Evil Genocidal Monsters thinking treating Peoples who were Civilized when the Brits were still using Stone axes like pieces of rubbish. The only thing that we can say is that the Brutal Brits haven't changed!
@@thomasnicholls8610 LOL it is not. I'm not even pro-CCP but as a someone who knows a lot of history racism and colonization, this clip is definitely not fake news at all
Its interesting to note that some of those racist,'Imperial' attitudes by expats toward Chinese still prevail in Hong Kong nearly 30 years after handover and,by some, who had no memory of Hong Kong as a Colony,arriving, some years in many cases, after handover.
Hong Kong wasn;t a colony - it was British territory as it was purchased outright form the Chinese Empress or in 1897 leased from the empress. Therefore not a colony a but a British territory.
The thing overlooked in this is that HK had no significant native population. If HK was so terrible to the Han then none of them would have moved or stayed there.
I have been in HK since 1963, my wife is Chinese and we have been married for 56 years, so I watched this video with interest. There is no denial in the past HK was racist, BUT this changed repidly from the 1960s onwards as education and travel broadened the mind of not only Europeans but also Chinese in HK. However several 'facts' in the video are wrong. In the early 1960's the HK Police Force was about 8,000 strong of which less than 1,000 were expatriates, by 'deep into the 1970's' the Force, now the Royal HK Police Force, was around 15,000 strong of which probably less than 1,200 - 1,300 were expatriates, less than 10%, and nowhere near the quoted 95%, as stated at 8.35 mins in the video. At 09.30 minutes the video refers to part payment of overseas education and the provision of free passage for the same for expatriate children. This benefit was available to ALL Government servants irrespective of race and I know of many Chinese civil servants who sent their children to the UK for education in public schools at Government expense. At 9.40 mins the video states the average expatriate family lived in a flat of 2,500 sq.feet. This is nonsense! Yes some did live in large flats of that size, the majority however lived in flats of around 1,500 sq ft or less, as did many, many Chinese families. Lastly let me give two examples of Racial Discrimination from the 1970's - The Ladies Recreation Club did not permit Chinese persons to become members, likewise the the Chinese Recreation Club would only allowed Chinese persons to become members. So a racial tit-for-tat which caused quite a lot of comment when revealed at the time. When HK entered the 1990's the Chief Justice, the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Police were all Chinese persons as were the heads of many other government departments and 'hongs' in the business world. Please remember when dealing with the recent past there will be many persons who have lived through the times to which you refer and so can either confirm or refute what you say, however not so with quotes from 100 years ago.
Thank you for this. Very fascinating . Would be great to have something like this about the HSBC bank too as it is also related to this .... The bank was founded on drugs money and transferring that back to the UK and it is still in operation today !!
This is the standard story of European colonization not just British. Actually the British may have been a little nicer than the rest. It is also not any different from the stories of other colonizers before that. Point is, the world has changed and keeps changing. Let us all - Europeans, Asians, and Africans learn to leave together, help each other to live well. Let’s stop living in the past.
This is not about living in the past, this is about remembering the shit that has happened and not allowing a repeat. Imagine the reaction you will receive if you said stop living in the past to a video on the Holocaust or even apartheid South Africa. I agree all races need to come together, but currently there is still a lot of racism. Even this US-China tensions/propaganda war is rooted in racism as US admitted that it is concerned about a rise of a non-Caucasian power.
@@nmos001 Many people, after seeing how China is bullying its smaller neighbors for the last 10 years in South China Sea, now thinks China is following the footsteps of the European colonizers. Racism is a product of nationalism and military power. It’s time to come together as one planet. Stop thinking of who is better than who.
@@lostinmuzak so you are equating China's actions in South China Sea to British imperialism, that has involved forcing drugs on the Chinese population, invading when it's governments tries to stop it, seizing Hong Kong and running it with an apartheid government? And you want everyone to just forget about it? Right...
As an Irish person who's island was Brutalized by the English for nearly a thousand years, I can assure you that not a single Empire was more Brutal than that governed by the Windsor family and their ancestors!
@@michaelodonnell824 I don’t mean to defend the past massacres of the British army in Ireland or any other country. I was just comparing them to the rest of them. They all did the same throughout the history whenever they had the opportunity. But IMO we don’t need to forgive but put it in the past for better tomorrow.
In Hong Kong The Han Chinese there treat Non Han Chinese in many kinds of occupations, jobs, businesses, warehouses, markets, shops, meets, and on and on like waste
Yea sure ,come to find out this is not the case,it's actually han Chinese who have been discriminated. Which has become acceptable by western countries with Sinophobia running rampant. Oh but if you say anything to a black or a jew everyone gets outraged.
You ought to 'maintain the anti-colonial rage' when you next review eg. relations between the USA & Philippines in the aftermath of the US-Spanish war, massacres in the north included. By the late 19th century, the US was an expanding power with global imperial, racist aspirations (what else to expect?). Amongst other things. it stole the Hawaiian islands and basically annexed Panama to build the canal - albeit a fine piece of civil engineering that my late mother transited in late 1938. Your pontifications against all- things British are nauseatingly ill-informed and hypocritical, and we haven't yet addressed long-standing racism in the US itself against blacks and native Indians (and systematic theft of tribal lands despite treaties). President Wilson was a bigoted racist too. And FDR's WW2 anti-British Empire rhetoric and policies were equally ill-informed and antithetical to efficient prosecution of allied war aims. The world is a complex messy imperfect place. I've travelled extensively around the Phil north (a fine region) and seen numerous monuments to local heroes in the Phil-US war of independence; so I am modestly well informed on this stuff. Finally, the average Chinese family was better off in socio-economic metrics in HK than mainland China. despite the 101 evident imperfections and failings of British rule. TTFN old boy!
I find the story disturbing, and surprised because I have not met a Hong Konger in the U.S.A. that complains about the British rule. Most Hong Konger I have met usually don’t have anything nice to say about the CCP.
Bro this video does not take into account that Britain changed its behaviour and colonial ways quickly post 1950s. As time flew by, Britain became less racist and this was the time in which Hong Kong massively developed, under British administrative care but largely with Chinese effort. By the time of handover, the richest Hongkongers were Chinese, not the British. The video is talking about a racist past which Britain largely began to change and make amends for. Every Hong Konger knows that without the British, Hong Kong's development and success was next to impossible.
So before the handover back to China, the British ruler decided to allow the locals to vote for a democratic government. How nice... they were concerned about the handover control to another ruler.
These racist practices were a small price to pay for being civilised by the British. I am a Singaporean Chinese. And obviously our forefathers felt the same, since they were eager to move to Hong Kong and Singapore
"Chinese people couldn't walk their streets late at night, certainly not without a pass and a lantern". I seem to recall that this was quite a normal rule for many places across the world. I mean, Chinese even used to close their streets entirely with gates. Carrying a lantern with you meant that you were recognizeable from far away for night watch. Similarily, flogging and hanging were also quite normal punishments for lower classes back in England. There was racism in XIXth century British society, but not all your examples are well picked.
Just saying, the Chinese population of HK( at least some) incredibly hated their Manchu Rulers, so much so that they weren't phased by this rule. Also, the spectrum of racism back then isn't the same as now. This was all accepted by the whites as it was part of their common belief. One example of over the top racism that even whites back then critized was lynchings in america of blacks. Thirdly, these ordinances were very short and godamn Peak Ordinance is used so much in every video I watch about old hong kong that it is so godamn funny, the peak ordinance wasn't a strict law,Chinese people could own land there in the 1920's and they could live there immediately after it was repealed. Honestly, racism in Hong Kong is a gradual step to improvement. In the 1950's HK was a great society.
I find it fascinating that Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) was granted democracy by their British colonizers in 1931. Sri Lanka is Asia's oldest democracy. It's 2020 and Hong Kong is still fighting for democracy. Britain wanted to give Hong Kong democracy in the 1950s and 1960s, but the China's Communist government threatened to invade Hong Kong to prevent this.
@@DavisBlank As a HKese, I can tell there's no 100% democratic elections in any period of time. Neither under Chinese or British rule. Yet Lord Patten, the last governor in Hong Kong, really pushed the progress of democracy to the frontmost. The Chinese government denied the most democratically elected LegCo after 1997. And the plans releasing power to the HKese in 1950s is not a "magically found religion". After WWII the British are releasing power to their colonies all over the world. Hong Kong is a part of it. The British had established an independent investigation committee to review their administration after the 1967 riots. Peace and prosperity since then. The Chinese only know to suppress the freedom harder and harder, everytime after a wave of protests. 2014. 2017. 2019. There is no end.
@@DavisBlank The "increasing number of LegCo seats democratically elected" is not proposed by the Chinese / Chinese HK Government; it is a compromise, originally proposed by the pandems in order to secure enough votes and pass the act. HKers used to believe the political reforms over the years would ultimately lead to a fully universal suffrage, but on 31/8/2014 the Chinese Goverrnment announced the "final decision" that the 2014 Proposal is the line which cannot be surpassed. Without demolition of the nominating committee it is clear that the election is not "fully universal" at all. HKers are demanding for it since the Handvoer; it was like the Chinese government fooling people for 17 years to follow a path where the end "is not open to public". It is easy to understand why it sparkled the Umbrella Movement. We've tried abiding to the rules, but all the patience are in vain. The formation of "nominating committee" is designated to be under control in CCP's hands. Even if the democrats takes over, the commitee itself is still an injustice existence. Also why the CCP has to set up these kind of "gimmicks" if they are really willing to give HKers full democracy? P.S. The so-called democratic elections after the handover only allows most of the HKers voting for a half of the parliament. The another half, same as the nominating commitee, is controlled by the CCP. As a result the democrats are always the minorities. Every year or half the government will propose a bill to tighten the freedom, and the democrats, every time, has to defend by all means. Throwing objects, filibustering, occupying the hall, and physical clashes. They have quitted this year -- it is utterly unfair and hopeless to win under the rules like this. P.P.S. The "Every year or half the government will propose a bill to tighten the freedom" list: 2012 National Education, 2013 Ban on a new TV channel, 2014 as we all know, 2015 Internet Article 23, 2016 Disqualification of candidates, 2017 Setting up an "Chinese exclave" in HK West Kowloon, 2018 Amending the LegCo Rules of procedure, 2019 Extradition Law, 2020 National Law
But Sri Lanka has frittered away its advantages, and only in the last 15 years has it made any real progress following its disastrous civil war between Tamils and Sinhalese.
@@DavisBlank The English culture and perspective on democracy and human rights went though substantial developments and evolutions in the 20th century. Comparing early UK 20th century perspectives on democracy and human rights to middle and late perspectives is incorrect. The reality is since 1960s. The UK did support the notion of universal suffrage to Hong-Kong. But had significant pressure from the CCP to maintain the status quo.
@@PZ7537 the most significant part is you never had democracy either way, China gave you an option you refused, countless rioters died under British rule, none died under Chinese rule.
Those racist measures were certainly horrific, but the whole city and its economy were obviously created under British rule. And towards the end they (the more modern British) at least tried to establish a more modern, democratic way of things. And that was supposed to last until 2047. And obviously that's not how it's going to be. I'm just saying that how bad things ever were historically, maybe the handover wasn't the best solution in the end? A sovereign nation of Hong Kong more so, but yes, it would've been another Taiwan, of course... I know, it's not easy.
Lauugable. It's not the system that the British had 'set up' that made hong Kong prosperous. It's is purely colonialism which means UK profited off the poor people of china by extracting wealth through Hong Kong which was a gateway to mainland Chinese manufacturing.
Wth did I just read? The handover wasn't the best solution in the end? Are you on drugs that the Brits forced into China? Hong Kong has always been Chinese. That's China's right to claim. HK has been ranked #1 in cities to do business in many times and that's included for the year 2022. The central government gives incentives and has massive projects like the Greater Bay Area, which gives Hong Kong more prosperity. A lot of the housing issues and stuff like that stems from colonialism and massive amounts of corruption and greed from the handover. The Brits only gave HK some "democratic" things near the end, because they knew they couldn't hold onto HK anymore. It's them being shady af knowing it will cause future conflict. If they actually cared about being democratic they would've gave HK that system a long time ago, but they didn't, because they don't care.
@@el-dl9sh I'm merely saying that Hong Kong was just a small fishing village before Britain claimed the area. Hong Kong as we know it wasn't created by the PRC, that's just a simple fact.
@@aatox Hong Kong is currently twice the size from 1997, when it was handed over. The standard has probably quadrupled, under the "evil" rule of the CCP. But quality of rule is not a measurement for sovereignty. Its about belonging to a certain nation, otherwise you're the same colonialist you actively reject being. What democratic way of things are you talking about, exactly? Until 1997, it was a colony, ruled by a British governor. Are you completely full of shit? Hong Kong was created by its Chinese populationg but largely robbed by the British, because it was simply a tax haven, port city and trading base. How's that for a simple fact?
"There is no rational reason for requiring a Chinese, and only Chinese mind you, both peasant and business man to have to carry a lantern, except for racism." -I'm sorry, but of course there is one. If the propensity for criminal behavior was much higher for that particular group, and the cost of enforcement high (too small a number of constables for the number of locals), it is not irrational to discriminate in such fashion. It's not PC by today's standards, but it is not irrational. I'm not saying that's why they did it, I don't know, but the point is, neither do you. Suspecting irrational prejudice in others that are no longer here to defend their action is too easy, but it is far more likely that they had reason for what they did, much like you and I have reasons for what we do today.
Old things practiced in the past had already died more than fifty years ago new rules come old rules gone things gonna be better and better as years go by. The economy is for every one since 1960
You won't see topics like this being taught in British schools or International schools in HK. Informative video as always 👍
That is not true. This is taught in schools in Hong Kong
Just like you won’t see topics like China’s occupation of Tibet or the racism of Chinese people being taught in Chinese schools. No nationality is immune to prejudice and every country frames events to suit their own point of view. Eg, the PRC’s frequent emphasis and condemnation of the unequal treaties that China was bullied into signing, yet China seems to have no issues with the 17th Point Agreement that It bullied the Tibetan government into signing in 1951, something I’m sure any ethnic Tibetan also considers an ‘Unequal treaty’
Was taught
@@sciencecw well not in my school, they skipped this part and went on with the skyrocketing growth of Hk
Colonial past ipportant hong kongers should know each part of it
Being a university student here in Hong Kong, I see so much ridiculous nostalgia for the British colonial rule, even more ever since the Umbrella Movement and the 2019 anti-extradition protests. I understand how horrible and dystopian the Chinese government is, but my biggest pet peeve is how many young Hong Kongers born after the handover expressing their supremacy over others by waving a flag that implies nostalgia for wanting to be a second class citizen.
It’s hard to say for how long grievances should be held by future generations for what happened in the previous generations lives. I do think things that happened longer ago should be given less significance then what happened more recently.
An opinion poll in 1982 proved 85% of hker would like to remain status quo(british rule), I understand white guilt is a thing, but the local have a different perspective on colonial era, you might be surprise that many people would like to remain as "second class citizen".
Youngsters wave union jack and Hong Kong flag just to piss CCP off, the supremacy thing is just your own perception.
Some say Hong Kong is still a colony, just changed a flag.
edited:
(checked your acc seems you are not white,possibly mainland Chinese judging from the subscribed channel .But it's ok now all the "second class citizen" "supermacy" make sense)
I support the protests but I think it's odd that they want to be under colonial rule again. I understand that the last last 20 years of Hong Kong under colonial rule was great as it was the Golden Age, but I don't think colonialism is politically correct. It was also only the last 50 years since Britain started becoming more "kinder" (can't think of a better word right now).
@@etc21228 First off, I am not white. Secondly, I am not Mainlander. Also, the 85% support of the colony is overinflated and is just localist mythology.
Anyone who knows anything about the pre-handover days knows that the British government was not well liked, however, it is no secret that the CCP was not well liked, in most cases, even more disliked and if most yellow ribbons had were forced to pick between CCP rule or late colonial rule, it would be colonial rule and I would pick that as well. However, similarly to Taiwan, most people at the end of the day want the status quo, and in Hong Kong it means actually respecting 1C2S and not 1C1.2S. Make of this what you will, but this is not 85% of Hong Kongers wanting to be under British rule.
And lastly, the kids waving the Union Jack just to trigger the CCP, I initially thought that too and found it kinda funny until I saw just how serious they were about it while saying the nastiest shit about Mainlanders.
To add, in Malaysia, there are lots of people who do not have such bad thoughts of British rule which I don't necessarily disagree with, but none of them will advocate ever living under colonial rule or even wave the colonial flag even at the height of political dysfunction.
@@Mori650 The opinion poll was conducted by reform club of hong kong,it is not inflated and certainly not a mythology.I believed the number would be even higher if the same survey conducted again in 1989,and almost all senior and middle age Hker I met prefer the British rules,without a second thought.
in Gibraltar, Gibraltarians not only advocate to living under British rule but actually had a referendum and they told Spanish to fuck off.
The British and UN own hker a referendum,a chance to speak up and tell Chinese to fuck off.
In 2017 South African politician Helen Zillie suggested that some aspects of colonialism in Africa was positive. Shortly thereafter she was forced to apologize “unreservedly for a tweet that may have come across as a defense of colonialism.” In 2019 rioters trashed the Legco building in Hong Kong and put up a Hong Kong colonial era flag at the podium. The western news media routinely refer to them as “pro-democracy activists”. So it seems racism and colonialism against Africa is absolutely forbidden. Racism and colonialism against China is actively encouraged.
wow - I never heard it put that way - but that is a great analogy. note also during the Winter Olympics in South Korea the American news guy tried to say the Japanese helped develop South Korea during the colonial period. The South Koreans were FURIOUS - so much so the guy had to go back to the US
Of course. No body likes China, period.
Of course its actively encouraged. China is an enemy of the west, and they can't stand the fact they cannot control it nowdays, so they undermine it in any way possible. Therein lies their hypocrisy - they are not concerned with democracy, they are simply concerned with dominance. Otherwise they wouldn't be best friends with Saudi Arabia.
@@Amidat That makes sense because the Japanese occupation of Korea was quite brutal. They often took women from Korea to Japan for "services," they're called "comfort women." While UK rule over HK had its problems, I don't think it got as bad as the Japanese occupation of Korea (at least not systemically). And in 1983, when discussions about the handover were taking place, the GDP per capita of HK was 20x that of China. It also gave refugees a place to flee during the cultural revolution, as well as to keep traditional Chinese characters.
@@ntrgc89 The first major wave to Hong Kong was actually because of the Japanese invasion of China. Rich Shanghai people moved to Hong Kong and helped turn into what it became. Japan still attacked Hong Kong anyway. But no the British were not as brutal as the Japanese. But the Brits being racist against Chinese is not the same as Japan trying to take over it's neighbors. That would be more akin to what Japan's ally was doing in Europe.
Thank you for keeping it real and laying down the truth for some of these misguided youth in Hong Kong who've never opened up a history book, only math books. I'm from Mongolia which was a country under Soviet protection but I've never seen anything remotely similar to what you just described in your video. The British simply looked upon the Chinese locals as primitive monkeys whose only purpose of existence was to serve their masters obediently. I hope you make more videos about Hong Kong, I'm deeply interested in its racist colonial past.
I always found it strange that Hong Kong expat slang used the word "heathen" to refer to Chinese. It had such a Victorian drawing room ring to it. Now I see the mindset it comes from.
Really? Never heard it myself when I was an expat there.
@@DaveSherry-z1w Heard it from a Canadian teacher working there, a bit tongue in cheek.
Came to HK in 1963 and have a Chinese wife, I have Never heard that word used, not even in jest as you suggest below!
@@Mingbaakmei Well this is what I heard. You saying you never heard it isn't going to make me un-hear it. James Clavell also uses it a few times in "Tai Pan" as well. It makes sense. Hong Kong was part of the British Empire, albeit a part of it that mostly benefited from British rule, but the British imposed a hierarchy on their colonies which, however flexible, put some people on top and some people on the bottom. I'm not saying we Yanks did any better, of course.
Makes all the HK rioters waving the UK flag all the more ridiculous.
@@marktran2657 It wasn't much better up to the 1960's
@@marktran2657 You got Stockholm Syndrome buddy.
@@marktran2657 oh look another colonizer trying to make excuses
So please explain why so many local HK people are rushing to leave ASAP now?
@@marktran2657 i agree, living under the CCP would be hell
Did you participate in any podcast or interviews in the past? Would love to listen to them if available.
No sorry I don’t do any podcasts. I’ve thought about it though.
How dare you! You are not supposed to shatter our ignorant illusions about how unpleasant Hong Kong could be under 'benevolent' British rule. (JK)
Hong Konger, of all people, would choose to ignore their own unsavory history and worship the colonial era. How much hypocrisy the US government can show when they prosecuted the protesters in Capitol riot, but supported the violent protests in Hong Kong at the same time. The saddest thing is the average Americans would keep drinking the cool aids and believe their government is on a mission to save the world from China.
Most Hong Kongers arrived after the war, so the situation doesn't quite apply.
@@sciencecw what do you mean arrived
In the early 1970s, the British government under which Hong Kong was its colony agreed quietly (i.e. did not object - oppose) with the PRC to delist British Hong Kong from the formal UN List of Colonies. Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula were ceded in perpetuity to Britain as a result of the two 19th century Opium Wars. Britain in allowing the delisting of British Hong Kong as a former colony thus never intended to give independence to Hong Kong island and Kowloon upon the 99 year lease of the New Territories ending in 1997. Hong Kongers in British Hong Kong colony forfeited the political right to seek political independence from their British colonial masters (and PRC for that matter) with the formal legal delisting. The British were more concerned about continuing their commercial and economic interests in the Far East rather than democracy for those under their rule.
i was born in HK about 13 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed, we left in 1942 because the Japanese Military Intelligence was looking for my father. We came back in 1949 and I left to go to college in USA in 1957. I don't recognize the description of HK in this video. HK was NOT ruled by some tyrannical foreign power that oppressed the Chinese population, anyone who had been there would see this was obvious. It was a very free economy, not some slave plantation. The court system was based on British Common Law, the police were just like any British law enforcement. HK was one of the "Asian Tiger" economies the grew extremely rapidly during the 1950's and thereafter, it was a major port of entry for trade with China.
I did NOT see opium dens for brothels or anything else like that, crime was very low, when I was 10 years old it was safe to go anywhere and do anything except commit crimes. It was a lot safer than any American or European city, the police were no more corrupt than police in Europe or USA, courts didn't discriminate and the British military respected the rights of local people as much as they would in England. If HK was ruled oppressively it would NEVER have developed the way it did, it was the respect for law and human rights that enabled the spectacular economic progress that took place in the '60's and 70's. Taiwan, and even Singapore were more authoritarian in those days. HK is no longer as free as it was then, the commies have cracked down extremely hard and I'm not so sure it would be that safe to go back, besides it would be very depressing to see how they changed everything, you never saw the kind of demonstrations where the local police would use triads to attack demonstrators. The triads are the equivalent of violent prison gangs, it would be like the San Francisco PD using a gang like this to respond to a civil rights demonstration. Anyone who's ever heard of these prison gangs will understand what that means. Basically it means it's something crazy that would never happen over here.. But these days in HK, it's what passes for "good law enforcement".. I never had a problem with the HK cops.. in fact I saw them as very professional, well disciplined and protecting us... all that's changed, and not for the better..
How can your family see any atrocities against local Chinese when you lived in segregated areas?
public hangings happened in England until 1868, that is why they were banned in HK too after that :)
floggings was common in England too, even for such meager infractions as being unemployed
damn!!!!!!!!!!! i'd be flogged countless times if i were in that time and space cuz ive been unemployed for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!!!
But didn’t he say that those rulings only applied to chinese and the British elites have different arrangements
It's so nice to see how highly the British thought of their Chinese territorial possession
Certainly not condoning the British behaviour, but it’s also just worth mentioning that up until only about 80 years ago this is basically how every country / kingdom / empire / dynasty behaved. For most of Human history the world was a pretty horrible place to live.
Brits were the worst colonizers ever. Spanish and Portuguese colonists didn't segregated whites and natives while the Brits have always divided and conquered peoples whereever they go
fuck yeah!
stop lying white people
This whole channel 'Asianometry' is basically pro-China and anti-everything else... So yeah, that's the narritive.
Today HK people complaint about living in wood plank partitioned rooms. In my 30 years living in HK since the 50th, me and my family of 5 and all relatives , fiends lived in such partitioned rooms as the norm. There can be no hope of improvement whatever.
No mention of rules regarding interracial marriage…
wow ! I had not realised. This explains about Hollywood Road that marked the Boundary in the mid levels between where the British lived. My Grandparents are of Anglo Portuguese Chinese mix born in HK. lived around Sheung Wan/ Sai Ying Pun. I guessing HK Eurasians faced the same level of discrimination which is probably why the migrated to Singapore in their early 20s.
regardless of this racist past, can't deny that HK would still be nothing more than a fishing village if not for the British
If not for the USA investments you mean
@Willxdiana still needed the british to set up the financial infrastructure ..tax code...laws etc that made investing ideal
@@charmander777 its the same if taiwan roc was in hk. If you were ally. usa trades with you and invest. taiwan one of the asian tiger. today hk and prc economy. going to toilet. taiwan grew by 4% g dp today. prc that time was sanctioned. Today hk is and prc are sanctioned.
@@charmander777 prc already showed that if usa invests in it, its power can grow. after the reforms. they just needed to trade into china. today hk as a port isnt needed. this doesnt even explain how once china was in the wto. before the handover. British hk administration was leaving. cost of rent went up, inflation. and chinese can work for 5 dollar a day. while British hk took in cantonese for cheap labor from 1960s-1980s through touch base. the problem of cost of living isnt solved in British hk, nor hksar
UK economy isnt even that good, the investments all come from usa in modern hk and the past
Hong kong under the British was way better than the way they waould have been under mao
In the end the brush shared freedom and markets with Hong Kong
My best teacher I ever had was from Hong kong … he referred to Hong kong as a British crown colony and described looking out the window at their school at Chinese citizens trying to escape from communist China as they were shot at by Chinese communist soldiers
Why would a Chinese national try to escape to Britain colony unless he thought if he made it he wouldn’t be dead
The world has lost most of its free countries
Most of them left were either part of the British empire
This reminds me of the classical TV series "Shangshai Bund", made in HK in the early 1980s. The setting was mostly in Shanghai French colony, but several episodes were in HK. The colonies were certainly not a paradise that the young generation fancied. The colony governments were corrupted and colluded with the local elites to maximize its profits, and would not be hesitant to use fatal force against the local population.
It seems like nothing much has ever changed.
I find it a bit unfair that the Brit's racist ways was to allow local Chinese to be organized under Qing law, which they were most familiar and wouldn't create a border that only exists on paper until 1960s.
This is what the Hong Kong protestors want lmao.
Wanting to revoke the PRC yoke isn't mutually exlusive with wanting British racist rule back.
@@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022 Its like saying the Filipinos that fought the Americans wanted to go back under Spanish rule instead of wanting to preserve their republic.
@@abnerdoon4902 Yes but waving Brittish flags says something else
There's an enormous amount of Outrage in the British media over the Chinese governance of Hong Kong.
EVERY SINGLE Member of the British Media should be FORCED to watch this and similar videos and then be COMPELLED to Defend their ongoing Arrogance and Hypocrisy!
I am from Hong Kong, and can attest that this clip is fake news.
Why? Colonialism is enlightenment. Don’t you have any idea how HK was like back then?
For example, Chinese slept with pigs under their bed as late as 1895!
Racial segregation is for the protection of the weak Europeans.
@@Vincent.5080 Did you watch this.
Hong-Kong under early British rule makes Jim Crow Segregation look like paradise and the Worst type of Apartheid look like a Sunday School picnic.
But that's the British for you.
Evil Genocidal Monsters thinking treating Peoples who were Civilized when the Brits were still using Stone axes like pieces of rubbish.
The only thing that we can say is that the Brutal Brits haven't changed!
@@thomasnicholls8610 LOL it is not. I'm not even pro-CCP but as a someone who knows a lot of history racism and colonization, this clip is definitely not fake news at all
I met a man who was flogged in Hong Kong, he was quite a rough Scotsman
Its interesting to note that some of those racist,'Imperial' attitudes by expats toward Chinese still prevail in Hong Kong nearly 30 years after handover and,by some, who had no memory of Hong Kong as a Colony,arriving, some years in many cases, after handover.
Could you give the sources of the artworks shown please?
The sources are Chinese, enough said!
HK rioters be waving the british flag.
The British Flag now doesn't stand or represent the British Empire.
Stupidity at it's highest level.
@@lttan2867 well you should explain and not throw insults. Like someone stupid.
@@ZOMBIE2LIFE Show me which countrie's around the world allowed it's citizens to wave foreign flags other than diplomatic visit's.
@@lttan2867 What's that got to do with what either of us has said?
History is the best indicator of ones race,the western race never changed…
Hong Kong wasn;t a colony - it was British territory as it was purchased outright form the Chinese Empress or in 1897 leased from the empress. Therefore not a colony a but a British territory.
Crown colony of Hong Kong is the name of
The thing overlooked in this is that HK had no significant native population. If HK was so terrible to the Han then none of them would have moved or stayed there.
Another interesting video
Bail from position of power only to have it be replaced by another oppressive authority.
I have been in HK since 1963, my wife is Chinese and we have been married for 56 years, so I watched this video with interest. There is no denial in the past HK was racist, BUT this changed repidly from the 1960s onwards as education and travel broadened the mind of not only Europeans but also Chinese in HK. However several 'facts' in the video are wrong. In the early 1960's the HK Police Force was about 8,000 strong of which less than 1,000 were expatriates, by 'deep into the 1970's' the Force, now the Royal HK Police Force, was around 15,000 strong of which probably less than 1,200 - 1,300 were expatriates, less than 10%, and nowhere near the quoted 95%, as stated at 8.35 mins in the video. At 09.30 minutes the video refers to part payment of overseas education and the provision of free passage for the same for expatriate children. This benefit was available to ALL Government servants irrespective of race and I know of many Chinese civil servants who sent their children to the UK for education in public schools at Government expense. At 9.40 mins the video states the average expatriate family lived in a flat of 2,500 sq.feet. This is nonsense! Yes some did live in large flats of that size, the majority however lived in flats of around 1,500 sq ft or less, as did many, many Chinese families. Lastly let me give two examples of Racial Discrimination from the 1970's - The Ladies Recreation Club did not permit Chinese persons to become members, likewise the the Chinese Recreation Club would only allowed Chinese persons to become members. So a racial tit-for-tat which caused quite a lot of comment when revealed at the time. When HK entered the 1990's the Chief Justice, the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner of Police were all Chinese persons as were the heads of many other government departments and 'hongs' in the business world. Please remember when dealing with the recent past there will be many persons who have lived through the times to which you refer and so can either confirm or refute what you say, however not so with quotes from 100 years ago.
Thank you for this. Very fascinating . Would be great to have something like this about the HSBC bank too as it is also related to this .... The bank was founded on drugs money and transferring that back to the UK and it is still in operation today !!
Why constantly refer to "Europeans"?
Virtually ALL "Europeans" in Hong Kong were BRITISH.
So call out British Racism!
What's the difference really? You are all the same. Different name, same shit.
@@gorgonchang7352 LOL not all European countries had colonies
there were portuguese as well
@@lukengai4956The "Portuguese" were actually mixed raced Macanese.
This is the standard story of European colonization not just British. Actually the British may have been a little nicer than the rest. It is also not any different from the stories of other colonizers before that.
Point is, the world has changed and keeps changing. Let us all - Europeans, Asians, and Africans learn to leave together, help each other to live well. Let’s stop living in the past.
This is not about living in the past, this is about remembering the shit that has happened and not allowing a repeat. Imagine the reaction you will receive if you said stop living in the past to a video on the Holocaust or even apartheid South Africa.
I agree all races need to come together, but currently there is still a lot of racism. Even this US-China tensions/propaganda war is rooted in racism as US admitted that it is concerned about a rise of a non-Caucasian power.
@@nmos001 Many people, after seeing how China is bullying its smaller neighbors for the last 10 years in South China Sea, now thinks China is following the footsteps of the European colonizers. Racism is a product of nationalism and military power.
It’s time to come together as one planet. Stop thinking of who is better than who.
@@lostinmuzak so you are equating China's actions in South China Sea to British imperialism, that has involved forcing drugs on the Chinese population, invading when it's governments tries to stop it, seizing Hong Kong and running it with an apartheid government? And you want everyone to just forget about it? Right...
As an Irish person who's island was Brutalized by the English for nearly a thousand years, I can assure you that not a single Empire was more Brutal than that governed by the Windsor family and their ancestors!
@@michaelodonnell824 I don’t mean to defend the past massacres of the British army in Ireland or any other country. I was just comparing them to the rest of them. They all did the same throughout the history whenever they had the opportunity.
But IMO we don’t need to forgive but put it in the past for better tomorrow.
What colonial society isn't racist?
These people are new hkers post 1967. especially the kids. original hkers went through the racism
Interesting as I might have mixed race ancestors from Hong Kong that were also British
In Hong Kong The Han Chinese there treat Non Han Chinese in many kinds of occupations, jobs, businesses, warehouses, markets, shops, meets, and on and on like waste
Yea sure ,come to find out this is not the case,it's actually han Chinese who have been discriminated. Which has become acceptable by western countries with Sinophobia running rampant. Oh but if you say anything to a black or a jew everyone gets outraged.
John Bowring quote on Free Trade is Rubbish
You ought to 'maintain the anti-colonial rage' when you next review eg. relations between the USA & Philippines in the aftermath of the US-Spanish war, massacres in the north included. By the late 19th century, the US was an expanding power with global imperial, racist aspirations (what else to expect?). Amongst other things. it stole the Hawaiian islands and basically annexed Panama to build the canal - albeit a fine piece of civil engineering that my late mother transited in late 1938. Your pontifications against all- things British are nauseatingly ill-informed and hypocritical, and we haven't yet addressed long-standing racism in the US itself against blacks and native Indians (and systematic theft of tribal lands despite treaties). President Wilson was a bigoted racist too. And FDR's WW2 anti-British Empire rhetoric and policies were equally ill-informed and antithetical to efficient prosecution of allied war aims. The world is a complex messy imperfect place. I've travelled extensively around the Phil north (a fine region) and seen numerous monuments to local heroes in the Phil-US war of independence; so I am modestly well informed on this stuff. Finally, the average Chinese family was better off in socio-economic metrics in HK than mainland China. despite the 101 evident imperfections and failings of British rule. TTFN old boy!
This is about British rule over Hong Kong, and not about USA.
May be maintain the "rage" against China's own colonialism too. One example springs to mind - Tibet. There are others.
UK contribution housing/ education/ UK law and constitution … UK pls come back Hong Kong AGAIN📣📣📣thanks
I find the story disturbing, and surprised because I have not met a Hong Konger in the U.S.A. that complains about the British rule. Most Hong Konger I have met usually don’t have anything nice to say about the CCP.
Bro this video does not take into account that Britain changed its behaviour and colonial ways quickly post 1950s. As time flew by, Britain became less racist and this was the time in which Hong Kong massively developed, under British administrative care but largely with Chinese effort. By the time of handover, the richest Hongkongers were Chinese, not the British. The video is talking about a racist past which Britain largely began to change and make amends for.
Every Hong Konger knows that without the British, Hong Kong's development and success was next to impossible.
So before the handover back to China, the British ruler decided to allow the locals to vote for a democratic government. How nice... they were concerned about the handover control to another ruler.
@@jcuyoutuby I dont blame them! Scummy China! Does not deserve hong kong! For what Great Britain has done for hong kong and its economy!
@@mrminecraft6172 you're crazy
@@harisadu8998 BS!! Look at China how it has developed without any help from the British or western countries.
The Colonial times was a golden age for Hong Kong.
British colonial government corruption was endemic.
@@frankyong2607 Any corruption was nothing in comparison to the corruption shown by the Chinese Communist Party.
These racist practices were a small price to pay for being civilised by the British. I am a Singaporean Chinese. And obviously our forefathers felt the same, since they were eager to move to Hong Kong and Singapore
Thanks UK contribution about Education/ Housing/ Medical in Hong Kong 🙇🏻♂️🙇🏻♂️👏🏻👏🏻
As a British citizen, you are welcome. You may now stand down
"Chinese people couldn't walk their streets late at night, certainly not without a pass and a lantern". I seem to recall that this was quite a normal rule for many places across the world. I mean, Chinese even used to close their streets entirely with gates. Carrying a lantern with you meant that you were recognizeable from far away for night watch. Similarily, flogging and hanging were also quite normal punishments for lower classes back in England.
There was racism in XIXth century British society, but not all your examples are well picked.
This is racism because it was specifically only for Chinese people, not White people. It's racial profiling
Just saying, the Chinese population of HK( at least some) incredibly hated their Manchu Rulers, so much so that they weren't phased by this rule. Also, the spectrum of racism back then isn't the same as now. This was all accepted by the whites as it was part of their common belief. One example of over the top racism that even whites back then critized was lynchings in america of blacks. Thirdly, these ordinances were very short and godamn Peak Ordinance is used so much in every video I watch about old hong kong that it is so godamn funny, the peak ordinance wasn't a strict law,Chinese people could own land there in the 1920's and they could live there immediately after it was repealed. Honestly, racism in Hong Kong is a gradual step to improvement. In the 1950's HK was a great society.
I find it fascinating that Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) was granted democracy by their British colonizers in 1931. Sri Lanka is Asia's oldest democracy.
It's 2020 and Hong Kong is still fighting for democracy. Britain wanted to give Hong Kong democracy in the 1950s and 1960s, but the China's Communist government threatened to invade Hong Kong to prevent this.
@@DavisBlank As a HKese, I can tell there's no 100% democratic elections in any period of time. Neither under Chinese or British rule. Yet Lord Patten, the last governor in Hong Kong, really pushed the progress of democracy to the frontmost. The Chinese government denied the most democratically elected LegCo after 1997.
And the plans releasing power to the HKese in 1950s is not a "magically found religion". After WWII the British are releasing power to their colonies all over the world. Hong Kong is a part of it.
The British had established an independent investigation committee to review their administration after the 1967 riots. Peace and prosperity since then. The Chinese only know to suppress the freedom harder and harder, everytime after a wave of protests. 2014. 2017. 2019. There is no end.
@@DavisBlank The "increasing number of LegCo seats democratically elected" is not proposed by the Chinese / Chinese HK Government; it is a compromise, originally proposed by the pandems in order to secure enough votes and pass the act.
HKers used to believe the political reforms over the years would ultimately lead to a fully universal suffrage, but on 31/8/2014 the Chinese Goverrnment announced the "final decision" that the 2014 Proposal is the line which cannot be surpassed. Without demolition of the nominating committee it is clear that the election is not "fully universal" at all. HKers are demanding for it since the Handvoer; it was like the Chinese government fooling people for 17 years to follow a path where the end "is not open to public". It is easy to understand why it sparkled the Umbrella Movement. We've tried abiding to the rules, but all the patience are in vain.
The formation of "nominating committee" is designated to be under control in CCP's hands. Even if the democrats takes over, the commitee itself is still an injustice existence. Also why the CCP has to set up these kind of "gimmicks" if they are really willing to give HKers full democracy?
P.S. The so-called democratic elections after the handover only allows most of the HKers voting for a half of the parliament. The another half, same as the nominating commitee, is controlled by the CCP. As a result the democrats are always the minorities. Every year or half the government will propose a bill to tighten the freedom, and the democrats, every time, has to defend by all means. Throwing objects, filibustering, occupying the hall, and physical clashes. They have quitted this year -- it is utterly unfair and hopeless to win under the rules like this.
P.P.S. The "Every year or half the government will propose a bill to tighten the freedom" list: 2012 National Education, 2013 Ban on a new TV channel, 2014 as we all know, 2015 Internet Article 23, 2016 Disqualification of candidates, 2017 Setting up an "Chinese exclave" in HK West Kowloon, 2018 Amending the LegCo Rules of procedure, 2019 Extradition Law, 2020 National Law
But Sri Lanka has frittered away its advantages, and only in the last 15 years has it made any real progress following its disastrous civil war between Tamils and Sinhalese.
@@DavisBlank The English culture and perspective on democracy and human rights went though substantial developments and evolutions in the 20th century. Comparing early UK 20th century perspectives on democracy and human rights to middle and late perspectives is incorrect. The reality is since 1960s. The UK did support the notion of universal suffrage to Hong-Kong. But had significant pressure from the CCP to maintain the status quo.
@@PZ7537 the most significant part is you never had democracy either way, China gave you an option you refused, countless rioters died under British rule, none died under Chinese rule.
hurr hyatt man bad
You sound like American basketball fan. Have a nice life
UK now near collapsing
Those racist measures were certainly horrific, but the whole city and its economy were obviously created under British rule. And towards the end they (the more modern British) at least tried to establish a more modern, democratic way of things. And that was supposed to last until 2047. And obviously that's not how it's going to be. I'm just saying that how bad things ever were historically, maybe the handover wasn't the best solution in the end? A sovereign nation of Hong Kong more so, but yes, it would've been another Taiwan, of course... I know, it's not easy.
Lauugable. It's not the system that the British had 'set up' that made hong Kong prosperous. It's is purely colonialism which means UK profited off the poor people of china by extracting wealth through Hong Kong which was a gateway to mainland Chinese manufacturing.
Wth did I just read? The handover wasn't the best solution in the end? Are you on drugs that the Brits forced into China? Hong Kong has always been Chinese. That's China's right to claim. HK has been ranked #1 in cities to do business in many times and that's included for the year 2022. The central government gives incentives and has massive projects like the Greater Bay Area, which gives Hong Kong more prosperity. A lot of the housing issues and stuff like that stems from colonialism and massive amounts of corruption and greed from the handover. The Brits only gave HK some "democratic" things near the end, because they knew they couldn't hold onto HK anymore. It's them being shady af knowing it will cause future conflict. If they actually cared about being democratic they would've gave HK that system a long time ago, but they didn't, because they don't care.
@@el-dl9sh I'm merely saying that Hong Kong was just a small fishing village before Britain claimed the area. Hong Kong as we know it wasn't created by the PRC, that's just a simple fact.
@@aatox Hong Kong is currently twice the size from 1997, when it was handed over. The standard has probably quadrupled, under the "evil" rule of the CCP. But quality of rule is not a measurement for sovereignty. Its about belonging to a certain nation, otherwise you're the same colonialist you actively reject being. What democratic way of things are you talking about, exactly? Until 1997, it was a colony, ruled by a British governor. Are you completely full of shit? Hong Kong was created by its Chinese populationg but largely robbed by the British, because it was simply a tax haven, port city and trading base. How's that for a simple fact?
Pfttt, baby.
I am from Hong Kong but do not find the British racist at all. What about the Chinese who are now carrying out a genocide against the Muslim Uyghurs?
Then you're delusional
Even if it were true You can't have religious extremist ideology poison your country
5:08 - 50 HKD give me a break, that's mere chump change.
"There is no rational reason for requiring a Chinese, and only Chinese mind you, both peasant and business man to have to carry a lantern, except for racism." -I'm sorry, but of course there is one. If the propensity for criminal behavior was much higher for that particular group, and the cost of enforcement high (too small a number of constables for the number of locals), it is not irrational to discriminate in such fashion. It's not PC by today's standards, but it is not irrational. I'm not saying that's why they did it, I don't know, but the point is, neither do you. Suspecting irrational prejudice in others that are no longer here to defend their action is too easy, but it is far more likely that they had reason for what they did, much like you and I have reasons for what we do today.
How many people in Hong Kong would go about after dark without a lantern, anyway?
It's literally racism, but I wouldn't expect a White dude to understand
@@jasonhaven7170 how racist of you
Old things practiced in the past had already died more than fifty years ago new rules come old rules gone
things gonna be better and
better as years go by. The economy is for every one
since 1960