I grew up in Hong Kong, and moved away at the age of 9 with my parents before the 1997 handover, partly because we feared what might happen when the CCP took over, but also partly because the education system and the work/life balance overseas was far better than what was available in Hong Kong. Until 2019, I still went back to Hong Kong regularly to visit. I still feel nostalgic towards Hong Kong and still desire to visit again some day, but it is vastly different now. The passing of the national security law has changed Hong Kong into what was once a bustling, free, thriving city into a place from which people are leaving in droves.
@@johnwong8336 : Because they are related and carved an actual "commodity" of themselves. They are not the "living commodity" of Cantonese. There is nothing there for anybody else. Cos it is a structured society.... I didn't get what was the protests all about.. but now I see it. I get it now. What else could be done ? So many academics even now openly say that..."china could never have an Imperial model like so many countries have".... Cos "we chose not to". Oh wow... and now... a lot of the people "ruling" and "running HK" are not even "Chinese"... as in the race. Not the nationality. So yeh.. to have an Imperial model is dead now. ON TV and on broadcasts, they jokingly call themselves "Emperor" this, that, or the other.. but really... are they ? It's funny... there is another video elsewhere by another chinese channel... and.. it says clearly that... a "celebration" went on in Xian... And if you looked at the way that they celebrated it. It doesn't feel very authentic at all ? All they care about is movinng money from location A to location B etc. THAT is the structure setup. China itself, is already a ruined stated. Absolutely trashed to the bone... if you think that there is to be any more authenticities.. and people living life as it should. It's gone now. Meanwhile.. you could see all over Europe... every single preserved building and heritages still intact. Nothing bombed. Lost. Or destroyed. Whereas HK ? Even the Song Dynasty's left over relic was bulldozed over by the British... bombed to open bits.. and then used those stones to carve the Peak's buildings with. All old wooden buildings gone. Whereas Japan preserved all of their old builings. Whereas HK has buildings that, every single one of them is preserved and tied to the banks. Or the so called "semi state"... While there are no chinese left. (That is.. whatever lies they love to tell the foreigners....) Somebody recently posted online about one of the few Emperor's left in HK but he was overlooked. I am sure that his art work was sent to the likes of LV before... (And it is funny that even this was not preserved. Cos I am sure that Western companies, having not signed them.. would declare them to be fake too.)
@BomberFletch31 Hello, I am a student from a private school in florida, and doing a project about the handover for school. Do you mind sharing your contacts with me so I can discuss with you about this topic? (I need a primary source to speak with). Please respond ASAP, thank you!
What your generation was doing before the 2020 silence was a credit to every Humanbeing who wishes to be free. When communism hits hard in the west I'm sure our heros will take note of what they were doing to oppose the CCP there. I'm heartbroken for you and people like you, I used to work with a guy from India who fled Tibet with his family. A whole culture uprooted and displaced for the sake of power. My nation is sleepwalking into this life. And they wont realise it until its too late.
Arrived in HK in 1989 and lived there on and off until 1997, I visited every year until 2020 but by then as you say, things have really changed there. If China left HK to run as it always has, no one in HK would have had a problem, instead they have destroyed it. I will never forget my time there, especially in the 1990s, it was a great time to be alive.
Could you elaborate on what has changed since you first arrived in HK, and why you think China have destroyed it now? Genuinely curious to hear about it.
China, per se, left it to run as is. One man has single-handedly done the damage, and that's Xi Jinping. He's also damaging China in a big way. A country that was slowly opening up is now obsessed with 'natiional security' and blames everything bad on 'foreign interference'. It tells you a lot when he banned Winnie The Pooh. IMHO its down to one man.
Actually before 1997 Hong Kong people were not able to elect their government, it was always appointed by Britain. China gave Hong Kong lots of freedom and enable Hong Kong to flourish. China just never imposed national security like the rest of the world does to its own country. That’s why Hong Kong was flooded by cia trying to undermine the government and cause issue to China. Yes Epoche times and apple daily are funded by cia. Epoche times is a Falun Gong media whose goal is to distribute hate and misinformation
yeah bro just don't worry about the shit ton of homeless people, old people working to their deaths, literally apartments being so expensive due to the million and billionaires in HK. If China left HK it would have turned to shit way quicker maybe not for the rich but for the working class.
It’s Hong Kong capitalist system where 5 rich families control the economy and where poor people live in cage homes that has destroyed Hong Kong. Yes Hong Kong has low taxes but that means a lack of social programs. Work or you will starve.
Great video. Lived in Hong Kong for a year, first came in 2013 and got there in 2017. So many said that there was a feeling of optimism in the city even after the handover. That optimism is gone.
I started working at a shipyard in HK in 1988, was there for 2 and a half years. BEFORE June 4 1989, the young Chinese I worked with were very proud that we gweilo were going to be deposed in 1997 and the Chinese would be taking over. They would, good naturedly, gloat about it. That changed literally overnight after the Tianamen Square massacre.
Enough western reporters who were in the square the entire time have now come forward to admit that no one died during the clearing of Tiananmen Square. The latest studies on the hospital records that night show that the Chinese government were the only people telling the truth about what happened: 1) no one died during the clearing of the square, and 2) around 200 people died elsewhere in Beijing fighting with military units (so NOT peaceful protesters). Here's a documentary by the U.S.-China Institute at the University of California explaining what happened from the perspectives of most of the western reporters who were actually there: ua-cam.com/video/ho8vAFlCeFQ/v-deo.html
I've been living in Asia for the past 8 years. 1 year of that was living in Shenzhen. Travelling to HK I've always felt like I just missed the boat on all of the exciting transformation. Hong Kong has been quickly turning it into a stoic replica of what the mainland looks like. Devoid of character, hope and optimism.
I first came to Chung King mansions when I first when to HK. I think it was a cheaper dorm hostel that I spotted in one of those Lonely Planet books. Sleeping next door to Nathan Road was quite hard with no double glazing. It was cramped and I remember all the indians having curry houses there. It was a very exciting 'romantic' place for me and I met my HK husband on the coach on the way to Chung King mansions, he got on my bus after work. Then I got a job in the tourist association and had a few adventures with that job, even learned a bit of Cantonese. I haven't been back for 30 years, can't imagine it has been that long. A lot of my HK relatives are leaving to go to the UK, which is weird as I always remember them as 'over there'. They will be leaving their elderly mother, so many old people will be left there
Read the full piece from Bloomberg Opinion's Matthew Brooker: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-28/how-hong-kong-s-1997-dreams-sank-without-trace-when-china-ended-autonomy
I wish I would not have say this and I wish I am wrong but Hong Kong is done. Put a fork in it. BTW, the British were terrible rulers of Hong Kong. Not only was it racist, it was undemocratic. But Xi has now totally ruin Hong Kong.
I came to HK in 2009 for a 6 month assignment only to have stayed 12 years leaving in 2021. My family and I truly miss HK but it's no longer the same as it once was when I arrived back in 2009.
the first time i visited was in 2011, instantly fell in love . visited yearly until 2017 when i moved there . then, it was my home (mostly Kowloon) until 2022 until i moved back to europe . i miss it dearly, but i also can imagine it being a real place in the 90s and 2000s, not so much in the 2010s . visited this year again and dear god it did change, i cannot imagine how much it changed for whoever moved there in the 80s and 90s . the only thing which hasn't changed is for sure Chunking Mansions, the first stop for so many first-time visitors
I am typing this comment in Hong Kong. COVID has had a significant impact here, as it has had everywhere else. But other than that, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s the West, that has done everything possible to damage Hong Kong, not the Chinese Government. Hong Kong is as free as most places; and is far (far) safer to live in than almost anywhere else. I could live anywhere I want to. I live in Hong Kong. I am so tired of people pushing the line that Hong Kong is ‘dead,’ when it is actually one of the best places to live, and to work, in the world.
Ridiculous comment, nothing to do with the west, HK has only just dropped covid restrictions which locked out tourists who wanted to come, protests nothing to do with the West, I love HK, sadly it's not what it was a few years ago..even half the old hong kong signs and shops being closed, while you sit back and blame the West....hong kong it self is stripping out its character and soul
Yeah, I agree that it's definitely the West that has done things to damage Hong Kong. It's GB that turned Hongkong to a colony which ruined Hong Kong. Hong Kong would have been much better if it's always a Chinese city, like Beijing or Xian.
I last lived in Hong Kong from 1991 to 1994 in Repulse Bay. I had first visited the place in the early 1960s when my family stayed in the Shamrock hotel at the far end of Nathan Road. From 1975 to 1977 I stayed in Kowloon Tong It was a magical and wonderful place. I have been back for a few days around 10 years ago - it had changed sadly. Great trip down memory lane. Thank you.
It is certainly more free than living under 150 years of British colonial rule where you were treated like a second class citizen and could not appoint your officials
I ended up to this video because I was searching for “Hong Kong 1990’s”. I missed those times so much.I missed my childhood, I miss the city where I was born. It’s just different now (or 6 years ago when I left).
i left HK in 2016 after almost 20 years here. Didnt think I would return. Now back since 2020 and enjoying it. It's different yes and has good and bad. But so does UK. My only concern is taiwan issue. status quo pls.
Who dd you hang out with really? Did you hang out with people who had participated in riots, buring shops and destroyed public facilities? So they told you now they live in fear? Worrying to face criminal charges? Are you one of these people? If not, what are you talking about?
@@pt9631 I'm talking about the fact that the government is so scared of its own people , pathetic ....i don't wanna live under chinese communism so i left
I lived in hong kong from 94 to 2004. Was an amazing place to live i wouldnt have stayed so long if it wasn't . Going back next week for the forst time in 20 years be interesting to see if its changed and byvthat i mean the atmosphere not the buildings etv which are always changing
Hong Kong was already a great, exciting, phenomenal city before the internet, iPhone, UA-cam age. Do you understand how great a city has to be if it was already praised and loved before and without all these KOL and youtubers and viral videos blowing it up??
Sad to see him leave. But I understand that those in the journalism/media industry have no choice. They are being hunted down basically. Hopefully this will change in the future.
Once journalism forgets its fixation on the doomed 2019 unrest movement, and returns to covering actual tangible Hong Kong issues, it will be back to normal.
@@cmack90 It's a matter of opinion. You will be more at risk of fearing for your life with high crime rate, terrorism and physical safety than in Hong Kong. You are not entirely free to express whatever you want even in a democratic country like the UK if you are a migrants.
During the period of riots in 2019, I saw on UA-cam where there were these two British trying to cross a police security line. They were arguing with a couple of police officers who stopped them. A senior officer walked over and told them to “get out!”. This was the second time they were told to get out since 1997.
I have heartfelt respect for the numerous British officers who stayed on the force to this day, and strove to protect law and order when nobody would defend them for doing that thankless job.
It was very weird... after 1997... the first time that I got "arrested" for jaywalking... and I had to pay a fine. When I see those people. I could tell that they are not from Canton. You know when you visit a city.. and then you look around. People tend to look a little bit similar ? I could tell that, they are not from even around the Canton areas.. I don't know where they were drafted in. And the Western countries... aren't helping either... And the SE Asian countries, are definitely NOT helping either ! It ended up a bit of a hell hole. Even the Taiwanese look a little bit more similar in looks to HK people... Cos they are from similar areas and regions... When you look close, you could tell. (That, is the family tree gone. The end.)
And there is also a high number of divorce cases as well between the foreigners and the locals.. and a lot of kids, are again, trapped in HK as well. But only this time round.. the tempples... and the nuns are refusing to accept them now. Cos all of the "foreigner-run NGOs" got the money instead. So yeh.. this is why you now see an even worst poverty level as well in HK. And of course, the oligarchs aren't going to help or do anything actually. They don't care.. cos they're not going to step out to speak about anything any more...
Wow the CCP Bot really reacted fast with this video. Happy 25th anniversary to you all. People living there must be happier than ever. All praise to Xi Jinping.
Nobody ever said that, but the idea that Hong Kong suddenly became uninhabitable is hilarious. I went back again after the Covid restrictions lifted and things are gradually springing back to life.
I would love to visit Hong Kong for a holiday, but seeing the Chinese police there roughly treating demonstrators put paid to that idea. I've watched many Hong Kong people who emigrated to the UK after the handover, and they all agree the place is getting worse.
All expatriates are basically opportunist, they prosper along the boom, enjoy the ride but seriously, his POV only represents the western ideaology or the way they like to keep HK as the way it was where they can continue to exploit and live the way they wanted it. I was born and grew up in HK, have lived overseas as well as mainland china for many years, I personally do not feel what he feels and certainly do not see what he sees. Change is the only constant and HK needs to change too, for an even better future!
@@cchan824 the boom ended in the early 1990s. Sad but true. HK has been running on fumes since the last days of colonial rule and by the early 2000s its container port traffic peaked and declined. Hong Kong has run out of its past momentum and it needs new direction. The country in charge is not really the problem-HK has not kept up with the world around it.
This American guy asked my dad's work mates where the red-light district was, and they sent him to an industrial suburb, that was like two hours away. Just a cement wasteland. Where did you go?
@@sizzflair6634 Hong Kong just retired its freedom. it's done and finished. it's not coming back again that what people of Hong Kong says. All the dissents say I'm done. I'm retiring Hong Kong's freedom.
Nope, HK’ freedom is just fine. For people who are in HK to spy , to sabotage, to incite Color revolution , yeah, you don’t have that “freedom “ anymore. Good riddance!
younger generation retired Hong Kong freedom? They finished the freedom faster than 2047. What does this mean to Hong Kong? no more entertainment. no more cantonese songs. Normal things happen in Hong Kong. All Good things must come to end. This means. All the happiness was the past. Now, it silence. eeehmmmm
You haven’t heard of Mirror, have you? They blew up during Covid and now they’re literally the biggest thing in the history of Hong Kong and Cantonese entertainment.
I've watched Hong Kong golden age movie. it was great. I remember bruce lee, shaw brothers, kung fu flicks, John woo, chow yun fat, Michelle yeoh . Now, Hong Kong movie is pure shitty. It's about police and national security law. Oversea Chinese audience don't want to watch it. Culture appropriation.
Hong Kong GDP: 177.4 billion USD in 1997 346.6 billion USD in 2020 increased by 195% USA GDP: 8.578 trillion USD in 1997 20.94 trillion USD in 2020 increased by 244% China GDP: 0.9616 trillion USD in 1997 14.72 trillion USD in 2020 increased by 1,531% the above is to prove that Hongkong GDP growth after 1997 less than those before 1997 was caused by too relying on the USA. USA Money Supply M2: 3,834.6 billions USD up to 1997 19,124.8 billions USD up to 2020 increased by 498.7% but almost no substantial improvement and poor maintenance in infrastructure, where was money gone? more terrible fact is the money supply growth is twice as fast as GDP growth, i.e., U.S. GDP is almost entirely dependent on an astonishingly skyrocketing money supply, while the number of economic transactions (i.e. dynamism) shrinked conversely the USA national debt: 5,413.15 billion USD up to 1997 26,945.39 billion USD up to 2020 increased by 497.7% that can be read in conjunction with the increase in money supply M2 by 498.7% to realize that the USA money supply increase from 1997 to 2020 was almost totally relying on debt only instead of organic growth of economic transaction and activities. The past increase in public funding was neither contributing to any multiplier effect for boosting economic activity nor infrastructure investment for future GDP growth. Alternatively to say that the USA GDP was almost relying on debt only, almost no solid growth driven by new investment over the past two decades in the USA. the USA household credit market debt: 3.62 trillion USD in 1990 16 trillion USD in 2019 increased by 442% the USA personal saving: 357.9 billion USD in 1990 1208.4 billion USD in 2019 increased by 337% household debt increased more than personal saving reflects the USA household did not enjoy the advantage of increased money supply but suffer more burdening of living expenses. the question is who did earn the increased money supply over the past two decades?
Robbed by various countries as well.... even countries that did not have a monetary policy or used money.. was forced to use money.. and to build... and therefore everybody loses.
I know an intimate perspective of someone who "...was from across the river from Hong Kong, speaking Cantonese at home, access to the TV stations in Hong Kong due to those airwaves being in proximity. Guangdong, the capital of Guangzhou was already speaking majority Mandarin, even though historically, they spoke Cantonese. The evidence now is that Cantonese, a language hundreds of years older than Mandarin's PREDECESSOR language, is being squashed out, stamped out systematically. Hong Kong, where Cantonese was spoken everywhere and Mandarin was learned but secondary in use, has become much more prominent. The city of Hong Kong in the 90s was prosperous, a beacon of civilization to the survivalist mindsets of the ones just across the river who, if adult, likely survived Mao's Great Leap 'Forward', and if child, is being raised by a parent with a lethal self-centricism that allowed their own survival. It had wealth, it attracted foreign business. It was a cultural center, then niche things like anime figurines and legal dubs of anime could even be found there, unlike what was left of the cultural deletion and book burning of Mao's China right across the river. The result of that cultural deletion and fervent political dogma? I'm sure you can google "Mainland Chinese tourist" and find all sorts of example outcomes for that. There was one goal: It was wealth. Politics was something people scorned to care about. If you cared, you were committing suicide of sorts, and your family is likely to join you for associating with you, unless you dogmatically agreed with the communist party. You must not criticize. You must not speak publicly. In imperial China, if you rebelled against your Emperor, your immediate relatives, up to several degrees of relations were executed with you. It was his Mandate by Heaven to lord over YOU. Today, it is the modern version of this, just not as many degrees of relations in terms of reach. This is all tacitly understood. Freedom is some foreign illusion, the goal was food on the table. Rights? Just keep your head low. And try not to buy that dyed watermelon at the market thinking its a sweet deal." I personally do not view Hong Kongers who desire British or other nationality as suckers who desire to be a second class citizen. No matter the formal title, skin color, or whether you swam there for dear life or flew there in first class, in a free society, you will be a higher class of human than the ones who live under the will of Maomao's ghost, forever surrendering the thinking ability that crowned humans above all other animals on this planet as the true King of the "Jungle".
Who is "we"? Speak for yourself! That's exactly the problem. Some spokesman occupying the voices of the people by claiming to speak for them. Disgusting!
@@frigginsepone446 That is exactly what the British have been doing. They have suppressed the voices of local Hong Kong people and have been paying big money to mouthpieces like Joshua Wong and Nathan Law to cause trouble.
@@quoderatdemonstrandum7215 the government of Hong Kong are Beijing controlled and you are wrong about China not instigating riots. They may not instigate riots in the mainland of China, but they do it in other democracy countries. I seen a video of Chinese trolls trying to paint Donald trump as the less favourable candidate in the polls back in 2020. China and many other countries had interfere a lot in the election and help instigate violence between democrats and the republican so i 100% think you are full of crap.
If people like him leave, it will free up job opportunities and housing prices might fall which is a way more pregnant thing than 'the supposedly lack of Freedom' that he is going on about as a propagandist.
@@quoderatdemonstrandum7215 these people leaving will not create a big gap in the GDP which means job opportunities and housing prices will not be better since they probably will keep their job and work in a different country because they work for international cooperations.The only change is you will not see that as much white people around you. I believe if you are going to make an argument ,please do your research and have common sense .It seems like you are trying to fit your own political agenda rather than taking everything at case-by-case basis.
@@qoph Case by case - so Bloomberg is cutting jobs in Hk? That is a good thing. Fewer white people - I don't have anything against white people but the world doesn't evolve around them. Guess that means Indians and local staff might have more chances getting well-paid teaching jobs and other English-speaking jobs?! Guess that is also a good thing, not? And this guy gets to do his job in a place that he loves - guess that is also a win for him!
@@frigginsepone446 the protesters claim to represent a huge “silent majority” who seek some vague definition of “freedom” that they are unable to define. I can define it for them. It’s overcrowding, general decline of social mobility and impossible living costs. Unfortunately, they cannot, or refuse to, disassociate their true problems from the ideological scam that “China did this to us.” No. Hong Kong milked all the Chinese trade when China was poor. China is no longer poor and the cow is dry. Nothing would be different had Britain somehow kept the colony.
@@canto_v12 As long as people can't speak their mind without fear of being jailed it's impossible to say if there is a silent majority or not. And that's per definition "not free". That, for example, would be different under british legislature. There would be a healthy debate instead of a baton to your face! And regarding your theory of "milking trade" I can't see how that idea should work. How do you milk trade? To trade you need to sell stuff, therefore you need buyers, and these buyers need money. You can steal ressources from a poor country, like it happens in Africa, but how do you milk trade of a poor country? Sounds like convenient propaganda to me!
If a bomb dropped on HK by accident, by any country... I shall not cry... and nor shall my ancestors as well... And plus also.. I never knew that, HK was also taken over and ran over by so many migrants into the city as well.... (While I was not looking.. my hometown was robbed... both politically and economically as well... ) ..... Capitalism made a small selection of people very rich.. and they got rich because they harassed the rest of the locals.. into submission... and why did that happen? Cos the previous generation of merchants ran off with the money... so then consolidation happened.... (and those who made and gave the money back into the city.. their ancestors.. aren't even seeing their future either)..... and those who flooded into the city... The sons and the daughters of the second and third and firth mistresses also dominate the city today. Even just over the border from Shenzen as well.... ua-cam.com/video/jVP4FQy8DmU/v-deo.html - This happened around even just 12 year ago. Sending staff to copy another store's actual competition.. and then gazump them.. and this inline... created a rise in those stocks and shares..... (Where was ICAC ? Oh yeh.. the police was in collusion as well with the Chief Police.) ua-cam.com/video/pGuliOTuPtE/v-deo.html - This is one of those in hindsight, bad videos.. cos you don't know who was snooping. His ancestors also "gave back" even though they were administrators.. MY grandfather's generation, were working on those ships and merchants as well.. and even pre-dated back even a little bit further than the 1940s... I think it is a little bit beyond as well. Somebody posted online about or around the 1890s.. period... It's weird.. how I used to support the likes of Three and Hutchinson's... and even now.. the kids today in HK... they just let that door open.. and actually doesn't even treat these actual benefactors any decencies. One thing is true and true. He who holds power. Holds power over you. That is how it goes...
I grew up in Hong Kong, and moved away at the age of 9 with my parents before the 1997 handover, partly because we feared what might happen when the CCP took over, but also partly because the education system and the work/life balance overseas was far better than what was available in Hong Kong. Until 2019, I still went back to Hong Kong regularly to visit. I still feel nostalgic towards Hong Kong and still desire to visit again some day, but it is vastly different now. The passing of the national security law has changed Hong Kong into what was once a bustling, free, thriving city into a place from which people are leaving in droves.
All the big names n movie stars are still there.
@@johnwong8336 : Because they are related and carved an actual "commodity" of themselves. They are not the "living commodity" of Cantonese. There is nothing there for anybody else. Cos it is a structured society.... I didn't get what was the protests all about.. but now I see it. I get it now. What else could be done ? So many academics even now openly say that..."china could never have an Imperial model like so many countries have".... Cos "we chose not to". Oh wow... and now... a lot of the people "ruling" and "running HK" are not even "Chinese"... as in the race. Not the nationality. So yeh.. to have an Imperial model is dead now.
ON TV and on broadcasts, they jokingly call themselves "Emperor" this, that, or the other.. but really... are they ? It's funny... there is another video elsewhere by another chinese channel... and.. it says clearly that... a "celebration" went on in Xian... And if you looked at the way that they celebrated it. It doesn't feel very authentic at all ? All they care about is movinng money from location A to location B etc. THAT is the structure setup. China itself, is already a ruined stated. Absolutely trashed to the bone... if you think that there is to be any more authenticities.. and people living life as it should. It's gone now. Meanwhile.. you could see all over Europe... every single preserved building and heritages still intact. Nothing bombed. Lost. Or destroyed. Whereas HK ? Even the Song Dynasty's left over relic was bulldozed over by the British... bombed to open bits.. and then used those stones to carve the Peak's buildings with. All old wooden buildings gone. Whereas Japan preserved all of their old builings. Whereas HK has buildings that, every single one of them is preserved and tied to the banks. Or the so called "semi state"... While there are no chinese left. (That is.. whatever lies they love to tell the foreigners....) Somebody recently posted online about one of the few Emperor's left in HK but he was overlooked. I am sure that his art work was sent to the likes of LV before... (And it is funny that even this was not preserved. Cos I am sure that Western companies, having not signed them.. would declare them to be fake too.)
Hong Kong’s population in the 1980’s was 5 million. 2023 the population of Hong Kong is 7.5 million
@BomberFletch31 Hello, I am a student from a private school in florida, and doing a project about the handover for school. Do you mind sharing your contacts with me so I can discuss with you about this topic? (I need a primary source to speak with). Please respond ASAP, thank you!
What your generation was doing before the 2020 silence was a credit to every Humanbeing who wishes to be free.
When communism hits hard in the west I'm sure our heros will take note of what they were doing to oppose the CCP there.
I'm heartbroken for you and people like you, I used to work with a guy from India who fled Tibet with his family. A whole culture uprooted and displaced for the sake of power.
My nation is sleepwalking into this life. And they wont realise it until its too late.
Arrived in HK in 1989 and lived there on and off until 1997, I visited every year until 2020 but by then as you say, things have really changed there. If China left HK to run as it always has, no one in HK would have had a problem, instead they have destroyed it.
I will never forget my time there, especially in the 1990s, it was a great time to be alive.
Could you elaborate on what has changed since you first arrived in HK, and why you think China have destroyed it now? Genuinely curious to hear about it.
China, per se, left it to run as is. One man has single-handedly done the damage, and that's Xi Jinping. He's also damaging China in a big way. A country that was slowly opening up is now obsessed with 'natiional security' and blames everything bad on 'foreign interference'. It tells you a lot when he banned Winnie The Pooh. IMHO its down to one man.
Actually before 1997 Hong Kong people were not able to elect their government, it was always appointed by Britain. China gave Hong Kong lots of freedom and enable Hong Kong to flourish. China just never imposed national security like the rest of the world does to its own country. That’s why Hong Kong was flooded by cia trying to undermine the government and cause issue to China. Yes Epoche times and apple daily are funded by cia. Epoche times is a Falun Gong media whose goal is to distribute hate and misinformation
yeah bro just don't worry about the shit ton of homeless people, old people working to their deaths, literally apartments being so expensive due to the million and billionaires in HK. If China left HK it would have turned to shit way quicker maybe not for the rich but for the working class.
It’s Hong Kong capitalist system where 5 rich families control the economy and where poor people live in cage homes that has destroyed Hong Kong. Yes Hong Kong has low taxes but that means a lack of social programs. Work or you will starve.
Great video. Lived in Hong Kong for a year, first came in 2013 and got there in 2017. So many said that there was a feeling of optimism in the city even after the handover. That optimism is gone.
I started working at a shipyard in HK in 1988, was there for 2 and a half years. BEFORE June 4 1989, the young Chinese I worked with were very proud that we gweilo were going to be deposed in 1997 and the Chinese would be taking over. They would, good naturedly, gloat about it. That changed literally overnight after the Tianamen Square massacre.
Enough western reporters who were in the square the entire time have now come forward to admit that no one died during the clearing of Tiananmen Square. The latest studies on the hospital records that night show that the Chinese government were the only people telling the truth about what happened: 1) no one died during the clearing of the square, and 2) around 200 people died elsewhere in Beijing fighting with military units (so NOT peaceful protesters). Here's a documentary by the U.S.-China Institute at the University of California explaining what happened from the perspectives of most of the western reporters who were actually there: ua-cam.com/video/ho8vAFlCeFQ/v-deo.html
I've been living in Asia for the past 8 years. 1 year of that was living in Shenzhen. Travelling to HK I've always felt like I just missed the boat on all of the exciting transformation. Hong Kong has been quickly turning it into a stoic replica of what the mainland looks like. Devoid of character, hope and optimism.
that's becuz 99% of the neons have been demolished in the past 10 years
Sad, they seem to be determined to ruin its soul and character
I think you mean Hong Kong, not 'Mainland has...' ?
yes @@MuckyMoore
I first came to Chung King mansions when I first when to HK. I think it was a cheaper dorm hostel that I spotted in one of those Lonely Planet books. Sleeping next door to Nathan Road was quite hard with no double glazing. It was cramped and I remember all the indians having curry houses there. It was a very exciting 'romantic' place for me and I met my HK husband on the coach on the way to Chung King mansions, he got on my bus after work. Then I got a job in the tourist association and had a few adventures with that job, even learned a bit of Cantonese. I haven't been back for 30 years, can't imagine it has been that long. A lot of my HK relatives are leaving to go to the UK, which is weird as I always remember them as 'over there'. They will be leaving their elderly mother, so many old people will be left there
Chung King Mansions are still legendary lol. Not necessarily always in a good way, but never in a boring way either lol.
Read the full piece from Bloomberg Opinion's Matthew Brooker: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-28/how-hong-kong-s-1997-dreams-sank-without-trace-when-china-ended-autonomy
I wish I would not have say this and I wish I am wrong but Hong Kong is done. Put a fork in it.
BTW, the British were terrible rulers of Hong Kong. Not only was it racist, it was undemocratic. But Xi has now totally ruin Hong Kong.
I came to HK in 2009 for a 6 month assignment only to have stayed 12 years leaving in 2021. My family and I truly miss HK but it's no longer the same as it once was when I arrived back in 2009.
What changed?
As a Hong Konger who was born in 2000, he lived longer in Hong Kong than me.
I am sure he was living in a fine villa in Discovery Bay
the first time i visited was in 2011, instantly fell in love . visited yearly until 2017 when i moved there . then, it was my home (mostly Kowloon) until 2022 until i moved back to europe . i miss it dearly, but i also can imagine it being a real place in the 90s and 2000s, not so much in the 2010s . visited this year again and dear god it did change, i cannot imagine how much it changed for whoever moved there in the 80s and 90s . the only thing which hasn't changed is for sure Chunking Mansions, the first stop for so many first-time visitors
Sad
I am typing this comment in Hong Kong. COVID has had a significant impact here, as it has had everywhere else. But other than that, it’s pretty clear to me that it’s the West, that has done everything possible to damage Hong Kong, not the Chinese Government. Hong Kong is as free as most places; and is far (far) safer to live in than almost anywhere else. I could live anywhere I want to. I live in Hong Kong. I am so tired of people pushing the line that Hong Kong is ‘dead,’ when it is actually one of the best places to live, and to work, in the world.
Ridiculous comment, nothing to do with the west, HK has only just dropped covid restrictions which locked out tourists who wanted to come, protests nothing to do with the West, I love HK, sadly it's not what it was a few years ago..even half the old hong kong signs and shops being closed, while you sit back and blame the West....hong kong it self is stripping out its character and soul
Is that you Xi?😬….
@@charlwoodcharlwood9428 What an utterly pathetic comment, from a completely fake account.
Yeah, I agree that it's definitely the West that has done things to damage Hong Kong. It's GB that turned Hongkong to a colony which ruined Hong Kong. Hong Kong would have been much better if it's always a Chinese city, like Beijing or Xian.
The problem is it's being packed full of mainlanders and turned into a regular Chinese city.
I last lived in Hong Kong from 1991 to 1994 in Repulse Bay.
I had first visited the place in the early 1960s when my family stayed in the Shamrock hotel at the far end of Nathan Road. From 1975 to 1977 I stayed in Kowloon Tong
It was a magical and wonderful place. I have been back for a few days around 10 years ago - it had changed sadly.
Great trip down memory lane. Thank you.
HK isn’t the same anymore. Welcome back motherland China . No more freedom.
Hong Kong returned to China nearly 27 years ago.
It is certainly more free than living under 150 years of British colonial rule where you were treated like a second class citizen and could not appoint your officials
@@ChristopherLaw-qv4ou they love it
@@darth.severussYes the British
I ended up to this video because I was searching for “Hong Kong 1990’s”. I missed those times so much.I missed my childhood, I miss the city where I was born.
It’s just different now (or 6 years ago when I left).
Beautiful video.
i left HK in 2016 after almost 20 years here. Didnt think I would return. Now back since 2020 and enjoying it. It's different yes and has good and bad. But so does UK. My only concern is taiwan issue. status quo pls.
i left hong kong forever 1 month ago moved to spain after 21 years there, it's an awful place of fear now , terrible, sad communist cruelty
:(
Who dd you hang out with really? Did you hang out with people who had participated in riots, buring shops and destroyed public facilities? So they told you now they live in fear? Worrying to face criminal charges? Are you one of these people? If not, what are you talking about?
@@pt9631 I'm talking about the fact that the government is so scared of its own people , pathetic ....i don't wanna live under chinese communism so i left
@@pt9631 Haha....talking and defending rule of law for an totalitarian country..Better hang out with bloody communist Chinese for protection right?
China is asho
He experienced HK under British Rule while the young protesters back in 2019 weren't born or were young during that time.
Chungking Mansion is one of my haunts whenever in HK as there are many halal food options available, though most of it being Indian food.
I lived in hong kong from 94 to 2004. Was an amazing place to live i wouldnt have stayed so long if it wasn't . Going back next week for the forst time in 20 years be interesting to see if its changed and byvthat i mean the atmosphere not the buildings etv which are always changing
How was the trip?!!
@@CactusJack_AWE postponed it until later this year due to unforseen circumstances
Hong Kong was already a great, exciting, phenomenal city before the internet, iPhone, UA-cam age.
Do you understand how great a city has to be if it was already praised and loved before and without all these KOL and youtubers and viral videos blowing it up??
I was looking for the game Hong Kong 97 💀💀
Sad to see him leave.
But I understand that those in the journalism/media industry have no choice. They are being hunted down basically.
Hopefully this will change in the future.
Once journalism forgets its fixation on the doomed 2019 unrest movement, and returns to covering actual tangible Hong Kong issues, it will be back to normal.
Lifestyles in the UK is not going to be rosy and cosy unless you are super wealthy and have the right contact.
At least they'll be free and not living in fear 😂
@@cmack90 It's a matter of opinion. You will be more at risk of fearing for your life with high crime rate, terrorism and physical safety than in Hong Kong. You are not entirely free to express whatever you want even in a democratic country like the UK if you are a migrants.
@@cmack90free to do what, exactly, that they can’t do in Hong Kong?
@@cmack90do I have a freedom to park anywhere I want or do sell goods on the side of the road to make a living
@@cmack90only in fear of criticizing the government and not being stabbed by a 5 inch blade for your watch or wallet or criminalized for hate speech.
You were a handsome young man and you are a handsome old man now. HK will miss you for sure.
A Nice country which has gone down the barrel...Feeling bad to see such a place go down so quick
Speak for yourself. There are a lot of people in HK that are doing very well.
@@robocop581 And there are a lot of people who are not doing well.
That's the major difference compared to the old days...
The population of Hong Kong in the 1980’s was 5 million. 2023 the population of Hong Kong is 7.5 million.
@@frigginsepone446Hong Kong gdp per capita is $49,000 US
@@Bk6346 Who needs basic rights, democracy and free speech if the gdp per capita is high enough, right!?
During the period of riots in 2019, I saw on UA-cam where there were these two British trying to cross a police security line. They were arguing with a couple of police officers who stopped them. A senior officer walked over and told them to “get out!”.
This was the second time they were told to get out since 1997.
I have heartfelt respect for the numerous British officers who stayed on the force to this day, and strove to protect law and order when nobody would defend them for doing that thankless job.
It was very weird... after 1997... the first time that I got "arrested" for jaywalking... and I had to pay a fine. When I see those people. I could tell that they are not from Canton. You know when you visit a city.. and then you look around. People tend to look a little bit similar ? I could tell that, they are not from even around the Canton areas.. I don't know where they were drafted in. And the Western countries... aren't helping either... And the SE Asian countries, are definitely NOT helping either ! It ended up a bit of a hell hole. Even the Taiwanese look a little bit more similar in looks to HK people... Cos they are from similar areas and regions... When you look close, you could tell. (That, is the family tree gone. The end.)
And there is also a high number of divorce cases as well between the foreigners and the locals.. and a lot of kids, are again, trapped in HK as well. But only this time round.. the tempples... and the nuns are refusing to accept them now. Cos all of the "foreigner-run NGOs" got the money instead. So yeh.. this is why you now see an even worst poverty level as well in HK. And of course, the oligarchs aren't going to help or do anything actually. They don't care.. cos they're not going to step out to speak about anything any more...
In the 2023 UBS report on world wealth, the per-adult wealth is $551K which is the same as the USA.
Instead of asking what you can do for Hongkong, you are demanding what HongKong can do you?
Wow the CCP Bot really reacted fast with this video. Happy 25th anniversary to you all. People living there must be happier than ever. All praise to Xi Jinping.
Nobody ever said that, but the idea that Hong Kong suddenly became uninhabitable is hilarious. I went back again after the Covid restrictions lifted and things are gradually springing back to life.
I would love to visit Hong Kong for a holiday, but seeing the Chinese police there roughly treating demonstrators put paid to that idea. I've watched many Hong Kong people who emigrated to the UK after the handover, and they all agree the place is getting worse.
All expatriates are basically opportunist, they prosper along the boom, enjoy the ride but seriously, his POV only represents the western ideaology or the way they like to keep HK as the way it was where they can continue to exploit and live the way they wanted it. I was born and grew up in HK, have lived overseas as well as mainland china for many years, I personally do not feel what he feels and certainly do not see what he sees. Change is the only constant and HK needs to change too, for an even better future!
Well said. For people like him, their leaving is a good thing for HK.,
how so? explain olease
+100 social credit score for you
So you mean the boom is over now in Hk
@@cchan824 the boom ended in the early 1990s. Sad but true. HK has been running on fumes since the last days of colonial rule and by the early 2000s its container port traffic peaked and declined.
Hong Kong has run out of its past momentum and it needs new direction. The country in charge is not really the problem-HK has not kept up with the world around it.
Just take a look at all these giant shopping centres in Hong Kong , only scaffoldings with covering protection remains.
This American guy asked my dad's work mates where the red-light district was, and they sent him to an industrial suburb, that was like two hours away. Just a cement wasteland. Where did you go?
Wow, Hong Kong's freedom is dead. 😱
you must be mad, by saying Hong Kong freedom is dead. your future generatiion will praise Hong Kong if you ever live to hear from them
@@sizzflair6634 Hong Kong just retired its freedom. it's done and finished. it's not coming back again that what people of Hong Kong says. All the dissents say I'm done. I'm retiring Hong Kong's freedom.
Nope, HK’ freedom is just fine. For people who are in HK to spy , to sabotage, to incite Color revolution , yeah, you don’t have that “freedom “ anymore. Good riddance!
@@sizzflair6634 I am sure it won't if Hong Kong wasn't independent.
@@screenapple1660 Yawn. I bet you've never been to HK, only read about it.
younger generation retired Hong Kong freedom? They finished the freedom faster than 2047. What does this mean to Hong Kong? no more entertainment. no more cantonese songs. Normal things happen in Hong Kong. All Good things must come to end. This means. All the happiness was the past. Now, it silence. eeehmmmm
You haven’t heard of Mirror, have you? They blew up during Covid and now they’re literally the biggest thing in the history of Hong Kong and Cantonese entertainment.
I've watched Hong Kong golden age movie. it was great. I remember bruce lee, shaw brothers, kung fu flicks, John woo, chow yun fat, Michelle yeoh . Now, Hong Kong movie is pure shitty. It's about police and national security law. Oversea Chinese audience don't want to watch it. Culture appropriation.
The comments are from 50 cent
This makes me sad.
If you love than you gonna missed it big time,West is not as glamorous as it was 30 years ago .
Sadly, the same could be said from alot of Californians moving to Southern states.
RIP Hong King
RIP Digital Rev videos
Good people.
Good riddance. HK has never felt freer when British left in 1997. And of course HK has never enjoyed democracy under British rule and that is a fact
Sad.
CCP only brings sadness and despair.
You don’t need the CCP for that if your life is miserable already.
When you are old enough to be fired OR to retire, just go home and please don't make a fuss about the peace we enjoy here in Hong Kong. Best wishes.
well said ....
Hong Kong GDP:
177.4 billion USD in 1997
346.6 billion USD in 2020
increased by 195%
USA GDP:
8.578 trillion USD in 1997
20.94 trillion USD in 2020
increased by 244%
China GDP:
0.9616 trillion USD in 1997
14.72 trillion USD in 2020
increased by 1,531%
the above is to prove that Hongkong GDP growth after 1997 less than those before 1997 was caused by too relying on the USA.
USA Money Supply M2:
3,834.6 billions USD up to 1997
19,124.8 billions USD up to 2020
increased by 498.7% but almost no substantial improvement and poor maintenance in infrastructure, where was money gone?
more terrible fact is the money supply growth is twice as fast as GDP growth, i.e., U.S. GDP is almost entirely dependent on an astonishingly skyrocketing money supply, while the number of economic transactions (i.e. dynamism) shrinked conversely
the USA national debt:
5,413.15 billion USD up to 1997
26,945.39 billion USD up to 2020
increased by 497.7% that can be read in conjunction with the increase in money supply M2 by 498.7% to realize that the USA money supply increase from 1997 to 2020 was almost totally relying on debt only instead of organic growth of economic transaction and activities.
The past increase in public funding was neither contributing to any multiplier effect for boosting economic activity nor infrastructure investment for future GDP growth.
Alternatively to say that the USA GDP was almost relying on debt only, almost no solid growth driven by new investment over the past two decades in the USA.
the USA household credit market debt:
3.62 trillion USD in 1990
16 trillion USD in 2019
increased by 442%
the USA personal saving:
357.9 billion USD in 1990
1208.4 billion USD in 2019
increased by 337%
household debt increased more than personal saving reflects the USA household did not enjoy the advantage of increased money supply but suffer more burdening of living expenses.
the question is who did earn the increased money supply over the past two decades?
Robbed by various countries as well.... even countries that did not have a monetary policy or used money.. was forced to use money.. and to build... and therefore everybody loses.
I know an intimate perspective of someone who
"...was from across the river from Hong Kong, speaking Cantonese at home, access to the TV stations in Hong Kong due to those airwaves being in proximity.
Guangdong, the capital of Guangzhou was already speaking majority Mandarin, even though historically, they spoke Cantonese.
The evidence now is that Cantonese, a language hundreds of years older than Mandarin's PREDECESSOR language, is being squashed out, stamped out systematically. Hong Kong, where Cantonese was spoken everywhere and Mandarin was learned but secondary in use, has become much more prominent.
The city of Hong Kong in the 90s was prosperous, a beacon of civilization to the survivalist mindsets of the ones just across the river who, if adult, likely survived Mao's Great Leap 'Forward', and if child, is being raised by a parent with a lethal self-centricism that allowed their own survival. It had wealth, it attracted foreign business. It was a cultural center, then niche things like anime figurines and legal dubs of anime could even be found there, unlike what was left of the cultural deletion and book burning of Mao's China right across the river. The result of that cultural deletion and fervent political dogma? I'm sure you can google "Mainland Chinese tourist" and find all sorts of example outcomes for that.
There was one goal: It was wealth.
Politics was something people scorned to care about. If you cared, you were committing suicide of sorts, and your family is likely to join you for associating with you, unless you dogmatically agreed with the communist party. You must not criticize. You must not speak publicly. In imperial China, if you rebelled against your Emperor, your immediate relatives, up to several degrees of relations were executed with you. It was his Mandate by Heaven to lord over YOU. Today, it is the modern version of this, just not as many degrees of relations in terms of reach. This is all tacitly understood.
Freedom is some foreign illusion, the goal was food on the table. Rights? Just keep your head low. And try not to buy that dyed watermelon at the market thinking its a sweet deal."
I personally do not view Hong Kongers who desire British or other nationality as suckers who desire to be a second class citizen. No matter the formal title, skin color, or whether you swam there for dear life or flew there in first class, in a free society, you will be a higher class of human than the ones who live under the will of Maomao's ghost, forever surrendering the thinking ability that crowned humans above all other animals on this planet as the true King of the "Jungle".
Sorry to disappoint those who wish chaos in Hong Kong. We are doing fine.
Who is "we"? Speak for yourself!
That's exactly the problem. Some spokesman occupying the voices of the people by claiming to speak for them. Disgusting!
Who is "we", you CCP rat?
@@albback8176 the riots suffered from lack of leadership and lack of maturity to “quit while winning.”
@@frigginsepone446 That is exactly what the British have been doing. They have suppressed the voices of local Hong Kong people and have been paying big money to mouthpieces like Joshua Wong and Nathan Law to cause trouble.
The Anglo Saxon has no more power in Hong Kong, that's why he is leaving.
Hong Kong was a free society! Really? Under the British, they were demoncratic? 😂
Go home, don't interfere in other people's business
Real funny saying that to someone who has lived there for half of his lifetime
Commend you take a course on how to offend people
This kind of comment is considered to be racism. A typical English person would not say that to a HK person that lived in UK for 20 years.
@@kellyengland HK people don't instigate riots and colour revolutions either like the one in 2019 funded by the NED and promoted by western media
@@quoderatdemonstrandum7215 the government of Hong Kong are Beijing controlled and you are wrong about China not instigating riots. They may not instigate riots in the mainland of China, but they do it in other democracy countries. I seen a video of Chinese trolls trying to paint Donald trump as the less favourable candidate in the polls back in 2020. China and many other countries had interfere a lot in the election and help instigate violence between democrats and the republican so i 100% think you are full of crap.
No one is indispensable, good riddance
Will HK miss you??
Why not
Yes
If people like him leave, it will free up job opportunities and housing prices might fall which is a way more pregnant thing than 'the supposedly lack of Freedom' that he is going on about as a propagandist.
@@quoderatdemonstrandum7215 these people leaving will not create a big gap in the GDP which means job opportunities and housing prices will not be better since they probably will keep their job and work in a different country because they work for international cooperations.The only change is you will not see that as much white people around you. I believe if you are going to make an argument ,please do your research and have common sense .It seems like you are trying to fit your own political agenda rather than taking everything at case-by-case basis.
@@qoph Case by case - so Bloomberg is cutting jobs in Hk? That is a good thing. Fewer white people - I don't have anything against white people but the world doesn't evolve around them. Guess that means Indians and local staff might have more chances getting well-paid teaching jobs and other English-speaking jobs?! Guess that is also a good thing, not? And this guy gets to do his job in a place that he loves - guess that is also a win for him!
I get it from his perspective but it doesn’t represent the majority.
With a growing number of voices silenced it's hard to tell what the perspective of the "majority" really is...
@@frigginsepone446 the voices are from the people that actually live in hkg.
@@The795pine True, the silenced voices are from people that actually live in hkg.
@@frigginsepone446 the protesters claim to represent a huge “silent majority” who seek some vague definition of “freedom” that they are unable to define. I can define it for them. It’s overcrowding, general decline of social mobility and impossible living costs.
Unfortunately, they cannot, or refuse to, disassociate their true problems from the ideological scam that “China did this to us.”
No. Hong Kong milked all the Chinese trade when China was poor. China is no longer poor and the cow is dry. Nothing would be different had Britain somehow kept the colony.
@@canto_v12 As long as people can't speak their mind without fear of being jailed it's impossible to say if there is a silent majority or not. And that's per definition "not free".
That, for example, would be different under british legislature. There would be a healthy debate instead of a baton to your face!
And regarding your theory of "milking trade" I can't see how that idea should work. How do you milk trade? To trade you need to sell stuff, therefore you need buyers, and these buyers need money. You can steal ressources from a poor country, like it happens in Africa, but how do you milk trade of a poor country? Sounds like convenient propaganda to me!
Goodbye haha
bye bye
just move on and go elsewhere. in hong kong unless you got $$$ life is pretty rough.
Journalist? Bye
Good riddance. Anglo Saxons Raus.
Only going to get worse. Probably wish it stayed under British
If a bomb dropped on HK by accident, by any country... I shall not cry... and nor shall my ancestors as well... And plus also.. I never knew that, HK was also taken over and ran over by so many migrants into the city as well.... (While I was not looking.. my hometown was robbed... both politically and economically as well... ) .....
Capitalism made a small selection of people very rich.. and they got rich because they harassed the rest of the locals.. into submission... and why did that happen? Cos the previous generation of merchants ran off with the money... so then consolidation happened.... (and those who made and gave the money back into the city.. their ancestors.. aren't even seeing their future either)..... and those who flooded into the city... The sons and the daughters of the second and third and firth mistresses also dominate the city today. Even just over the border from Shenzen as well....
ua-cam.com/video/jVP4FQy8DmU/v-deo.html - This happened around even just 12 year ago. Sending staff to copy another store's actual competition.. and then gazump them.. and this inline... created a rise in those stocks and shares..... (Where was ICAC ? Oh yeh.. the police was in collusion as well with the Chief Police.)
ua-cam.com/video/pGuliOTuPtE/v-deo.html - This is one of those in hindsight, bad videos.. cos you don't know who was snooping. His ancestors also "gave back" even though they were administrators.. MY grandfather's generation, were working on those ships and merchants as well.. and even pre-dated back even a little bit further than the 1940s... I think it is a little bit beyond as well. Somebody posted online about or around the 1890s.. period... It's weird.. how I used to support the likes of Three and Hutchinson's... and even now.. the kids today in HK... they just let that door open.. and actually doesn't even treat these actual benefactors any decencies. One thing is true and true. He who holds power. Holds power over you. That is how it goes...