Thread: Hong Kong Was Better Under the British

interesting rant about HK,

Hugo Restall: Hong Kong Was Better Under the British - WSJ.com

Originally Posted by WSJ

Contrast all this with Hong Kong post-handover. The government is still not democratic, but now it is accountable only to a highly corrupt and abusive single-party state. The first chief executive, Tung Chee Hwa, and Beijing's favorite to take the post next month, Henry Tang, are both members of the Shanghainese business elite that moved to the city after 1949. The civil service is localized.

Many consequences flow from these changes, several of which involve land, which is all leased from the government. Real estate development and appreciation is the biggest source of wealth in Hong Kong, a major source of public revenue and also the source of most discontent.

In recent years, the Lands Department has made "mistakes" in negotiating leases that have allowed developers to make billions of Hong Kong dollars in extra profit. Several high-level officials have also left to work for the developers. This has bred public cynicism that Hong Kong is sinking into crony capitalism.

All of the old hands I know that are still living there agree that HK was much better in the 90's, it just plain had more character. It's still distinct from the mainland, but gradually becoming Sinofied- accompanied by a steady increase in coarse grubby mainlanders on the streets, and a decrease in both the number and timbre of expat's. Most new arrivals seem to be on defined term contracts, and many old hands are just seeing out the remaining few years before their fat retirement package. I reckon many of the types that Hong Kong used to attract are going to Shanghai now.

Everywhere was better under The British don't you know!

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Henry Tang

Made his fortune by fraudulently badging clothes made in Chinese sweatshops as "Made in HK", and exporting them to the EU and US. Exported a whole lot of menial jobs in the rag trade to China too. Oh, the sanctimonious squeal from his lips when the HK government started to try and crack down on it in the late 90's .

A great choice for HK chief executive, the PLA has done well.

After traveling through China and just completing my 2nd trip to Hong Kong I must say the latter is a great place to visit as long as one has some get up and go in him.

The people are simply way ahead when it comes to language and living in a civilized ordered society.

Spoke to many locals who comment that they are different from there mainland brothers and after observing the mainland tourist in Hong Kong its not hard to spot the difference.

Many old timers say things where better in the early years but thats standard talk and applicable to most destinations amongst Ex pats.

Move on dudes.

It's as corrupt as fuck and run by a cabal of wealthy elite for the benefit of the wealthy.
The list of nominees for the contenders in the election is a list of powerful and wealthy developers and industrialists.
This guy's fucked now.
Only a few months ago he was making a big fuss about illegal constructions on government ministers properties and how they should all be removed.

Beijing’s Favorite to Lead Hong Kong Sees His Star Falling

By KEVIN DREW





HONG KONG — An unauthorized addition to a luxury home may be sinking the hopes of the man China is thought to favor as Hong Kong’s next leader.

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Kin Cheung/Associated Press

Henry Tang, a candidate for Hong Kong's top government job, is under fire over the construction of a basement at his home.



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That man, Henry Tang, a former senior official, is facing increasing public pressure to end his campaign to become chief executive, Hong Kong’s top government position.
Long seen as Beijing’s preferred candidate, Mr. Tang has plummeted in popularity during months of missteps, capped last week when he acknowledged that a basement had been built at his home without a government permit. Mr. Tang insists on continuing his candidacy, but the unauthorized construction, a favorite topic in local news coverage of public figures, was seized on by his political opponents.
“I don’t think he can hope to salvage his credibility,” said Alan Leong, a lawmaker on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and the leader of the Civic Party. “If he can’t handle his own affairs, how can he run a government?”
Political observers say that the concerns dogging Mr. Tang reveal growing belief by a frustrated public that Hong Kong’s political and economic system is ruled by a small elite out of touch with the rest of the population. His candidacy, analysts add, suggests a need to rethink the vetting process for candidates and has fueled a growing anxiety over Hong Kong’s relationship with mainland China.
The challenge facing all Hong Kong candidates “is whether they can be seen defending Hong Kong’s interests and autonomy,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, head of government and international studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. “One of the themes of the campaign should be addressing social inequalities and creating a fair-competition law. I don’t know if there’s anyone willing to fight these forces, any politician with the courage to speak out.”
This year’s election for chief executive was expected to be like all the other campaigns since the territory was returned to China in 1997, buttoned-down affairs with little drama.
On March 25, the Hong Kong Election Committee, whose 1,200 members represent various business and social constituencies, will elect the chief executive. A majority of the members are seen by many political observers and academics as taking their cues from Beijing on whom to support.
Both Mr. Tang and his main rival in the campaign, CY Leung, the former senior member of the Legislative Council, are viewed by the mainland establishment as acceptable candidates. A third candidate, Albert Ho, is seen as having little chance of winning.
Last week, Mr. Tang labored to explain the unauthorized work done at his home. He said that the house was owned by his wife, not by him, and that she had done work without his knowledge. News reports said that the new, 2,200-square-foot basement included a wine cellar, a home movie theater and a Japanese-style bath. Mr. Tang denied the reports, saying that the basement was used as a storage space.
But the reports, and Mr. Tang’s explanation, have sharply influenced public opinion. A poll conducted last week by the University of Hong Kong and published by The South China Morning Post showed that more than half of 516 people surveyed said that Mr. Tang should quit the race and that nearly 80 percent had doubts about his integrity.
The ratings reflect the effect of months of gaffes by Mr. Tang, 59, a scion of a wealthy Shanghai family who is not affiliated with a political party. In September, he resigned as chief secretary, the government’s No. 2 position, to run for chief executive. In October, amid public speculation about an extramarital affair, he acknowledged that he had made a mistake in his romantic life.
Last May, after Hong Kong residents staged several demonstrations to protest housing prices and what they said was an economic system run by the elite, Mr. Tang said that Hong Kong’s youth should try to emulate Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s wealthiest tycoon, rather than complain about the growing gap between the rich and the middle class.
Analysts say those protests were part of a larger movement reflecting growing frustration among Hong Kong residents over having a voice in the political system and access to housing and public services.
“In Hong Kong, you have a coterie of people who are rich and powerful,” said Michael E. DeGolyer of the Hong Kong Transition Project, an independent research organization. “You have a rigged economy that is full of cartels, not truly open and competitive. People are concerned by that.”
That sense of frustration has spilled into public perception of mainland China. Many observers say that Hong Kong residents fault people from China for driving up the costs of housing and clogging public services. The number of mainland women coming to Hong Kong to give birth has grown so much that the local government placed a cap on how many pregnant mainland women can be admitted to hospitals.
Surveys by both the Transition Project and the University of Hong Kong have shown that a growing number of people here identify themselves as Hong Kong residents rather than Chinese. Such studies do not surprise local analysts and politicians, who say that the existing system for choosing Hong Kong’s chief executive presents many challenges for the mainland leadership.
“Beijing has to be careful,” said Mr. Cabestan, of Hong Kong Baptist University. “Local society is more frustrated than ever, and an increasing number of people feel sidelined by the mainland nouveaux riches coming here.”
Mr. Leong, the Civic Party leader, added: “The cultural differences between Hong Kong and the mainland have not been properly addressed for the past 15 years. Beijing should bring some humility when dealing with Hong Kong.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/wo...o-trouble.html

They completely believe they are above the law.

Henry Tang should quit Hong Kong election race: poll
Posted: 19 February 2012 1344 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Hong Kong Chief Executive candidate and former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang (AFP/File - Aaron Tam) Related News •

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HONG KONG: The fraying election hopes of China's reported favourite to become the next leader of Hong Kong were dealt another blow Sunday with a poll showing most citizens think he should quit the race.

The University of Hong Kong survey heaped more pressure on Henry Tang, whose campaign was thrown into disarray last week by the discovery of an illegal underground leisure space in a house belonging to his wife.

The wealthy Tang, who many believe is Beijing's preferred candidate to become Hong Kong's next chief executive, admitted that he knew about the unauthorised structure, but blamed his wife for coming up with the idea.

The poll carried out Thursday and Friday at the height of the scandal found 51.3 per cent of the 516 people surveyed thought Tang should abandon his campaign.

"All figures show that Tang's scandal has taken a big toll on his credibility, it may be unwise for him to stay in the race," poll director Robert Chung told the Sunday Morning Post, which commissioned the survey.

"There is no doubt that public anger is on the rise. I personally do not find any effective damage control taken by Tang, so I still think the worst is yet to come."

The pressure on Tang intensified on Saturday when Hong Kong authorities said they were investigating his wife, Lisa Kuo, over the unauthorised basement den covering 2,250 square feet (209 square metres) built at her home.

But the former chief secretary in the southern banking centre has refused to quit the race, saying he could still win the support of the 1,200-member Electoral Committee that will select the new leader on March 25.

The body is packed with pro-Beijing elites and businessmen who have thrown their support behind Tang despite his gaffe-prone campaign and opinion polls showing he trails his main rival, Leung Chun-ying, by a wide margin.

Tang's campaign got off to a shaky start when he was forced to publicly admit to cheating on Kuo, who has given him unwavering support throughout.

Analysts say Beijing has been put in a difficult bind of apparently backing a candidate who would appear to have no hope of winning a genuinely democratic election in the semi-autonomous southern city of seven million people.

Candidates have until February 29 to formally nominate, leaving Beijing little time to send another proxy into the contest, they say.

The University of Hong Kong pollsters said the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Henry Tang should quit Hong Kong election race poll - Channel NewsAsia

The whole world was better under British rule; goes without saying...

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

The whole world was better under British rule; goes without saying...

Damned right, look what's happened to America since we left

^^ Except Australia.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

The whole world was better under British rule; goes without saying...

Indeed...

Save for the U.S.

Anyone thinking the Legco - Exco form of government under British rule was the more democratic must surely be away with the pixies.

HK's heyday was between the late 60s and early-mid 70s. Great pace and fun, cheap booze, drugs and women, fine hotels and some of the best restaurants in Asia. Had everything, mountains, great beaches and if you fancied an escape to the country you just had to bowl up to the NTs.

In those days, just taking the Star Ferry and surveying the sheer vitality of the place got the pulse quickening.

Nowhere else like it in the world but the frisson has definitely gone now.

Time Out Hong Kong - stories, interviews and guides about Hong Kong | Evil overlords or lucky devils

This explains it quite well. Disclaimer: People have to invest 5-10 mins of their time to read it though.

^^ Showing your age

Although I lived there in Kowloon for 2 years in the late 70's,

What were those wash women slaves called ?

Arma ?

Originally Posted by good2bhappy

Everywhere was better under The British don't you know!

Under....is the key term.

Originally Posted by thegent

Anyone thinking the Legco - Exco form of government under British rule was the more democratic must surely be away with the pixies.

HK's heyday was between the late 60s and early-mid 70s. Great pace and fun, cheap booze, drugs and women, fine hotels and some of the best restaurants in Asia. Had everything, mountains, great beaches and if you fancied an escape to the country you just had to bowl up to the NTs.

In those days, just taking the Star Ferry and surveying the sheer vitality of the place got the pulse quickening.

Nowhere else like it in the world but the frisson has definitely gone now.

Sorry to have missed that.

Originally Posted by sabai sabai

^^ Showing your age

Although I lived there in Kowloon for 2 years in the late 70's,

What were those wash women slaves called ?

Arma ?

Not necessarily slaves but a generic term for one's domestic servant, an amah.

Lived there in the mid 80s and it was then the most exciting place I had ever seen or lived in. As 'thegent' said: great pace and fun and 5 star amenities.

Had a nice place out on Clearwater Bay, Hebe Haven, with a view on the yacht club - almost like living in the countryside and yet Kowloon was only 20 min away.

Great times.

Hong kong is still a collony and as with all collenies it is a reflection of the state that runs it. The improvments in the governece of hong kong over the years that the uk ran it, reflect the changes in the uk as to what good govenece was. Now that it is a chinese collony, its governence is moving towards what is seen as good goverence in china.

Originally Posted by Koojo

Originally Posted by thegent

Anyone thinking the Legco - Exco form of government under British rule was the more democratic must surely be away with the pixies.

HK's heyday was between the late 60s and early-mid 70s. Great pace and fun, cheap booze, drugs and women, fine hotels and some of the best restaurants in Asia. Had everything, mountains, great beaches and if you fancied an escape to the country you just had to bowl up to the NTs.

In those days, just taking the Star Ferry and surveying the sheer vitality of the place got the pulse quickening.

Nowhere else like it in the world but the frisson has definitely gone now.

Sorry to have missed that.

You are over-romanticising it Gent.

We as individuals change - and perhaps you are recognising and mourning that.

Regarding the piece i've highlighted.....when I last went hiking in the mountains two days ago - they were still there, just as you remember them !

Yes Moog, I daresay. More than a touch of " those blue remembered hills......."

Originally Posted by good2bhappy

Everywhere was better under The British don't you know!

Not quite, we sent them packing around 1776.

Originally Posted by BobR

Originally Posted by good2bhappy

Everywhere was better under The British don't you know!

Not quite, we sent them packing around 1776.

Yet, still retain deep seated Anglo-based values throughout the societal infrastructure.

the author does bring a valid point, the pressure of an external force was key to the political cleanness of the place

and let's not forget it was Thatcher who gave it all back to the Chinese without a fight, the silly bitch

Originally Posted by Butterfly

the author does bring a valid point, the pressure of an external force was key to the political cleanness of the place

and let's not forget it was Thatcher who gave it all back to the Chinese without a fight, the silly bitch

Wonder what a Sino-centric commentary might offer?

An alternative, perhaps....[or not]

The Moog link is quite interesting, there is also a story on the 4 dynasty of HK tycoons

it's interesting to see how those long Chinese generation of wealth is nothing more than a small Empire that grew thanks to globalization

they make Buffet and Gates look like small players,