Hong Kong's Hidden Social Inequality

When people think of Hong Kong, they think of cheap shopping, good food, and swarms of people all around. And yes, Hong Kong does have all these things. But underneath Hong Kong's bustling surface lies enormous social inequality. Contrast the bankers in Central to the beggars lying on the streets of Mong Kok. Compare the shoppers at Causeway Bay (as shown in the first picure) to the workers at the side of the street in Quarry Bay (as shown in the second picture).

Every city has its rich and its poor, but the divide between the two in Hong Kong is particularly strong because a dollar can go a long way in this city. Though it is no longer on the World's Bank list of top countries with income inequality, Hong Kong was on the list in 2002; it was number 17, right behind Zambia, Sierra Leone and Nicaragua.

With its economy continuously expanding and with more young people getting post-secondary education, the upper-middle class of Hong Kong has grown. However, at the same time, those whose parents or who themselves did not take advantage of the 1980s and 1990s economic boom are now falling behind.

If we move across the border into mainland China, a similar situation is brewing. The country's economy has taken off in the past decade and its global influence has expanded. But it is growing too fast and too quickly for its citizens to catch up. A socio-economic divide has already emerged within the nation, and it is up to China to act swiftly to make sure the social inequality of its citizens doesn't become too far gone.

Hong Kong-China Tensions

The golden bauhinia flower in the bottom left of the picture was a statue given by the Chinese government to Hong Kong when it was returned to the mainland after the island's 150-year loan to the British. Under its "Special Administrative Region" status (Hong Kong SAR), Hong Kong is legally considered a part of the People's Republic of China, but politically, it is self-governed. Hong Kong will have at least 50 years of autonomy before it is integrated back into the mainland.

It has been 11 years since the handover, and many Hong Kong people are already dreading their island's return to the mainland. Students in the Journalism program at CUHK told me that news in Hong Kong has slowly been changing. News stations are now more politically sensitive and careful when reporting about the mainland because of China's authoritarian and Communist government.

Hong Kong Chinese are also very deliberate about differentiating themselves from mainlander Chinese. There is a certain pride in their voices when they say they are from Hong Kong, and they are quick to point out that they are not from mainland China. In Hong Kong, being from mainland China holds connotations of spitting on the street, squatting, being loud and being dirty. Generally, this is the way the average Hong Kong Chinese perceives mainlanders.

Though many mainlanders are now moving into Hong Kong, they are being met with cultural tension and oftentimes hostility. Many Hong Kong Chinese are frustrated with the inability of mainlander Chinese to speak Cantonese, and they are annoyed that mainlanders are invading and taking over their city. Hong Kong Chinese want to keep their city protected from mainland China, but once its autonomous period is over, there is no telling what might happen to this
island.

The Rise of Putonghua

There is a common saying that you don't need to speak Cantonese to get around Hong Kong. And it's true. Hong Kong is an English friendly city. Street signs are in English. The MTR is laid out in Chinese and English. Hong Kong is a bilingual city.

But now, it's being pushed (maybe even forced) to become a trilingual city: Cantonese, English and Putonghua/Mandarin. With the rapid growth of China knocking on Hong Kong's door and the opening up of the Hong Kong-China border, the city is seeing a huge influx in immigrants from China, and in some places in Hong Kong, Putonghua is the more dominant language.

To cope with the changing language scene, primary schools are putting a greater emphasis on Putonghua education. Whereas before, schools focused on Cantonese and English, they are now placing greater importance on Putonghua. In fact, the "Teaching in Rural Hong Kong" program I'm doing through my school, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), not only had high demand for English teachers but for Putonghua teachers. All the locals seem to know that Cantonese will die out soon and Putonghua will become the dominant language.

Similar scenes of mainlanders overpowering Hong Kong-ers are happening in other Chinese hot spot cities around the world. Toronto, San Francisco, New York, Vancouver and Los Angeles were once settling spots for Cantonese-Chinese, who are defined as being from Guangzhou or Hong Kong. But now, these cities have become overrun by mainlander Chinese, many of whom are now rich enough, thanks to China's open economy, to move across the Pacific.

Cantonese-Chinese people in the above cities are now being outnumbered by mainlander Chinese, and they have no choice but to adapt to the changing language scene, whether they like it or not. My grandparent's generation refused to learn it, my parent's generation knows a little, and the younger generation in Hong Kong knows enough to get by, most can understand it even if they can't fluently speak it.

But overseas Chinese and Hong Kong-ers aren't the only ones who need to learn Putonghua. People around the world seem to be realizing that, with 1/6 of the world's population, China and Putonghua will probably soon take over the world. The future of business is in China so that's why everyone is flocking there.

China has set up Confucius Institutes, which are centres that specifically teach Putonghua, in many cities around the world in response to the interest and demand in learning the Chinese language. With centres set up in South Korea, Serbia, and Rwanda, amongst other countries, the Chinese government is hoping to teach 100 million non-Chinese the Chinese language and culture. However, another result of these Confucius Institutes could be the growth of China's soft power. Soft power is when a country has influence through its culture and language, and with so many Institutes around the world, China is really building up soft power, which is going to help it in issues of public diplomacy...but could this mean that foreign countries will become less strict towards it, its problems with human rights, and its ignorance of social development?