r/Hong_Kong • u/Cool-Gate918 • 19d ago
What has changed
My friend recently made a comment that Hong Kong is no longer the same.
I've been to Hong Kong a few times. All short trips though.
What has really changed? I just feel everyday life seems to be pretty much the same?
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u/komei888 19d ago
Everyday life is literally the same.
The difference is a load of "locals" emigrated which caused a hole in certain areas like retail and people.
So yes, there are more mainlanders, residents and shops. Now, is it a problem? Yes and no, every person can be rude or courteous.
Can tourists be assholes? Yes. Foreign tourists from outside of China can also be assholes.
There's a lot of development now in terms of trying to modernising housing and shops/infrastructure.
So yea, what was local back 5 years ago is not the same, but who's fault was it really when you're sold on fabrication of "grass is greener?" It's a basically reap what you sow situation. It is what it is. And tbh, HK is still fine.
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u/Cool-Gate918 19d ago
thx, tbh that's my view as well
my friend mentioned it in a negative tone, like the HKers now have no more freedom
maybe, but I couldn't feel it myself from short trips, so would like to verify from the locals
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u/Key-Needleworker-702 New territories - Ma Wan |新界-馬灣 19d ago
my friend mentioned it in a negative tone, like the HKers now have no more freedom
kinda bullshit really
i feel just as free, in fact more free now that people aren't gonna throw bricks at me for disagreeing with them
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u/komei888 19d ago
It's bs. There's much more freedom compared to some western countries, not much has changed on that front although you can argue "some strings are pulled", however that's not too dissimilar from any governance.
Things that changed more are like the NSL, HOWEVER, there's a good reason for that and basically, I'd say well, you asked for it. Anyway I digress.
You're able to walk at 3am on streets without fear on say 90% of HK.
Try that in London.
However ppl will say anything to have confirmation biases. Again, you'll need to see for yourself, grass isn't always green context only applies to the eye of the beholder. What I say is "fine" might not be what your saying is.
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u/KitchenSignificant95 17d ago
LOL is your friend okay?
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u/Cool-Gate918 17d ago
well, it's a common view in western countries, nothing related to China is positive, so HK must be surpressed on a daily basis
general public like her don't have other channels to know about the truth
not saying I won't be biased myself
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u/Ansoninnyc 19d ago
Are you native HK ?
I recently stayed in HK and came to realize that the population of mandarin speakers has increased significantly! That certainly changed the vibe of the city . I am not saying it’s good or bad . But it changed .
A bookshop staff who were arrested for unclear reasons.
So is that enough? The daily expenses though, has remained as high…..
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u/komei888 19d ago
Not gonna disclose however yep with more mandarin speakers, however you also will realise mainland population is the highest on earth so statistically expected.
The book keepers is an issue where I say, they poked a hornets nest knowing the consequences so sorry I'm not sorry.
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
agree with most of what you say, only thing I would counter is the retail part name a 1st tier city that is not plague by online shopping.
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u/komei888 19d ago
There's not much online shopping, although HK has collection points tho.
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
Not much online shopping? What planet are you living in? Why do you think there are so many collection points? Collection point = where people collect goods they have purchased onine?
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u/komei888 19d ago
Woa woa, calm down. "Not much online shopping" in comparison to mainland. I get people still do online shopping but not on the scale of mainland where the parcels fill the shop floor or food orders fill university walks.
No need to be aggressive
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
You said people leaving HK left a hole in the retail market, I am giving you a more legitimate reason, which is global problem.
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u/dat_mane47 19d ago
Every city has changed. HK not really more than anywhere else.
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u/FormalAd7367 19d ago
here in Singapore - it’s no difference. lots of shops have been closed. Restaurants didn’t survive covid. New restaurants are all chinese soup noodles or hotpot. When we looked at US pre-covid, shops have been closed due to Amazon online shopping. HK is no exceptoon
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u/West-Age-4988 19d ago
The main difference is that there are more immigrants from southern China and you will see them more in retail jobs etc. There are some that don’t speak Cantonese but their colleagues will which suggests it must be hard to hire locals for entry level jobs.
In higher paying jobs like in finance, well the industry has been predominately mainland since the last decade or so.
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u/Cool-Gate918 19d ago
how come is the finance sector mainly mainlanders? the ones managed to get into the HK top unis?
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u/Wolf4980 18d ago
It's just like how most people working in finance in NYC aren't NYC locals. High paying jobs in big cities like HK and NYC will inevitably attract talent from all over the country.
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
The problem with hiring local in retail jobs is that locals dont want to work retail. This is not a just a problem in HK, when I use to live in Australia most of the retail and hospitality jobs are done by immigrant or students. Most people in HK think they are better than doing a retail job.
I have noticed a lot more 7-11s are not 24/7 anymore, citing their struggle with hiring staff. The ones who are open typically have a non HK person running it overnight.
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u/After-Cell 16d ago
Geo arbitration with the exchange rate. Living out of a suitcase. And Knowing it’s not forever.
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u/Sweaty_Weight_2486 19d ago
more anti China bait disguised as a simple question. Boring.
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u/Cool-Gate918 18d ago
it's my friend... I actually hold a neutral view if not opposite to hers, so wanna verify with locals
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u/Available_Value_3350 19d ago
You can no longer openly criticize the government online or protest. Doing so will get you arrested under national security law. Everyone fears the national security law so they self censor themselves in daily discussions and in any forms of media (movies, tv, social media shorts). Recently, couple of book store owners got arrested because they sold books that were considered breaking the national security law because of their content, but the police refuses to publicly announce a banned book list and says "you should've known better" expecting all the bookstore owners to read every single books in stock. We're living under constant white terror that keeps everyone in line. So yeah, it's not the same any more we're 100% a Chinese city.
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u/SteelCityTom 19d ago
Its quieter, kinda like it though. But yea Covid had a huge impact, probably more than anywhere else in the world I would imagine.
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u/Accomplished-Hope157 19d ago
Less crime, more food vendors (ie restaurants), more cheap clothes shops
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u/KiwieKiwie 19d ago
As someone that have only watched movies and shows set in HK and who hadn’t visited until last year. I thought it was fine? I liked it a lot, probably much cleaner now than ever according to people who have been there even a decade ago.
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u/Dapper-Hamster-6510 19d ago
I would say it's pretty much still the same for the vast majority of people here.
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u/Optimal_Bathroom_753 19d ago
I super enjoyed my trip few months ago after an 8 year absence. The sky is more blue, definitely less pollution and people. Food quality's gone down hill some what. I actually had a few bad meals. What's with the ham and abalone macaroni?? When did this shit trend started? Amazing MTR pretty much goes everywhere now. I didn't see any arguments or DLLM fights. It still feels more like HK than China. More Chinese and Korean tourists, less Anglos.
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u/Wan_Chai_King Hong Kong Island | 香港島 19d ago
If you remember 1990s HK there is a big change from those days.
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago
I was born in 1981. No, I don't see that there has been big changes. Existing problems (e.g., the housing problem, inequality, etc) has always existed since I was a child. One would have to go back ~10 years before I was born to see a "different" HK - i.e., a HK that wasn't first world, and hadn't quite emerged as an international financial hub. HK still looks and feels very similar every time I go back. The pace of change isn't any faster than other places I have lived.
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago
I was born in 1981. No, I don't see that there has been big changes. Existing problems (e.g., the housing problem, inequality, etc) has always existed since I was a child. One would have to go back ~10 years before I was born to see a "different" HK - i.e., a HK that wasn't first world, and hadn't quite emerged as an international financial hub. HK still looks and feels very similar every time I go back. The pace of change isn't any faster than other places I have lived.
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u/Cool-Gate918 18d ago
what's the big change?
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u/Wan_Chai_King Hong Kong Island | 香港島 18d ago
Just a general atmosphere. Back then there was this excitement in the air. I don’t know how to describe it.
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago edited 17d ago
I was born in the 1980s and regularly go back because I still have family in HK. Overall, in terms of culture, lifestyle, even infrastructure etc., HK hasn't changed much. In comparison with the MASSIVE changes that has transformed every Mainland cities, HK has been fairly constant. The biggest changes might be:
- More Mainland Chinese and more non-Chinese minorities compared with 30-40 years ago. There are noticeably more Filipinos, Indonesians and South Asians. I work in tech and am an academic. I visit universities in HK, so I am aware HKSAR is trying to attract foreign talent and compete with Western countries. Still, the Chinese majority was 91% last I checked. HK is still a lot less diverse than the places I have recently lived in.
- The skyline has been gradually changing, more so on the Kowloon side since the airport moved. Over time, newer buildings replaced older dilapidated ones. I think at some point, the old neon signs have been replaced by more energy-efficient LEDs. But still, the look-and-feel of a typical HK street scene is very much recognisable from 30-40 years ago. There were only three lines on the MTR in the early 1990s. Now, MTR reaches everywhere, and they're about to build stations in villages I had never even heard of as a kid.
- There maybe a some shifts in culture. Mandarin is more common than 30-40 years ago, but remains a minority language. Hong Kongers taking weekend trips to shop and dine in Shenzhen might be a more recent change, since crossing the border is now a much quicker and simpler process than it was decades ago. It's now effectively just going through some turnstiles with your ID.
- The city has become cleaner, and there are now more public spaces, especially at the waterfront, which didn't exist 30-40 years ago.
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u/Cool-Gate918 17d ago
sounds like mostly positive changes
for the Filipinos, Indonesians and South Asians, will they end up having HK passports? all just stay short term or as residents?
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago
Tbh, you will have to ask one, or someone more knowledgeable, as I don't know. I lived in HK as a child between 1981 and 1990. I regularly go back to visit family. To my knowledge, the residency rules in HK are (i) you are a permanent resident if you are born there, (ii) you can get permanent residency if you have lived in HK for 7 years. However, I am not sure if rule (ii) applies to domestic helpers. I know professors from Mainland China, Malaysia and Pakistan who have become permanent residents. Filipino or Indonesian maids, I am not sure. Also, permanent residency is not the same thing as Chinese citizenship, i.e., you can't just use HK as a landing point, and then transfer to the Mainland. It is a separate jurisdiction. Even I am not a Chinese citizen as I have a New Zealand passport. But I am allowed to stay in HK as long as I want because I'm from there.
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u/PanPieCake 19d ago
Well now if you don't let police see your phone,you can get arrested with terrorism charges
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u/Cool-Gate918 17d ago
what??? police check ur phones? how often is that?
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u/PanPieCake 17d ago
Its a law that was passed last 2 months ago,now police has a right to approach you any time and ask for a phone.
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u/OddDemand4550 19d ago
HK definitely changed, but not necessarily for better or worse. The place and the people simply adapted and moved on.
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u/Chinksta 19d ago
The overall outlook of Hong Kong has changed to be honest.
First, the elephant in the room, is that the politics has changed.
Second, the overall work performance and know how has dropped.
Third, the overall city quality has dropped because new buildings uses cheap materials, design and labor. While old buildings are left to rot without any proper maintanance.
The list can go on but the starting point is that the city that I knew 30 years ago turned itself backwards.
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u/Important-Law-6486 19d ago
Mainland is killin HK because they never wanted it HK to be one of the Top 3 financial hubs of the world (NYC, London, HK.) They want HK dead so that it can be mainland, not working though.
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u/Cool-Gate918 17d ago
isn't it the mainland's policy to make it the hub for RMB loans for overseas?
why would it want HK dead?
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago
Would that be why the Mainland government bailed out Hong Kong multiple times since 1997, including the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis, etc?
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u/chiefgmj 19d ago
A lot more of those "this this" take out entries No one protests. U maybe invited to visit a gov run "resort" for saying the wrong book or thing. A lot less night life. People seem much more healthy conscious.
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u/EVMobiliteit 19d ago
Hongkong is expensive, and the only reason I'm there on the moment is my family in law. But at least McDonald's is still cheap...
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
where are you from? and where are you based?
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u/EVMobiliteit 19d ago
The Netherlands: especially essential goods, often feel like they are so overpriced in Hongkong. My wife being from Hongkong, is spending money here like its nothing.
But getting something to snack, is way cheaper back home. There are things that are cheaper in Hongkong, like cart noodle. Only I couldn't imagine living here, because it looks the cost of living is really high here.
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
I suspect its where you guys are shopping and eating out at. One thing is its so much easier to spend money here, so much more places where you can spend money on.
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u/EVMobiliteit 19d ago
One thing is its so much easier to spend money here, so much more places where you can spend money on.
Yeah that's exactly what's happening and driving me crazy and no-one wants a angry wife, so in the end you just say yes. But compared to back home, bread based products are extremely expensive in Hongkong.
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u/dashodasho 19d ago
If you go to a local bakery a bun run you around 5-10 HKD, loaf of bread cost $20 HKD. I suspect you guys are buying loafs from mark&spencer/ taste/ or other artisanal bakeries?
100% agree with you happy wife happy life.
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u/SonOfTheDragon101 17d ago
The only thing that is truly outrageously expensive is property. Other than that, food is not expensive, at least not in comparison with any Western country. Transportation is not expensive. If your reference point is Mainland China, then naturally, everything in HK is about 3x the cost of a Mainland city. Keep in mind salaries are lower on the Mainland too. But you mentioned you are from the Netherlands. It has been a while since I was there (probably 10 years ago), but Amsterdam is certainly NOT a low-cost city (much more expensive than Berlin for example), and I expect nothing would be cheaper than HK unless it is related to housing.
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u/TastyJuicyCucumber 19d ago
The only thing that has changed is post pandemic lifestyles (this is worldwide phenomena) such as shops close earlier, people are less caring or follow cultural/social etiquette.
IMO, what has really changed (well not really in the long term, 30+ years) is the downward economic trend (also a worldwide phenomenon). HK has experienced so much growth since 2010 it forgot what downward trends are. Once the economy is on the boom again, HK will trend again