Hong Kong, ten year anniversary

"What you were doing on July 1 1997?" A friend asked me today.

Wow, that's really a good question to me. And I've no idea. It should be a holiday for me that day since I was still in the school. But I totally forgot. The question reminded me the thing I learnt from a U.S. friend. He told me that everyone remembered what they were doing when they heard President Kennedy was assassinated.

So at that time, Hong Kong, to me, must be some place really far way, and really have no emotional connection.

However, now, in 2007, I am here. It is the city's 10 year anniversary of being transferred back to China from the Britain. And Hong Kong has become a big topic in China these days. All mainland media started very early, long time before July on doing the celebration and interview on the 10 year change.

Hong Kong people's feelings must be complicated, as of my understanding of them for these years. Their feeling to the mother country as well as the people in the country must be complicated, too.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, two friends and me went to a very famous shop in Central selling egg tarts, the sales lady kept guessing we are from Singapore, instead of mainland, since we are very smily and dressed decently.

After going back, we had the conclustion that mainland Chinese, to them, are most likely to be someone really cool, never talk, and dress really poor clothes.

However, it's very common now to meet people speaking Mandarin now. and no one will guess I am from Singapore again. Today, the sales person in the shoe shop tried hard to speak Mandarin to mainland Chinese shoppers. one thing that couldn't be denied is that the CEPA and the policy to open the individual tours to Hong Kong helps the city recovered from the shadow of Asian financial crisis.

Now I started to have more and more Hong Kong friends, and I learnt a close city from them. This is the place where you could be spoiled by the efficiency, the rule obey and the high quality service.

I will feel really hard to leave this city.