How Britain’s capitalist experiment has shaped Hong Kong’s attitudes and values, from education to health care and urban planning
- Under the British, a policy of laissez-faire capitalism plus the strong Chinese work ethic made the dreams of Hongkongers a reality. Today, however, the endless toil is taking its toll as the city struggles to safeguard the wider public interest
As the dust settled at the end of the first opium war, Britain’s vision was for sparsely populated Hong Kong to serve as a port city for international trade. The idea was to make money. Lots of it.
Charles Elliot, the first administrator in Hong Kong, proclaimed in 1841 that Hong Kong would be a free port. True to his word, liberal economic policies under laissez-faire governance reigned. The stage was set for Hong Kong’s go-getting nature and forward-looking ethos.
Hong Kong attracted migrants who saw the place as a land of opportunity where they could forge a better life for themselves and their families. For many, it became just that.
Although their accomplishments are celebrated as exceptions rather than the norm, self-made tycoons like Kwok and Li are seen as the poster children of what can be achieved in Hong Kong through hard work and dedication.
Furthermore, one need not search long for more modest success stories. As an immigrant, my late grandfather owned and operated a toy store on Shanghai Street in Mong Kok named Kwan Wing Kee. Today, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are reaping the fruits of his labour.
To his credit, governor Hercules Robinson reported to the Colonial Office in 1863 that, “It is the Chinese who have made Hong Kong what it is and not its connection with the foreign trade.”
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The foundations for Hong Kong’s prosperity and success were laid at the junction of British policymaking and Chinese enterprise. However, has Hong Kong’s championed work ethic and grit developed into a culture of overdriven toiling, which undermines any notion of living the good life?
Ironically, well-being has been a commodity rather than a right since Hong Kong's establishment as a colony. The first hospital established for the general public only opened in 1872. At the time, many members of the Chinese community were unable to afford hospital treatment and, as a result, died.
Today, accessible health care remains elusive to the less-privileged members of society. Hongkongers can either afford private health care or are at the mercy of the public sector, which is strained to breaking point.
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Upholding public interest has often been a formidable undertaking in Hong Kong when competing commercial interests subsist. The overshadowing of public interest is on full display in Hong Kong’s approach to the conservation of historic buildings in the face of economic development.
While the preservation of heritage assets under an established framework for assessment and protection is perceived in the UK as in the wider public interest, this was a rarely promoted or implemented policy under Hong Kong’s colonial administration. As such, the notion of preserving historical architecture has yet to become entrenched in the collective consciousness of Hong Kong people.
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The insatiable appetite to build “bigger and better things” continues to encourage trigger-happy bulldozing. Predictably, the building that housed the toy store where my grandfather proved his mettle has now vanished, along with other relics of its era. In its place now is a temporary car park held together by wire mesh fencing until the price is right for a new development.
From the ground up, Hong Kong was Britain’s capitalist experiment. The result has been the epitome of a capitalist society. Unsurprisingly, Hong Kong’s unique colonial experience has influenced the development of the attitudes and values of those who call Hong Kong their home.
Yet, moving on from a colonial past requires more than simply lowering the Union flag. It necessitates a deeper, and possibly uncomfortable, reflection on what “Hongkongness” is.
Justin Bong-Kwan is a practising barrister and freelance writer
