Some of them even recognise the legislative councillor who represents the insurance industry - that's me.

The reason is that, for quite a few years, they have been watching a lot of Hong Kong television. Apart from references to some very sensitive subjects like Taiwan, our local broadcasts are uncensored over the border, and people there watch many hours of local soap operas and other programmes.

Over the same period, the number of illegal immigrants coming into Hong Kong from the mainland has fallen sharply, especially those from the Pearl River Delta.

Higher mainland living standards are part of the answer, but I am fairly sure that better knowledge of conditions in Hong Kong has a lot to do with it, too. People there learn from TV, and from family members here, that Hong Kong is an expensive place where it can be hard to find a job.

We have also had a significant number of mainland visitors in our city recently. Some come for study or business, but the vast majority visit to see the sights and to buy clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, Chinese medicine or even property. And many come simply to visit family. As a result, it is quite common to find people in Shanghai, Beijing or smaller cities who know Hong Kong well.

Can you name the mayors of Beijing or Shanghai? Maybe not. But people in those cities are interested enough in our affairs to buy books about us. For example, one by Dou Yingtai entered the mainland's list of non-fiction bestsellers in late June, at No 7.

It was called Donald Tsang: A Biography, from salesman to chief executive of the SAR. Since Mr Tsang had been elected barely three weeks earlier, this book must have been put together in a hurry, which suggests the author saw a strong market for it. I wonder if it has been pirated.

Meanwhile, many of us here in Hong Kong remain relatively isolated from mainland affairs. We have plenty of American and even South Korean shows to watch, but the only mainland channel I can get is the very official CCTV.

It's useful if you want to improve your Putonghua, but doesn't tell us much about ordinary life across the border.

I would really like to be able to watch the local TV stations in Shenzhen and Guangdong, to see a bit more of people's lives through the news reports and the soap operas.

Does our lack of knowledge of the mainland matter? I think it does. The differences between Hong Kong and the mainland are vitally important, and we must keep them.

But there is a huge difference between preserving our unique way of life and remaining ignorant of our fellow citizens just across the border and in the rest of this country.

There are historical reasons why many Hongkongers feel detached from the mainland; they or their parents left it to come here. But the future is going to be different.

People up there take an interest in us because they see Hong Kong as part of their future. We need to take the same attitude.

Bernard Chan is a member of the Executive Council and a legislator representing the insurance functional constituency