My Take | North is where the future lies
- Young people in Hong Kong must overcome their political illusions, stop mortgaging their future in futile rebellion and seek fortunes across the border
Hong Kong’s future, whether bleak or bright, lies in the north. That has always been the case since Britain agreed to return the city to China.
Several factors obscure this inescapable reality for the younger generation. The new national security and anthem laws will, hopefully, force them to recognise this truism, which may not be of their own choosing, but is something they will have to live with.
Their resistance and rebellion are perfectly understandable. Let’s hope it will only be a proverbial phase they are going through. Otherwise, they, and Hong Kong, will find themselves in a world of hurt.
First, there is identity politics. Freed from British colonialism yet shielded from mainland Chinese influence for much of their lives, our millennials have developed a local identity.
They may be ultimately Chinese subjects but they don’t at all feel like them. In fact, for many locals, mainlanders feel more like foreigners or worse, foreign invaders.
This has led to a parochialism that makes our youth turn inward, rather than outward, and which encourages them to defend a stagnant society with an economic pie that won’t be getting bigger rather than seeking fortunes in a much bigger pie up north.
Then, there is the constitutional set-up of “one country, two systems” under the Basic Law. “A high degree of autonomy”, “no change for 50 years”, “no mainland interference outside of defence and foreign affairs” – some Hong Kong people take them literally to mean we would be left alone with no mainland input in local affairs tantamount to a state of independence in all but name.