Blowing Water | Would you hold the lift door for a stranger? The answer says a lot about Hong Kong
In the quest to be the most competitive, the city has forgotten the importance of community, camaraderie and basic common courtesy
A local stand-up comedian once made a very pertinent but amusing observation on a well-known but widely disliked Hong Kong behaviour.
“Happiness today in Hong Kong is when you’re alone in the lift with your finger on the close-door button as you see someone running towards it. As the doors are closing you’re like, oh my god, I’m getting better at this,” Vivek Mahbubani said.
Many of us have probably had the unpleasant experience of having the lift doors shut in our face. So I wouldn’t be surprised that some might enjoy the occasional moment to be on the other side of the doors with their finger on the close-door button.
Hong Kong is probably the only place on Earth where people are so eager to crush strangers with lift doors. This kind of behaviour is certainly unacceptable in many parts of the world, but here in Hong Kong it barely raises an eyebrow because many are led to believe they have no time to waste by holding doors for strangers, even just for a few seconds.
Man arrested in Hong Kong for calmly shoving cleaner onto rail track
Some put this antisocial behaviour down to Hongkongers’ impatient nature, shaped by their desire to achieve high efficiency and maintain a competitive edge in all aspects of life.