City Beat | Hong Kong is still irreplaceable, just no longer the apple of China’s eye
- Despite strained relations between many mainlanders and Hongkongers, and the ongoing protest crisis, the city remains precious to China
- Criticism of Hong Kong over the border can be scathing, but replicating its unique features in full elsewhere cannot be achieved any time soon
Until recent years, for obvious reasons, negative news coverage of Hong Kong was taboo for the mainland Chinese media.
Understandably, that was part of the national propaganda policy. China wanted to tell its own people, as well as the rest of the world, that it was business as usual – or even better – after this former British colony returned to the motherland in 1997.
The mainland media were still sympathetic and encouraging. But as soon as Beijing lifted restrictions on mainlanders visiting Hong Kong, and offered the city other incentives such as the privilege of being the country’s first offshore yuan centre, the streets here became noisier and more crowded, while bustling business districts such as Central filled up with Mandarin speakers.
All this led to unavoidable misunderstanding, quarrelling and even animosity.