The people of Hong Kong are fighting a very courageous battle against very long odds. Meanwhile, people in Shanghai live well under a Faustian bargain with the CCP.
People
in mainland China don’t have a clue as to what is really happening in Hong Kong.
Chinese
state television lacks any semblance of balance. Its reporting emphasizes
violence on the part of the protesters. At the same time, it downplays the
magnitude of what until recently were non-violent demonstrations against the
steady erosion of democratic freedoms.
CCTV,
the state broadcaster, gives huge play to the defacing of the government
insignia on a prominent building.
As is
well known, news censorship in China is pervasive. I witnessed this first hand
when I spent the first part of July in Shanghai and then Hong Kong. The first
thing you notice in Shanghai is the absence of Google from the homepage on your
laptop.
China’s
tight media control
Not only
are Google and YouTube banned by the Communist Party’s great firewall, so too
are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Switching
on cable television, there are 14 channels from CCTV, but little else.
Only
when I find the partially hidden right-facing arrow at the end of the CCTV
scroll can BBC or CNN be viewed. It’s a chilling introduction to the absence of
a free media.
Shanghai’s
Faustian bargain
You get
a clear feeling in Shanghai that there’s an unwritten understanding between
people and government. This Faustian bargain is near total economic freedom in
return for keeping your mouth shut and staying out of politics.
With the
exception of the Tiananmen Square tragedy 30 years ago, the deal has been
successful.
The
difference between these Chinese mega cities is stark. When I arrived in Hong
Kong 800 miles southwest of Shanghai, the media blackout was lifted and freedom
and democracy were what people talked about.
Hongkongers’
admirable feistiness
The
current wave of student-led protests began after Hong Kong’s Beijing-appointed
chief executive, Carrie Lam, proposed legislation that would allow criminal
suspects to be extradited to mainland China.
Under
pressure Lam declared the unpopular measure dead, but protesters are not
satisfied. They seek resignations from the governing council and a commission
of enquiry into police handling of the unrest.
Hongkongers
are alarmed by the assault on the independent judiciary and rule of law.
Protest
organizers including respected lawyer Martin Lee, a founder of the opposition
Democratic Party, says “Hong Kong is the key to China.”
If the
defenders of democracy in Hong Kong prevail, he says, there is hope for the
rule of law in China. Another Hong Kong protest leader says, “we want to change
China before it changes us.”
Older
Hongkongers tend to be strongly anti-communist as many came to Hong Kong to
escape communist rule on the mainland.
Hong
Kong is regularly judged to be the world’s freest economy. It is the regional
headquarters of over 1,000 global corporations. It has strong institutions, an
independent judiciary, firm property rights, a currency linked to the U.S.
dollar and a vibrant free press.
The
“expire-by-2047” date
Talking
to protesters I am in awe of their courage, but doubtful that they will be
successful. They seek to preserve freedoms that by treaty will expire in 2047.
They know they are on their own, with friends abroad providing nothing except
moral support.
The “expire-by-2047” date
Talking to protesters I am in awe of their courage, but doubtful that
they will be successful. They seek to preserve freedoms that by treaty
will expire in 2047. They know they are on their own, with friends
abroad providing nothing except moral support.
In addition, they are aware that that people on the Chinese mainland tend to view Hongkongers as privileged spoiled children of colonialism. Or as one young friend in Shanghai who had lived in Hong Kong observed, “They are filled with mental conflicts.”
Cynics say the protests were started by young people who see no
future for themselves and who are frustrated by a local government that
doesn’t speak for them. Rents are excessive, housing scarce and well-paying jobs hard to find.
Hong Kong’s difficult hand
Hong Kong does not just lack Shanghai’s entrepreneurial culture that is so attractive to highly educated young people.
The reality is Hong Kong is being steadily absorbed
into a south China megalopolis of 17 cities with 70 million people that
Beijing calls the Greater Bay Area. For now, Hong Kong remains the
region’s financial and transport hub.
And this takes me back to Shanghai, whose 23 million people dwarfs
Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million. It is also less crowded and
considerably cheaper than Hong Kong, which is typically ranked as the
world’s most expensive place to live.
Where Shanghai has the upper hand
While Hong Kong’s wealth is built on property and finance, the lower
cost structure of Shanghai contributes to it being a center for
entrepreneurship and tech start-ups.
English language skills are strong in both cities despite Hong Kong’s
huge head start. Each city is home to more than 150,000 non-Chinese
foreigners.
The pace of technological advance in Shanghai is extraordinary.
Visitors arriving at the international airport are whisked to the city’s
outskirts on the world’s fastest train, a German built maglev that
reaches speeds of 200 mph.
Shanghai’s trendy Jing An district
Shanghai’s trendy Jing An district is a pleasant mixture of old and
new. Fashionable cafes stand shoulder to shoulder with hole in the wall
shops. But despite the city’s fast pace, street life is more relaxed,
less hectic than Hong Kong.
Shanghai is a vibrant, welcoming place. Along with Beijing, it is
brimming with venture capital. I visited the headquarters of Mailman, a
sports marketing firm started by a young Australian and Brit. Situated
on the upper floors of a non-descript building, the youthful scene
inside echoes Brooklyn or San Francisco.
Casually dressed young people of varying nationalities stare at
screens in tight work spaces. A ping pong table, couches and refreshment
bar provide diversions. I heard as much English as Mandarin and the
firm’s mission statement posted on the wall is in both languages.
China is way ahead in financial technology and leads the world in
becoming a cashless society. Even the smallest purchases are done by
tapping a payment app on a smart phone. Financial arms of Alibaba and
Tencent control the ecosystem, each having over one billion accounts.
All that is required is a Chinese smart phone and a linked bank
account. You pay by holding your personalized QR code against that of
the merchant. It takes only seconds. There’s no plastic and no fees.
Debit and credit cards are seldom used.
https://www.theglobalist.com/hong-kong-protests-democracy-china-shanghai/
***Barry
Wood, Broadcaster and Economics Journalist:
Based in Washington, D.C., Barry D. Wood is an analyst and commentator,
mainly on economic issues. He is currently a weekly financial markets
commentator on RTHK radio in Hong Kong. During two decades as chief economics
correspondent at Voice of America, he reported on finance, trade and
development from over 50 countries. For three years in the 1990s he was based
in Prague, reporting on the economic transformation in post-communist Europe. Earlier
he was a correspondent for the Financial Mail and NBC News in Johannesburg,
covering the Soweto uprising and independence in Mozambique, Angola, Namibia
and Zimbabwe. Prior to entering journalism, Mr. Wood taught economics at
Northern Michigan University and social science at Western Michigan University.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from Western Michigan
University, with additional study at Oxford and in Yugoslavia.His new book
Exploring New Europe, a Bicycle Journey is about the people he met in 15
countries during a 2,500-mile bicycle trip from Estonia to Albania.