ladyofthelake

Heard on the radio this morning that China has started to change the rules regarding Hong Kong now. The (brief) report said that all new legislature now has to be approved by Beijing and new councillors with a democracy leaning will not be allowed in.
Is this true?
What is the general feeling in Hong Kong at the moment? Any demonstrations? Or, has it all been quietly slipped in hoping nobody will mind?

Desert Dweller

These things seem to be coming and going at the moment. There is a certain amount of resentment towards the (puppet) government but generally everything is OK here. Thanks for asking!

ladyofthelake

Thanks for replying. Thought I'd try and hear it from someone in the area, rather than rely on the infamous US media.

paddythepilot

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Wow! Somebody's interested in what is going on here in Hong Kong!

Yes we have had a few small demonstrations, nothing much though really.

The whole situation is strange to say the least, basically those in Beijing have 'interpreted' the Basic Law, (HK's mini constitution), in such a way that any proposed changes in the universal sufferage for the Chief Executive & the Legislative Council must be approved by them first before they can go ahead with any changes.

No doubt things will continue as they always have here, despite the political problems.

Cheers

ladyofthelake

Well, I did live over there for a while, so I'm interested in how things are going. Especially as I left (by coincedence) a couple of days after the Handover. I went back for a visit summer 99 and nothing seemed to have changed on a normal day to day level then, but these changes were always expected to be slow. Was just surprised to hear Hong Kong being mentioned on the radio, US radio at that!

paddythepilot

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It's great to see some interest in Hong Kong's affairs, for the vasy majority of people Hong Kong dropped of the face of the earth in 1997!

Things here are actually OK..........well quite good really!

The economy is now picking up fast, property prices have started rising again, (some would say too quickly), and salaries are going up!

There are many benefits in living in HK, certainly the relatively high salaries & low taxes help, but also the attitude of the people is very positive.......they just get on with life and make the best of any situation......I like that.

So, what were you doing whilst you were living here?

Cheers.

ladyofthelake

Well, we only managed a year over there!! We arrived with a 1 year old daughter, so she pretty much took up all my time. We lived in the New Territories in the Gold Coast complex. To be honest, I really hated the place for the first 6 months, too many doors slammed in my face, people staring at me as I climb 100(ish) steps carrying a pushchair, the spitting etc.... Eventually I managed to 'chill' and just ignore it, then I enjoyed the place far more.

The reason we came back so soon was I fell pregnant just before it was time to negotiate a new contract for my husband. I shopped around the hospitals for 'delivery packages' and looked into getting a maid for help, but then the hormones kicked in and I wanted to go home.
Of course, by the time we got back home, my hormones had settled a bit and we were thinking "what have we done? why are we back here?"
We ended up spending 4 ½ years in the UK before escaping again. At least now I've experienced home sickness and know how to deal with it, ie ignore it!!!