TABLE
OF CONTENTS
|
Colonial Legacy in Hong Kong
by Corey
Evidence of
migration overwhelms my senses as I exit the Hong
Kong port directly into a 3 story
commercial machine. Toys
R Us, Columbia,
Adidas, Gap, Nike, and an array of
American corporations assault my perception as I attempt
to make my way
to
fresh air unscathed. But
the air isn’t
so fresh in the smog ridden bustling city as McDonald’s
awaits on the
nearest
corner… soon followed by Starbucks and Hagen Daas. British colonial legacy has
undoubtedly left
its mark on Hong Kong
tourist traffic. An array
of European tourists can easily
travel in and amidst Hong Kong,
reading from
English signs on every wall. Migration
has
shaped the urban landscape and ranges greatly in scope,
ranging
from
domestic workers to big-wig business.
My personal
experience in Hong Kong includes meeting an American
born businessman
in the
airport shuttle and his adventurous tale in China. Bill was born and raised in
northern California,
studied political science at UCLA, and
attended a semester exchange in China. After graduation, Bill packed
up his bags to
teach English in Shanghai. Sixteen years later, he now
has two fifteen
million dollar homes, one in downtown Shanghai
and the other a vacation home in Bell Air, California. American
poultry company Tyson Chicken has recently
employed Bill,
sending their new Senior VP of Asian Distribution to
remote corners of South East Asia. Tyson
figures cite the migration of American poultry at
4000 tons of
chicken sold to McDonalds every month while KFC imports
over 400,000
tons of
chicken every month, with KFC earning over 60% of its
profits in China. Bill has married a Chinese
woman and now
returns to California
with his two children for holiday twice a year.
As I exited the
Star Ferry port, Filipina domestic workers filled the
subways and
public
squares of Hong Kong,
rallying in a
unifying
dances and leisure activity in their only day off. Given only Sundays to
themselves for leisure
activity, the hundreds of domestic workers fill the
streets to engage
in social
networking and support with other Filipinas. My
travel companions and I witnessed a beauty pageant and
organized
dance, as well as many organized games Filipinas played
in the streets. The sheer
numbers is what made the lasting
impression, for women were sitting on blankets or
cardboard in every
nook and
cranny of the public park and plaza.
Rain
had driven some underground to the subway, but their
presence was
easily detectable as the hum of a foreign language
echoed from below. As
discussed in Nicole Constable’s article
titled “Maid to Order in Hong Kong”,
the
common
challenges these young women face create a social fabric
within
the
community. Constable points
out that
Chinese racism against Filipina workers is always
unfounded, but is
reflected
in the harsh restrictions and limited personal time
allotted for these
migratory laborers.
The colonial
legacy left by British rule has placed Hong Kong
as a hub for foreign direct investment and the city now
serves as one
of the
leading economies in the world. Its
affluence
is portrayed in both the designer filled malls and the
need
and
ability to exploit low waged immigrant services such as
the Filipinas. Its
relationship to China
has made many of the
infrastructural
advancements possible, ushering China
into the 21st century as an economic
powerhouse. Anyone
intelligent enough to see China’s
poignant position as a world
leader in
the approaching decades, much like corporate executive
Bill, will
surely
benefit immensely as China
continues to climb the ranks. Migration
of
products, urban form, corporate change, transnational
executives, and
low wage
migrant workers will undoubtedly increase as new and
innovative
opportunities
continue to arise.
|