Hong Kong Halos – Part 3: Unrest in the Streets

Hong Kong's reintegration with China.

Tear gas is used routinely against protesters in Hong Kong.

The word xiào carries a special meaning to the Chinese people. It is derived from two words: lao (old) and zi (son) and refers to the moral obligation a child has to his or her parents. The English translation Filial Piety does not fully capture just how fundamental the parent-child relationship is to the Chinese character. Once again an analogy is helpful – if the family is the Sun of the Chinese universe, xiào is the gravitational force that binds all orbiting planets in the solar system together. It is through this prism that we must view the relationship between China (parent) and Hong Kong (child).

If the family is the Sun of the Chinese universe, xiào is the gravitational force that binds all orbiting planets in the solar system together.

While there are many opinions that percolate such a large-scale public debate, there are three major perspectives to consider in Hong Kong: the Western (expat) view, the Hong Kong view, and the view from Beijing. If I were to rank order the importance of these outlooks to the unfolding of the island's fate, Beijing would be first and the Western perspective would be a distant last. That said, it is helpful to begin from the outside-in and examine the situation from the expat’s point-of-view first.

Many expats have lived in Hong Kong their entire lives. They have children here, know the locals, and to them Hong Kong is home. Many are Brits though certainly not all. For example, I met a Punjabi whose family is generations removed from Pakistan; like his parents before him, he was born and raised in Hong Kong. The majority live on Hong Kong Island while the rest are scattered across the others, some live on Lama, others on Stanley etc. Collectively, they seem to view things as primarily, if not entirely, political. To them, Beijing is overstepping and would be foolish to ruin the financial-economic jewel that is the “spice port.” They tend to overstate the power of the protest movement and underestimate the resolve of Beijing, a fatal error in my judgement.