Hong Kong Tradition and Modernization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hong Kong Tradition and Modernization - Essay Example While the ordinary mainland Chinese is traditional, the Hong Kong Chinese is modern, while the former speaks only Chinese, the latter is bilingual, speaking both Chinese and English, and while the Chinese is not exposed to Western culture, the citizen of Hong Kong is perfectly at ease in both the cultures. The citizen of Hong Kong represents the spirit of Hong Kong , with its resilience, its enterprise and its multi-lingual, multi-cultural strength. No city in China, be it the capital Beijing with its magnificent roadways or the bustling city of Shanghai with its skyscrapers compares to this beautiful island city of Hong Kong in aesthetics, modernity , safety and amenities for its citizens. As Wong says, Hong Kong is a model for the rest of China.(Wong 325) In the thesis "The Future of Hong Kong", published in the Geographic Journal I, Vol 150, Part 1, Dwyer talks about the history of Hong Kong, and its future as he sees it after its annexation by China. He dwells extensively on the part played by the British in acquiring the island from the Chinese , and the various ways in which the culture of Hong Kong and then of China were influenced by the western way of thought. The thesis was written mote than a decade before Hong Kong reverted back to China. After it became a part of China, it did not follow the dire predictions made by different authors. The Hong Kong of the early twenty first century has belied all e... Clyde Haulman, in his article, "An Asia-Pacific Economic Links and the Future of Hong Kong says that the best that Hong Kong can hope for is not to have any change. He writes about the economic change which is bound to happen in Hong Kong as a result of Chinese takeover. Although his article was written much before the Handing over of Hong Kong to China, his arguments are sound. This beautiful island on the south of China was the prize possession of the British Empire till it reverted back to China in 1997.It was named Hong Kong- the Sweet smelling Harbor - because of its magnificent harbor. The British with their expansionist ideas, seized the first opportunity after the first Opium war with China , to sign a treaty with China in which Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842. It was declared a British colony in 1843. Realizing the strategic importance of the magnificent harbor, the British wanted more territories for the purpose of its defense. So, in 1860, Britain secured a lease in perpetuity of the tip of the peninsula comprising of Kowloon. Since Britain was the greatest super power at the time, with a vast disparity of military strength between China and Britain, not surprisingly, the treaties entered into were blatantly favorable to Britain. The British colony still felt the need for expansion - to supply farm produce for the British and other inhabitants of Hong Kong, and to provide farming land and pastures to the farmers. This need for land resulted in The New Territories, a vast area, which were secured from China by means of a 99 year lease agreement in 1898.These expansions of the British territory were done by those that were in seats of