Midnight Nearing For Hong Kong
At the stroke of midnight on June 30, the sun will finally set on the British empire.
In what will surely be one of the world’s most watched spectacles, Hong Kong, Britain’s last colonial outpost in the East, will be returned to Chinese rule.
The event has been more than 10 years in the making, and while China has pledged to retain Hong Kong’s capitalistic system for 50 years under its “one country, two systems” policy, no one is really certain what the transfer of power will bring.
“Nothing will change,” most Hong Kong people reply when asked.
That certainly seems true for visitors. Whatever happens to individual freedoms of Hong Kong residents, the handover, as the transfer is called, is unlikely to produce any significant changes for tourists. It will not alter Hong Kong’s endless panorama of high-rises glittering above one of the most scenic harbors on earth. The city’s omnipresent stores and street markets will still lure shoppers as no other city can, its restaurants will still offer some of the finest meals in the East, and its five-star hotels, among the best in the world, will still pamper guests as few others can. Most importantly, there’s little evidence that Hong Kong’s elan will be diminished.
About the only difference the city’s 11 million yearly visitors will notice is that their passports will be stamped in Chinese, not English.
For residents, however, the story may be different. Irked by civil rights provisions passed under Chris Patten, the current British governor, the Chinese have appointed a rubber-stamp legislature that is expected to modify them as its first act. The Chinese also have indicated they will “manage” the press.
“While there have been significant positive developments since March 1996,” the U.S. State Department said in its final annual report on the territory before the handover, “China’s actions regarding the future of the legislature and the law governing human rights and civil liberties in Hong Kong have been disturbing.”
However, the Chinese are not about to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Beijing has convinced business people in this most capitalistic city in the world that they have nothing to fear.
“Confidence in Hong Kong is very high,” said Stephen Wong, manager of overseas public relations of the Hong Kong Tourist Association. “Many people (who left) are returning to Hong Kong. They’ve sold their property (abroad) and they’re coming home. Instead of a ‘brain drain,’ we’re having a ‘brain gain.”’ He also noted that Hong Kong has conventions booked through 2003.
Another significant sign of confidence, said Thomas Axmacher, general manager of the Regent Hong Kong Hotel and president of the Hong Kong Hotel Association, is that the International Monetary Fund is bringing 10,000 delegates here in September for its annual conference.
Actually, the change in sovereignty is creating a boom in tourism. The top hotels have long been sold out for the two-day handover period, and the normally low summer season is getting a substantial boost from the 100-day celebration Hong Kong has decreed starting July 1.
All of Hong Kong’s major hotels are planning parties bridging the handover days.
“It’ll be the party of the century,” Axmacher said of the Regent Hong Kong’s plans. “On June 30 we’ll have one final night of colonial splendor. Then on July 1 we’ll have a ‘Welcome to China’ extravaganza. On both nights the hotel will be transformed to reflect the passing of one era to another.”
The Regent’s party will feature elegant colonial and Chinese sets and costumes, models, foods and theme attire. Each party night will cost 2,500 Hong Kong dollars (about $350 U.S.) per person, including food, drinks and entertainment. Famed California chefs Wolfgang Puck and Jeremiah Tower will be on hand to create special dishes, and the Regent’s locale as the only five-star hotel directly on the waterfront will give guests an unmatched view of the handover spectacle. At the moment the territory changes hands, lasers will streak across the sky and Hong Kong’s biggest fireworks display ever will erupt from 10 barges anchored in the harbor.
Television teams from all over the world are planning to cover the event. The handover ceremony itself will be conducted at the new Hong Kong Convention Center extension, a huge new waterfront structure.
There, Prince Charles will officially hand over the colony to the Chinese, then board the royal yacht Britannia with Gov. Patten to sail 30 miles to Macau, a Portuguese enclave that will be returned to China in 1999.
Their departure will mark the end of British imperialism in the East and the beginning of an event-filled 100-day celebration that will run to Oct. 8.
Many of the biggest buildings on both sides of the harbor and all of the city’s parks will be lighted at night for the entire 100 days. A lighted golden dragon almost two miles long will be on display throughout July in Kowloon. The largest parade ever held in Hong Kong, with 60 floats, will march on Hong Kong Island July 2. Theme parties are planned in the popular tourist areas of Tsim Sha Tsui, Peak and Wan Chai.
Among many “spotlight events” included in the 100-day celebration, Marie Osmond is coming to Hong Kong to star in The Sound of Music July 16-Aug. 3, an international dance festival is planned for early August, and Magic Johnson’s All Stars are to take on the Asian All Stars in a basketball confrontation in September.
A new tournament, the Asian Pacific Football Cup, will pit eight of the best soccer teams in the Asia-Pacific Rim July 15-31. Another major sports event will be the world Volleyball Grand Prix in August.
Beyond those special events, of course, are the ambience and attractions that long ago made Hong Kong one of the world’s most popular destinations. Sightseeing, shopping and dining in an exotic locale are the main reasons 11 million tourists visited the territory last year.
Though Hong Kong now covers 235 islands and about 420 sure miles of land, its heart lies on Hong Kong Island, which Britain acquired in 1841.
At that time, the island’s northern coast was dotted with fishing villages. Today an endless forest of skyscrapers stretches across the same coast, creating one of the world’s most spectacular city settings. Punctuated by the 78-story Central Plaza, Asia’s tallest building, and the striking I.M. Pei-designed Bank of China, the high-rise array is especially hypnotic at night, with neon signs and lighted facades reflected in the harbor.
Like any other city center, downtown is a bustling place, but Hong Kong’s seems to have a verve others lack. To taste the flavor, one should stroll along sidewalks bordered by stores selling everything from dried squid to electronic gear, ride the world’s longest escalator up to hillside residential areas, and board one of the colorful doubledecked trams that run through the heart of the city. These streetcars, which have carried passengers since 1904, are a real transportation bargain; the fare is about 18 cents.
Hong Kong may be embarking on a new path, but the fortune tellers, when asked, don’t seem worried about its future. Local vendors of T-shirt truisms, however, may have more to worry about.
The coming handover has inspired the usual spate of T-shirt proverbs, predictably more contemporary than Confucian. Two of the more irreverent read “Handover or hangover?” and “The Great Chinese Take-away.”
One wonders if they’ll still be for sale come July 1.