Tears in Fragrant Harbor

 I first came to live in Asia in 1984, as a Chinese language student in Taipei, Taiwan. My visa status required me to leave the country every six months, get a stamp and come back through immigration. In an island nation, that is no small project. Among several choices, I decided to go to Hong Kong. Having lived in New York for the previous ten years, I was not crazy abut the pushy shopkeepers. But I found it fascinating. The language, the food. Everything I thought I knew about Chinese culture was different.
 I loved taking the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak. There was a modest shopping area at the top, including a candy store that had amazing chocolate truffles. The residential neighborhood was a pleasant walk down winding streets. I made several visits to the outlying islands as well, especially Lantau with the touristy Po Lin Tse Monastery. One night, I played a set of acoustic music at a folk club called Hardy`s. It was really great, with one glaring exception. There was clearly a British Hong Kong, and a Chinese Hong Kong. They did not mix. It reminded me of social dynamics that I had hoped I left back in the U.S.
 When the handover back to China happened in 1997, I thought, great! maybe the segregation will come to an end. Everyone on the same page culturally. This will be a good thing. Well time has brought changes. On my most recent visit a couple of years ago when the accompanying photo was taken, the little shopping mall at the top of Victoria Peak has become a mega complex. The little candy shop is gone.
 Time has also made it clear that, I have been wrong about many things. Few of them are at the level of wrong I was about Hong Kong. It didn`t take long for mainland China to start chipping away at the `High degree of autonomy` promised in the administration of the territory. That chipping away has slowly but surely turned into something more like an attack with an axe. I can`t help thinking of the English idiom, `Out of the frying pan, into the fire`. From one group of abusive overlords right into another. It makes me sad in a way that`s hard to describe.
During my days in Taiwan, I witnessed the end of martial law, street demonstrations by the DPP, fist fights in the legislature. It was nothing less than the birth of a Democracy. It was extraordinary. Taiwan is now arguably among the most progressive nations in Asia. Then here is Hong Kong, sliding in exactly the opposite direction. It`s simply heartbreaking.
No one knows what the future may hold. but it`s hard to be optimistic.  I have at least one friend there who is thinking of leaving. I can only hope that the fortunes of Fragrant Harbor take a well-deserved turn for the better. Otherwise, the world will lose a very special place.