People of Hong Kong

Overall, the people here in Hong Kong are some of the most honest and hardworking people I’ve met. The 60-hour, 80-hour, or even 100-hour week is not unheard of in the finance industry. However, here, even non-profit jobs require long workweeks. Contrary to what many interns from last year said about Hong Kong having a huge lunch culture, it is actually a very rushed, at crammed, and stressful experience. Precisely at 12:30pm, the entire downtown area goes to lunch, rendering it impossible to get a table without being crammed with 4 other strangers elbow-to-elbow or perhaps not even getting a table from personal experience.

There is also something to be said when the MTR (the subway) is spotless, granted it is privatized. (New York City, we could learn from this.) People don’t litter. People actually wear face masks to protect other when they are sick. People don’t jaywalk. The government levies a 15% flat tax rate upon every citizen and has a budget surplus. (However, I will add that there are plenty of other factors that an alum made evident during a lunch as to why/how Hong Kong is able to do this.) Hong Kong recently implemented a tax incentive that charges 50 cents for each plastic bag at the pharmacy or grocery store to eliminate plastic bag waste.

Perhaps a reason that the 0-10% service charge is possible is because people expect the best service. People do complain if their service is sub-par. However, outside of a paid service situation, everyone is ruthless. They will make fun of you if you don’t realize it’s the end of the bus line. They push and shove and squeeze on the MTR. There are hawkers and beggars wherever possible. When we all went out for dinner, we had flocks of people shove fliers at us enticing us to choose their restaurant. Living in such a dense area has instilled a survival instinct in the people.

Interestingly, what differs most between expats and natives are their choice of leisure activities. Expats prefer going to the beach or going out to clubs and bars to party. Natives go to one of the hundreds of air-conditioned mega malls to shop or watch a movie or ice skate at an indoor rink. Many of the school-age kids go to arcades. At night, they prefer grabbing dessert, opting out of the alcohol laden nights of the foreigners.

In the end, this is still just a generalization of the people. There will always be a few exceptions. I feel that I have been lucky enough to meet some of the kindest, most generous people in Hong Kong, many of them Columbia Alumni who’ve been especially welcoming to us interns. Until next time!