From an alien researcher’s perspective 800 kilometers above, Hong Kong’s language culture would warrant some digging-into. Unquestionably a Chinese city, over 90% of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million population are ethnically Chinese, and Cantonese is its most common language, spoken in the vast majority of local households, workplaces and playgrounds. Yet if you come here on official purpose, such as a summit, a conference, an expo, a competition, a forum or a workshop, chances are these events are almost exclusively conducted in English. If any part of them was conducted in Mandarin or Cantonese Chinese, it is not uncommon to hear the organizer apologizing to the audience for the inconvenience (ironically, a majority of the audience can speak Chinese anyway).
There was a confluence of complex factors which led Hong Kong to become the city it is today, including historical colonial rule, government policy, legal design, international trade, a large financial sector, as well as a culture of expediency and pragmatism. All these factors make Hong Kong such a special case of China — this phenomenon simply does not exist in any other Chinese city. Yes there are plenty of foreign nationals living in Shanghai and Shenzhen too, and you are certain to find enclaves where foreigners agglomerate or events which English prevails. But nothing like that compares to Hong Kong in terms of the sheer scale of English usage on official capacity.
Hong Kong’s language phenomenon is extraordinary. The above comparison can even be generalized across all non-English speaking Asian geographies, including globally important cities such as Tokyo and Seoul. Singapore doesn’t count, as it has long adopted English as its mother tongue, as a result of the founding language policy established by its great leader Lee Kuan Yew. Whereas in Hong Kong, the English proficiency of a large part of its population is not even that high. Of course, this has to do with Hong Kong’s past as a British colony. But since its handover over 26 years ago, the city has not become any less fond of English than in the past, at least when official business is concerned. While both Chinese and English are its mandated official languages, whenever a major event happens which involves a lot of professionals and serious-looking people, English always prevails by consensus. So Hong Kong’s fondness for English was not by force, but by consensual choice, and this is something deliberately maintained, defended and promoted by its elites and decision makers.
Afterall, the prevalence of English is a good thing for Hong Kong, which sets itself apart from the rest of China (indeed most of Asia) and contributes to its global business competitiveness. However, there are also obvious downsides. The system basically discriminates against anyone whose native language is not English, including the majority of Hong Kong’s population, as well as China’s 1.4 billion population except for the fortunate few who were raised or educated bilingually. Needless to say, one would sound more convincing and genuine when speaking in his/her mother tongue, for example, when put against other contestants in a startup pitching competition. Judging from the results of several such competitions that I have been to, it is not an overstatement to say that the entire business, financial and legal establishment of Hong Kong has discriminated against their own people in terms of languages.
In China, there is a certain elitist ring to the use of English as a working language. People in China often sneer at gao hua, or “high class Chinese”, a sarcastic term to describe certain Chinese people, usually Western-educated, who would adopt Western language (usually English), culture and even value system as if they were native to them, presumably at the expense of the traditional or customary Chinese way of being. (Of course, the gao hua’s can easily retort at their haters, for all the advantages that may come with being more Westernized). I myself instead would joke about being a di hua, or “low class Chinese”, to my friends, because of my conscious and innate reckoning of the foreign-ness of the English language and Western culture in general, despite my decent proficiency or understanding of them. For the record, there is nothing wrong with any Chinese becoming more Westernized, and I certainly would refrain from being nationalistic about these things, as contemporary China itself is already reborn Westernized in a Marxist-Leninist way. We are all products of our environment.
Obviously, Hong Kong’s English-elitism is a boon for native English speakers, who often find living and working in the city, while speaking exclusively in English, not just possible, but a palatable experience. In fact, Hong Kong is the only place in China where someone can attain a desirable livelihood speaking exclusively in English. Even many Mainland elites feel more comfortable speaking English to each other in public, perhaps because of their sensitivities around the shadow of anti-China sentiment in the territory. On the other hand, the prospects seem bright for second generation returnees who, for whatever reason, decide to “come home” after obtaining their lovely British, Australian or Canadian education and life experiences which their parents were so eager to bestow upon them. The combination of familiar faces, an English-speaking environment, and a Westernized culture makes living and working in Hong Kong a compelling proposition.
From China’s perspective, keeping Hong Kong this way gives it an English voice on the global stage. In an ideal world, the Chinese language would be a language in which international businesses and dealings would be conducted, but China is not there yet, perhaps never. Its second-best option is to embrace bilingualism and be able to get its messages across in English, a language that is already universally accepted as an “international language”. However, this is not something that can be forced upon a country as large, complex and relatively domestic-looking as China. Fortunately, it already has a jewel in hand, a bilingual and international city which was handed back to it on a silver plate by its erstwhile colonizers some 26 years ago. Current day Hong Kong is an international metropolis that is still much more at ease with, and connected to, the English-speaking world than any other city of China. Instead of using CGTN, its awkward English-language international TV station, China should just use the voice of Hong Kong to express its views, through its countless forums, expos, summits and conferences.
A risk for Hong Kong is to err on the side of becoming more domestic-looking and start to drift away from its longstanding bilingualism and English-elitism. As soon as it loses its language edge, it will lose its business and cultural competitiveness, as well as relevance as an international financial hub. Luckily, it is still far from being “just another Chinese city” yet. This is not just for its own benefit, but for the benefit of China, too.
