○ As Hong Kong is suffering from social unrest, the anxiety and insecurity felt by "Hong Kong drifters" is growing with each passing day

○ Experts noted the current "anti-extradition bill" movement will end sooner or later, but the "after-effect" would be the declining mutual trust between Hong Kong and the mainland

○ Rebuilding the emotions between the two parts will mainly fall on the shoulders of the new immigrants who love both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong

Pedestrians walk through chaos near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom district, Hong Kong on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong's social unrest over the past months has brought inconvenience to nearly every resident. A special group of people living there have deeper and more complex feelings about the turmoil - "Hong Kong drifters," the young or educated people who left the Chinese mainland to move to Hong Kong in search of a job or education. 

According to the Immigration Department of Hong Kong government, "A Chinese citizen who has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years before or after the establishment of the HKSAR," can enjoy the right of abode in the HKSAR. 

This used to be the goal of many Hong Kong drifters, but after recent social unrest, some have changed their minds. During the week, some mainland students began to flee Hong Kong as the rampage went on in universities. 

The Global Times reporters talked to some "Hong Kong drifters" about their anxieties, confusions and hopes. 

Speaking mandarin becomes 'sin'

After hearing a Chinese mainland JPMorgan banker was punched in the face by a radical protester outside the company's main Hong Kong office, a man surnamed Li felt shocked and worried. 

Coming from the mainland and now working at a financial institution, an idea rose in Li's mind: his "drifting" life in Hong Kong was hanging over a great sense of insecurity and the potential threats to his life are everywhere around him. 

"No matter it is in my company or other places, I became afraid to talk. I tried not to make a sound anymore," Li told the Global Times about his recent changes after staying in Hong Kong for seven years.

"Some Hong Kong colleagues always sound me out through political questions, but I am afraid to express my idea without reservation. In addition, I was nervous on my commute because I cannot speak Cantonese. So I left hurriedly when I saw people in black T-shirts," Li said. 

Li is not the only one who feel this way. During the past months, the anxiety and insecurity felt by "Hong Kong drifters" is growing with each passing day as the protests have evolved from initial protests which dealt with an extradition bill to the current violent attacks targeting Chinese mainland companies and mainlanders. 

Wang Shiyue is a special "Hong Kong drifter," who got a Hong Kong ID when she was young but attends school in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. She settled in Hong Kong after finishing her postgraduate studies in the city. 

She said such an identity makes it hard to define whether she is a Hongkonger or a mainlander, but this blurred and "neutral" identity has not kept her away from the disputes. 

"Hongkongers love talking about politics too much. It seems if a person does not go on the streets to protest, he or she is not a Hongkonger," Wang told the Global Times. 

Wang's boyfriend is a Hong Kong native. Even though she tried not to discuss the current situation with her boyfriend, they have quarreled over recent events many times. 

 

Confusion - 'Where is my future in Hong Kong?'

Aside from the disturbance and fear for their safety, what confused "Hong Kong drifters" more is whether they could realize their initial dreams in Hong Kong. 

Chen Xinjun comes from Hunan Province and moved to Hong Kong in 2014. Before he came there, Hong Kong used to be the "most livable, most civilized and most law-abiding" city in his heart. 

As a chef, Chen can cook three styles of dishes: Xiang (Hunan cuisine), Chuan (Sichaun cuisine) and Yue (Cantonese cuisine), hence he is well paid in Hong Kong. He can earn  30,000 yuan ($4,288.5) each month, much higher than what he could make in his hometown. 

However, the social unrest has totally changed his career path. 

"The catering industry is influenced by the current political situation. Our business became stagnant. It is the third time for me to lose my job since June. My last job was at a hot pot restaurant and it lasted for half a month. The owner of the restaurant saw there were few customers and hence ran away and didn't pay my wages," Chen told the Global Times. 

"Ordinary people have nothing to put on the table when they stop working. Now I have to borrow money from friends to pull things through," he said. 

Unlike Chen who worries about his present situation, Li worries about his future.  

Li said he works at a mainland-funded financial institution which occupies a building that was smashed by rioters. In consideration of the current situation, the leaders of the company decided "not to publicize the company's business and try to keep a low profile as much as they can."

Li told the Global Times the current priority of the company is to keep its employees safe, while business and running of the company have become secondary issues. For example, it is negotiable if any employee cannot go to work because of safety concerns.

"Does the company look like a thriving one in the global financial headquarters?" Li asked. 

He noted there are two types of "Hong Kong drifters" besides him - some want to earn a lot of money, then get a permanent residence and go back to the mainland; the others really hope they could settle in Hong Kong. But now, many people among the latter are changing their mind, because most "Hong Kong drifters" do not look forward to Hong Kong's future as they once did. 

"I have considered to go back to mainland because the prospects in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area are both very good and there're livable cities there. My working experience in Hong Kong can mxake it very easy to find a decent job there," Li told the Global Times. 

Many deep-rooted and underlying social problems in Hong Kong and stagnant development are causing "Hong Kong drifters" to reconsider their future. 

Before working, Wang studied medicine at The Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Many people believe that universities in Hong Kong have abundant financial support, however, Wang said the while there are majors that can produce fast results and yield gainful employment for graduates,  the basic research facilities are often neglected. 

"In simple terms, they are seeking quick success and instant benefits. Those universities do not pay high attention to scientific research which focuses on long-term development," Wang said there were only three mass spectrographs in her laboratory: one is a 20-year-old spectrograph which was almost unusable and the other two were often broken. 

"In my research area, the capacity for scientific research of The Chinese University of Hong Kong cannot catch up with the best batch of schools in mainland. This place cannot retain talents," she told the Global Times adding that over the past years, there is almost no change in the city, referring the traffic, metro and shopping malls. 

"The appearance of the city has no change, just like people's mentality. Hongkongers get used to the past lifestyle so it is difficult to promote e-payment in Hong Kong, such as Alipay and WeChat wallet that are popular in mainland. People would say 'we have Octopus Card, so why do we need e-payment?'" she said. 

Hopes remain

Even though some "Hong Kong drifters" feel confused and anxious, they know their roles have never been so important than at this moment.

Liu Zhaojia, deputy head of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times the current "anti-extradition bill" movement will end sooner or later, but the "after-effect" brought by it would be the declining mutual trust between Hong Kong and the mainland. 

He noted that rebuilding the positive emotions may mainly fall on the shoulders of the new immigrants who love both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. 

A woman from the mainland who graduated from a university in Hong Kong told the Global Times even though the current situation in Hong Kong society makes her upset, she stills likes Hong Kong. She likes the fast rhythm of life and the international atmosphere in Hong Kong and hopes to work and live in the city for more years. 

"I still hold my 'Hong Kong dream,' that is to make some achievements through my capacity and hard work. One day, I hope when I live in other places, I could be treated as a representative of Hong Kong youth and 'Hong Kong drifters.' I want the world to know that this is what a Hong Kong youth truly looks like," she said. 

Chef Chen has never thought of leaving Hong Kong. A spirit of resilience in the face of the obstacles and a faith to share responsibility for Hong Kong's rule of law and stability rose in his heart. Since June, he visited Hong Kong police together with his friends who are also "Hong Kong drifters." They organized people from all walks of life to give goods and moral support to the police.

What happened on the morning of August 4 left him with a great impression. Before that day, several masked rioters in black clothes climbed to the flagpole at the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier and threw the national flag in the sea. 

Learning about the news, Chen became very angry. He contacted several friends  and came to the pier at midnight. Together, they raised a new national flag. 

Looking up at the national flag and singing the national anthem, Chen almost burst into tears.

"At that moment, all that came to my mind was that I love Hong Kong, I love China. I was proud of being a Chinese and a Hongkonger," he recalled. 

"I hope Hong Kong can go back to the peace and order of the past soon and I would love to contribute all my strength to this. We have 1.4 billion people behind our back so I am full of confidence with Hong Kong's future and future development," Chen said. 

Hongkongers have held many activities with the theme of "anti-violence" and "safeguarding the rule of law" in the past months. 

From supporting the police and raising the national flag to protesting foreign interference, some Hongkongers are delivering a different voice from the Pearl of the Orient and most of the participants and organizers of the events are "Hong Kong drifters." Their behavior is influencing more Hongkongers to join the team of protecting the city, and healing the scars between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.



 
Newspaper headline: Hong Kong drifters