View of Hong Kong streets Photo: VCG

Hong Kong is a global hub that embraces cultural diversity, a metropolis for young mainlanders to seek for their dreams, a pioneer of education with five of the world's top-100 universities and a world-class financial hub. 

But in 2019 Hong Kong made international headlines as a city in turmoil. Last year's unrest left uncertainties in the daily lives of millions of Hong Kong residents, who longed for a stable environment and future.

With the national security law for Hong Kong adopted on June 30, the situation is expected to change. Some Hong Kong residents, from different parts of the world and working in different sectors in Hong Kong, told the Global Times they welcome the law which boosts their confidence in the city.

Witnessing ups and downs

What happened in Hong Kong was beyond Italian business owner Fabrizio Goldoni's expectation. The protests not only ruined the city, but also impacted his business. He lost clients from both outside and inside the city. 

"The future of the city became very uncertain and dark," Goldoni told the Global Times. "I never saw Hong Kong fall so down, to be honest."

Goldoni has been living in Hong Kong since 1993. 

He recalled the worries from before Hong Kong returned to China in 1997. "Back then, many large companies were considering a plan B," he said.

But the well-prepared return eased residents' concerns. "The international business community did not have any problem. Some people in 1996 decided to emigrate to Canada, New Zealand and other Commonwealth nations, but I saw with my own eyes the same people coming back to Hong Kong after one or two years."

During last year's riots, Goldoni had considered leaving, but then decided to stay and see how the situation evolves.

The newly adopted national security law has ensured Goldoni's confidence in staying. He said he believes Hong Kong will have great opportunities, as the link between finance, the job market and the world of innovation concentrated in the Great Bay Area is certainly a winning card. 

"I foresee for Hong Kong a future of stability and order. I believe the city will have an important role in the Great Bay Area project," Goldoni said. 

View of Hong Kong streets Photo: VCG

Laura Ruggeri moved to Hong Kong in 1997 and taught language and culture at several universities including the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

"When I came here, I expected to live in a city that would become more integrated with the rest of China that would undergo a process of decolonization and play a leading role in the socio-economic, technological and cultural development of Southern China. Twenty-three years later I find myself in a city that lags behind Shenzhen in so many respects," she wrote in an interview with the Global Times.

Looking back at the turmoil in last year, Ruggeri commented "We all have alienated some friends, family members, colleagues. Material damage can be repaired easily. As to the damage to our society, well, that will take longer to repair."

"One of the most ridiculous claims I heard in Hong Kong is that without independence our city will become just like any other Chinese city," she said.

Ruggeri said she never thought about leaving the city, and is glad "finally Hong Kong will be protected against any new attempts at a color revolution."

"If we think that national sovereignty matters, and every government does, then it has to be defended. That's the spirit of this law."

Local's choices

Nancy, a Hong Kong resident and a consultant, posted on her social media account on July 1, the day marking Hong Kong's return to China, "23 years after return, to open a new chapter, I wish stability and prosperity for my country, my Hong Kong and my family." 

The day before, the national security law for Hong Kong took effect.

Nancy told the Global Times everyone in her office learned from the news of the law's passage around the same time, which also intensified the atmosphere in the office, when some of the local employees began whispering. 

"Last year's protests have exhausted me physically and mentally," said Nancy, who asked her surname not be used.

Hong Kong middle school teacher Wong could not forget the day last year when he passed the city center's Nathan Road on the school's shuttle bus - the alarm of a smashed shop sounded off, a distribution box was burning, and broken fire hydrant sprayed water. "I felt I was in a TV series, and a city was just massacred," he said. The next day, all schools were suspended in Hong Kong.

A rioter sets fire and destroys public facilities outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in south China's Hong Kong, Nov. 17, 2019. Photo:Xinhua

Wong said he had some experience facing the black-clad rioters closely. He said not all of them are monsters, and many of them might just be "friendly passerbys" in daily life, but they were deeply influenced by extreme ideologies and biased media reports.

Wong said the national security law for Hong Kong will be useful. But there is still a way to go before stability is reached. Regarding education, some new policies will not be included in the private school systems. He also expressed concerns if there would be some extremist conducting attacks as "lone wolves."

"A Hong Kong legislator told me, his good friend was applying for Singapore immigration and was almost done, but when he heard the country was making a security law for Hong Kong, he tore up the forms. He said 'Hong Kong got saved!'" Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, shared at a press conference on July 1.

Anticipating safety

Jennifer is a mathematics PhD student from the mainland studying in a Hong Kong university. She lived off campus, and she was often frightened to go home after studying at school at night last year during the protest.

"Later, the black-shirts occupied our school. So the school told us to stay out, or even to withdraw back to the mainland," she said. In November, she went back to her hometown for two weeks to avoid the riots.

After the national security law was passed, Jennifer said she feels much safer. "In reality there would be no more illegal gathering, violence or blocking of the subway. Life is recovering."

Stefano Dell'Erba is from Italy and came to Hong Kong in 2015. He works as project manager for an investment and consulting firm. 

"The city was always very safe and lovely but last year the protest period came and it was a nightmare - Hong Kong turned into a completely different city: very unsafe, very sad and very dark," Dell'Erba said.

He started to receive calls from family and friends, asking him to relocate. And the uncertainty made him consider the suggestion.

His company also lost clients. Many clients outside Hong Kong canceled their visits and the local ones "experienced a very bad time with huge drops in sales and almost zero customers."

Dell'Erba said he is happy to see the national security law for Hong Kong and is feeling safer. He does not understand the concerns from the West as many countries in the world have their national security laws. 

"I think the NSL will restore peace and prosperity in Hong Kong and hopefully will bring more rationality and less hatred," he said.

 


Newspaper headline: Hope for the Future