It is my last day in Hong Kong, and my tour
guide is Keith. Different guides were assigned to the tour bus that brought us
to different places in the past few days, and I think I met him yesterday, as
our bus took us to the harbor crossing from Hong Kong to Macau.
He introduced himself by his Filipino name,
which he spelled out “P-o-g-i” (handsome). I guess this is what his Pinoy
clients called him with fondness because his face had this “artistahin”
(matinee idol) looks, framed in squarish eyeglasses.
Keith “Pogi” is “Hong Kongese”. In the couple
of times I’ve been to Hong Kong, this is the first time I’ve heard this word. Keith
used it in reference to the people of Hong Kong, to differentiate them from the
people of mainland China, which he referred to as “Chinese”.
According to him,
Hong Kongese people speak mainly “Cantonese” while the mainlander-Chinese speak
“Mandarin”, the official language. So he taught us 3 Cantonese words that will
get us a discount: (1) Thank you; (2) How much; and (3) Give me a discount.
When I asked him what happens when you say these words in Mandarin, with a smile
in his eyes, he retorted: “prices go up!”
There are only 3 stops on this last morning’s
agenda: first is the Hong Kong Harbor; second is a famous jewelry shop; and
third is the Fishing Village.
I am not overly excited about the Hong Kong Harbor,
which I had quite extensively walked in 2011. Of the Fishing Village, which
gave me a memorable boat ride back in 2011, Keith said if we come back 2 years
from now, it might no longer be there, giving way to progress and construction,
since it sits on prime real estate location. However, the Jewelry shop was to
me a revelation.
This particular jewelry shop we visited conducted
their business with elegance. Small groups of visitors are ushered into a small
but posh room, there to be briefed by a suave gentleman in coat & tie
regarding the latest trends in jewelry.
I thought of buying a Bagua (Pat-kwa), a
necklace or ring containing a small octagon gold piece popular among feng shui
practitioners because I had bought this in the past. This, of course, was
passé. The new trend now is jewelry more intricate: it is a pendant whose main
feature is a moving part, similar to a propeller fan, representing the elements
of fire, water, earth and wind, and whatever else it is you believe will bring
you auspicious good luck.
After the briefing, as you walk out of the
small room, 2 main doors are opened. You are ushered into the main display
room, full of glass shelves and bright lights. A coterie of assistants stands
regally behind the jewelry shelves, smiling from ear to ear, ready to assist
you.
Depending on your budget, the scale of intricacy of each item increases, and
you might probably come out with jewelry whose casing is of 24-carat gold,
inlaid with bits of diamond stones, and the moving fan covered by prism glass.
Back at the tour bus, as we are making our way
to the Fishing Village, Keith became tentative, and out of the blue, threw us this
question: "have you ever wondered why the Hongkongese never smile?"
A rush of thoughts came to my mind, because I
had answered a similar question while touring Macau casinos yesterday. But the
question came from a Filipino family of five, who were first-time tourists in
Hongkong. The mom had asked: “Why are
Hongkong people so rude, and they never smile?”
My standard answer was what I had believed
since I was here in 2011. I told them that there are a lot of Filipino OFWs
(Overseas Filipino Workers) here working as domestics. So the Hongkongese probably
have a low regard for us, Pinoys, since we are a country of domestic helpers.
At any rate, Keith gave us his answer: “In
Hongkong for every 1 square kilometer there are 6,300 people; in the Philippines,
for every 1 square kilometer there are 265 people; and in the US, for every 1
square kilometer there are 35 people. The land area in Hongkong is so small
that real estate has become so expensive. We, the majority of Hongkongese, live
all our lives in condos. In Hongkong, the average area for a condo unit is 20
square meters. But that is the standard, and many do not follow the standard,
so still others live below that, say 10-15 square meters. Our homes do not have
rooms. So we are like caged birds, not for 1 or 2 years, but all our
lives. This is also the reason why when I retire, I plan to live somewhere
else.”
I was silent after that, allowing his words to
sink in, and for my mind to process what he just said. I didn’t need to confirm
his figures because the densities of the 3 countries he gave me were vividly
graphic by their sheer disparity. They are more than sufficient for me to have
a mental image of the comparison he was pointing out. As I sat motionless for a
while, I only felt pity for this 36-year old Hongkongese.
There were other facts he recited that
surprised me. When I admired the way their streets had no congestion anywhere
near the magnitude we have in Manila, Keith said they abhorred owning cars
because they need to pay a tax of 100%. I guess this was their government’s way
of maintaining free-flowing roads in a territory where land area is a meager
resource. If he did own a car, he would need parking in going to his office and
another parking at his condo, which on average will cost about HK$ 6,000, not
to mention the price of the car itself. Admittedly, this would slice a big
chunk off his income.
Keith represents the most productive age-group
of his generation, but he seems ambivalent about Hongkong’s future. Especially
since after Hongkong’s Handover in 1997, mainland China has continuously and
consistently grown its economic might.
In any case, he advised that whenever
you are in Hongkong, go on a shopping binge since it is well worth it - consumer
items are cheap because they are tax-free, and you are sure that they are genuine
and not replicas.
Now I understand why so many Filipino OFWs and domestics
in Hongkong converge on the squares and parks during their free time. In all
probability, they don’t have too much space in their employer’s homes. And it
is likely that their employer is a couple, probably newly-weds, who desire to
have a 2-career household, as a means of earning more. And the way to do that
is to use a substantial part of their 2-jobs-household income in hiring a Pinoy
domestic.
So what is my big lesson? Keep your judgement to
yourself. You do not know what the other person is dealing with just to cope
with the burdens of daily living. If you shut your mouth, respecting each
person’s distinct situation, you will be rewarded with a more humane understanding
of life. Then you will realize that there is a universal good that connects
every man, and that we can learn from each other.
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