When the new chief executive of Hong Kong made his inaugural speech this weekend, he did so in Mandarin. One native of the Cantonese-speaking city said that made her feel alienated. If Hong Kongers were not allowed to vote for their leader, she said, at least the swearing-in ceremony could be conducted in their own language.
Fifteen years after the British – who were never too big on democracy or Cantonese either – handed Hong Kong back to China, the former colony is becoming increasingly Sinified. That is to be expected. It is reflected not only in the language in which Leung Chun-ying made his first remarks as leader, but also in the fact that he has close ties to Beijing and the Communist party – quite a departure from his predecessor, a bow-tie wearing remnant of the British civil service.
The Sinification of Hong Kong goes deeper. The amount of Mandarin spoken on the streets has risen palpably. Shopkeepers, fishing for the bulging mainland wallet, often greet customers in it. This year’s census shows that 48 per cent of Hong Kongers say they can speak it, overtaking English, at 46 per cent. Nearly a third of residents were born on the mainland. Then there’s the renminbi, ever more commonly accepted, alongside Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong is the centre of Beijing’s efforts to internationalise its currency. Some in the territory have even floated the idea, once taboo, of breaking the Hong Kong dollar’s peg with the greenback and switching to a basket of currencies including the rmb.