Ever wonder why academic freedom is dead in Hong Kong? One overlooked contributing factor is the “Failed in London, Try Hong Kong” type of “professionals” that the city has drawn since its heyday.
Back in 2006/7, lecturers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong were already advised by their superiors not to anger students coming from Mainland China who happened to be ultra-nationalistic (To be very fair, not all of them were/are!) by introducing controversial materials that they deemed offensive and triggering. What happened in 2019 might have come as a shock to many. Yet in hindsight it was not a complete surprise. Since 2020, Hong Kong has dropped to the bottom 10-20 % of the Academic Freedom Index, published by researchers at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the V-Dem Institute, making it on par with authoritarian countries such as Yemen and Pakistan.
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What was surprising for me was that the catastrophic changes to the former British colony have not deterred Western-born people from flocking to it: indeed, many have gladly settled there since 2019. They include many well-educated young people from good families who would have been able to live comfortably in their western countries of birth, or in the case of immigrants, their adopted countries where they have long settled.
Hong Kong-born people with jobs and families have understandably stayed in the city and not yet considered emigrating to Western countries. It is immature and insensitive to blame them for their “stupidity,” like some extremist Youtubers have done. Yet, for those with Western citizenships, and/or Western upbringings, one has to wonder what motivated them to move to or stay in a place where the rule of law has collapsed or in the process of collapse. Is it money and, in some cases, fame?
Former beauty queen Tracy Chu, for example, emigrated to Canada at a young age. Having recently obtained her Juris Doctor degree from City University of Hong Kong, she now works as a barrister in this city. She still has a huge following due to her starring in numerous TVB dramas. Upon learning that she has been invited by the Chinese University (where she obtained a taught master’s degree) to teach part-time, many netizens were seemingly very excited: they showered her with compliments and expressed their desire to audit or enroll in her classes.
I do not doubt that Chu is pleasant and kind and will likely bring joy to her students. Yet it remains a lamentable social phenomenon that young people with Western citizenships are still choosing to work in the legal field in a place where the rule of law is, well, almost non-existent. In addition, the fact that she was invited to work as a part-time lecturer does not reflect on her superior credentials: her qualifications are mediocre at best. (She went to a second-tier Canadian university for her bachelor degree; the admission standard for City University’s JD programs is the lowest of all Hong Kong universities–it’s said that City University made a law degree available to all who can afford it!) It is rather an indication that Hong Kong universities have degenerated, partly due to brain drain, to the point where they have to hire academically subpar celebrities in their attempts to increase enrolments.
Considering that Hong Kong’s academic freedom index is now on par with Pakistan and Yemen, working as a professor, lecturer, or researcher is, without a doubt, no longer prestigious, no less so than being a lawyer. In fact, as my new book says, “Hong Kong scholar,” “Hong Kong legal academic,” and “Hong Kong lawyers” have long become complete oxymorons.
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People like Chu might have stayed in Hong Kong for complex personal reasons. Those reasons might, or likely, include fame and money. In fact, Westerners flocked to the former colony back in the old days. Some of them, despite their mediocre credentials, were able to earn big money and recognition in the colony, more so than their local counterparts with much better credentials and experiences. The mass influx of the “Failed in London, try Hong Kong” (abbreviated “Filth”) type is a double-edged sword which turned the fishing village into an international city. Many of them left the city as the general climate changed; others chose to stay. No matter how noble they claim their reasons to be, money is undeniably an -if not the most-important pull factor.
Unfortunately, people with western citizenships choosing to practice law and teach in a place like Hong Kong, to a certain extent, lend legitimacy to the government that took away the rule of law and the city’s degenerate legal and educational systems. Once we walk in the shoes of a materialistic person and forget justice and dignity, Chu’s choice is understandable, considering that people of her caliber would not have been able to obtain the same recognition in a country like Canada. For some people, it seems, fame and money, and a materialistic lifestyle are higher priorities than dignity and justice. The takeover by an authoritarian government was not the sole reason why the city’s academic freedom is dead: the overlooked reason lies in the people who have supported it in different ways.
The desire for fame and wealth hinges in part upon desperation or naivete, or both. Hong Kong people who dislike the current climate and system have been eager to find joy in their lives. People like Chu provide some comfort they need. The same type of people have become fans of Mirror, the (in)famous boy band. These people might have the capability to introspect. Yet giving up thinking and leading mindless existences can be immensely satisfying. It’s like taking opium. Many people in the region did that, up until the mid-twentieth century.
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Thousands of Hong Kong people have emigrated to Western countries since 2020. I hope that they will endeavor to integrate with the host countries, even as they seek to retain what they consider to be the best attributes of their original culture, so that they can lead rich, fulfilling lives in peace and with dignity in their adopted-turned-home countries.