A Global Threat to the Asian Dream

Yesterday in Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets to celebrate the return of Beijing’s most prized possession, the Lion Rock which guarded over the Huangpu River.

The water surrounding the spot of Huangpu River is sacred to the Chinese people and the cannons were set up to celebrate the day. All night long, loudspeakers filled the air to blast out propaganda to hammer home a singular message; “China’s dominance over Hong Kong is inevitable.” If this was an attempt to pacify the protestors by repeatedly cheering the loyalty of Chinese people to the governing Communist Party then the entire plan failed.

The majority of the protestors were not fearful of the past Chinese rule of Hong Kong, it was the future of the future. Many Hong Kongers have become wealthy because of their local roots. Now they’re coming to realize, that in the face of such weight, being “pro-Chinese” is not enough. People want change, they want independence, or the chance to establish their own nation.

This is exactly what they want and what China is afraid of. Sure, the Chinese have controlled Hong Kong since it was part of British control until Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, but they’ve also controlled Hong Kong in other ways, and some of those ways have caused the ordinary people to cry foul and long for some form of governance outside of China’s tainted authority. They long for freedom and they would accept the possibility of standing on their own with nothing to lose. And they would.

The protestors would ultimately throw their forces at mainland Chinese power, hoping to give local citizens, Chinese as well as Hong Kongers, a fighting chance. What they’ve been doing though is successfully destroying my family.

I came to Hong Kong to work for a telecommunications company for two years. My husband was at school for three of those years, so by doing so we separated our family and gained full social and economic freedom. And while we allowed this in order to be closer together and raise our son together, it was a gamble. The Hong Kong region at one time had a thriving economy. There were steel factories here that hired tens of thousands, neighborhoods of working class people and homes made of straw. During the day, it was possible to walk to market and pick up some daily necessities. But slowly, as the Chinese version of the American Dream progressed, our jobs were lost.

As we moved towards the future, working class housing was demolished, scrap metal more than standard brick, new roads were put in place, services and opportunities are very limited. Our childrens’ dreams are confined to spending time on the school run. We are living the American Dream in China.

In my opinion, that is progress. And while I recognize that our children would do well for living in mainland China, I also want the option of the Asian American dream for them, especially given the fact that many of my daughter’s friends are Chinese and their parents cannot afford to send them to their local universities. I grew up in Canada where I had the opportunity to study medicine, which is a prestigious field. Her friends at her local school however, cannot dream of going to a university with a good reputation, and their parents are Chinese. That difference is hurting my children in the classroom and it’s hurting me in the hospital. I cannot provide for my daughter and my son, how can I give my daughter that same sense of freedom that I had as an immigrant to Canada? This is why I signed up for a job in Hong Kong.

The protests are destroying my family. As I write this, my children’s school is filled with Chinese students, unwilling to speak to my daughter for fear of drawing fire from mainland Chinese authorities. The sense of separation and exile is crippling and her friends in the hospital are next. They’re in constant fear of being banned from being published in the U.S. tabloid that I work for if they dare to have a conversation with us. The relationship I had with my child’s teacher has now gone completely south, and I have no answer as to what to do. I’m so proud of my children, and their pursuit of academic excellence and their ability to be successful in whatever situation they’re thrown into. But I’m devastated by what is happening to them.