Have been obsessed with a new category of YouTube channels in the last two years.
None of them is entertainment related (though I still watch a lot of them) but all of them are Hong Kong related, specifically Hong Kong people moving overseas in the last two years, and some of them taking advantage of the UK BNO scheme.
The BNO migration scheme allows a lot of Hongkongers, who usually were not able to move overseas to start a new life in the UK, and in this case bringing their families, parents and even pets over. New numbers recently released indicated that over 200,000 people have left Hong Kong in the last two years, many of them taking advantage of this scheme.
For me, watching these new channels popping up like bamboo sprouts after rain on YouTube reminds me how hard it is for some to give up everything they have established to start anew in a foreign land. However, what is very comforting is that most of these Hongkongers have the resilience to face any challenges along the way, and also along the way, setting up a support system so the ‘more experienced’ can help the newbies to avoid mistakes that they made. This kind of community spirit has, without a doubt demonstrated that Hongkongers are not only resilient, but extremely adaptable. This, maybe, is due the great nature of Hongkongers developed throughout history – when you don’t have a say about anything, you adapt and work hard, hoping that hard work will pay off. This partly explained how Hong Kong could soldier through history and became an international city.
Leaving what you have behind is hard. Leaving what you have behind because of uncontrollable factors is even harder. In those videos, you see a lot of them were hugging and crying, some recording their journey right from the point they made the decision and going through the motion to start their application. For them, it is a huge decision. A decision that they did not make lightly. But if an environment is no longer habitable, or if it is taking a toll on you socially, politically and mentally, you need to move on to avoid marching towards extinction. There is a Chinese saying ‘Smart Birds Choose the Most Suitable Trees to Nest’. This is exactly what they are doing. It is not a reflection of other people, but a reflection of who they are, and where they want to be.
We live in a society, so our every action will be judged, whether you like it or not. But for me, judge all you can, this is my life. And I think that is the only advice I can give people, if they have not decided what they want to do. There is no right or wrong, just what suits you most. Living is hard enough, living unhappily make things even harder.
However, whatever your decision is, just remember that you do not lose your identity as who you are, or what you believe in. I watched an interview piece lately by an ex-established-journalist who had moved from Hongkong to the UK. A so called ‘older generation’ migrant (who is not that old age wise) mentioned that Hong Kong people can bring their belief coming over, but they also need to understand both the local and the ‘older generation’ migrants. While the latter groups welcome Hongkongers with open arms, combative and non-compromising views will eventually wear out the support that they initially have. I feel strongly about that statement.
The truth is, for me, once a Hongkongese, you will always be a Hongkongese. While I do not like people to keep asking where do I come from simply because I am not blonde hair and blue eyes, as I considered myself a Sydneysider, I never negate the fact that I was a born and bred Hongkongese. If not, I will not care about what’s happening in Hong Kong, and care about my family and friends in Hong Kong. However, for Hongkongers moved abroad in this emigration wave, just remember, it is harder to snap a bunch of sticks then just one. The cohesiveness should come from because you are a natural born Hongkongese moved overseas, not who you are as a current generation Hongkongese who feel that you are the most relevant because you lived through a revolutionary period there. Hongkongese who are already overseas are not inferior to you simply because they have not lived through your fury periods. We care, because we still consider ourselves Hongkongese. The welcome current Hongkongers migrants received is based on that simple baseline, and mostly nothing else.
Hongkongers who newly moved to another country may think that they are suffering an identity crisis. ‘Am I still a Hongkongese because other people think I am a coward and moved overseas, instead of rebuilding the society?’ This is not a question you need to answer, because you are living your live. Your identity as a Hongkongese will be with you for the rest of your life, even if you want to shed it. Because this is who you are – you innate right that nobody can take away.
Identity can also be preserved through oral and written history. Keep telling stories, if the kids are interested, keep Cantonese as a language alive. Teach them how to order stuff at yum cha and communicate in Cantonese with their grandparents as much as possible. Sooner or later, they will find their identity, but who they become is not something you need to feel short of, because eventually, it will become their livea. Remember, a lot of our identity and history were told through stories. Keep telling the stories, and one day the stories will matter.
One might think it is an identity crisis, and some of them might see themselves as refugees, but what I see in the current part of world history is a new opportunity. An opportunity that was once stripped from BNO’ers like me. Now the cake is there – whether to take it or not is your choice. And either choice did not make you lesser as a person, but just a decision of who you want to be in the future. You do not lose your identity, you are just building on and evolving your identity as your see best for you and your family.
Odd oil and God bless you all!
