New York is not America. It is what America wants to be, minus the 45.5% income tax rate and the 20% gratuity at restaurants. One of the many symbols of New York In much the same way, Hong Kong is not China but what China should be, minus the air pollution and corporatocracy. But Hong Kong and New York have a few more things in common. For starters, worker bees in both cities pay exorbitant rent to live in a tiny apartment with barred windows looking right into someone else’s home. Everyone takes public transport and many never bother to get a driver’s license. Single women lament the scarcity of eligible men and rush to tie the knot before they hit their sell-by date, while men cling to their bachelorhood like koalas to a eucalyptus tree. Above all, both cities take great pride in their gutsy, razor-sharp and sleep-deprived citizens who, in trying to improve their own lives every day, create a better tomorrow for everyone else... _______________________ Read th...
A biweekly column on Hong Kong by Jason Y. Ng