នៅពេលមានការផ្លាស់ប្តូរវាជាការបង្រៀនឱ្យឆ្លុះបញ្ចាំងពីអតីតកាល

A look back at a Post edition from 27 years ago reveals headlines that could be from today. But the difference is a sense of optimism and excitement that has been lost

A row between Britain and China over developments in Hong Kong. Worrying changes at the city’s public broadcaster. Concerns about a lack of affordable housing, a dramatic change in population size, a “terror campaign” and an election.

The headlines could be taken from contemporary news stories. But they are all to be found in a copy of the South China Morning Post published on the day I joined the company, 27 years ago this month.

Hong Kong, then as now, was at a critical point in its history. The return to China was less than three years away. There were many uncertainties and much work to be done.

Today, the city is undergoing another transformation. Hong Kong’s way of life is changing after the passing of a national security law and electoral reforms. Dissent is being stifled. Some have described it as “a second handover”, Beijing’s response to the anti-government civil unrest of 2019. At this time of change it is instructive to reflect a little on the past.

I was hired in London and started work in Hong Kong on September 16, 1994. The Post that day revealed Britain’s then foreign secretary Douglas Hurd had flown in at about the same time. Hurd was in town for crisis talks with Beijing officials. Preparations for the handover had become “bogged down” and London wanted faster progress.

The big story was the row over the new “CT9” container terminal, a HK$6 billion project led by British firm Jardine Matheson.

China objected to the company’s involvement, prompting allegations Beijing was allowing politics to undermine trade and “interfering in the territory’s affairs”. But China had the stronger hand. Jardines surrendered its involvement as part of a compromise deal two years later.

Another story highlighted calls for the greater use of Chinese in the courts. At the time, only English was permitted at the higher levels. Just 30 per cent of barristers and half of solicitors were capable, with training, of conducting cases in Cantonese.

In some respects these appeared to be more innocent times. The “terror campaign” referred to a three month “rampage” by “pistol-packing” teenagers wielding air guns in Sau Mau Ping. Police issued a warning to a family.

Meanwhile, the controversy at RTHK – currently being reined in by the government – was sparked by its decision to ditch English-language radio coverage of the legislature’s proceedings. This, said the Post, called the future of English-language broadcasting into question.

Health threats were posed not by a pandemic but by steam irons used for facials and too much cholesterol in mooncakes.

Concerns about the size of the city’s population were not, as now, prompted by fears of an exodus. It was growing too fast, fuelled by an influx of residents returning, expat workers, foreign domestic helpers and mainlanders.

The darker side of the late colonial era was also evident with a report on the latest developments regarding disgraced top prosecutor Warwick Reid, jailed for taking bribes. Meanwhile, an impending forced repatriation of Vietnamese asylum seekers sparked a hunger strike at High Island Detention Centre.

But some things never change, such as a lack of affordable housing. A mother-of-four challenged the governor, Chris Patten, to try living in her 450 sq ft flat. Now, in these days of micro-apartments, it would be considered relatively spacious!

I read with some sadness the page devoted to “the campaign trail” with coverage of the District Board elections to take place later that week. Hong Kong was then in the early stages of its democratic development. But the dream of universal suffrage now seems further away than ever.

How you view Hong Kong’s progress since the handover depends on what your expectations were. The “first handover” in which the core components of Hong Kong’s way of life remained intact lasted longer than many thought, although it is supposed to survive for 50 years. We now wait with some trepidation to see what the “second handover” brings. After a turbulent two years and so many concerns it would be great to restore the sense of optimism and excitement I witnessed when I first arrived.

SCMP