Hong Kong at Night

Hong Kong street trolley at night

View From Victoria Peak

Repulse Bay view

        The city of Hong Kong has changed much over the last 20 years.  From British colony to modern Chinese financial and trade center, catering to the globe.  The Mayor of Tahoma visited twice in 1991 and '92 for business.  He returned just recently to see what has happened in the intervening years.  To start, a new airport has been built and put into operation.  This grand temple of modern transport is appended to the city on an area of landfill.  It is accessible quite easily and functions as per design to facilitate all the passengers who travel internationally(including from the mainland).  From Chengdu, it is an international flight, requiring passports and id cards for all Chinese passengers.  Interesting.
      Another sight that catches the eye are the high rise apartment/condo buildings all over the place: on the island and on the Kowloon side.  Now tunnels connect the two for faster movement.  The Star Ferry is stillin operation, but mostly for the quick trip for shopping in the center.
The shoreline is now dotted with office high rises, sprinkled among some older British buildings waiting their turn.  These great architectural giants are truly hallmarks of the 21st century and its business.  But today: protests of a different kind-political protests by the local citizens against an apparent Beijing move to stifle dissent in whatever form it happens to be.  No surprise here.  Beijing can't stand the thought of some of its citizens thinking outside the lines of Communist thinking.  What did they learn at Tiananmen Square 30 years ago?  Not much.  This time the world might not stand back and await developments as before.  We can't afford to stand back, can we?