No, I Will Not Fund Your Trip Around East Asia

At first I'd only heard rumors of young, normally white, expats sitting around public areas selling postcards, hemp-bracelets and other crap. Apparently this is the new trend for recently-emancipated youth: Now too lazy to do actual work in order to fund their adventures, gap-year neophytes are now masquerading as nomadic artisans in Asian cities. I was skeptical at first, but it wasn't long before I came across these vagrants stationed around the Star Ferry Terminal and other tourist hubs, quietly purveying their goods with signage saying romantic BS like "Help me fund my travel dream" in both English and Chinese.

There are some folks who, for one reason or another, end up stuck in a place and have to find a way to survive by becoming dancing robots and whatnot. But "Beg-packers" are mostly privileged white kids who've made a choice to leave the U.S. and Europe with the expectation that people would enable their journeys of "self-discovery." This budget-Eat-Pray-Love silliness is something my fellow millennials and I (unwittingly) contributed to and Generation Z has continued in even more self-indulgent ways. It wouldn't be so bad if the handicrafts involved actual skill, but anyone foolish enough to by their rubbish is only hurting the local professionals who make higher-quality, authentic rubbish.

White people, hear me out: Don't do this. There are plenty of legitimate immigrants and refugees in HK that can get away with this kind of thing because their products have actual cultural significance and they demonstrate actual financial need. But most of you dingbats went to college on your parents' dime and have nothing meaningful to contribute other than helping heal the rampant inequality our demographic has thrust upon the world for the past few centuries. And guess what? You aren't doing that loitering around TST.

Seems legit

Perhaps I'm being too cynical. After all, somebody must be buying this stuff or else these people wouldn't be hanging about about. It's quite possible the locals find the idea of giving money to gwei lo amusing. And its not like what these kids are doing is much different from what I did ten years ago, right. Many American and European Caucasians have had this kind of "go East" mentality, almost as if we have a homing instinct for this part of the world and Hong Kong is a hub for our holy pilgrimages to Phuket or KL.

But by-golly, there is the right way to do these things! Either bust your trust-fund or do what I did and (barely) teach English.

I Disapprove of What You Say, But...

I try to be no more than a "participant observer" of HK politics (I mean, I can't vote after all), but that ended on Saturday. A post on the International Students Association Facebook page invited students to join a protest against the university's student union. Normally I would see no problem with this. I could only care a little less about CUSU, since (#1) I am a grad student and (#2) student unions are kind of useless. Still, if the international students feel underrepresented, then fine, protest away! 

The problem was that this whole thing was engineered by Mainland students in response to CUSU's display of HK independence propaganda on Benjamin Franklin square (which it manages). So I felt I had to make a point that any international students who joined the protest were really becoming photo ops for one side of a debate which they probably had no business being a part of. Sure, I suppose a foreigner could, in theory, strongly believe in fighting against HK independence, but more likely than not the poster was either a paid agent or a young lad trying to impress some girl from Guangzhou (ten years ago I'd probably have done the same thing).

Look, HK independence is a goal of some young idealists that has no hope of ever happening, and yes, it has caused some prejudice against Putonghua speakers (which the Mainland media loves pointing out). But even if the Basic Law somehow prohibits talking about foolhardy initiates like Xiang Gang Du Li (and I'm pretty sure it doesn't), such a thing ought be protected by freedom of expression. While I realize Hong is Hong Kong (and yes, part of China. Sort of.), similar movements like those in the U.S. in response to Herr Shitgibbon's presidency are apt examples for what this kind of freedom should look like. The South rightfully lost and secession is illegal, but talking about making California its own country is not a crime.

So when I read things like this statement from the CUHK Vice-Chancellor, I see the veiled threat of prosecuting thought-crime:

"The idea of an independent Hong Kong is not only in breach of the Basic Law of Hong Kong but also contrary to what I personally believe. Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China; this is beyond dispute.

When discussing and debating political issues, our students should always do so peacefully and rationally, and conduct the discussion or debate in a respectful and patient manner."

CUSU probably should not have made such a hard-line statement that maybe, just maybe, many of those they are meant to represent disagreed with. My impression is that most Hong Kongers want to retain their special freedoms, but dismiss the idea of independence. So its fine if many students felt misrepresented and wanted to complain. However, taking part in a counter-protest, which is really a disguised attempt at silencing an unpopular opinion, is even more fraught than CUSU's provocations. They may have overstepped, but they are a minority whose thoughts and feelings out to be respected and allowed expression. While equally-valid, the hurt feelings of Mainland Chinese can become a tool of repression, especially if non-locals like me let themselves get played.