Hong Kong(1)
Hong Kong after the Handover
Masumi Mizuno/Marubeni Hong Kong & South China Ltd.
Four years have passed since I was assigned to Hong Kong. I was assigned to Hong Kong in April 1997, right before Hong Kong's return to China (July 1997). Therefore, I started my overseas assignment simultaneous to Hong Kong being returned to China. Well, has Hong Kong changed in the past four years? The answer is that the way of life continues much as it did before the return. You need a visa to enter China from Hong Kong and you also have to go through immigration. Currencies and laws are also different.
In addition, in Macao, which was returned to China in 1999, gambling is still legally allowed as it was before the return, even though it is illegal in China. This shows the generosity of the one country, two systems. In terms of work, however, there certainly are more opportunities in China and I go to China on business trips every week. As a result, my passport is overflowing with entry and departure stamps. Even with new pages added, I fill them up in a couple of years and have to renew my passport again.
In 1985 when I went to China for the first time as a college student, there were not enough goods and the service at hotels and restaurants was also lacking. Moreover, since I couldn't speak Chinese then, I lost about 7 kilograms during my three-week trip. I was so moved by a dish of over-boiled pasta, which I somehow ate after arriving in Hong Kong, that I even cried.
I came to China again 11 years ago as an on-the-job trainee and stayed in Fuzhou for a year. My only enjoyment there was talking with the hotel staff and I would talk with them standing at the counter 1-2 hours every day. When I arrived in Hong Kong, following this period where I put up with no Japanese food being available, I felt so relieved that my entire body relaxed unconsciously. When the plane from Fuzhou arrived at the airport in Hong Kong and we went down the steps to the ground, there was a sudden breeze from the sea and a mainland Chinese passenger who I didn't know said, "How good the air of freedom feels!" This memory remains vivid in my mind. China has changed a lot since then and the big cities, at least, are not inconvenient at all.
On the other hand, Hong Kong is still vibrant and has the air of freedom. I still feel relieved when I return to Hong Kong from China. More than that, staying in Hong Kong makes me feel the potential and courage that I might be able to achieve something. Some of the former personnel of Marubeni Hong Kong left the company and started a new business on their own in Hong Kong. I think the energy of the place called Hong Kong has encouraged them. Two more years are left in my assignment. I would like to challenge myself and seek my potential.
Marubeni Group magazine "M-SPIRIT" VOL5 (September,2001)
