Hong Kong Roxorz

Murray Rothbard wrote once that one does not have to approve of the means by which something comes about to nonetheless approve of that thing. For example, the ending of slavery in the United States was a good; however, the process that brought it about was most definitely not. In Rothbard's article, he was discussing the destruction of Pol Pot's regime by the invading Vietnamese army.

Hong Kong is much the same way. Hong Kong is probably one of the freest areas in the entire world, in both civil and economic freedoms. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, there are vast areas for Hong Kong to improve itself (let's not forget that Lichtenstein gets away with only 4% income taxes total, and Hong Kong doesn't allow for private gun ownership).

I just got back from the Hong Kong History Museum, which was fun, lightly educational, but also disappointingly pithy. I found some of the contrasts between the Hong Kong History Museum and the Singapore National History Museum to be of interest too, especially in their treatment of the Japanese during World War II. One of the greatest things about Hong Kong is that there never was a Lee Kwaun Yew or a Goh Kan Swee. Instead, the price system moved naturally and once designated a freeport, the city took off. The internal development of capital markets and the free movement of labor and capital helped shape the city into the awesome place it is today. It is really hard to create a narrative of state power and ability in light of what happened in Hong Kong. Now, history doesn't prove anything, as it must always be interpreted through some kind of theoretical lens; however, an interpretation of history can oftentimes help people to accept certain theoretical arguments.

Anyway, coming back from the Hong Kong History Museum is also an interesting play into the diversity that is Hong Kong. I'm meeting Africans speaking Swahili, mainlanders speaking Mandarin, everyone speaks English, I ran across a number of Muslims, just saw an orthodox Jew in the subway (of course, remember, there are really big banks here in Hong Kong), the Cantonese all speaking Cantonese, and a strange assortment of random European languages. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. All in all, an interesting place that's hard to get a hold of in just one small visit. The rest of my post will be about Hong Kong history that I learned at the museum, so some readers may wish to stop here (ahem, Cat, ahem).

Hong Kong History

The history museum actually started with Hong Kong's natural history. It began with Hong Kong as a marshland, largely covered in water. Over millions of years, the marshland was subsumed by rising sea levels, eventually, these sea levels receded and high volcanic activity would form the base of what most of today's Hong Kong would be. An ice age would bring the entire Earth covered in glaciers, carving out large bits of Hong Kong. Finally, the ice would recede and rains would open up and form what was left of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is at the northernmost rim for many tropical climates. As such, it's biodiversity is often in the coral reefs that surround it; however, many climax ecosystems here in Hong Kong include jungles and the diversity of animals that come with it.

The original humans who settled on Hong Kong were called the Yue. The museum took great pains to draw connections from the Yue to the Han people, and how the Han people brought civilization to these people. While likely true to a large extent that the Han people brought some advancements with them, it also serves the Chinese narrative as to why China should be allowed to rule over these people. After the fall of the Han emperors, the Nanyue Empire rose up, forming one of the largest and longest lasting Southern Chinese empires.

At one point during the Quing dynasty (I'm pretty sure it was the Quing), a ban was placed on living in Hong Kong due to the prevalence of pirates. The entire island was depopulated until the ban was lifted and people began swarming in. Four large ethnic groups would form the base of Hong Kong, the Hakka, the Hoklo, the Punti, and the Boat People. The Boat People lived most of their lives on their boats and only came to shore in order to trade with the others. The Punti were apparently some of the first land inhabitants to reestablish Hong Kong and settled in the best farming lands. The Hoklo settled further up in the mountain, and the Hakka were landed people who joined the Boat people in supporting the fishing economy of Hong Kong.

During the first Opium War with Great Britain, Hong Kong island was ceded to the Crown. After the second Opium War, the areas of Kowloon, the New Territories, and Lantau Island fell to the British. Intelligently, Britain declared Hong Kong a freeport, and capital and labor flowed into the city. I suppose benign neglect settled in and Hong Kong was largely left to develop for itself.

At the time of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong had a population of 1.6 million. Since central planning (i.e. rationing) couldn't feed all those people, the Japanese forced many in Hong Kong to go back to China, or kill them. They would even abduct people off the street and send them back to the mainland. Eventually, Hong Kong's population fell to 600,000 (notice: today, Hong Kong's population is a little over 7 million). The Japanese attempted to send out their propaganda, but Hong Kong remained resolute to restore its independence.

After the war, Hong Kong flourished as a free market paradise and a place for many expatriates to move their money. It established a working stock exchange, futures/forwards market, and a vibrant economy. Hong Kong started with extremely cheap labour, similar to Singapore, and then moved up the value chain as capital flowed in. I think in many ways, this helps the idea that Singapore developed more because of its free market and less because of any single ruler.

Anyway, Hong Kong is awesome.