Hong Kong is a tiny region on the south coast of China, at the mouth of the Pearl River Estuary. It consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the inland New Territories, and numerous islands, both inhabited and uninhabited. First occupied by British opium traders in 1840, it became a colony in 1841. HK Island and Kowloon were part of the permanent colony, while the New Territories were “leased” for 99 years in 1898.
The expiration of that lease in 1997 prompted fierce negotiations between Britain and China culminating in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed by Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Jiyang, the Chinese Premier, in 1984. This document promised HK special status as a “Special Administrative Region” of China for 50 years after 1997, including retaining the capitalist system and existing freedoms of speech, religion, etc.
In 1990 China enacted the Basic Law, which enshrined all the above promises. Hong Kong people, skeptical of China’s promises (the same “rights” are guaranteed in China’s own Consitition), began emigrating to other countries in great numbers. The current population of Hong Kong is 6.5 million people. The date of the transfer of sovereignty was July 1, 1997. It is a weird, wonderful, infuriating, aggravating, and stimulating place to live, work or visit.
Ah-Ba - father (affectionate term)
amah - house maid
ban mui - Filipina (derogatory term)
Cantonesecatty - Chinese unit of weight; approx. 1.33 lb/0.7 kg
CMB - China Motor Bus; HK bus company known for reckless drivers
choi sum - delicious Chinese vegetable
cognac - as advertised, something to be consumed only in the presence of men
congee - rice porridge
conservative - in HK context, someone whose politics are somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun
Consumer Council - HK government body that investigates retail fraud
daai paai dong - low-priced street-side restaurant
dim sum - tasty dumplings served literally a la carte, on carts wheeled table-to-table in Chinese restaurants.
Disco Bay - Discovery Bay
Discovery Bay - bland, antiseptic housing development on Lantau Island
dollar 1 - Hong Kong dollar (HK$1.00) = US$0.13
expat/expatriate - normally refers to Caucasian residents of Hong Kong
faan gwailo - more belligerent term than gwailo
fung shui - Chinese traditional belief in good fortune in relation to geographical alignment of structures; used by HK immigrants abroad to explain cutting down every tree in sight
Giordano - clothing retailer founded by Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing
Green card - identity card given to legal immigrants by the USA government (by the way, it isn’t really green)
gwai - ghost; demon
gwai jai - child gwailo (literally: junior demon)
gwaipoh - female gwailo
gwailo - “demon man”; in other words, a foreigner
H.M.S. Tamar - base where British Navy was located in central business district
hoi moon lai see - lucky money given by a groom to bridesmaids to make them “open the door” to his bride before a wedding
Hunan - province in China
Hung Hom - low rent district in Kowloon
hung mo gwai - “red haired demon”; belligerent term for gwailo
II - illegal immigrant
Inland Revenue - tax department
Iron Buddha - popular variety of high-quality Chinese tea
Jiang Zemin - Chinese president; successor to Deng Xiaoping
Joi gin - Goodbye
Lan Kwai Fong - entertainment district in Hong Kong where all the trendy young foreigners hang out
Lantau Island - outlying island; site of new airport
Macanese - native of Macau
Macau - Portuguese colony near HK; reverts to China in 1999
mafoo - stable master; trainer of racing horses
Mandatory Provident Fund - mandatory private pension fund for all HK employees
Mark Six - Lottery; held twice weekly
Mid-Levels - overpriced upper-middle-class district on HK Island; also renowned for potholes
Mongkok - Kowloon district crowded with people and boutiques
MPF - Mandatory Provident Fund: retirement fund which all HK workers are now required to set up
MTR - Mass Transit Railway; the subway train system
Mui, Anita - Hong Kong pop music diva
Nathan Road - major shopping area and traffic corridor of Kowloon
Nei ho - Cantonese for “How are you” or “hello”
New Territories - northern half of Hong Kong’s area
Ngoi foo - Father-in-law (wife’s father)
Ni hao ma - Mandarin for “How are you” or “hello”
Oolong - type of Chinese tea
Pacific Place - posh shopping mall on HK Island
Patten, Chris - last British Governor of Hong Kong; loathed by China
PCCW - company founded by Richard Li
The Peak - posh residential area on top of Victoria Peak
PRC - People’s Republic of China
renminbi - monetary unit in China
Repulse Bay - upper class area on south side of Hong Kong island
RHKJC - Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club
Right of abode - The only British colonial subjects who have right of abode in the UK come from Caucasian-majority colonies (Gibraltar & Falklands)
RSPCA - Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Sam’s - Famous tailor in Kowloon
SAR - Special Autonomous Region; what HK is under Chinese rule
Scarborough - “New Hong Kong”; Toronto suburb
Shenzhen - Chinese industrial city bordering Hong Kong
Sing Daan Faai Lok - Merry Christmas
snakehead - smuggler of illegal immigrants
Star Ferry - ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon
to taam - to spit; another of Hong Kong’s national pastimes
Tolo Harbour - highly polluted body of water in New Territories
triad - Chinese criminal gang
Tsim Sha Tsui - tourist district, known for dishonest shopkeepers
Tsim Sha Tsui East - district known for night clubs popular with triads and Chinese officials
Tsing Tao - popular (and good!) Chinese beer
TVB Jade - HK’s most popular television station
Urban Council - responsible for museums, libraries and parks
VR - Vietnamese refugee
wai - Cantonese way to answer the telephone
14K - major criminal triad gang
1997 - On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and became a Chinese one instead
8 - lucky number in Cantonese, means “wealth”
88 - twice as lucky as number 8
Image and Glossary of HK Terms courtesy via my favourite Hong Kong Cartoon Character, Lily Wong.
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