Ordinary Gweilo

There have been several letters in the SCMP from expats in response to Sam Wong’s letter last week.  His response is to deny what he wrote and blame it on the sub-editor:

Some deny post-colonial reality of HK

There have been many responses to my letter ("Expats have done little to benefit city", January 3).

The theme of my letter relates to the competitiveness of Hong Kong but your correspondents focused on the contributions of individuals, which is a different matter. This misunderstanding caused an overreaction and harsh language from some letter writers.

I did not suggest a lack of contribution on the part of foreigners and domestic helpers despite the headline (which I did not write). Every citizen contributes to our society one way or another. Even people living on social welfare can claim they contribute to our economy because they are also spenders.

Hong Kong’s competitiveness is measured by its infrastructure, modern airport and container port facilities, communications technologies, good social systems, financial services, industries, tourism, medical services, an efficient police force, good governance and a hard- working population, supplemented by the support of the mainland under the "one country, two systems" concept.

Foreigners in Hong Kong share the success of Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

As Graham Price pointed out ("Foreigners make a big contribution", January 6) many chose to make Hong Kong their permanent home because of job opportunities and a friendly environment that makes it easy for foreigners to settle.

However, some foreigners who lived through Hong Kong’s colonial era still fail to acknowledge that this city has returned to Chinese sovereignty. They suggest that local people’s views should be expressed only in the Chinese-language media.

I extend a welcome to all foreigners if they share the view that the competitiveness of this city is not solely due to the presence of a small population of expatriates. And I hope your correspondents will no longer feel offended after my clarification.

Sam Wong, Sha Tin

So what does he really believe?  The headline seems like a fair summary of the following excerpt from his earlier letter:

Expatriates who have come to this city to work do so because they can’t get a better job at home.  If these people’s talent had anything to do with the competitiveness of Hong Kong, they would have enhanced the competitiveness of their respective home country. The sad state of the economies in the US and Europe is a reflection of the talent of these people.

Does he really believe that he didn’t “suggest a lack of contribution on the part of foreigners and domestic helpers”?

Of course what this is really about (as with many similar letters published by the SCMP) is the section I have highlighted above:  “this city has returned to Chinese sovereignty” and “some foreigners who lived through Hong Kong’s colonial era still fail to acknowledge that”.  So, we foreigners should keep quiet and learn Chinese.