Since the late 19th century, Hong Kong has become an important city in the world as it was treated as a trading intermediary between the Chinese and the foreign countries. However, time goes by and the growth of some countries and cities are threatening the international position of Hong Kong nowadays. Singapore is a very good example. Besides, Hong Kong has experienced several nuisances. Is it a good place to live in? In my opinion, it is a blessing instead of a curse to live in Hong Kong.
In the first instance, people living in Hong Kong enjoy many types of freedom. Freedom seems to be the most fundamental right that a human being should have. But in some countries, people’s freedom is limited. For example, if people in China criticize the government, they will mostly be arrested. Without freedom, people’s behavior is controlled maliciously – how can they live a happy life? So, it is a blessing to live in Hong Kong because people enjoy freedom of speech. If they are dissatisfied with the performance of government, they can voice out without being arrested. They can even enjoy freedom of demonstration so that they can express their opinions for improving their living conditions.
Furthermore, the welfare system in Hong Kong is effective. Although there are still poor people in Hong Kong, the government has pursued a great deal of policies to help the grass root. For instance, the government provides financial support to those poor families through CSSA Scheme. Besides, the Chief Executive and the Financial Secretary will disclose the Policy Address and the Budget respectively once a year to tell the people living in Hong Kong what they are going to do to improve their living conditions. Therefore, not only the poor can benefit from the welfare system, but all the people living in Hong Kong.
Moreover, Hong Kong is a safe heaven. Compared with other places in the world, Hong Kong can said to be the most peaceful and safest city. In the aspect of natural disasters, earthquakes, tornadoes and any other disasters seldom occur in Hong Kong, even if there are typhoons in summer, they do not lead to a heavy casualties. War is nearly impossible in Hong Kong but chaos is possible. Nevertheless, Hong Kong follows Rule of Law. Thus, chaos is rare.
It is undoubtedly true that Hong Kong is in fact under the control of the Central Government, so the future of Hong Kong is still blurred. However, the Hong Kong Government has started preparing for the election of Chief Executive in 2017. It will be a new page of Hong Kong as he/she is chosen by the people living in Hong Kong. Therefore, the future can be seen actually because democracy will come true.
Of course living in Hong Kong is not ideal. To make it an ideal place to live in, social harmony should be enhanced first because a lot of people living in Hong Kong are indifferent to society, causing a negative atmosphere floating among the city. This decreases the index of happiness of Hong Kong, making it a less desirable place to live in. Apart from this, air pollution is severe in Hong Kong, so this problem should be solved in order to improve the living conditions. For example, the government should try to divide the roads into 2 parts – one for vehicles and one for bicycle. As a result, air pollutants emitted by vehicles can be reduced as people can choose to ride on bicycles instead of riding on cars.
Yes, Hong Kong is not an ideal place to live in. But it is a place where freedom, safety, peace and mildness can be found. So it is a blessing to live in Hong Kong.