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Welcome to theopinionatedinternet.blogspot.com, a whirling hotpot of political opinion, poetry, prose, philosophy, reviewing, and other assorted wild ramblings! Here you will find: PWN, Grand Reviewer and assistant thinker; JAFHR, head of Philosophy, Literature, and Ambassador for France; JHWW, critic/comic materialist; and iTech, computer technician, pilot-in-the-making and co-politician. Fare Thee Well!


Pour les Francophones

Cher Lecteur/lectrice,
Nous vous souhaitons la bienvenue A notre blog, L'Internet Dogmatique. Vous trouverez ici tout votre bonheur- Literature, Philosophie, Politique, Revues, Technologie... Par dessus tout, vous trouverez des opinions. Ne manquez pas a publiez le votre!
Pour rendre tout cet Anglais lisible, traduisez simplement cette page en utilisant le gadget que vous trouverez sur votre droite, un peu en bas. Nous regrettons que cette traduction est rarement exacte; il serait peut-etre plus sage d'utiliser ce blog pour pratiquer votre Anglais.
Bien le Bonjour, Messires et Demoiselles,
JAFHR, le Fou Francophone.

Monday, February 6, 2012

My Life in Words

Hong Kong
Anywhere I go, I always get asked the same question- are you Chinese or Japanese (in some cases Korean). In truth, I am neither of the three, and I usually make people guess where exactly I'm from.
A list of guesses.

North Korea ?!
America
UK
Singapore
Malaysia

It usually takes a couple more guesses, and a few obvious hints before they can figure out I'm from Hong Kong. This is nearly always followed by a debate as to why I said Hong Kong, and why not China, as after all, Hong Kong is now officially a part of China. So is Hong Kong really a country then? Is it just an island in a country (China)? Should I really be saying I'm from Hong Kong, and not China? Well I'll tell you the situation of Hong Kong now.
Hong Kong originally belonged to the British. In 1997, however, it was handed over to China, and is now officially known as a special administrative region- one of two China owns (the other being the island Macau, originally belonging to Portugal, but handed over in 19999). Thus, Hong Kong is recognised as not a part of China, when China is referred to as China PR-Peoples Republic. Governance and legal laws are different in Hong Kong to mainland China, and most importantly, when England "gave it back," there was a condition that it would be separately administered from China for 50 years. Hong Kong has its own currency system as opposed to mainland China(the HKD, Hong Kong Dollar). Border crossings are also important, as there are special stops needed for people from mainland China to go to Hong Kong. Similarly, shortly I was after born in London(which could actually mean I'm British, but more later), I was flown with my twin sister to Hong Kong, and got a special "slip" stating I can live in Hong Kong whenever I want. This, however, does not mean I can live in China, as after all, it is a country of its own. It is also worthwhile mentioning that Hong Kong performs in the Olympics as a separate team to China, and it is officially recognised as a country.
So there you go- Hong Kong is in fact its own country, and not a part of China- to all you reading out there who've always questioned me, here's your answer!
So does it actually mean in British, if I'm born here and have a British passport? In my opinion, no, because both my parents are Cantonese (from Hong Kong), and I can also live in Hong Kong, as well as Britain. Feel free to leave a comment if you think differently!
-JHWW-
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