UP NORTH

正Mainland universities see a growing number of Hong Kong SAR applicants Amid the gloomy global outlook and much uncertainty in recent years, students in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(SAR) wanting to pursue further studies outside of the SAR have pinned down China's mainland as their primary destination of choice.     

A BRIGHTER FUTURE

<正>20 years after returning to the motherland,Hong Kong is poised to usher in a new round of development Just beside a forest of skyscrapers in the heart of Hong Kong,a big curveshaped and multilayered structure is under construction.This is the West Kowloon Terminus of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-ShenzhenHong Kong Express Rail Link,which will shorten the travel time between Hong Kong and Guangzhou in the Chinese mainland to less than one hour.     

SOCIETY

正Partners for Innovation Students discuss startup projects during the Second Tongji-Bauhinia Valley Startup Camp at Tongji University in Shanghai on January 6.Over 70 college students from the Chinese mainland,Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan attended the event.The Hong Kong-based Bauhinia Valley Innovation and Development Center,founded by a number of organizations led by the Hong Kong China Chamber of Commerce,aims to promote cooperation between the mainland and     

I Married a Mainlander

A decade ago, marriages between Hong Kong and mainland residents occurred mainly among old Hong Kong men and young mainland women. Sometimes the age difference could be as much as 40 years. This gender bias is no long the norm, and there are few instances of even a ten-year gap. Many Hong Kong and mainland residents now "intermarry" on far a less pragmatic basis.I married a mainland husband, isn't that the best I could hope for over the past decade?" jokes Yeung Ming Yu, in fluent putonghua. Prior to Hong Kong's return, the probability of a young Hong Kong-born woman marrying a mainlander was extremely low. A decade later, such matches are relatively commonplace. A total 6,500 Hong Kong women married mainlanders in 2006, according to statistics.     

Weighty Matters in Hong Kong

Education is a rocky journey in Hong Kong.Costs are skyrocketing and competition is fierce,as it is on the mainland.But who would have thought that even the issue of schoolbags would be so contentious?News items about how heavy schoolbooks are here,and how to lighten the load for Hong Kong’s students,are matters that everyone in the     

Opening the Trade Valve

正The Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock link creates new trade opportunities Two years after the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program,China introduced another stock trading link between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.This move serves to further push forward the yuan’s internationalization and cements Hong Kong’s status as an offshore yuan     

Tongrentang Goes International

正THE time-honored Beijing Tongrentang brand has achieved its longstanding goal to go global.The leading Chinese pharmaceutical company has opened 95 stores in 17 countries and regions out of the mainland,as well as a research and development center in Hong Kong.     

Retired Life

As Hong Kong inhabitants have a sense of privacy and their living space is often limited, they seldom invite people to their homes. The teahouse is the most popular meeting place. Our interview with Tsui Chee, however, was at his homeMEI Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong's first private residential subdistrict in Lai Chi Kok, was built in 1968. It epitomized a well off society where middle-class people, such as Tsui Chee and his family, moved in the 1970s, to live in compact communities. Tsui Chee's apartment has an area of more than 80 square meters. It is furnished in a manner similar to that of a mainland household, other than the altar left of the entrance, where devotions to deities and ancestors are made. As the principles of fengshui are commonly observed in Hong Kong, the position of the altar in the household is decided by geomancers. Hong Kong people visit temples to worship deities and also to draw bamboo slips out of a pot for divination purposes. Geomancers are employed to determine the most auspicious location of new companies and suitable layouts of houses being considered for purchase.     

The Rebirth of Hong Kong

HENRY Law, executive director of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), remembers clearly Western predictions of the "death of Hong Kong" and fears that the mainland had "bitten off more than it could chew" of a decade ago. Hong Kong has undoubtedly experienced a dramatic, yet triumphant, decade. When the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2006, foreign investors bought more than 90 percent of their shares. "All capital flows into where there is profit. If Hong Kong is doomed, how is it that capital flows in?" Henry Law logically points out, concluding, "The development of Hong Kong over the past decade has changed Western and world mentality."     

Special Administrative Success

<正>On July 1,1997,the Chinese Government resumed its exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong.To guarantee its prosperity and stability,the principle of"one country,two systems"has since been implemented,al owing Hong Kong to retain its capitalist economic and political system while the Chinese mainland practices a socialist system.Except for national defense and foreign affairs,Hong Kong enjoys a high     

Huge whirlwind of little Kaiten-Zushi

After the return of Hong Kong in 1997, the business opportunities in the mainland were known to Hong Kong merchants. The merchants who dealt in import and export trade in Shenzhen, including us, were strongly struck by Hong Kong merchants; therefore, we began to think over about the way out: what we should do if import and export trade would doom? Several years before that, we discovered that our kids had been fond of American style fast food; so we thought of talking with McDonald about c…     

Enjoy the Mixture

AU Yeung Ying Chai is a Hong Kong resident. Although well traveled he has never considered emigrating. Despite rising housing prices and worsening air pollution, Au Yeung still loves his city of birth.Au Yeung recently bought a workshop in a remote corner of Hong Kong. He has built a kitchen on its balcony. "I think of it as my cookery laboratory," explains Au Yeung. He has recently written and published two books on Hong Kong cuisine, Eat Half Full ¨C The Climax of Life and Tastes of Hong Kong. The latter looks into the origins, development and distinct ingredients of Hong Kong cooking. It is popular on the mainland as well as in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.Hong Kong is famous as the city of cuisine. Its chefs proudly proclaim to all interested gourmands that fresh ingredients from around the world can be found in Hong Kong. ~~International cuisine is served at Hong Kong's many restaurants and hotels, often tasting better than at its place of origin. There are also enthusiastically attended cuisine festivals throughout the year at the city's 10,000 or so restaurants.     

What Will the SH-HK Stock Connect Bring?

THE Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Program is a strategic decision the Chinese government has taken to meet the needs of equity markets on the mainland and in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.It represents an institutional innovation in the country’s capital market.During the first 25 trading days after the launch of the program on November 17,2014,more than RMB 71billion flowed into the mainland’s A-share market and RMB 9.5-plus billion into the Hong Kong market via the Stock Connect.Although the trade volume did not show explosive growth,it remained stable and orderly.It will take time for investors to warm to this scheme.In the long term,however,the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock     

Hong Kong＇s Ailing Book Trade

AS big bookstores mushroom in neighboring Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Hong Kong feels an ever-greater pinch in its publishing sector. Publishing has become more expensive in Hong Kong over the past years, owing to hikes in land and labor costs. A book priced at the equivalent of HK $20 on the mainland is currently tagged at HK $70 in the special administrative region. Unsurprisingly, this huge disparity has enticed Hong Kong readers, and also bookstores, away from the SAR to the adjacent mainland cities for their book purchases. "In the past our only rival was Taiwan," muses Sun Lichuan, deputy editor-in-chief of Cosmos Books. "The mainland posed no threat because its books were inferior in print and design quality. Also, few Hong Kong natives could read the simplified Chinese characters that have been the norm on the mainland since the mid-1950s. But since Hong Kong rejoined Chinese territory, it has closer ties with the mainland. More HK locals have learned to read, and even write, simplified characters. Publishing houses on the mainland have also progressed from small workshops to modern conglomerates. They now produce books that are attractive in appearance as well as substance."     

Return of the Red Chips

The mainland stock boom is drawing many profitable Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies back home September saw a wave of Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies returning to the mainland stock market,helping the Shanghai Stock Exchange surpass Hong Kong to become the sixth largest stock exchange in the world.     

A Historic Link

Incoming cross-sea bridge is of vital importance to integration of the mainland,Hong Kong and Macao The construction of the world’s longest sea bridge between Hong Kong,Zhuhai and Macao kicked off in Zhuhai,Guangdong Province,on December 15,2009.     

Widening the Window to the Outside World

Simplified travel procedures between Hong Kong and Shenzhan have brought the SAR even closer to the mainland. In recent years,Shenzhen‘s low living costs and comfortable living environment have attracted many Hang Kongers. Luo Yuanjun‘s article, “One Country,Two Doors-From Hong Kong to Shenzhen“ brings into focus the closer links between Hong Kong and the mainland since Hong Kong‘s return.     

HONG KONG''''S BRIGHT FUTURE

Economic cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong enhances Hong Kong's economic performance Guided by the principles of “one country, two systems,” and “Hong Kong administrated by Hong Kong people,” Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland have established nd, multi-faceted and broad     

Human Resources HK＇s Latest Challenge

HONG Kong, having hitherto taken pride in its free flow of human resources, currently faces a serious shortage of qualified professionals.SAR human resource assessment statistics in 2007 indicate a 100,000 shortfall in potential white collars and a 230,000 surplus of manual and casual workers. Areas most in need are banking, finance, business consultancy and information technology. In the midst of Hong Kong's transition to a knowledge economy its most serious human resource deficiency is in the area of research and development, according to HK government reports. This paucity in human resources has caused certain businesses in the region to consider seriously the possibility of moving offices elsewhere in Asia. Language is a main barrier for many SAR job seekers. At this point, ten years after the return of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, around half of Hong Kong residents still do not speak putonghua. The English proficiency level of Hong Kong professionals is also declining.     

NOT SO DIFFERENT AFTER ALL

As Hong Kong and the mainland become more intertwined, the cultural gap that existed is closing Cultural exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong were only renewed in the 1980s, after China opened its doors to the international community.