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Glossary of Hong Kong Terms
Hong Kong in a Nutshell |
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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 |
| Ah-Ba | father (affectionate term) |
| amah | house maid |
| Astronaut | HK person whose family has moved abroad (i.e. alien territory) to secure passports, but who himself spends much of the year back in Hong Kong (i.e. the center of the earth) to make money. See also "Passport Widow" |
| ban mui | Filipina (derogatory term) |
| Basic Law | Constitution for post-handover Hong Kong |
| BDTC | British Dependent Territories Citizen passport; imparts second-class "British" citizenship |
| bei | nose |
| BLCC | Basic Law Consultative Committee; helped write Basic Law |
| BN(O) | British National (Overseas) worthless so-called passport |
| brain drain | anyone with half a brain has been leaving HK, to avoid having their brains blown apart by PLA troops |
| bubble gum | this is illegal in Singapore |
| CAAC | Chinese national airline; stands for "Chinese Airliners Always Crash" |
| Cantonese | Chinese dialect spoken in Hong Kong |
| catty | Chinese unit of weight; approx. 1.33 lb/0.7 kg |
| CCTV | Chinese Central Television; official national network |
| Certificate of No Criminal Conviction |
Required by most countries for immigration purposes |
| Chief Secretary | Government second-in-command |
| CMB | China Motor Bus; HK bus company known for reckless drivers |
| choi sum | delicious Chinese vegetable |
| Chow, Selina | outspoken arch-wishy-washy Legco member |
| 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 |
| Daya Bay | Chinese nuclear power plant just upwind of Hong Kong |
| Deep Bay | bay between northwest New Territories and China |
| Democratic Party | pro-democracy party; most popular party in HK. Branded "traitors" by Beijing |
| Deng Xiaoping | late Chinese dictator |
| dim sum | tasty dumplings served literally a la carte, on carts wheeled table-to-table in Chinese restaurants. |
| Disco Bay | Discovery Bay (see below) |
| Discovery Bay | bland, antiseptic housing development on Lantau Island |
| dollar | 1 Hong Kong dollar (HK$1.00) = US$0.13 |
| Dunn, Lydia | former Senior Member of Executive Council |
| EPD | Environmental Protection Department |
| Exco | Executive Council |
| Executive Council | Governor's appointed cabinet of advisors |
| expat | expatriate; normally refers to Caucasian residents of Hong Kong |
| faan gwailo | more belligerent term than gwailo |
| Fat Pang | Chinese nickname for Chris Patten |
| FM Select | local radio station |
| 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 |
| Grand Bauhinia Medal | Top award given by the HK government for public service (and too often for political subservience) |
| Green card | identity card given to legal immigrants by the USA government (by the way, it isn't really green) |
| Group of 89 | pre-handover paleo-reactionary business political lobby group |
| Guangzhou | major Chinese city near Hong Kong (also called Canton) |
| gwai | ghost; demon |
| gwai jai | child gwailo (literally: junior demon) |
| gwaipoh | female gwailo |
| gwailo | "demon man"; in other words, a foreigner |
| Hainan | island province in southern China |
| HKJC | Hong Kong Jockey Club |
| HKTA | Hong Kong Tourist Association |
| 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 |
| Ip, Regina | Secretary for Security, humourless woman whose whose viscious vendetta against the Falun Gong would seem personal if it wasn't such an obvious ploy to curry favour in Beijing |
| Iron Buddha | popular variety of high-quality Chinese tea |
| Jiang Zemin | Chinese president; successor to Deng Xiaoping |
| Joi gin | Goodbye |
| Joint Declaration | 1984 pact, in which Britain agreed to hand over Hong Kong to China |
| Joint Liaison Group | Sino-British group to discuss Hong Kong issues |
| Kai Tak | Hong Kong's international airport |
| Kowloon | peninsula which forms part of Hong Kong |
| Lan Kwai Fong | entertainment district in Hong Kong where all the trendy young foreigners hang out |
| Lantau Island | outlying island; site of new airport (under construction) |
| Lau, Emily | outspoken, independent pro-democracy activist and elected member of Legco |
| Lee, Martin | leading pro-democracy politician |
| Legco | Legislative Council; Hong Kong's quasi-legislature |
| Li Peng | murderous fascist dog; er, I mean Premier of the PRC |
| Li, Richard | son of tycoon Li Kashing. Of course Richard started his own businesses without Daddy's help! |
| Liberal Party | extremely un-liberal party of wafflers, toadies and nincompoops |
| Lo Wu | border crossing point between Hong Kong and mainland China |
| Lu Ping | Chinese government official in charge of HK affairs |
| Macanese | native of Macau |
| Macau | Portuguese colony near HK; reverts to China in 1999 |
| mafoo | stable master; trainer of racing horses |
| Mai Po Marsh | wildlife preserve along the border with China |
| 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 |
| NCNA | New China News Agency (see "Xinhua") |
| New China News Agency | see "Xinhua" |
| 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" |
| O.B.E. | Order of the British Empire; honor bestowed by the Queen |
| Oolong | type of Chinese tea |
| O'Shea, Rick | HK-based American disk jockey |
| Pacific Place | posh shopping mall on HK Island |
| Passport prison | Country such as Canada or Australia, where HK people reluctantly "do time" while waiting for to qualify for full citizenship |
| Passport widow | HK immigrant who remains in Passport Prison in order to secure citizenship, while the spouse commutes to Hong Kong to work (see "Astronaut") |
| Patten, Chris | last British Governor of Hong Kong; loathed by China |
| PCCW | Pacific Century Cyber Works; company founded by Richard Li |
| The Peak | posh residential area on top of Victoria Peak |
| PRC | People's Republic of China |
| Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) | collection of shoe-shiners appointed by Beijing to set up the post-handover government |
| Prince's Building | Central building which attempted to discourage entry to Filipina maids |
| Provisional Legislature | China-appointed replacement for the elected Legislative Council |
| Public Order Ordinance | HK law empowering government to restrict the press, political parties and public gatherings |
| 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 |
| shoe shiner | Cantonese term for sycophant or "bootlicker" |
| Si ga bo lo | Scarborough (Cantonese transliteration), a Toronto suburb favored by HK immigrants |
| Sing Daan Faai Lok |
Merry Christmas |
| snakehead | smuggler of illegal immigrants |
| Star Ferry | ferry between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (a 7-minute ride) |
| TELA | Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority |
| 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 |
| Tung Chee-Hwa | Shipping tycoon appointed by Beijing to be HK's Chief Executive since the handover |
| turtle's egg | highly derogatory Chinese insult |
| TVB Jade | HK's most popular television station |
| United Democrats | previous name for Democratic Party (see above) |
| Urban Council | responsible for museums, libraries and parks |
| VR | Vietnamese refugee |
| voluntary repatriation | when a VR returns to Vietnam under pressure rather than being forced back in chains |
| wai | Cantonese way to answer the telephone |
| Xinhua | (pron. "Shin-wa") New China News Agency; China's de facto embassy in British-ruled Hong Kong. Since the 1997 handover it might actually be a news agency. |
| Yip, Ronnie | Chinese soft-porn movie "actress" |
| Zhongnanhai | Central government compound in Beijing, where top leaders work and live |
| 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 |
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