[Map Kernow]

Hong Kong was in much better economic shape under the British---that's why over the course of nearly 50 years so many Chinese risked their lives to flee to Hong Kong from the Communists. There was street crime and prostitution under the British, but not the kind driven by unemployment and despair that this article speaks of. "Yes, Virginia---Communism really does suck."

[untenured]

Hong Kong was in much better economic shape under the British---that's why over the course of nearly 50 years so many Chinese risked their lives to flee to Hong Kong from the Communists.

The Asian financial crisis began in earnest on July 2, 1997, the day after HK returned to China. Maybe history will record it as a coincidence, and maybe not.

[staytrue]

Hong Kong has the same economic laws as it had under the English. The difference is an open border with China. The mainland chinese that border Hong Kong are much much better off at the expense of the unskilled labor in Hong Kong. Overall, it is a plus for most. Plus Hong Kong was very into "high tech" which has been a disaster everywhere. Political laws of course have changed dramatically in Hong Kong.