Commentary
How many British cultures did Hong Kong acquire? As a former British colony, Hong Kong once acquired its common law system and the rule of law, but the encroachment by the national security law changed everything, producing a lot of wrongful convictions and political prosecutions. British humor, another national treasure, had not been taken seriously in Hong Kong, where language learning is always utilitarian and mechanical. Hong Kong did have some political satire programs but was criticized by pro-communist forces as “enigmatic.”
Such “enigma,” however, is key to British culture. On my last two days in 2022, I visited the coastal city of Brighton with friends, and the museums I saw all contained elements of humor and satire. Royal Pavilion, George IV’s pleasure palace, is an Indian-style building filled with Britons’ fond imaginations of China in the early 19th century, thus explaining why British merchants were keen to explore the Chinese market before the Opium War. One section featured political cartoons during George IV’s reign, mocking his extravagant life and the political influence of his lovers….