The cause of the “Changeover Jitters” for Honkies (Hong Kong residents) was the spotty record of the PRC government and its decision to send in military vehicles and troops for the changeover festivities. This manifestation of Chinese might made many nervous, particularly those who felt that they did not conform to the PRC government’s agenda. The prodemocracy movement, the gay and lesbian movements, and young activists were concerned about the threat of censorship and the PRC’s track record on human rights in its other Special Administrative Region, Tibet. (The number-one hit for several weeks this summer on the Hong Kong pop chart was David Bowie’s Mandarin rendition of his anti-PRC protest song, Seven Years in Tibet, marking a first for a European singer.)
Surprisingly, there was little excitement on the part of the hoi polloi. Most people to whom I spoke evinced little interest in the new government. After all, the British were a colonial government, and it was only in recent years that former Governour Chris Patten pressured Her Majesty’s government to permit democratic elections in Hong Kong. Some of these newly granted privileges were revoked by the incoming governor, Tung Chee-Hwa (Dong Qihua), whose commander-in-chief was Chinese and represented the Motherland-or so ran the justifications of the enthusiasts. I felt, however, that the locals were as unconvinced of such attitudes as I was.
