The streets of Hong Kong filled with revelers and protesters yesterday, the 10th anniversary of the date Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule. It was either a great occasion for students to meet and “have a fun day,” according to China’s People’s Daily Online, or, according to Western media reports, a day for pro-democracy advocates to once-again rally for more freedoms. World Hum contributor Daisann McLane put the situation into context in a recent story for Slate.

McLane writes:

The Hong Kong government has been working overtime to keep the protesters at the margins and ensure that the 10th anniversary follows the script. Last year, they hired extra PR muscle for the occasion, and the official anniversary events have been going on—and on and on—since April. The schedule includes everything from a “Basic Law Fun Day” and a Cantonese opera singing contest, to an “Election of the 10 Most Joyous Incidents” since 1997. Most of these feel-good handover events are harmlessly hokey, but some are a bit too retro-Maoist for comfort. The Cultural Revolution-meets-Sgt. Pepper commemorative handover painting, “Halcyon Days Pearl,” with Hu Jintao and Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang playing the roles of Mao and Chou En-lai (or John and Paul) may remind many Hong Kong people of the reasons why they fled the motherland in the first place.

One constant in all this: Hong Kong, everyone seems to agree, has changed a lot in the last 10 years. The BBC has a package of stories called Hong Kong: Ten Years On, which includes slideshows and interviews with three Hong Kong citizens.

Related on World Hum:
* Daisann McLane: ‘Learning Cantonese’ in Hong Kong
* On the Bus with Hong Kong’s ‘Long Hair’
* Judging Hong Kong by its Cover
* Q&A with Daisann McLane: The Frugal Traveler

Photo of Hong Kong’s 10th anniversary parade by das farbamt via Flickr, (Creative Commons).