Hongkongers are like Chinese banyan trees, says city's Finnish envoy
Jari Sinkari points to indomitable city spirit, urges people to learn from Finland's tech sector
Clinging to stone walls and steep slopes as they thrive in a tough urban environment with the odds stacked against them, the Chinese banyan tree is the perfect metaphor for the indomitable spirit of Hongkongers, Finland's top diplomat in the city says.
The trees, commonly found in Hong Kong but not seen in the subarctic climate of the Nordic country, have long fascinated the envoy, and he considers them representative of the city's "can-do spirit".
"Hong Kong people are like banyan trees because they are flexible and know how to look for opportunities," said Jari Sinkari, Finland's consul general in Hong Kong.
"They are able to find water and resources even though you would think they would not survive. For me, it is a metaphor for Hong Kong."
This "Chinese banyan tree spirit", a term the 51-year-old veteran diplomat has coined, is his version of the well-known "Lion Rock Spirit" much referred to as characteristic of Hongkongers.
The famous landmark came to be associated with Hongkongers' search for a better life after the idea was embodied in the 1970s RTHK drama Below the Lion Rock.