Hong Kong has bounced back since the bleak days of the pandemic
While much has changed in the city, it will hopefully embrace diversity, compassion and tolerance amid the ongoing drive to grow and prosper
Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder. This week marks the fourth anniversary of my departure from Hong Kong, a city I came to love during 28 years as a resident. It was not easy to leave. Hong Kong had become my home. But it was, for me and for many others back then, the right time to make the move.
My reasons were complex, although the wearying pandemic restrictions and dramatic legal and political reforms played their part. The city had changed so much.
Returning to my native England, though, was a leap in the dark. Us British expats used to say the UK was a nice place for a holiday but we wouldn’t want to live there.
In the four years since my departure, Hong Kong has bounced back from the bleak pandemic years. The city I left is a distant memory.
The airport, when I left, on August 3, 2022, was deserted and a mask was clamped to my face. The requirement to wear masks in public would not be lifted for months. Travel restrictions had left Hong Kong isolated from the rest of the world.
Now, the tourists have returned, along with talent and investment. Hong Kong is aiming to become a hub of hubs, a centre for pretty much everything from finance to culture, legal services and sport.