'It’s hard to talk about dreams now': ​​A Hongkonger reflects on two decades living in Beijing

There are about 370,000 Hong Kong people living and working in mainland China as of November 2020. Among them is Bing Chiu, who moved to Shanghai in 1998 then Beijing to work in the advertising industry. Bing said he initially had to adjust to the more political environment in the Chinese capital, but he went on to pursue his dream of opening a restaurant and forming a band. Opportunities started opening up for his band, including TV performances that allowed the group to find bigger audiences. But the situation changed once the country began tightening control on cultural events starting in 2015. Looking back on the last two decades living in Beijing, Bing says, “It’s hard to talk about dreams now”.