The poor don't want a vote, we all want a better life

Ten years after Hong Kong went back to China, the British are still talking about democracy. My problem with that is that democracy is often times used - by former colonizers - as back door to get back at their enemies, in this case China.

But what do the people of Hong Kong really want?. A BBC reporter asked one of the people of Hong Kong what he thinks:

Across the lane, Ming Chan was crouched over his flower stall, preparing an extravagant bouquet of purple flowers. He too was cynical.

"In the past, if you were poor, you could work hard and get on", he said. "That's not true any more. In today's Hong Kong, you've got to be educated, a middle class professional. Not an uneducated entrepreneur."

So what about democracy, I asked. He laughed. "Democracy? The poor don't want a vote, we all want a better life". "As for democracy", he added, "we barely know what the word means."

Interesting. Check out David Frost's interview with Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong (29th June).