Westerners can't distinguish between hong kong chinese and mainland chinese?

Many regions in the world have such similer culture and ethnic origions that they are assumed to be similer. Europeans have variences between nations but are very close culturally. Africa again culturally is very similer. Politically nations are radically different. Zimbabwe and Nigeria are on one extreme, South Africa and Kenya on another. Northern Africa is really more Middle Eastern than African.

Culturally and spirtually Mainland China and Hong Kong are almost diametrically opposed. Hong Kong was the center of business for many years in the region. Hong Kong has a very hard working freedom loving culture. They are inovative, technologically astute and very modern. Hong Kong also still has a strong Western influence in culture and beliefs. Taiwan and Hong Kong ot me have a great deal in common culturerally in my opinion.

I was surprised to be honest how peacefull the transistion to Chinese rule has been. I expected more resistance from Hong Kong and for China to be more repressive. So far China has been gentle and slow in instituting repressions. I feel for those in Hong Kong. To go from such a free society to one of the more repressive nations on the earth. I have met no one from Hong Kong that thought the Chinese take over of Hong Kong was a good thing. The Chinese themselves are scared to death that Hong Kong resistance will spread to the mainland and from what I understand have put measures in effect to limit contact between the mainland and Hong Kong. Word of protests and discension does leak out but is mostly ignored by the mainstream media. China has been carefull not to kill thousands so far. The impression I get is they take a few here and there away to the labor camps as warnings to the most vocal pro-Democracy groups and religious groups. I have not heard of mass repressions yet, but fear they will happen as soon as China feels they have enough good will in the world that they can spin and shut down any reproach for such in Hong Kong.

So I fear for Hong Kong. I see one day in the next 3-7 years when the Chinese army will roll in and make mass arrests. Right now I think China is just watching and building up lists. When it thinks it has every free thinker in Hong Kong it'll then smash entire groups. I feel China is also playing a PR game for the moment. Building it's alliances for eventual war with the West. China in particuler seems to be courting Islamics and Latin America.

A lot of Hongkongers still cling to the days being a member of the colony and long after the handover in 1997, they still think they are above all other Chinese. Some of them even deny being Chinese but see the stupid notion of "Hongkongers" as a separate race / nationality, and when asked, they say they are Hongkong Chinese with an emphasis on the word "Hongkong"!

Indeed, many westerners simply don't care, some westerners don't even know how to pronounced "Hongkongers"! Much like the way I don't care whether a German is from the former East Germany or the former West Germany. If there's anyone who really cares, it's only some of these Chinese living in the former colony.

I am a Chinese born and live in Hong Kong and work with westerners. I have never met a westerner who intentionally tries to distinguish between an islandic Chinese and mainland Chinese like it really matters. To them, we are all Chinese. Much like the way we don't care whether an american is from Texas or Alaska.

It's the silly yearn to be above the rest (like in the colonial days) that prompts some Hongkong Chinese to try so hard to distinguish themselves from the remaining 1.3 billion Chinese and to make a world-wide proclamation that they are not from the north.

If a westerner asks me where I am from, I would say China, not Hongkong. I would say I am a Chinese, without the silly prefix of Hongkong. If he thinks all Chinese are communists, I would tell him not all americans love waging wars in foreign countries. If he thinks Chinese are backward, uncivilized and uneducated, I will show him otherwise with my deeds, not a self-serving label of "Hongkong Chinese".

If he is interested in stereotypes more than getting to know me, I would just wish him luck in the new century and most of all, I shall not try to reinforce his stereotype by cladding myself in a "Hongkong Chinese" disclaimer.

Because of different background between Hong Kong Chinese & Mainland Chinese, such as society & government (HK – capitalism, China – Communism), legal system, education, history etc.

In Hong Kong, people can free to get the different information from outside, but the situation is opposite in China. The personal income & cost-of-living index of Hong Kong Chinese are higher than Mainland Chinese. Therefore, the conflicts are happen between of them. Hong Kong Chinese feel that the generality of Mainland Chinese are impolite, unhygienic, corruption, uncivilized, unorderly etc. In the situation of mainland Chinese, they feel that Hong Kong Chinese is disdain, arrogant.

I was sorry to see Hong Kong handed over to the PRC but let's face it, Hong Kong is now a part of Mainland China. Your heart is still in the old Hong Kong as are my fond memories.

What part of the country I am from due to answering questions on Yahoo Answers????

You have stated any opinions in this...First of all what on earth is your question?

You are from a very different culture than what we are. All you are telling us is, you have a very huge discomfort in distinguishing with the western population. I am from CA. There are many, many different cultures here. I don't look at the persons skin or their eyes, I look within. That is where the true person is. Look at the heart and stop judging others. There is only one judge and your not HIM.

I have reread your question and I truly detect some hatred in your question. Drop the hate and maybe you won't have such a problem. We all have red blood you know...

Because they literally are the same when they dont talk. Like they're both chinese that goes with taiwanese too. Same with americans and canaduans, you cant tell untill they speak.

well, obviously gwai los cant tell the difference. because they are not from there at all.

i was born in hk, moved to singapore. Undiscerning ppl there think the canto i speak is the same as Malaysians. No matter how much i try to explain the differences in the nuances n tones of cantonese between malaysians n hk-ers, they still don't get it. And thus(no offence to chinese malaysians) they think that cantonese sounds jarring n unsophiscated. But i find cantonese spoken by HK-ers actually is quite nice to hear. Fluent n interesting, not vulgar sounding at all(like hokkien, i dont mean its vulgar but it sounds a bit disconcerted n staccato)

im a westerner and been living in asia for long time and whilst in Hong Kong im often confused as arab..spanish..turk..and anything else, except as a bloody australian than im proud off to be.

but i found it easy to pick up the mainlanders (chinnese mainland) from the islanders (hongkongers).

the hongkongers wear the suit jackets with the labels OUTSIDE, unlike the mainlanders. and the mainlanders wear FAKE Rolex, the islanders have REAL ones.

I speak Mandarin, and I find it quite different from Cantonese (what you're calling "hong kong chinese"), in just about every way. But people who don't understand either language could very well find them similar. It's like asking you if you can tell Finnish from Russian or German.

We can't tell you apart based on looks alone, but certainly any educated person would know that there is a difference, in politics, education and socialization, between mainland and hong kong chinese, and for that matter between these two and taiwanese.