Hong Kong has one of the highest concentrations of 7-11s in the world. There is hardly a position in downtown Hong Kong where one cannot find the "7" logo. Most places, two, three or even four are visible.
This past fall and winter, all of these locations were offering a little something extra with every purchase: Hello Kitty magnets. The campaign was called "30 Years of Cute," and it sent the Hong Kong community into a frenzy.
In my residence, some floors traded pieces with other floors. Others desperately went after the "rare" pieces, trying to complete their collection through unnecessary purchases of chocolate and fish balls. One friend of mine stole a key piece from another's refrigerator. Japan's Sanrio Corporation must have been thrilled.
The 7-11 campaign has ended now, and Japan is being represented in a far different light these days in the media. The South China Morning Post, along with the Chinese press, has breathlessly reported a series of riots and protests in the mainland against Japan.
These protests started as a reaction to Japan's desire for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. They have morphed into a discussion of Japanese textbooks' inadequate representation of World War II crimes, a set of disputed islands near Taiwan and a sense that the Japanese never properly apologized for invading a half-century ago.
Whatever the reason, it is an undeniable fact that public opinion about Japan on mainland China is low. I narrowly missed some of the riots in the cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou last week, although people I met expressed their disgust with Japan.
"We need to watch out for Japan - Japan not so good," one man told me.
What was not so clear to me was how the Hong Kong people felt about the Japanese. Cultural exports, from Hello Kitty to high fashion, remain highly influential in Hong Kong. The Japanese-owned Sogo department store is frequently full of affluent shoppers snapping up the latest Japanese products.
The South China Morning Post devoted its two lead stories to the issue yesterday, with one large headline declaring that anti-Japanese protests were spreading to Hong Kong.
I decided to take a tour around Hong Kong's central region to assess the real impact. There were worrying signs at the Park-n-Shop supermarket, where the Asahi beer was moved into a far corner. The Japanese brewery is one of the main targets of people calling for a boycott on Japanese products. No one at the supermarket knew anything about the placement of the cans.
Next stop was the Sony store, which was empty. But then again, so were the golf shop next door and the sound equipment store on the other side. The two Japanese restaurants I passed both looked rather vacant, although each had a smattering of Cantonese clientele. I tried to make conversation with a couple of locals about the issue, but either I was not understood or this simply was not a polite topic. Finding any facts proved to be difficult.
For a perspective outside of the increasingly pro-Beijing media, the only place that I have been able to turn these past few days has been my classes. There it becomes apparent that the majority of students, at least, have a reasonable perspective on the scenario.
Unlike the hordes of protesters that burn Japanese flags and throw rocks at consulates, students in Hong Kong seem to have given both sides of the argument view ample consideration. They are concerned about Japan's limited apologies for its actions during World War II, but also show a refreshing pragmatism.
"It would be impossible for us to completely boycott Japanese goods," one student said. "We need them."
Perhaps the most sagacious of all views came from a professor of mine who teaches a class on foreign policy entitled "China and the World." Diverging from the planned lecture, he told the class that he was a strong proponent of Japanese participation on the Security Council. He said that Japan's increased involvement in international organizations ultimately was better for both countries.
These wise opinions have assuaged my fears about Hong Kong. Underneath the scary headline about protests "spreading" to Hong Kong, the body of the article indicated that actions would be limited to a letter-writing campaign and educating students on the true history of World War II. No riots were planned.
Although there certainly is anti-Japanese sentiment in Hong Kong, it seems to be more tempered than that on the mainland. Perhaps it is the city's long connection with Japanese culture. Perhaps the people in Hong Kong are not as upset as people on the mainland.
Whatever the reason, I'm glad Hong Kong is not responding like the mainland. My Hello Kitty magnet collection is safe for now.
