OP-ED: Olivia Chow could learn a lot from her native Hong Kong
"During a recent visit to Hong Kong, I came to the conclusion that Toronto’s beleaguered mayor would be well-served to return there for a few months to learn how a well-run, authentically first..."
Author: Sue-Ann Levy
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow moved with her family from Hong Kong to Toronto more than 50 years ago when she was 13.
According to her book, My Journey, which was published in 2014, she lived a middle class life in Hong Kong compared to what she experienced in Toronto.
During a recent visit to Hong Kong, I came to the conclusion that Toronto’s beleaguered mayor would be well-served to return there for a few months to learn how a well-run, authentically first class city operates.
We spent five days in Hong Kong and were incredibly taken by the cleanliness, the lack of homeless people and drug addicts stretched out on its sidewalks, and the fast and efficient transit system.
This observation was consistent no matter where we ventured, whether in the tony parts of the central district or on the island of Kowloon or on the east part of the island called Causeway Bay.
The first thing we noticed were the plethora of transit options and how easy it was to use them, along with taxis if we were tired from an afternoon of shopping at the Ladies’ Market.
Because driving is on the opposite side of the road in Hong Kong — and in Singapore where we spent our last few days — trying to look both ways to avoid traffic was a bit confusing the first few days.
On the day we spent on Kowloon, we took the ferry across from Hong Kong—easily walkable from our hotel via a network of clearly marked overhead pathways.
The ferry ride, a longer distance compared to the trip from Toronto’s downtown to the Toronto Island, cost us a mere $2 CAD each, a special fare for seniors (got to take advantage of that) with the tickets easily accessible by tapping with a Canadian credit card.
Compare that to the $9.00 charged for adults and $5.50 for seniors to take the Toronto ferry to the Islands.
Despite the huge numbers of the people travelling back and forth to Kowloon, the ferries never felt crowded because there were so many available.
On our last day, we boarded the colourful double-decker trams — which reminded me of matchboxes — for a trip to the east part of Hong Kong. I wanted to get a taste of the city’s transit options. Had we not taken the tram, there would have been plenty of double decker buses.
All took credit card payments right on the vehicles.
When we discovered we were tight for time to meet a friend back in the Central District, we jumped on the subway: two stops and 10 minutes later, we were back where we started.
The subway was well-signed and easy to manoeuvre. The lines ran everywhere throughout this vast city. Again we were able to use our credit cards to access it.
There were also glass doors separating us from the oncoming trains — something we could sure use in Toronto given the subway jumpers and attempts by crazies to push innocent people on the tracks.
On the days we walked and took a tour of the key sights, we did not see one single homeless person or drug addict on any street.
Not one.
Our guide on our first day there told us there is a $400US fine for littering or not picking up dog feces and $800US for obstructing public spaces.
Ditto for Singapore, which is so clean you can literally eat off its sidewalks.
It, too, has many transit options, along with its own version of Uber called Grab.
The fines are tremendous in Singapore as well — for not just littering but spitting. We even saw one sign in a bar in Singapore’s Chinatown that banned public touching of a woman’s breasts.
Perhaps Singapore goes slightly overboard but it was so refreshing to walk in a city that respects cleanliness and decorum — unlike Toronto where trash and dog poop is evident everywhere and violent abusive protesters are allowed by our weak police chief and Chow herself to take over the streets.
Perhaps if we had such laws, and they were enforced by our weak police chief, we might have a cleaner Toronto.
In fact, the only occupation we ever saw in Hong Kong was on Sunday on the streets around our hotel when domestic workers — mostly of Filipino descent — are permitted to set up tents and camp out on their only day off with friends.
They came with their food, drink, and costumes and danced and partied together.
Even vendors came with clothing to sell to them.
When we returned after a day of touring Kowloon, there was barely evidence that they’d been there. The streets were spotless.
We never saw any beggars anywhere we went throughout Hong Kong, even in the poorer areas, and certainly no drug addicts in a fentanyl pose.
That’s not to say that drug abuse doesn’t exist in Hong Kong. It’s just not in one’s face on the streets.
I left Hong Kong, and Singapore, thinking we could certainly do much better.
Hong Kong’s population is 7.5 million, nearly double that of Toronto’s. Singapore clocks in at 5 million.
We are far from world class.
Our infrastructure is decrepit; our transit system light years behind and our streets are filthy.
But that takes some recognition on behalf of our municipal leaders.
Perhaps if Chow were to travel back to her birthplace, she’d get a rude awakening. Why I’d even approve of taxpayers dollars to fund her voyage of discovery.
Always love your perspective Sue-Ann. Hope to see more of it. Miss your regular writing from True North
great stuff!