Cosmopolitan Moral Values

Written by: Thomas Chiu

Edited by: Samantha Law

Hong Kong. A city where East meets West, a cosmopolitan city with a unique culture, well-known to the world. What does it mean to live here, and embrace the culture within? 

According to a research conducted recently by HKU, around 92% of the population is ethnically Chinese, and the remaining 8% consists primarily of other types of Asians - like Filipinos, Indonesians and Indians. This creates a culture where people have different values and beliefs. Let’s start off by delving into some of the differences between the East and the West. Cultures of the East, like Chinese cultures, tend to value community and are result oriented, while Western cultures usually prioritize process over outcome.. This becomes contradictory for certain families, particularly those who are FOTB (fresh off the boat) in Western countries, as they were raised on the assumption that  results reflect everything and when you get it, the process doesn’t matter anymore. For example getting bad grades is a wrong thing to do. However in schools that are “international”, or more Westernized, they believe that as long as a child tries their best in the process, the grade doesn’t matter. 

However, these moral beliefs don't apply to everyone here in Hong Kong. Take giving household expenses to your parents for instance, apparently, only locals who are ethnically Chinese do so and it’s not common within the expatriate community or other races like Indians and Filipinos. That being said, some people believe that these people are uneducated and do not have a sense of respect, gratitude and belonging for their family, but not every culture values puts the same emphasis on things as the local culture does - we should learn to respect other cultures and their values, acknowledge the differences and form bridges for each other. 

That takes us to another point, where international schools in Hong Kong are more Westernized, and thus their students are more exposed to the cultures of Western countries. This creates cultural differences even within their own home, Hong Kong, and they may experience culture shock when they encounter people with a more local background. Should we say it’s morally wrong to put our children in these Westernized schools then? A lot of people do so for various reasons, and it’s not correct to say that a kid going to these international schools will benefit nothing about their local culture and heritage. Besides, some parents will argue that enrolling their children in international schools will hone their English skills, preparing them for a more competitive world-class work environment in the future. 

Furthermore, the unique experiences that a child will face during their time at an international school will cause more good than bad, as they have immersion in an environment that has people of different backgrounds. Another important point to note is that in Hong Kong, people may consider certain topics as taboos and talking about them directly and openly is often considered inappropriate, people often talk in a very careful manner to avoid offending anyone, directly or indirectly. This contrasts with Westerners who usually get to the point and will have more “modern” or “open” styles of communication and won’t think as much about people’s reactions as long as they can get their message across. 

Now, that brings us back to the theme of social hierarchy and responsibility. Hong Kongers, which are primarily Chinese as aforementioned, believe in a moral code that emphasizes collective responsibility, and each member of the family has a significant role to play depending on their generation. This also relates to giving back to parents, where this is only done by the younger, working generations to their parents or elders, and regard the ones who are most aged to have the most wisdom and experience. On the contrary, a Westerner may think this doesn’t make sense and is illogical because the older generations usually did not receive formal education and are sometimes illiterate, so it is morally wrong and confusing in their eyes to have such points of view. As in many Western families, or even some Westernized Asians like Singaporeans and Filipinos, they tend to value individuality, child’s rights and equality - ensuring everyone has a voice and allows for freedom of speech. As much Chinese and Western cultures have “respect” as a solid stone in their families, the extent of how this is implemented or viewed differs greatly, sometimes that Western parents are confined to showing respect to their children as well, since they’re one individual so therefore they have the right to require respect. Additionally, research also shows that families in Hong Kong typically have a strained relationship during their child’s teenage years, as they are searching for their identity and a sense of belonging and wishes to express themselves. This problem is more severe in Mainland China, where, according to several news sources,  children are reported to completely have no choice over their lives and are oppressed instead of contributing to having a voice in the family. From a Western perspective, this would be deemed unacceptable and detrimental to the child in the long run, as not allowing  children to express opinions and try out new things as an individual would create long-term issues like diffidence, being indecisive and having no experience of managing their own life, especially when unexpected things happen. For this reason, Western children will usually have a better time in adapting and recovering from any immediate difficulties, as they’ve been raised to develop skills relating to independence  - a common expectation is that children will move out of their parents’ home when they reach 18, as this marks a milestone in their life where their parents are no longer legally responsible to look after them. 

So, overall in a balanced perspective, what is morally right or wrong or what’s valued as more important totally depends on your culture and what you were raised upon, and I think especially living in a place like Hong Kong, where we have such a unique history and a cosmopolitan, Chinese-British fused culture, we shouldn’t take sides but approach these values in both ways, are there things like enforcing respect in the household, that the locals have where Westerners can learn from? And are there things, like celebrating individuality and allowing more equality, more beneficial for the relationship of local families?