Last year’s blackout devastated horse racing, this year’s epidemic cleaned up dancing. In the fourth wave of the raging epidemic in Hong Kong, the dance group infection has become a dreadful existence, as of 24 days, the group accumulated 187 cases of confirmed cases, becoming the largest infected group in Hong Kong since the new crown epidemic, but also makes the capitalist lifestyle of Hong Kong “horse racing, dance, as usual” has undergone drastic changes. Originally, horse-racing and dancing were meant to be relaxing and symbolic of Hong Kong’s prosperity, but under the double blow of the anti-amendment controversy and the epidemic, the people of Hong Kong have lost that spirit.
In 1987, when Deng Xiaoping met with members of the Basic Law Drafting Committee in Beijing, he emphasized that “Hong Kong’s capitalist way of life will remain unchanged for fifty years” with the words “horses will run and dance as usual. He used vivid and popular language to highlight the characteristics of Hong Kong’s “capitalist” lifestyle of “sound, fury and horses”. Thirty years later, Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, quoted this quote again when he met with Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, saying that the National Security Law of Hong Kong was enacted to “allow horses to run faster and dancers to dance more beautifully.
But can Hong Kong really still “run as the horse runs and dance as it dances”? From the anti-revisionist storm of 2019 to this year’s neo-crown pneumonia epidemic, Hong Kong’s capitalist way of life has been affected many times, most notably by horse-racing and dancing, and with no end in sight to the epidemic, this way of life may have received an impact. An era may be coming to an end as Hong Kong is no longer in the limelight.
Horse-racing fades in the tension
Horse-racing and dancing have always been an intuitive image of Hong Kong people’s lives. Take horse racing for example, it is a very popular entertainment activity for people from different walks of life in Hong Kong. Every Wednesday night and weekend is horse racing day, and Happy Valley and Shatin Racecourse always attract a lot of horse racing fans. In teahouses, it is common to see Hong Kong people having morning tea while holding a newspaper and “studying horses”.
Horse racing is a symbol of Hong Kong’s prosperity. Since the 1970s, when horse racing became a professional sport, horse racing has not been suspended except on days of mourning for extreme weather or major disasters such as typhoons. But that has changed since last year.
In 2019, the much-publicized anti-warfare controversy has resulted in several incidents of conflict. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has cancelled two Happy Valley races on September 18 and November 13, 2019, citing public and employee safety and the welfare of the horses. The last time horse racing was cancelled for political reasons in Hong Kong was the 1956 riot that resulted in at least 60 deaths and 300 injuries, which led to the cancellation of the opening day of the horse racing season. It can be seen that the political turmoil last year had a great impact on Hong Kong.
Although the Hong Kong Jockey Club still maintains its races, the impact of the epidemic cannot be underestimated. In March this year, Hong Kong conducted racing behind closed doors for the first time, which was not tried during the SARS period. With the arrival of the fourth wave of the current epidemic in Hong Kong, the Jockey Club has again suspended the opening of all off-track betting offices. The horses continue to run, but the tension has faded in the atmosphere.
Everyone’s at Risk for Dancing
Running horses has become much more difficult, and some say it’s good to be able to dance. Hong Kong’s nightlife is often softened by the neon signs in various Hong Kong dramas, and the glory of nightclubs was once a symbol of Hong Kong. Although more and more nightclubs have become private clubs, they have always been a part of the everyday social life of Hong Kong people.
However, in the wake of the epidemic, nightlife was the first thing to go wrong. Since November 19, when the first case of dancing was diagnosed in the fourth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, the dancing community has spread rapidly, surpassing the 103 infected bars and bands in the March-April outbreak to become the largest community in Hong Kong after only five days.
Among the more than 100 people infected, some of Hong Kong’s super-rich wives were involved, and some Hong Kong media reported that at least four wealthy wives were infected, shocking the high society and causing panic. Of the 26 confirmed cases in a club in Wanchai, 10 women had an average age of 64.3 and lived in luxury homes, while 16 men had an average age of 40.8 and 70% of them were under the age of 36.
The Hong Kong government has asked people who have been to 21 specified dance venues since Nov. 1 to undergo testing before Nov. 24, covering all of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. On November 24, the government issued a directive to close down some of the leisure and entertainment venues, such as bars and bathrooms. Experts believe that the situation is still spreading. Under the epidemic, everyone is at risk because of dancing, singing and dancing can no longer describe Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is no longer a place for dancing and singing
Back then, Deng Xiaoping emphasized that “let the horses run and dance there (Hong Kong) and preserve the capitalist way of life. Let the “horses run and dance” and “dance again” have symbolic meanings, making the people of Hong Kong believe that after the handover, Hong Kong can continue to sing, dance and prosper.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed, but because of the political turmoil and the epidemic, Hong Kong’s prosperity has suddenly encountered unprecedented challenges, the original lively horse racing scene has disappeared, Hong Kong’s lively entertainment venues are not sustainable under the epidemic, and the traditional lifestyle that Hong Kong people love has undergone drastic changes.
While it is true that Hong Kong people have been able to face the epidemic with equanimity and hope to maintain the style of “running the horses and dancing the dances,” it seems that the mood has been lost. How to get out of this gloom in Hong Kong has become a major issue on everyone’s mind.
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