by Christopher Hogg, correspondent Hong Kong, January 31 2006

There are definitely more dangerous places in the world from which to report.

There are more glamorous assignments and stories to cover that are more likely to win awards.

But Hong Kong and Taiwan have proved a lot busier in the last two and a half years than I thought, with massive pro-democracy street protests, anti-global trade riots, and even what might or might not have been an attempt to assassinate the Taiwanese president.

And there is always the chance that World War Three will start in the Taiwan Straits, in case you thought it was a quiet patch.

'China-lite'

Some describe Hong Kong as China-lite. Most people here still speak a bit of English, and if you’ve had your fill of chow mein and chicken’s feet you can stop off at Marks and Spencer on the way home and buy a steak and kidney pudding.

You can spend Friday nights with the bankers in the bars of Lan Kwai Fong and it won’t feel that different from a night out in Fulham.

There are men in rugby shirts everywhere with their sloaney girlfriends in tow.

But there’s so much more to this place, and of course this job gives you the excuse to go and find it.

Hong Kong has its share of cranks and oddities that can and do make their way onto the airwaves – from the crocodile that even Australia’s best croc-hunter couldn’t catch, and the love doctor who casts his spells over the internet, to the organisers of cricket fights (duals between insects, not brawls with Aussies).

I’m based in the BBC Worldwide office, high in a tower block that sits on top of one of the territory’s smartest shopping malls. A hardship posting this isn’t.

There’s a swanky food hall downstairs with everything you could possibly want – from oysters to strawberries – all year round. They even do kebabs.

I work alone, although in the last two years I’ve managed to recruit interns to help out from the local journalism school.

A female impersonator

The current one is a straight-As student from the mainland who frankly scares me a bit with her over-zealous, over-achieving earnestness, but she’s very good and sooner or later I might even get her to smile.

The other staff are very accommodating. They work for the commercial side of the corporation, selling Tellytubbies and the like to China.

I think that having a noisy journalist prone to the occasional rant down the line to the London newsdesk was a bit of a shock to them at first. But nowadays they seem used to it.

I used to think that Hong Kong was the most frustrating place in the world to try to arrange an interview.

No one will do anything until you fax them a list of questions first. But then I went to Japan for four months and discovered what frustration really meant.

I also cover Taiwan. My trips there have been some of the most rewarding parts of the job – and the most bizarre.

My favourite was the interview with a notoriously difficult camp choreographer who turned out to be a pussycat; we think it was because he fancied my producer.

There was also the female impersonator who made a living out of dressing up as the vice-president. Taiwan is never dull.

Then there’s the politics in Hong Kong. During my stint here one leader has been ‘retired’ on the grounds of ill health, although he still looks pretty sprightly when you pass him on his morning constitutional.

The struggle for democracy sort of rumbles on in the rather polite, parish council way that politics is done here.

We’re rarely in the headlines, but such is the affection for the place that many people back home still feel, a story from Hong Kong is never a hard sell. Long may that remain.

^

Back to top