It was wonderful to visit Hong Kong again last month. It is a city that has always remained close to my heart. Having lived there and subsequently followed its fortunes closely over the years, I have witnessed the city undergo traumatic upheaval amid the political conflict that engulfed it from 2019 to 2020, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it is undeniable that the riots and subsequent promulgation of national security laws have proved to be a significant turning point in the city’s history, this has not, as many have opportunistically claimed, brought an end to what Hong Kong has to offer. The trickle of op-eds and commentaries proclaiming the special administrative region is “dead” continue to appear on a regular basis, but from my observations, the experience on the ground tells a very different and undeniable story.

Contrary to Western mainstream media hysteria and negativity, life in Hong Kong goes on unabated. On the first night of my visit, after checking in to my hotel, I headed to a popular restaurant to rekindle my love for some local delicacies. It was 9 pm, and the place was bustling. In typical fashion, locals — and quite a few tourists — were sitting over their food discussing and socializing, be it for professional or casual purposes. In fact, there were many tourists from all over the world present throughout the city. If one reads the mainstream media reports, some of which deliberately attempt to scaremonger, you might be fooled into believing visitors are staying away due to a fear of “being arrested arbitrarily”.

In reality, reports of Hong Kong’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, and premised on fear above all else. For those who did not buy into this narrative, life in the city continues as it always did. There is no dystopia, no death or decline, rather the SAR has come to terms with its sovereign existence as a Chinese territory and the British colonial era has come to an end

As far as I could see, some locations such as Tsim Sha Tsui continue to be flooded with tourists to the point it remains as crowded as ever. The scorching summer sun and the sweltering levels of humidity did nothing to dampen the rapid pace of activity, whether in the many designer shops in that area of Kowloon, or the regular supermarkets. This contrasts sharply with a deceitful narrative depicting a city whose residents are leaving in droves and whose businesses are packing their bags. All I saw, following years of turmoil and disruption, is that Hong Kong is back to normal again and as spirited as it ever was.

Similarly, when I visited my former university campus in Hong Kong, there were of course some changes given the radical activist culture which was once present, yet it remains busy and full of life. Lunch queues are as long as ever, while people were casually posing in front of the university’s main logo to celebrate their graduation, recalling many of my own memories. With each step that I took in the city, I found myself questioning why anyone would want to substitute Hong Kong for living in the United Kingdom of all places.

Now of course I love my own country, but I have been pessimistic concerning its prospects. The UK’s economy is stagnant, and standards of living and income having shrunk over the past decade. Some Hong Kong residents, suffering from nostalgia for the colonial era, continue to glorify the UK, but the reality is that they never had democracy and freedom when they were governed by a foreigner appointed from London.

It is thus ironic that, political issues aside, British people tend to stereotype Hong Kong as a place of luxury, success and tremendous wealth, far removed from the mundane realities of Albion, yet a portion of Hong Kong’s population wants to board the sinking ship Britannia. If it were not for my highly modest background that has allowed me to appreciate and see warmth even in the most troubled parts of Britain, I’m not sure what I would see there for me. There’s a reason why so many British people would rather live in Australia or Canada.

In reality, reports of Hong Kong’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, and premised on fear above all else. For those who did not buy into this narrative, life in the city continues as it always did. There is no dystopia, no death or decline, rather the SAR has come to terms with its sovereign existence as a Chinese territory and the British colonial era has come to an end. For some, I appreciate this was hard to take, and to be honest I still have a fond respect for the Hong Kong people who do move to Britain, yet there is an idiom that suggests the futility of “cutting one’s nose off to spite one’s face”. I will never stop questioning the logic of substituting the vibrant scenes of Hong Kong to live in some grim terraced home in the UK.

The author is a British political and international-relations analyst.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.