The streets in Hong Kong have become even more crowded since the territory was handed over to the People's Republic of China in 1997 after being ruled by Great Britain for more than 150 years. Now a Special Administrative Region under a 50-year agreement, it is a part of mainland China but has a high degree of economic autonomy.

When Britain was in control, it was difficult for mainland Chinese to enter Hong Kong. After the handover, access became easier. New laws allow for a steady, though limited, flow of migrants from other parts of China to Hong Kong, with preference given to people who have immediate family members living in Hong Kong.

"After the reunification of Hong Kong to China, it is more easy for Chinese people to come to Hong Kong," said Candy Chiu, 17, a student at the all-girls Sacred Heart School in Hong Kong. "So actually the number of people coming from China has greatly increased in past years."

Candy, along with seven of her classmates, recently spoke to Y-Press via a distance-learning link about the joys and challenges their generation faces in dealing with a multicultural society.

In 1997, Hong Kong's population was about 6.5 million. This year, the population is expected to reach nearly 7.5 million, with new arrivals making up about 6 percent of the total population.

By far the largest group of newcomers come from other Chinese provinces. Both Hong Kong natives and migrants from the mainland share the same culture, but the official language of mainland China is Mandarin, and most people from Hong Kong speak Cantonese. In addition, the majority of mainland Chinese seeking work in Hong Kong are relatively uneducated and unskilled.

Non-Chinese people make up about 2 percent of Hong Kong's population. Immigrants from other countries, mainly from Southeast Asia, fall into two main categories: skilled professionals, and those seeking work as domestic helpers.

Hong Kong has limited space and resources, so it has restrictive policies for newcomers. For example, it has lengthy residency requirements for public housing and government assistance, and it has instituted a strict crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The parochial school students don't have much exposure to immigrants on a daily basis, although in general they welcome the diversity. They don't see a lot of cultural diversity at school, however.

"Most of our schoolmates are Chinese, and we have some teachers coming from America, India and from England -- Canada, as well. And some of our schoolmates are from Japan, and some of them are from India, but there are very few of them," said Polly Chong, 18.

Dhillon Linderpal (Linda) Kaur, 18, is a Sacred Heart student from India, although she has lived in Hong Kong much of her life. She says she has much in common with her classmates, though customs differ.

"I have different religion from them. I am a Sikh, which is an Indian religion. I do not eat any beef, so sometimes I cannot have dinner with them because they have the beef in their dinner. And besides, I speak in different languages from them when I communicate with my family. So I have to switch my language when I communicate with them," she said.

Foreign students learn to speak Cantonese at Sacred Heart, the girls said.

"Usually in our daily conversation, we converse in Cantonese," said Jenny Ngai, 15. "And the foreign students, although they belong to the ethnic minority, also speak Cantonese to us, so we communicate very freely, and we don't have much problem."

The girls appreciate the variety that other cultures bring.

"There are quite a lot of Filipinos in Hong Kong, and they're opening many shops. We get to taste Filipino food from these shops," Jenny said.

"We have the chance to try the different cuisines of different cultures and (learn) how they dress and live. Some of the immigrants are also experts and they have contributed to the economy," added Charlotte Wu, 18.

While some immigrants come with valuable skills to help Hong Kong's vast trade, financial services and shipping industries, many take low-level service jobs.

"Many Hong Kong families have Filipino domestic helpers," Chiu said. "They get along well with each other and they don't face much problems in communication."

The girls don't see immigrants as threats to the jobs of Hong Kong workers. In fact, they believe Hong Kong will benefit from the newcomers' expertise.

"More immigrants coming into Hong Kong would mean that we'll face competition, but as they come, as we face competition, then we will try our best to improve ourselves so as to compete with them, and this will always result in better qualities of people," Charlotte said.

Overall, the students believe increased immigration is positive. "I think it's something good because it's that kind of feature that makes different cultures have their uniqueness," Polly said.

REPORTERS: Julie Kippenbrock, 11; Elaine Lynch, 11; Steven Thompson, 13.

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