TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION

While in Hong Kong, Y-Press interviewed many young people living there, most of whom spoke English.

Here, five students from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of perspectives share their views on the territory's transition from British to Chinese control.

Jessica Lam Kwok Yiu , 19, is from Tsuen Wan, New Territories. She was attending a YMCA leadership camp when interviewed.

Jessica's mother was born in mainland China. Jessica said her mother suffered greatly under the Communist rule of Mao Tse-tung, who came to power in 1949 and died in 1976. Mao led the Cultural Revolution, in which intellectuals were persecuted and young people were sent to the countryside to help the farmers and learn humility.

Despite her mother's experience, Jessica believes Hong Kong should become part of China.

"(My mother) was a young girl, just about 9 years old, and she needed to follow the instructions from the Chinese government, Communist Party, Mao Tse-tung.

"When she was 9 years old, she couldn't sleep, just work and work. She was working about (the number of hours) a family works.

"All the products led into the hands of the party. The party will distribute the rice to the people. So my mom needed to line up and wait for a bowl of rice.

"The Communists brought my mother pain, every day. Hungry, every day. She couldn't have a bath, she couldn't have a shelter. Always work and work. Always suffering, sick, illness.

"My mother came to Hong Kong about 1968, before the student revolution (Cultural Revolution). (It was) very horrible at that time. Some children, they forced their parents out in the streets, and then all the people dance around, beat their parents.

"This is communism. It's horrible. It is not practical.

"Mr. Jiang (Zemin, China's president) believes that the capitalism is important. He thinks the old system of economic development is not working. The economy of China now seems based on the concept of capitalism. Hong Kong is a helper.

"I'm very happy about the hand-over of the maintenance (of) Hong Kong.

"I think this is our final destination, that Hong Kong should be turned to China, because we are Chinese.''

Julia Cheong , 15, studies ballet at the Jean M. Wong School of Ballet in Central Hong Kong. She was born in Hong Kong. Her father later was transferred to Taiwan, where she moved when she was in the first grade.

Before the hand-over of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese, she, her mother and sister went to live in Toronto so they could obtain Canadian passports, in case conditions deteriorated in Hong Kong. Her father was transferred to Beijing, where he stayed behind to work.

The family is back together in Hong Kong. But Julia looks back on her three years in Canada with fondness.

"I lived in York , a more friendly neighborhood,'' she said. "Everyone was like really friendly and we knew people from as far as a few streets away.

"In Hong Kong, in the apartment I live in now, I don't even know the neighbor who lives next to me.

"So the culture is a bit different. (So is) the rhythm of the society, like how people work and when people walk in the streets.

"When I got to go to Canada, I think it was a pretty cool opportunity because I actually met a lot of new people there and I learned English there, which was a really great help to my life.

"If I stayed in Hong Kong, I think I wouldn't be (able to) continue in my ballet studies anymore because I would be so concentrated in my academics (in Hong Kong). I would be more concerned about school than after-school activities.

"I like both places, but I would rather live in Hong Kong because Cantonese is my first language. . . . I think I fit into the Chinese way, and the Hong Kong lifestyle.

"I don't think I would like Canada -- everything goes kind of slowly compared to Hong Kong. I like being more busy.

"Looking at Hong Kong now, I don't think it has changed much. I don't think anything big will really change."

Winnie Chow , 16, attends Tseun Wan Government Secondary School in Tsuen Wan in the New Territories. Her parents are Chinese immigrants. She has lived in Hong Kong her entire life. She is an only child.

Winnie is an art student and studies history. She likes reading books, playing the piano and drawing. And she shares her parents' loyalty to China.

"We can't say that Hong Kong culture is only from one country. . . . I think that people in Hong Kong come from different countries, such as Europe and from America, and also from other Asian countries.

"We can say that it's a mixture. There is Chinese culture, because most of the people in Hong Kong come from China. There are lots of people coming from China every day.

"My parents are very proud of China. They came here in about the 1970s. On the hand-over day, we went to watch the fireworks.

"I'm very proud of being Chinese. . . . Therefore, I was very happy when Hong Kong was handed over to China. I think that if the Chinese government does something wrong, I will also support the government, because I think that the government (will) do better one day, although it is not very good at the time being.

"I think that the official language (of Hong Kong) should be two -- English and Mandarin (the official language of China) -- because I think that Hong Kong is a mix of cultures.

"Hong Kong is a very good place to live.''

Emily Yu , 15, attends Sacred Heart Canossian College, an all-girls Catholic secondary school that just celebrated its 140th anniversary.

She was born in Hong Kong but moved to Australia in 1995 with her mother and brother in anticipation of the hand-over. Her father stayed in Hong Kong because he had a stable job and didn't want to risk losing it by moving to Australia, where unemployment was high.

The family returned after two years, once it was clear that Hong Kong was politically stable and safe.

"My father is a policeman and my mother is a teacher. I have a brother and he is in Grade 7. I'm in Grade 9.

"In Grade 10, you take Hong Kong certificate examination, and that determines whether you go to Grade 11 and up. If you're not good, you're not sent to that. Grades 11 and 12 are precollege years.

"If I can, I might get into Harvard Medical School.

"I am engaged in a lot of extracurricular activities in school and after school. But like during the holidays, we go shopping, wandering around, to the movies sometimes.

"We don't usually do sports. We watch TV a lot of time, and we go on the ICQ, which is like AOL (Instant Messenger).

"Hong Kong is a multicultural city, and there are lots of things going on. There is actually not much of a difference between American kids and us. Like for example, we share common interests, like pop singers. Except for our hair color and our culture, it's pretty much the same.

"For teen-agers, we have known since our birth that Hong Kong would be returned to China, so it doesn't have a lot of heavy influence on us. I think the older generation is more happy because they have this feeling about our mother country. They are the ones who witnessed the British when they took over Hong Kong.

"I think we might begin to influence China. We listen to American music, and we bring these things into mainland China so that the people in the mainland, they now listen to the American music, they go to discos.''

Matthew Hall , 19, has a twin brother. His sister is at the University of Texas, his father works for Dow Jones Printing in Hong Kong, and his mother is a nurse. Despite his Western name and circumstances, he has lived in Hong Kong all his life.

Last summer, Matthew worked in Central Hong Kong as a draftsman. Y-Press met him at a YMCA leadership camp near the town of Sha Tin in New Territories.

Matthew believes China will be influenced by Hong Kong, not the other way around.

"The Chinese government promised that there won't be any changes within 50 years. The Chinese government can do nothing on the policy of Hong Kong.

"I (would like) to change Mr. Tung Chee-hwa. He is a really good guy, but he is not a good chief executive. He is like a strict parent, like that Hong Kong is his sons and daughters.

"He has to please China and also the Hong Kong people. It's a very difficult role for him to play.

"The younger students, they have to take Mandarin. We learned it in primary school. I think that speaking Mandarin is just a way to please China.

"I think although China has been a communist country for many years, since Mr. Deng Xiaoping grabbed hold of the power, the core idea of China has changed (from traditional Communist views). In fact, it's more likely to that point in Hong Kong nowadays.

"I think in 2047, China will (be) becoming a more democratic country. Because it is really changing. . . . I think China's going to walk a road towards a democracy."

A word about names

Chinese names are generally three parts, with the family name first, followed by two given names. Most Hong Kong Chinese adopt Western first names. Use of the first name is usually reserved for close friends and family.