An invigorating poster celebrating 25 years of the handover

It is amusing to see the Hong Kong government's video on promoting the 25th anniversary of the handover of the city back to China has only garnered just over 4,000 hits on YouTube.

The Information Services Department revealed it had spent HK$1.3 million (US$165,600) on the video entitled "A New Era -- Stability. Prosperity. Opportunity." But it only received just over 4,100 views.

Video shows young people

Released in August, the video features young professionals, children and families expressing hope for Hong Kong's future to mark the milestone anniversary of the handover.

"Stability is the cornerstone of development. Since Hong Kong returned to the motherland 25 years ago, it has encountered all kinds of challenges and remained strong and resilient," the narrator says.

"Hong Kong will develop rapidly and continue to leverage the advantages of the 'one country, two systems'," he adds, referring to the governing principle of the city (that has severely eroded since 2019 during the protests).

ISD says the video has been shown on government premises, shopping malls and public housing estates. Perhaps so many people have seen it at these places that there's no need to seek it out on YouTube?

Bruce Lui Ping-kuen, a former journalist and a senior lecturer at Baptist University's school of communication, said the video was "a bit out of touch".

"Although the promotional video features young people, the style is a bit too similar to their past videos... They may need to think about how to create a more energetic video that can leave a strong impression on the audience," he said.

Kwok welcomes people back to the city

Well... when the government comes up with a slogan like "Hello Hong Kong" and the video features Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Sammi Cheng Sau-man, and Kelly Chen Wai-lam, the authorities are stuck in the 90s...

Lui says: "Hong Kong's future hope and impetus depends on our young people. The government should engage with and reach out to them."

It might be a bit too late for that, with hundreds of young people either in the legal system remanded in custody for the 2019 protests or have already been in jail and now have a black mark against them in getting employment or further education.

Then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor insisted on ramming the anti-extradition bill through without listening to the 2 million people who came out into the streets to voice their opposition.

But that's in the past now...

Statistics of the Day: Hong Kong Visitor Numbers

Kwok dances his way down Pottinger Street in Central

We may now know why Hong Kong is coy about the free ticket giveaway in the "Hello Hong Kong" campaign -- it is targeted at mainlanders.

Maybe that explains the TVB dancers, all men centre stage at the official launch, and using the likes of such Cantopop stars as Sammi Cheng Sau-man, Kelly Chen Wai-lam and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing...

Chen serves up some cha chaan teng food

And why?

Over the 65 million visitors to Hong Kong in 2018 before the anti-extradition protests and the Covid-19 pandemic, 78 percent were from mainland China.

The second-largest group of visitors were from Southeast Asia. Both demographics do not care much about civil liberties.

Only 3 percent of Hong Kong's visitors were from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. 

So looking at these numbers, perhaps less than 5 percent of tickets will go to North America?

Slim pickings.