This morning we crossed Victoria Harbor for a tour of Hong Kong Island. We drove through the Wanchai District and then traveled to the island's highest point, the 1,800 foot-high Victoria Peak, often referred to the locals as the Mountain of Great Peace. The vista offered a panoramic view of Hong Kong and the surrounding area. We continued our journey to a Aberdeen, a quaint fishing village accessible only by a sampan or water taxi, and then stopped by Repulse Bay, a maze of sheltered coves with Sandy Beaches. Before lunch we stopped a jewlery factory and design showroom.
We learned that factory workers work 48 hours a week compared to 40 hours in the United States. Overtime is mandatory but is unpaid and should an employee refuse to work overtime they are subject to disciplinary action up to an including termination. The issue of paying overtime is dictated by the economy. Hong Kong's tourism, a mainstay for their economy, suffered greatly with the SARS epidemic which they are still recovering from. Mainland China has launched a massive campaign encouraging tourism to Hong Kong from both the mainland and from other ports of call throughout the world. Under the economy fully recovers will the government consider allowing business to pay for overtime. By our Fair Labor Standards Act standards this seems to be grossly unfair but consider the context for the reason overtime is not paid for in Hong Kong. Most Hong Kong workers seem to support sacrificing variable short term personal income for the long term economic growth for their economy. Perhaps their prespective is rooted in Confuscianism which calls for moral integrity and obligation for the greater good. I wonder if American workers would embrace such a concept?
Views from Victoria Peak or the Mountain of Great Peace
Views from Repulse Bay
Views of the Aberdeen Fishing Village Houseboats
