Travelers push their luggage on trolleys while walking through Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: CFP

 "It's like no matter how long we stay and how hard we try, we will never be able to fully integrate into this society," says Joy, a young professional from the Chinese mainland who has stayed in Hong Kong for almost five years.

Joy is one of the many so-called Hong Kong drifters, or young, educated mainlanders studying or working in Hong Kong.

Joy went to Hong Kong in 2010 to further her studies with a master's degree. She landed a job at a public relations firm in the city the following year. Like many other people in her shoes, she has grown disappointed about the once-promising dream of Hong Kong life and feels displaced in a city that is economically lagging behind its mainland competitors and politically growing more hostile toward mainlanders.

"Many of my friends have already returned to the mainland. I am struggling to figure out where I really want to be whenever I'm asked about when I will go back to the mainland," she told the Global Times.

ID card blues

Such discussions went viral after a widely-circulated article by a Hong Kong drifter called Zhang Heng who decided to leave Hong Kong for Shenzhen in Guangdong Province after living there for seven years.

In the article, Zhang argued that Hong Kong society is no longer as vibrant and progressive as it once was. Soaring property prices, stalling economic development and restricted business environment have made the Pearl of the Orient less appealing to him, and the expat community.

This is the reason why he decided to forgo Hong Kong residency, even though he is already eligible for the much-coveted card (HKID) that will lead to a passport with much greater visa-free access to countries and regions across the world than a Chinese mainland passport.

Joy feels a similar sentiment. "I decided to start my career in Hong Kong because I thought that it had a more maturely developed public relations industry so I can learn more as a beginner," she said. "But international labels like some of our clients have shifted their focus to the mainland. The gap between Hong Kong and the mainland is closing and the city is loosing its advantage."

Caught between both worlds, Joy feels a strong sense of displacement by not completely belonging to either side. "I was assigned to work with mainland companies because of my advantage in speaking fluent Putonghua and having more understanding of the mainland. But now that I have lived in Hong Kong for so many years, my boss said I now act and think more like a Hongkonger," she said.

Despite her growing familiarity with the city, Joy said she can clearly feel the estrangement between Hong Kong and the mainland, in particular in the past two or three years.

The influx of mainland tourists in recent years has caused growing frustration and even hatred among some Hongkongers, who describe shoppers from the mainland as "locusts" for taking away their much-treasured space and resources, and pushing up the already sky-high property prices.

"I can speak pretty good Cantonese but you can hear from the accent that I am not a local. It is fine when I am with my local friends. But a change in attitude toward me is clear when they hear me talking in Putonghua to my family members who come to visit me," said Joy.

Joy feels the only reason to stay in Hong Kong is to wait two more years until she can get a HKID and passport. "I may go back to big cities in the mainland like Beijing or Shanghai to further my career. Those places are where the opportunities lie," she said.

Unwelcoming and exclusive

Yolanda, 27, another Hong Kong drifter, has decided to return to the mainland after one or two more years in the city.

"The economic development of Hong Kong is limited to financial services and the property industry. The market here is also much smaller. In fact, a lot of mainland market transactions do not need to go through Hong Kong anymore," she said.

Yolanda said that the impression that Hong Kong has become a less inclusive society is another reason for her to return to the mainland.

"During the mass protest [Occupy Central] last year, a lot of local young people blamed their unemployment on the Chinese mainland. Now their unwelcoming attitude has caused a decline in Hong Kong's retail businesses. A lot of Chow Tai Fook shops [a Hong Kong jewelry brand] in Mong Kok [a local shopping district] have closed," she said.

Yolanda graduated with a master's degree in philosophy in Hong Kong in 2012, and has been working in a local property agency for three years. 

"I have lived in Hong Kong for six years now. I have always used the HKID as an excuse to make me stay here. But I am not interested in it anymore even though I am eligible to get it next year. I have realized that I really want to go back to Beijing to further my career," she said.

The pessimism is also affecting Hong Kong universities' appeal to mainland students.

The number of mainland students applying to Hong Kong universities has dropped by more than 30 percent, with observers claiming the decline was likely prompted by the region's unstable political environment.

The bright side

Despite the gloomy picture, Sylvia, a Beijinger who has developed a stable career in a listed company in Hong Kong, believes Hong Kong still has its attractions.

"The idea has been over-hyped that the mainland is a paradise to start up a company or develop a promising career. You may also believe in the hype if you live in the bubble created by the media that Hong Kong has become a hostile or even dangerous place. But personally, these are all meaningless to me because I choose to stay at a place that suits me, but not because how high the GDP is," Sylvia said.

Despite her long-term plan to move abroad, Sylvia said, "I still appreciate the freedom of speech and the more mature social environment and business system here."
Newspaper headline: Pearl of Orient loses luster