Video: Hong Kong's Version Of "Subway Spaghetti" Fight

In the wake of some optimistic NY lawmakers' proposed bill to ban food on subways, we thought we'd share the video that's been sparking tensions between Hong Kong residents and mainland Chinese visitors. While it's not as knockdown and drag-out as the infamous NYC subway spaghetti fight, it does get pretty tense—because Hong Kong's subway system, the MTR, prohibits food on its rather immaculate trains—and one Hong Kong rider gets upset at a Chinese girl who spilled some dry noodles on the train floor. The girl's mother says, it's not a big deal... and then all hell breaks loose.

Here's a description:

At the start of the video, a Hong Kong man demands an apology from the girl and her mother but the tourists refuse, saying it is not a big deal. Others then join in on both sides.

One of the Hongkongers presses the emergency button and notifies platform staff. An MTR employee tells the tourists they can't eat inside the train and a mainland woman says sorry in English. A Hong Kong man then says sarcastically: "Oh, she knows English".

A mainland woman tries to explain the situation to the MTR staff member but is interrupted by the Hongkongers as the quarrel resumes. At the end of the video, a Hong Kong man says: "No need to speak to them. That's what mainlanders are like."

Oh, no, he didn't! As Bloomberg News's Adam Minter points out, "Hong Kongers grew up accustomed to thinking of mainland Chinese as poor country cousins. A city proud of its British heritage is now part of a country that many Hong Kongers still perceive as an authoritarian, provincial backwater. It’s a quantifiable phenomenon: According to a December 2011 poll conducted by the Public Opinion Program at the University of Hong Kong, only 16.6 percent of Hong Kongers identify first as Chinese citizens. Yet today, Hong Kongers depend on mainlanders for investments, tourism and political largesse."

An ultra-national university professor in Beijing said of the people of Hong Kong, "I know many Hong Kongers don’t think they are Chinese. They declare, 'We are Hong Kong, you are China.' Those kinds of people were British running dogs. Now they are dogs. They aren’t human," and if they can't take people from China, "Go ask for help from your British daddy."

Plans for an "eat-in" on Friday didn't go happen and the MTR, which is now run by the MTA's former CEO, Jay Walder, issued a statement, "We hereby remind all passengers to help maintain a clean subway system. It is everybody's efforts to keep it one of the cleanest railways in the world." The MTR does have HK$2000 fines (about $258) but "this punishment is rarely enforced due to local people's self-discipline and the company's lack of manpower." So, enjoy that, Walder—don't you miss arguments that are as cut-and-dry as this:

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on January 29, 2012 10:55 AM

Comments [rss]

izzy isou

So which Chinese actor is playing the annoying, overweight white woman who can't seem to mind her own effing business? And which ones are playing the two black ghetto rats that have less social skills than a pair of Rhesus monkeys?

Peanut_Butter

I thought this was Gothamist, not Shanghaiist...

Jay!

It's funny because they're asian.

jza1218

I hate mainlanders too.

They're friggin animals who spit on the ground without any second thought, they don't know how to line up for anything and just push their way through like uncivilized brutes and are basically a disgrace to Chinese people

Rocknrope

So interesting, I've heard the exact same to describe the Cantonese.

Jake Lim

ANY individuals from mainland, whether Cantonese or Fukienese or whatever, can act like uncivilized idiots. It's the thinking that makes the difference.

diablofreak

just to let you know, a lot of these mainland people visiting Hong Kong ARE Cantonese. Cantonese are people from the Canton province of China.

The conflict between mainland chinese and hong kong residents is rooted a lot deeper than this incident. Basically, the economy wasn't doing so hot in Hong Kong after the 97 handover from the brits, and SARS outbreak made things a lot worse and the city was hitting rockbottom, Hong Kong government opened up its normally shut-off borders to Chinese visitors. The economy bounced back due to the influx of chinese visitors, these are rich visitors spending a lot of money as tourists and a lot of stores in HK began to cater to mainlanders rather than their own citizens. Also a lot of women also take advantage of the law by giving birth to children in the region due to better health care. Hong Kong hospitals are overrun by these mainlanders. a lot of resources are being taken advantage of. The residents are complaining that their own government is spending too much of its resources on mainlanders and not giving them preferential treatment, while the mainland chinese believes that the sole reason Hong Kong economy bounced back is completely due to their visitors, that this Hong Kong needs China.

TL;DR - it's a love hate relationship, this incident is simply the tipping point of a complex and deep conflict between two groups of people from the same region.

Peanut_Butter

Growing pains. To be expected. Both sides need some understanding and compassion. In a few generations, none of this will matter.

By the way, I thought Canton = Guangzhou? Hence, Cantonese = Guangzhouese? Distinguished from the other dialects of Guangdong Province.

Knightmare6

The city of Canton is now Guangzhou correct, but Cantonese is the common name for Yue, which is the main lingual branch, from which many other dialects form from for that region. While the different dialects can be called Cantonese, they may have subtle differences like words, not every region may use or pronounce the same. Taishanese, for example, could be called Cantonese when used in a general manner, much like when we just throw different dialects of Spanish into one category.

As for understanding and compassion... for many it's not so easy when they believe they are right, and this doesn't just apply to Chinese, but people of any ethnicity, culture, and religion, otherwise this world would be much better than it is.

zombiebob

a well-reasoned and nuanced post. Way to go asshole!

Ywoogrr

we need General Tsao to smack some ass

Jake Lim

And that was the dumb opinion

Rocknrope

The tourist has her backpack turned frontwards, not taking up space, and the complainer has his bag strapped across his back. I can tell which one is the asshole.

milkham

you are misinterpreting the backpack on the front thing. if you walk around with your back pack on your back on the mainland someone wil steal things out of your bag.

Rocknrope

God, I hate the way Cantonese sounds. Mandarin sounds so much better.

Peanut_Butter

Cantonese is more complex, and depending on who you talk to, has 7-9 tones, while Mandarin has 4. I memorized the multiplication table while in kindergarten and to this day, it has not left me. I remember phone #s from years ago based upon their tones. If you get beyond the first level "hearing" part, and study it, it's quite a poetic, versatile, and lively dialect.

angry_pickle

The ladies are yelling in Mandarin BTW. The men are speaking Cantonese.

Ywoogrr

... YOO SCHPILL MAH POK FWAY RHAY !!!

Rocknrope

Yes.

Dead Himmler

This is why we don't deserve nice things. Because we don't care.

Midnight Fapper

i can't understand this shit, it's all chinese to me.

Peanut_Butter

It'd be funnier if it was a Greek blog...just sayin'...

WarOnMugs

Yeah, bans don't work so good in Nu Jork. Maybe next time I see a guy crossing between cars or selling Welch's candy I will leap up and hit the emergency stop button. That would make me the most popular guy on the train, right?

That said, the trash and food in NY trains is despicable. I'm just not sure you can regulate restraint, manners and thoughtfulness into people.

Midnight Fapper

That's precisely the problem, only 72.4% of the United States is human.

WarOnMugs

True 'nuff. Thankfully the racist animals that make up the rest are alive and well and commenting on Gothamist posts!

slyker

The fighting was out of line. But verbally attacking these women by calling them "animals" was racist and incendiary.

tsol

1: Everyone involved is the same race, most likely ethnically Han as well.

2: It was a mainland professor who called HK'ers "dogs". No one quoted called the mainland women animals.

slyker

No, I was talking about the NYC subway speghetti fight video, not the Hong Kong one.

Ywoogrr

ching cha waaa goo fowa noodles ping ping pong pang
SORRY
chu chu chaw waa bitch commie pingwa shoe sale

onetimeuser1

oh really?

ook! ook, ook, ook. ook!! ook, ook... ook? ook!! ook!!! OOK!?! ook!! ook... ook...

;)

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

HKers are either self loathing or masochists. Please get rid of that weird English accent when you speak. Unless you still like being under the authority of others.

Peanut_Butter

One thing has nothing to do with the other. As Spirit says, they are a former British colony. Also, I've found that a lot of people who learn English still learn British English, which makes sense since they are the authority and the "motherland". Somehow you twisted this simple fact into a personal attack.

RayYeung

Modern mainlanders' vision of what is "chinese" is not at all representative of the diverse, 8000+ years of Chinese cultural heritage. It's a pity and rather pathetic that many mainlanders think they are the role model Chinese person simply because of where they reside, the language they speak and finally having a bit of disposable income.

angry_pickle

Mainland China = tasteless. They frequently dub the actors/actresses in their movies because they want the accents to be "proper". So you have all these characters who not only sound the same (possibly because one voice actor covers multiple people) but also sound extremely one-dimensional. In India, the actors/actresses don't sing their own songs, but at least they speak their own parts!

jisnotused

Please get rid of your idiocy.

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

Time for you to learn Mandarin.

jisnotused

gan ni niang

:)

Spirit of 76

They are a former British colony after all. It's their heritage and what their school system teaches. What accent should they be using, an American one? They have no direct ties with the US.

What puzzles me is why Shanghaiist and many other Chinese blogs are written in English. Seems to me they'd have a larger audience if they were written in Chinese.

causeyway

It's because they're geared towards ex-pats and foreign audiences. Everything I see on Shanghaiist, China Smack, etc. is already old news to people who read the Chinese blogs.

chi7072

sad how similar situations produce such different results. please bring on the food ban. i can't wait for all the fights that are gonna happen! i don't mind being a little late if it involves a good fight

chi7072

sad how similar situations have such different results. please bring on the food ban. i can't wait for all the fights that are going to happen! i don't mind being delayed going home or to work if it involves a good fight.

Timon_8

"A city proud of its British heritage is now part of a country that many
Hong Kongers still perceive as an authoritarian, provincial backwater."

PERCEIVE? Oh, yes--who could possibly think of mainland China as authoritarian?

whitecastlerock

Oh NO! Noodles on the floor! Fuck 'em all...

Eddie

a mainlander must have stole his gf or something, scolding in front of the kids really, guy has issues

Freddi BuBu

Don't let their cherubic little faces fool you - little Chinese girls are just plain evil.....

nunyadamn

Fucking tourist, go back to Ohio......wait, what?

Relaxasaurus

I think you meant Mainland

ps- There must be a Chinese equivalent of a hipster.. there must

canofpeas

Those asian women are super hot, our african american violent fat ass bitches are not.

Peanut_Butter

You are SO wrong. I saw a throwdown at the 66th Street IMAX theater one night that had me riveted, RIVETED! Both chicks were so hot. Black chick accused white chick of taking her spot. White chick accused black chick of keying her car. White chick followed black chick into the theater and took her picture. Black chick confronted her. Dude on a date with black chick did the smart thing and stayed out of it.

Jay Phare

I've watched the vid 3 times i still don't see any hot chicks.Much less "super hot"

Ywoogrr

yah but yellow noodle lady aint got no ass to tap

Elderta2

Yikes! There's a couple centuries of pent-up hostilities in that video going on there.

mogwai

i didn't understand any of that.

Freddi BuBu

Yea, Jen really needs to add subtitles for this.....

Relaxasaurus

I was expecting credits at the end with outtakes of Jackie Chan jumping through ladders.

trudy chan

the guy's completely out of line... yelling at 3 kids who were just eating a simple snack.

angry_pickle

If people don't learn to respect public space when they are young, HK will end up looking like NYC.

Freddi BuBu

I'm thinking what a frickin' snob this guy must be, then I see the pencil neck douchebag with his Member's Only jacket and receding hairline....

TCF16

The misinformation continues to spill forth:

That is NOT spaghetti -- it's lo mein.

I am shocked that Gothamist would continue to wrongly identify this crucial piece of evidence.