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8 latest cultural behaviour in Hong Kong

There is no such thing as good or bad in a culture, but learning about another country will help to understand their taboos and avoid any unncessary conflicts.

  1. Even though many Hong Kong Chinese people can speak simple or fluent English and Mandarin, many feel embarrassed to communicate in such a way in the presence of another Chinese person as they are conscious of being criticised or gossiped about.
  2. Holding chopsticks with the left hand to eat can sometimes cause the inconvenience to the person next to you, especially if he/she is right-handed.
  3. The social pressure of “staying young”, “freckle-less”, and having a “fairer skintone” is extremely high.
  4. Women of all ages like to be praised for looking younger than their actual age. Some may be highly offended if being commented on as mature.
  5. Instead of “keeping fit” or “slim fast”, the word “slenderizations” is a term that is used in Chinese media.
  6. The wealth gap is growing at a fearsome rate. Research shows a growing concern over the increase in people now living in poverty and poor conditions in Hong Kong.
  7. “Chopped room” or “corpse home” are recently coined terms to describe the cramped living conditions in Hong Kong. According to nextmedia.com, a corpse home in the poor area has been valued at the highest price by the square metre in Hong Kong.
  8. Chinese female professionals now share the same success as males. The price; being highly committed and working long hours has caused many to reveal that it’s a challenge to find their Mr Right after reaching the age of 30. Society is also putting on unnecessary pressure by labelling them as the “remaining girls” and “defeated dogs”, stereotyping them as having “high qualifications”, a “high income” and “high in age”.
  9. With the one-child policy in Mainland China and cross-border marriages between the mainland and Hong Kong, many mainland Chinese are desperate to pay a premium to give birth in Hong Kong to gain an extra status for their child. Prices start from £4000 for a natural delivery but a willingness to pay doesn’t necessary mean
    that you can guarantee a place.

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By |2019-09-03T21:27:14+01:00July 29th, 2011|Blog|0 Comments

The Italian trading culture

When you want to expand you have to ask yourself: what sort of people do I prefer working with? If you work in a foreign market you will no doubt have to make contacts with the locals and they will of course be in tune to a different culture.

Let’s think about Italy, for example. Italian society is considered high-level contact, which suggests that Italian people are generally outgoing and sunny (like the weather!): when you meet an Italian person you would shake hands and among women or between men and women it is common to give two or three kisses on the cheeks, from right to left according to your side.

Italian people expect positive politeness, which means a type of politeness is expected based on things you have to do such as giving presents, making compliments, giving invitations or saying thank you when visiting. They think that it is more important to be polite rather than not doing those things with the fear of disturbing the other person.

Italian society is also a dense word society: conversations are often overlapped. Interfering too much when somebody is speaking is considered impolite, but some overlapping happens quite often and it is allowed, because Italian people love to communicate verbally and they usually put emphasis and enthusiasm in their sentences. A long silence is seen as embarrassing, as it implies the communication is not in progress.

In the Italian media and business world you hear people using many foreign words, especially English terms, even if there is an Italian translation. Perhaps they believe this sounds more posh. Words like: mission, vision, brand, know-how, welfare are often used instead of the Italian phrases: missione, visione, marchio, competenza, benessere.

Enjoy discovering Italian culture, as well as other cultures different from yours! The world is like a kaleidoscope: it changes when you look at it in a different light.

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By |2019-09-03T21:27:14+01:00July 27th, 2011|Blog|0 Comments
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