My worst day at the handbag factory yet. There are some long and boring issues that I can go into but suffice to say that there is a lot of movement behind the scenes at my company and I have unwittingly stepped into the crossfire. My immediate boss is local but lived in the west for many years when it looked like (to the Hong Kong population at least) that China was going to invade and destroy Hong Kong in 1997. Alas it didn’t happen and now 10 years later there are PRC flags hanging from the wall and talk of the motherland oh, and lots and lots of Yuan flowing over the border but that’s not a factor is it? Of course not. Wash my mouth out. I find the characters that fled but are now born again Chinese and proud kind of hypocritical and I take my hat off to all those (locals and others) that stayed in Hong Kong during the handover when times were far from certain. Those people, in my opinion at least, are real Hong Kong people not fair-weather friends. There are Hong Kongers that fall into the hypocritical category that I know and I feel a kind of wariness around them (not because they deserted but because they over compensate the Chinese and proud angle) and I now have that feeling with this guy. Good time colleague but when shit has potential to hit the fan then you won’t see him for dust. Oh, and he is a dwarf who reminds me of a Cantonese Ronnie Corbet but that’s neither here nor there. He is nice from time to time but not exactly a hard-worker and always dashing to Macau or Shenzhen on business (nudge nudge wink win). Always walks around the office quickly in this ‘look how busy I am’ way and tells everyone how busy he is. All the time.Just like the lazy bastards I used to work with in Local Government in the UK who would do nothing all day but pretend to work ticking off the days until they retire.
It’s a shame to say but there exists in my company a network of locals. I don’t have any opinion on this either way. Good for them, well done and all of that and as a guest living in this fine land I don’t let it concern me. I understand the cultural differences BUT when it starts fucking my shit up that’s when I go bananas. Ronnie Corbet (as he will henceforth be known) has given me a ‘local’ to work with as my right hand man but she is woeful (see yesterday) and she knows it and this morning ran to Ronny to tell him what a nasty person I was. I had a meeting with Ronald to explain my side and I could see he agreed with me but he didn’t relent – we have to work together. I don’t want to. He does. Why? Why so insistent? Hmmmm. I think I can guess why he would insist this Hong Kong born and bred worked needs to stick with me. There is no other person that wishes to work with her which speaks volumes and as the newcomer I have the pleasure. SO I had all this debate on Friday and it wore me out. I am not going to relent on this and Ronnie’s boss (who thinks I am great) is on my side and has Ronnie’s card well and truly marked for other things and is looking for an excuse to nail our hapless hero. I will, of course, oblige. Not because I am bitter, not because I hate the local mafia and not because I want to drop my poor co-worker in it but because there is no compromise and that is wrong. In the evening we had a works do. I lasted 10 minutes before walking out. Coupled with this I have a chance of moving to Beijing to work in a new office in the same company. I will decide on Monday if it really is worth fighting over this or just leaving them all to their self preservational life. I just want to do my job.