Passive American shoppers don't realize this at first. Many have trouble here. In tiny, crowded Hong Kong, haggling is a way of life. From the most humble store clerk in Kowloon to the wealthy, high-powered investment bankers in the moneyed Central District, Hong Kongers spend their lives making deals, big and small. Money travels fast, if not very far.
Business is pleasure.
The Hong Kong economy is capitalism at its finest, operating at the doorstep of the world's largest Communist stronghold, China. In early May, nearly 90 government and business leaders from the Seattle area spent a week in Hong Kong, in a trip sponsored by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle and several local governments. They wanted, among other things, to see firsthand the mood of a territory about to undergo dramatic change from British to Chinese sovereignty. On that day, Hong Kong returns to the ownership of its motherland to the north, after more than 150 years of British rule. It's a historic event, one that could trigger worldwide calamity if there's civil unrest or if investors lose confidence and pull money from Hong Kong's vibrant economy.