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They're both similar ... Size, Economy, Chinese and both were governed by Britain before. But I heard that English is better in Singapore than Hongkong ?
Yes, English is the basic language of instruction in Singapore schools and has been since the 80s, so you actually have several generations of Singaporeans by now who grew up learning English. In addition to that, the population, including just the Chinese population, had widely varying home languages/dialects so the only recourse for communication was English. This is different from Hong Kong in that the vast majority of people were Chinese who have been there or in the area for millennia and are usually communicate using Cantonese. Singapore is also substantially more diverse than Hong Kong.
They've got every reason to, but I have never heard a Singaporean badmouth Hong Kong or Hong Konger badmouth Singapore. I guess they're all too busy with their lives to worry about the other.
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I wasn't aware there was much of a rivalry between the two, but I can see how they're eminently comparable. Both are relatively contained city states (okay HK is not technically one, but kind of was pre-1997 and for all intents and purposes still operates as one), both are 'Asian Tigers', both were really established by the British as major trading ports and commercial centres (at least in their modern incarnations), and both have relatively Westernised, globalised populations and economies.
I think HK might still have the edge over Singapore in GDP/wealth, but Singapore is catching up. Singapore has a more 'pan-Asiatic' feel while HK still feels more local/Chinese.
Singapore is winning the rivalry. It's cleaner, safer, has better English, better (spoken) Mandarin, uses Simplified Chinese, has a higher per capita real GDP, and a higher overall GDP, and is more environmental. The English standard in Hong Kong is declining. That's because recently there has been an increase in schools using Chinese as the language of instruction. But all schools in Singapore must teach in English.
Singapore is 74% Chinese (and that's not Chinese-dominated according to you?) And Muslims only account for 15% of the population, and almost all are Malays, with a significant population of Indian and Arab Muslims. But still, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity are far larger than Islam in Singapore.
Actually Singapore is as Muslim as it is Christian. It still has those Malay roots, from it's name, national anthem, a lot of the place names, and of course a lot of the food is very Malay influenced.
I bet this rivalry is exaggerated but something to consider is that Hong Kong is more of an immigrant city. Singapore has lots of immigrants too, but poor mainland chinese have always flooded into it for opportunity and it has gotten worse.
Another thing to consider is that Hong Kong has more rivalry. A big reason Hong Kong became wealthy was because it was the gateway into China, espcially during the communist years. With special economic zones other cities, especially Shanghai are challenging Hong Kong.
Also Singapore is mostly Buddhist, then followed by Christian.
I think Singapore's main rival is Kuala Lumpur, not Hong Kong, although a rivalry with HK definitely exists, as the two are more comparable economically and in global importance. Singapore is pretty multi-ethnic (despite the Chinese majority) while Hong Kong feels most Chinese.
They are the most global cities in Asia along with Tokyo, but focus on different regions. Singapore mainly on SE Asia, Hong Kong on E Asia and Tokyo on Japan only. Shanghai mainly focuses on Mainland China.
I bet this rivalry is exaggerated but something to consider is that Hong Kong is more of an immigrant city. Singapore has lots of immigrants too, but poor mainland chinese have always flooded into it for opportunity and it has gotten worse.
Another thing to consider is that Hong Kong has more rivalry. A big reason Hong Kong became wealthy was because it was the gateway into China, espcially during the communist years. With special economic zones other cities, especially Shanghai are challenging Hong Kong.
Also Singapore is mostly Buddhist, then followed by Christian.
The straights also really help Singapore.
Singapore is 30% foreign-born. That's not something to be dismissed lightly.
I do question what the future holds.
HK's status as an independent beacon of capitalism is under the shadow of what will become of that status come 2047. The mobile young as well as the far-sighted rich have reservations about gambling their future on the caprice of Beijing in this matter. Aside from that, HK does not seem to be embracing its Anglosphere past with the fervour that Singapore has. It's not surprising, as HK is being transformed by Mandarin-speaking students and workers, as well as wealthy tourists and investors.
They competing to for an extremely elite prize: to be a global financial capital, i.e., the London or New York of Asia. There are lots of important financial centers, for example Chicago and Frankfurt, but they don’t have clout and status of London or New York. Many billionaires and oligarchs have at least one apartment in London or New York. But Chicago? Not so much.
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