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Contemporary youth culture is largely imported and can appear, from a Westerner’s perspective, as highly childlike: small plastic toys hanging from the most sophisticated designer handbag, the love of the Japanese icon Hello Kitty, and the adoration of English slapstick comedy like Mr Bean. Cantopop, that most indigenous of music genres, mixes sugary naïvety with the well-groomed finesse of its male and female stars, essentially formulaic in their looks and products. There is precious little radical fashion, music or opinion, possibly because self-expression and independent thought is rarely encouraged. But one benefit of a relatively well-behaved society is an extremely low crime rate with vandalism and graffiti practically non-existent. Family life is important and while there is great respect for older people, young children are patently cherished.
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