Winnie Yeung and Winnie Chau ask why our city’s street performers can never get a break.

A mid the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, it’s easy to get lost in the noise of the streets. But look behind the crowds of white collars and mainland tourists, and occasionally you will find the crouching tigers we know as “buskers.” Whether they’re playing guitars, violins, harmonicas, erhus, singing, or performing tricks, they bring a different vibe to the otherwise busy streets. And many of them aren’t just doing it for amusement. Most hope to use their talents to make ends meet.
However, while busking is appreciated as a way to make a living in many other countries, it’s often challenged, criticized, or looked down upon in Hong Kong. The police frequently disrupt performances and sometimes issue tickets to buskers. Veteran street performer Andrew So, commonly known as Mr. Funny, was served with a summons in 2007 for causing a nuisance when he performed a fire-swallowing trick at the Mong Kok Pedestrianized Zone (the charge was later dropped by the judiciary).

It’s no surprise then that many people think busking is illegal in Hong Kong. Technically, it’s not. There is no specific law or regulation in Hong Kong that prohibits performing in the street. The officer who issued the ticket to Mr. Funny in 2007 did so under the “Summary Offences Ordinance (Chapter 228),” whereby people who obstruct the street or cause annoyance to others are subject to fines and even imprisonment. And whether one has committed such an offence comes down to the interpretation of the officer.

Especially complicating is Section 6 of the law, which stipulates a fine of $50 for anyone who makes noise in a public space to sell “any article whatsoever.” Fashion designer Jing Wong, an amateur busker who has been playing guitar twice a week on the streets of Causeway Bay and Mong Kok for two years now, says he gets approached by the police three out of five times while busking. “When I challenge them about it, they can’t give me a real reason,” he says. “Some say I’m obstructing the road, some say I’m collecting money from passersby. In fact, the police don’t understand the law. It’s not illegal as long as I’m not actively asking for money. If people give money voluntarily, that’s more of a gray area.”

Local band Juicyning, who occasionally perform on the streets and get approached by the police, say the law enforcement’s unpredictable actions stop the local performance art scene from flourishing. “As artists, we get forced into the gray area between laws,” they say. “We’re forced to challenge the authorities. It shouldn’t be that way.”
In many countries, busking is viewed as a proper occupation, and street performances are regarded as a tourist attraction—even receiving support from the government. But while our laws are based on the common laws in Britain, our official attitudes toward busking couldn’t be more different. Buskers there have been able to apply for licenses since 2003. London’s Covent Garden is regarded as a world-famous tourist destination for street performances, with a system whereby buskers audition and follow a timetable. Even rule-happy Singapore has had a licensing scheme for buskers since 1997.

Proposals for a similar scheme here have been brought up for years, but nothing has been accomplished. After his charge was dropped, Mr. Funny asked the prosecutors to issue guidelines to buskers to give them a better idea about what is and isn’t wrong. But they refused to look into the issue. Meanwhile, Jing Wong finds himself often asked by the police to apply for a “license,” but no governmental department, from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (which is in charge of cultural activities) to the Environmental Protection Department (which regulates noise problems), seems to have any idea of the said license’s existence.

Wong believes that designated busking areas will lead to a rich local busking culture. But as yet, even our very own Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui is hostile to buskers, it’s security guards notorious for driving performers such as Wong out of its outdoor piazza (the security company was unavailable for comment).

That certainly contradicts our government’s stated cultural policy. A Home Affairs Bureau spokesperson says the policy objective is to “create an environment which is conducive to the freedom of artistic expression and creation,” and that they encourage “the public’s participation in cultural activities, including street performers.”
Yet buskers continue to be ridiculed and harassed by law enforcement. “We just want to share our music. Why can’t the government support that?” ask Juicyning. Wong complains about the situation in even harsher terms: “They probably see me as a beggar and don’t think art is something to be valued.”