Why did a wealthy Chinese man become homeless (6 photos)

In Hong Kong, a 50-year-old man left a wealthy, settled life to become homeless and for more than eight years now... incredibly happy. Why did he become like this? An interesting mirror of the social life of Chinese Hong Kong.





Spends the night under the windows of a diner closed for the night

In countries, drunkenness or a major tragedy in life leads to homeless life. Nothing like this happened to Simon Lee.

He has a higher education in chemistry and a permanent job in a prestigious office. But constant tension and stress made him unhappy, at some point he realized that all the things that he could buy with his salary did not atone for his daily pain.



He often eats leftover food from fast food trays. In China they often order more than they can eat, strange culture

After trying to find a less stressful job, he realized that society did not offer him a choice where he could maintain a balance between a quiet life and an honest job.

In Hong Kong, you either work your ass off or can't find a job. There will be someone willing to fill any position; you will be kicked out for any miscalculation.

And then he decided to move to Macau, where there are many casinos, and be homeless there. It is believed that the biggest handouts are there, because players leaving the club on a wave of winnings give very generous tips.





It’s very funny that there are a lot of videos about this man, and sometimes his face is shown, but sometimes not. As if we won't find out!

He managed to live on alms, because when the authorities deported him from Macau back to Hong Kong for vagrancy, Simon Lee could no longer bring himself to return to work.

Not because they didn’t hire him, but because even if you work half-time, you will still be poorer than a beggar. And if you work full-time in Hong Kong, this means overtime up to 12 hours of work at home.



You can go to the public library for free, that's why he runs his own homeless blog

Three brothers and parents cut off all ties with him, because living on the streets and not working in a Chinese family is a complete disgrace.

Nowhere to run

In reality, Simon is just one of the people caught in China's highly competitive system. Small apartments in Hong Kong, the high cost of living does not allow them to stop in the race for a minute.

If you want to live a more measured life, you have no chance. In China there is a very narrow stratum of professions for “downshifting”, stress and overwork for survival are everywhere.



At the same time, you can earn a lot in an important stressful position, but in a low position you will receive little, but the work will be just as hard and stressful.

And it turns out that the only way out is to become homeless, even if you don’t drink and your brain works as it should. Or - move to another country, but many Asians do not like to be in a foreign language environment, they do not like foreign food.



Funny observation, Simon says he has more space to live after he stopped renting his small apartment