Why are there so many white people around?

Yes. Hong Kong had been a British colony for decades by the film's period setting.

Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite...

I thought you meant on this board.

The reason for that is because there's a lot of white guys who are sad losers that have never had sex with a woman, and they are obsessed with asian women probably because they heard prostitution is cheap and legal over there, and they know the only way they will ever lose their virginity is to somehow get their cheap ass minimum wage earning selves a ticket to China or Thailand so some ladyboy can admit them entrance to his or her mangina, so they can finally say they've done the deed with a real live human. And so until that day arrives they hang out on this and other boards featuring Asian actresses because that's all they have in life.

As for why there were so many back then, probably the same reason.