More than words could ever say.
Then.
And now.
IMUL
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Friday, November 7, 2014
Re-visit
Circumstances brought me to a familiar place today at a familiar time. I'm not sure if it makes me nostalgic or afraid.
This place is changing. Renovations are under way. Things are no longer where they used to be. I remember walking through once. Picking up a few items. Carrying them back and up.
Are my thoughts making me nostalgic? Am I looking for something? Or am I afraid of what I might see? All I know is that it's a very heavy feeling.
The drive home was no less uncomfortable. It was always around this time of day that I drove home down this route.
So close, but so far.
This drive always takes longer than I expect. A part of me wanted to down the gas and let out the heaviness, but a bigger part of me was reminded of those words that have time and again saved me from trouble on these roads.
The rain was falling.
And with it, came a certain amount of guilt...
This place is changing. Renovations are under way. Things are no longer where they used to be. I remember walking through once. Picking up a few items. Carrying them back and up.
Are my thoughts making me nostalgic? Am I looking for something? Or am I afraid of what I might see? All I know is that it's a very heavy feeling.
The drive home was no less uncomfortable. It was always around this time of day that I drove home down this route.
So close, but so far.
This drive always takes longer than I expect. A part of me wanted to down the gas and let out the heaviness, but a bigger part of me was reminded of those words that have time and again saved me from trouble on these roads.
The rain was falling.
And with it, came a certain amount of guilt...
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Yellow
I've been wanting to sit down and think about all this, but never got the chance to. Perhaps, now, as I'm slacking off from what I should be doing, is the time.
In the last month or so, we've seen Hong Kong like never before. Regardless of whether you're yellow or blue or something in between, I think a lot of people have cried for HK in the past few weeks. Myself included.
For days and days, the first thing I did every morning was check the news. Hoping that some breakthrough had happened. Hoping that no violence had occurred. One particular morning, I read a post from a friend. She was saying she was listening to the radio talk about what had happened that day on her drive home from work and was in tears. She's there, and I'm not. But I get it. (I don't know this person too well. We met because of a common interest. Our encounter was almost accidental and short-lived. But through the random posts every now and then and the comments exchanged, I know we have a very similar attitude towards lots of things.)
I've been following from the beginning. Partly because I have friends and family who are out there. Partly simply because, despite having spent a very small portion of my life there, I still feel that HK is my home, my city.
Long story short.......
Yellow or blue? Yellow.
A lot of people say there are other ways to fight for democracy. Tell me. How? The people have spoken. There have been rallies, protest, votes and what not throughout the year, before this broke out, demanding a true democracy. What did the government do? Ignore it all and submit a report to China that does not reflect the population. So tell me. What other choice is there than to cause a commotion and stir up attention and force the government to do something?
A lot of people say that China has already given HK a lot of freedoms. Yes. China has tolerated the freedoms that the British left in HK. But. China is also slowly taking it all away. Freedom of speech? Freedom of press? Freedom of assembly? Rule of law? It's all being eroded away. If nothing is done now, we will lose it all.
A lot of people say that HK is in a good position right now, benefiting from the growth of China. Are things fine now? The influx of people from the mainland has wreaked havoc on a lot of people's lives. Small businesses have been sacrificed for the benefit of the big names. So what happens to the ordinary people?
A lot of people say we should treasure what we have now and the future is unpredictable. That's precisely the truth. The future is so unpredictable that there is a need to secure a system that will allow the people to be heard. For those living now, the future may not be a part of their lives. But what about the younger generations? Do we really want the younger generations to be living in a society that is the equivalent of close-minded, law-less, authoritarian mainland cities?
On the other hand...to be fair......
There have been scenes where the police have acted violently towards protesters. Despite that, they are police. They have a job to do. I am inclined to think that many of them are doing exactly that. Carrying out their jobs. Look around, and you'll see that there are people that are police by day and protester by night. They, too, want the city to have a better future.
There have been lots of controversy about when the protests should stop. To me, the protests and taking over the streets was somewhat necessary. But for it to last up until now? Perhaps not. To me, a wiser move would have been to temporarily retreat when the government agreed to talk. Retreat. Talk. Re-group. Come back at full force if progress is not made. Better for the people. Better for the protesters. At this point, there's no choice but to keep going, and keep angering other people.
A friend of mine told me one of her coworkers took time off of work to join the protests half way across the world. It's amazing that people would do that.
One of my coworkers asked me if I would be out there on the streets if I was in HK. Yes, I would. (Perhaps not day and night, but every now and then, yes.)
My parents asked me the same question. Yes, I would. Fortunately for me, for once, we have the same opinion. For the most part they, too, are supportive of the protesters. (Unfortunately, can't say the same for a lot of my relatives.)
What happens next? Nobody knows. When will this end? Nobody knows.
A part of me thinks that not much will come out of this. It seems unlikely that China will make any concessions. That's sad, because the whole world knows that China is better off allowing a democracy in HK and showing the world that they are committed to it and ready to be on the world stage. But, of course, why would China do that?
I read something written by Canadian reporter who was originally from HK. What she said was exactly what I thought......
Most of the Hongkongnese people in Canada came in the 90's because they were afraid of what might happen to HK when China took over again. We ran away from the current misfortunes. Now, there are people fighting for freedom - exactly what we came to Canada for. How can we not support this?
In the last month or so, we've seen Hong Kong like never before. Regardless of whether you're yellow or blue or something in between, I think a lot of people have cried for HK in the past few weeks. Myself included.
For days and days, the first thing I did every morning was check the news. Hoping that some breakthrough had happened. Hoping that no violence had occurred. One particular morning, I read a post from a friend. She was saying she was listening to the radio talk about what had happened that day on her drive home from work and was in tears. She's there, and I'm not. But I get it. (I don't know this person too well. We met because of a common interest. Our encounter was almost accidental and short-lived. But through the random posts every now and then and the comments exchanged, I know we have a very similar attitude towards lots of things.)
I've been following from the beginning. Partly because I have friends and family who are out there. Partly simply because, despite having spent a very small portion of my life there, I still feel that HK is my home, my city.
Long story short.......
Yellow or blue? Yellow.
A lot of people say there are other ways to fight for democracy. Tell me. How? The people have spoken. There have been rallies, protest, votes and what not throughout the year, before this broke out, demanding a true democracy. What did the government do? Ignore it all and submit a report to China that does not reflect the population. So tell me. What other choice is there than to cause a commotion and stir up attention and force the government to do something?
A lot of people say that China has already given HK a lot of freedoms. Yes. China has tolerated the freedoms that the British left in HK. But. China is also slowly taking it all away. Freedom of speech? Freedom of press? Freedom of assembly? Rule of law? It's all being eroded away. If nothing is done now, we will lose it all.
A lot of people say that HK is in a good position right now, benefiting from the growth of China. Are things fine now? The influx of people from the mainland has wreaked havoc on a lot of people's lives. Small businesses have been sacrificed for the benefit of the big names. So what happens to the ordinary people?
A lot of people say we should treasure what we have now and the future is unpredictable. That's precisely the truth. The future is so unpredictable that there is a need to secure a system that will allow the people to be heard. For those living now, the future may not be a part of their lives. But what about the younger generations? Do we really want the younger generations to be living in a society that is the equivalent of close-minded, law-less, authoritarian mainland cities?
On the other hand...to be fair......
There have been scenes where the police have acted violently towards protesters. Despite that, they are police. They have a job to do. I am inclined to think that many of them are doing exactly that. Carrying out their jobs. Look around, and you'll see that there are people that are police by day and protester by night. They, too, want the city to have a better future.
There have been lots of controversy about when the protests should stop. To me, the protests and taking over the streets was somewhat necessary. But for it to last up until now? Perhaps not. To me, a wiser move would have been to temporarily retreat when the government agreed to talk. Retreat. Talk. Re-group. Come back at full force if progress is not made. Better for the people. Better for the protesters. At this point, there's no choice but to keep going, and keep angering other people.
A friend of mine told me one of her coworkers took time off of work to join the protests half way across the world. It's amazing that people would do that.
One of my coworkers asked me if I would be out there on the streets if I was in HK. Yes, I would. (Perhaps not day and night, but every now and then, yes.)
My parents asked me the same question. Yes, I would. Fortunately for me, for once, we have the same opinion. For the most part they, too, are supportive of the protesters. (Unfortunately, can't say the same for a lot of my relatives.)
What happens next? Nobody knows. When will this end? Nobody knows.
A part of me thinks that not much will come out of this. It seems unlikely that China will make any concessions. That's sad, because the whole world knows that China is better off allowing a democracy in HK and showing the world that they are committed to it and ready to be on the world stage. But, of course, why would China do that?
I read something written by Canadian reporter who was originally from HK. What she said was exactly what I thought......
Most of the Hongkongnese people in Canada came in the 90's because they were afraid of what might happen to HK when China took over again. We ran away from the current misfortunes. Now, there are people fighting for freedom - exactly what we came to Canada for. How can we not support this?
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