possible Australian Summer Plan

Although it's only midterm here, I know that I need to think ahead for what to do with my Australian summer.

I want to spend some time in Hong Kong, at least a month. But I don't want to waste my summer doing nothing productive. I know that I need to take advantage of my only "student" summer to get some experience, internship, etc., to help me find my career in this field.

I can either go to Hong Kong or stay in Australia. I hope to be in Hong Kong for at least part of summer to see my family, pick up stuff and to see friends.

So right now I am looking at things I can do in Hong Kong and Australia. I wonder if RTHK take any intern. I am looking at HKU's website for its communication and journalism students. I am also seeing if I can work under a director like 張虹 Tammy Cheung who I am a fan of. If not, just other stuff that I can do.

Heung-yan Wong sits down with director Tammy Cheung to discuss her new documentary Election.

With the next Legislative Council Election coming up in September, the political situation in Hong Kong is once again in sharp focus. Accordingly, Visible Records Ltd. presents Election, a film which focuses on the LegCo election in 2004. After viewing several clips from this fascinating documentary, Heung-yan Wong sat down to talk with director Tammy Cheung, who discussed the political intentions behind the film.

Can you give us a brief summary of your documentary?
It’s about the Legislative Council Elections of 2004. We cover three areas, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon East and the New Territories East and focus mainly on five candidates.

Does your documentary have a specific message that you wish to impart to the audience?
No, I don’t make message films. We show what we see. Although we tried our best to do so, we were unable to show the whole picture as the event takes place on such a huge scale.

Is there a specific reason why you chose this time to release the movie, and not right after the 2004 elections?
Obviously, the next election is coming up. We didn’t have enough resources to finish it earlier as we were short staffed. The post- production work takes a lot of energy and time and we are doing the best we can.

Does your documentary focus on more controversial issues such as universal suffrage for Hong Kong?
Not really, I think the main issues we cover include Article 23, the date for universal suffrage, the Tiananmen Square massacre and some local issues such as anti-trust and minimum wage.

The preview clips feature one of the candidates, Leung Kwok-Hung. What do you think of more controversial politicians like him?
He’s not controversial; he’s actually quite gentle. His actions are far from radical but he gets a lot of media attention because he is outspoken. The protesting he does is very common and ordinary, something you would see in any democratic area, I haven’t seen him do anything outrageous yet.

Do you personally think Hong Kong is ready for a full Western style of democracy?
We were originally, but we’ve backtracked recently. According to an informal interview I carried out at CUHK, the public generally didn’t think we need universal suffrage. A few years ago everyone thought we needed a one man one vote system. The Beijing and Hong Kong government must be successful in making us believe otherwise. (Laughs)

How do you view the Chinese socialist style of government?
Chinese socialism is not socialism. It is a dictatorship.
So you believe it’s moved more towards a dictatorship.
I know it’s a dictatorship. It’s not socialism. If you look at history and what happened before and after 1949, you will see that it is not a matter of belief. We can see it from what they have done to the many people in China.

Things I am planning to write about:

• Hong Kong's Democracy Movement and China
• Reasoning Behind American Individualism

George Carlin

George Carlin passed away June this year and it was known that he would receive the Kennedy Award for the Arts in November which will be received by his wife in his honour.

George Carlin is one of the greatest contemporary American comedians who used his provoking comedy acts to prompt people to think about morality, politics, social issues and other topics. I think that's what great about comedy, it would bring people to discuss on things that would not otherwise. Yes, he used profanity but he also made millions of us think about important things that we otherwise wouldn't. He made it entertaining to think for many of us.

George Carlin was a wizard with words and had a great mind. He said that he would probably be a teacher if not a comedian.

"Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate"

Someone sent me this many months ago and I made it an obligation to share it because it is so relevant for us today, no matter if we are in LA, New York, Tokyo or Hong Kong. His message is a reminder for us, reminding us of the ills in society, our weaknesses, our immaturity, our wrongs and other issues we will have to deal with to make this place a better place for us and our little ones.

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Things We Are Writing and Editing

For about several weeks, I haven't gone out to eat with colleagues as often as I did before. Half the time I brought something from home for lunch and the other time I would be busy with something during lunch. Sometimes I just don't have much personal time and lunch time became my errand time.

But I ate with my fellow history/liberal studies section colleagues and we started talking about what we are doing at our job. We started talking about what "liberal studies" is and discussed about our world history book that we are editing. I personally find "liberal studies" to be very vague and broad to the point that it somewhat dictates how students should approach a range of topics from citizenship, globalization to moral values. 

We agree that it's weird how we are writing our world history textbook. I said that government and political development of PRC and Hong Kong should be another class, in another textbook. Another editor said that she found find it strange how we are told by the Education Department that to have history under the concept of modernization and etc. And it caught me by surprise and reminded me how I found it so ridiculous on how "modernization" became the answer for everything in our textbook. We agreed that these "concepts" distort readers' perspective on history. Even our reviewer told us that it's problematic. 

Well, then I asked who actually wrote the curriculum which we (teachers, schools, textbook publishers) have to follow. I really want to know the  background of those people who planned this curriculum. It isn't the right way for kids to read history. Compare to the liberal studies curriculum, which is very relaxed with a lot of freedom for educators and textbook publishers, the world history curriculum actually dictates how students should look at history, especially contemporary Chinese history and Asian history (including Hong Kong) to a certain extent. 

I don't know but I think the teacher union should protest about this. And if there is a textbook editor union that want to protest about this, I would totally join. The world history textbook is bias and blind. It will channel's students perspective of history. The teachers will have to be the gatekeeper to pass the right and correct history to students. I am not sure if they can do that. 

Furthermore, the Education Department (EDB) set the curriculum and probably going to set the exam questions too so, students are going to be forced to study it and teachers forced to teach it. 

Beijing is certainly tightening the grip over Hong Kong and the younger generation's world view and perspective will be compromised and limited. 

Hong Kong students will lose that advantage of being more "internationalized" from their mainland counterparts. 

Things are not looking well for Hong Kong.