因為飛紐約要十幾個小時，於是一口氣看了三部關於香港的電影，把之前沒空看的一次性補齊。
無論是《緣路山旮旯》、《飯戲攻心》，還是屬於比較官方宣傳類型的《一樣的天空》，講述的都是同一個主題：家是香港。
因為工作夥伴關係，之前多次去荔枝窩參觀，所以看完電影《緣路山旮旯》，其中有關荔枝窩的片段是我最有感觸的。至於《一樣的天空》，特別提到種族平等問題，在香港，社會對南亞裔人士仍然存在一定偏見，很高興能夠這部影片中有所反映。
《飯戲攻心》因為有子華，所以金句不斷，包括片尾的暗示”走遠一點”，可能也算是對近年來香港人選擇”用腳投票”的移民趨勢的一種認可？當然，無論去哪裡，屋企人在哪裡，哪裡就是屋企。
需要真的看明白這幾套戲還是最好能聽懂粵語，否則很難想像翻譯成普通話，其中的一些文化和背景會有所損失。以前港產片給人印象都是打打殺殺，最出名的包括鄭伊健、陳小春的古惑仔形象，乃至後來劉德華、梁朝偉的《無間道》。最近幾年，大家開始打溫情牌，家成為香港電影的一個新主題。
香港是大家的屋企，大家要繼續齊心支持香港電影！
（以上所提及電影都可在國泰航空航班上觀看）
Lau Zone 撈鬆
Do you know when the British forces first occupied Hong Kong Island in 1841, there were only less than 8,000 people living in Hong Kong?
That is to say almost every Hongkonger we know today is the next generation(s) of migrants — migrants from Mainland China (Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian etc), India, South Asia, Vietnam, Britain, Australia, and the whole world! That is also what “Lau Zone” (撈鬆) — presented by the multi-talented trio of Yuri Ng, Anna Lo and Rick Lau — taught me tonight when I enjoyed the poignant yet playful cabaret on the rich variety of Chinese dialects at Hong Kong’s very own culture spot, Tai Kwun in Central.
“Lau Zone” is the Cantonese colloquial term used towards non-Cantonese natives, which essentially includes most Hongkongers of previous generations, as most of them were immigrants to the former British colony. All the immigrants made Hong Kong a unique place in the world where you may be often curious to know where s/he (and her/his families) originally came from. And of course sometimes you may be asked the same question too, especially when you travel or move abroad.
I was born in Shanghai, and I was relocated by my former baron, then the British news agency Reuters, to Hong Kong about 15 years ago. I have called Hong Kong my “home” since then. After all, home is where your heart belongs.
I learned Cantonese after I moved to Hong Kong and I truly love learning and speaking Cantonese (btw, you can also write in Cantonese, which has many special characters!) but I do speak Cantonese with my Shanghai accent as all my friends can tell. It’s hard to speak like a native of Hong Kong and I never intend to do so. Accent tells people where you originally came from and no one should hide that. It’s about your origin, just as a matter of fact, and it’s about your root. Everyone has his/her root.
Perhaps due to my Shanghai legacy, I know quickly that I became a fan of “Lau Zone” when Anna began to sing the traditional nursery rhyme in Shanghai dialect at the beginning of the drama.
I know there must be still a lot of Shanghainese people (and of course, their second or third generations) living in Hong Kong, though it is a very rare chance you will speak to someone in Shanghai dialect in Hong Kong nowadays unless you are really sure. I once bumped into former Chief Secretary Henry Tang at a private party and we began to talk about Shanghai. Once he realised my hometown is Shanghai, Henry began to try to show off his Shanghai dialect, well, just a few sentences. But that was fun and I still remember how quickly just a few sentences in Shanghai dialect got us connected emotionally.
“Where are you from? Where did you really come from?” This is the question asked again and again in the drama. As the official introduction of “Lau Zone” explains, this trivial bit of information seems to be useful only while filling in application forms. However, what else does our place of ancestry represent? Other than a few slang words, Hong Kong people are all but detached from the dialects spoken fluently among the older generations. It feels like a bittersweet relationship, doesn’t it?
Congratulations to Anna and the crew of “Lau Zone” to remind all of us about the uniqueness of Hong Kong and our “hometowns” — aka our 鄉下, not Japan or Korea, which I know many Hongkongers often joke about for their holiday time.
Hong Kong has been always a dream place of migrants. Migrants then became “Hongkongers”, who created what Hong Kong is today and the legend of Lion Rock will go on. So will the spirit of Hong Kong.
I woke up on a quiet Friday morning and learned the sad news from friends that a very elegant, intelligent, kind, and well-respected PR and Communications leader passed away in Hong Kong due to cancer. It was a long battle but still…
I haven’t seen her in person for quite some years and now all the old memories just pop up in my mind. I first met her when I was a junior reporter. I barely just started my career at that time while she was already very senior in a bank.
We have been in touch since then as I grew up in my career and she moved to other banks and international firms. She certainly made herself a very good personal brand in the industry. I remember I told some friends that she can be the role model for those who work in the PR and Comms business in Hong Kong.
I sent my condolence to her spouse, who told me L always spoke highly of me, and I shared some good memories I have about L with her spouse. Now I regret that we didn’t get chance to see each other more in person.
I vaguely remember last time when we had lunch in a restaurant in Central, we talked for long hours, and she was keen to learn new things like social media. I jokingly said something to her that she was senior enough to ask others to do the work rather than she needed to learn everything, but she replied very kindly that she wanted to learn and lead by example first.
The PR and Comms industry in Hong Kong is never short of smart people, but true leaders are rare, not to mention someone who can always stay so elegant, humble, kind, and have the heart to make real friends.
I’m blessed to have met you, L, and I will keep all our good moments in my memory.
This is one of my favorite black-and-white photos I shot recently on my Nikon FM2/T. It was a weekend afternoon and I wandered around Wan Chai, a traditional district on Hong Kong Island. I just bumped into this matchbox-like small shop, which is a very typical real estate broker office in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has been known as the world’s most expensive property market for decades. You think property prices are expensive in New York, London, Tokyo, or Singapore? Hmm… Come to Hong Kong and check out.
Property is not just a business. Property also means politics in Hong Kong. Some analysts say HK property prices were already contributing factor to the social unrests in recent years.
Even if you get 1 million US dollar, what you can get in Hong Kong is most likely a matchbox-like flat. There are tens of thousands property brokers in Hong Kong. Some can become very rich almost overnight if they can sell ultra-expensive houses on the Peak quickly. Those buyers usually pay all in cash.
Nothing can really stop the rise of property prices in Hong Kong, from the 1997 handover, Asian financial crisis, 2003 SARS, 2008 global financial crisis, 2014 Umbrella Movement, 2019 Anti-extradition law protests, and now the ongoing Covid pandemic…
People say sky is the limit for HK properties.
If you want to understand Hong Kong, understand HK property business first.
香港現在是Easter復活節假期，所以大家都有一個long weekend，雖然不能說閑來無事，因為我的工作本來就是不可能沒事的，只要手機在，就肯定有事，而且通常找我的都未必是好事 ，但也無奈悶得慌，於是吃過午飯後還是決定出去走走，在家附近散步。
走著走著，正好見到跑馬地的花店新到一批貨，還是香港本地種植的玫瑰花，粉色系，感覺不錯。疫情期間，有很多大小領悟，也發現家里如果有點花花草草，自然會生機盎然許多。
想起來我已經兩年多沒travel了，但是現在看看上海的情況，又覺得其實香港還算是不錯的。香港目前還沒有完全封城過，就算是三月疫情高峰，大家還是靠自己，盡量不出門，但是有必要還是可以出去走走的，比如買日常生活用品和食物。現在想起來，依然記憶猶新，三月的時候，香港許多超市都斷貨，一眼望去，都是空蕩蕩的。
好在香港的電商物流還算是暢通，正如港人比較多用的HKTVmall，疫情期間從未斷貨，我也確實網上買了很多，幫助我度過那些混沌的日子，說起來要謝謝HKTVmall的老闆Ricky，有他在，保持HKTVmall運作，對香港的貢獻大過特首！
不說了，說多了生氣，血壓高。希望上海平安，香港快點恢覆國際旅行。
一切都會好起來，一切也都會被記住，因為人民不會忘記。
花很好看，買了一打，500港幣有找。錢啊，真是好花，不是嗎？