Born and raised in Canada, I have friends from a diverse ethnic background. It’s hard for them to understand why I feel so strongly about Hong Kong. I tried my best to raise awareness on what was happening, but I always criticized myself wondering, “Am I annoying?”
I felt isolated navigating my identity and politics. I hope that people from Hong Kong will see me as one of them even though I wasn’t born or raised there.
Read MoreIn their darkest hour, they see my vest and think that their savior is here. At some point we will win this war, so we shouldn’t lose hope. “Dare to reach your hands into darkness, to pull another to light.” — this is a quote I uphold all the time.
Read MoreChanging the ingrained beliefs takes a long time. Only by standing on your own grounds could the business survive in such difficult times. If the older generations could reap the success of the present from bitter days of the past, could we do the same for our next generation?
Read MoreWhen someone mentions ‘Tomato C Hing’ now, many will immediately associate me with being a ‘yellow’ (pro-democracy) business owner. Because of my political stance, many customers choose to ‘punish’ me by frequenting my restaurant. As a result, there is a long queue outside every day. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that the key to attracting patrons is the quality of the food and service. I will never forget my original aspirations when I first opened this place.
Read MoreSending dad to the hospital was my idea, a decision that gave him the final nudge off the precipice, a decision for which I blame myself. I change my working environment every once in a while because I don’t want to become a cog in the current medical system. Humans are supposed to have feelings—how can we treat our work as just a job when lives are at stake, especially when the people we serve are so vulnerable?
Read MoreWhen we stood in front of Chungking Mansions, people came up to us and said, “You’re a Hongkonger, never forget that!”. I remember saying “Hong Kong is not a race, not a skin colour and not a religion, but a spirit,” and the crowd cheered and agreed with me. Afterall, the resolution to racial problems isn’t mechanically ‘“learning about different cultures’,” it’s recognising that at the end of the day, we’re all humans, we’re all the same, and we all want to enjoy life.
Read MoreI often thought, “What if someone sees us? Will they think that we’re disgusting?” Am I disgusting? I saw being gay as a huge problem that needed to be solved. And now, I don’t focus so much on seeing it as a ‘problem’, although it is something that I am still working on. Self discovery and acceptance require courage and a caring community, and I was lucky enough to have both.
Read MoreI believe that Hong Kong is truly unique, and Hongkongers have proven that all people desire democracy and freedom, no matter where they are in the world.
Read MoreIn reality, there are differences between the aims and objectives of a social worker. We want to reach out to youths who are not cared for by the system, but only a handful of them would actually come to us for help. When a social movement puts our youth to on the spotlight, I ask instead—just how much is the government willing to help them?
Read MoreNo changes can happen overnight, nor are done by one person alone. Do good, no matter how small it may seem. If everyone could do a bit more, then the impact would be huge. We must carry on, because I believe that the dawn will come one day, and justice will be done.
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