Pete Seeger composed “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in 1959. He wrote

a time to be born, and a time to die

a time to plant, a time to reap

a time to kill, a time to heal

a time to laugh, a time to weep

to everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn) and a time to every purpose, under heaven……

The vast devastations, political, economic and health hazards, in the history of Hong Kong did not destroy but raised us to greater heights of ability to survive. We can trace our proud ancestry through these past struggles. In fact, the devastations have made Hong Kong very different from other places in Asia and so a uniquely charming city gone down in history.

In our old days, there were 3 incidents of violent rivalry between the establishment vs the people. In 1967, street protests and fights occurred under the influence and in the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution taking place in China. There were people who were either shot down dead or killed by bombs. My mother forced us to stay at home at all times. Schools were closed. Tear gas was often deployed in riotous scenes near our house in Wan Chai and we always kept windows shut.

I was told that back in 1956, the pro-Taiwan and pro-Chinese Mainland political supporters fought fiercely in Sham Shui Po. Soon, Hong Kong was convulsed by deadly violence. The city became in chaos.

As we can remember not long ago, street conflicts in 2019 were stirred over the ‘Rendition Bill’ legislation dealing with fugitives. Thousands were arrested, inevitably many were injured and some unfortunately died. By mid-2020, the serious commotion led Hong Kong government to declare the restoration of peace and stability with the imposition of the National Security law.

Sometimes, it takes a social or natural disaster to reveal the highest human qualities such as hope, love and endurance. No tragic disaster can destroy the treasures of our heart. Despite all these hardships, people in Hong Kong managed to live, continue and exist. To believe in future can help us overcome all the above unbearable situations because we try to envision a better tomorrow at the end of the dark tunnel.

It is recorded that Hong Kong has been hit by death-dealing health plagues for nearly 25 times since 1843. The heart-breaking ones are never forgotten. In 1914, 1,300 people were killed by the Black Death epidemic. In 1937, 1,000 victims died of cholera. In 1970, 1,500 lives were taken away by tuberculosis. In 2003, we lost almost 300 patients due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). At present, the death toll caused by COVID-19 has been more than 10,000 and the figure is still rising…Mamma Mia, we still cannot get rid of the Omicron nightmare in Hong Kong right now!

The writer Gene Wolfe humorously put, “You think whatever is wrong with you is contagious? Yes, but you had it already. You caught it from your mother. Death!” We are the humble beings that have to die when it is time for us to die. We can do very little but just try hard to survive.

No one should ever ever have a good reason for suicide. It is especially not sensible for some in economic crisis to end their life. ‘Bankruptcy’ in Hong Kong is a legal solution which can be adopted by a person who is unable to repay outstanding debts. His debts will be written off after 4 years of bankruptcy.

Tragedy is timeless. The overarching theme for an economic crisis is always that many will become poor but a few will painstakingly find ways to become rich; and on that note, Hong Kong has transitioned from a number of well-known economic catastrophes: 1973 Stock Market Crash (caused by oil crisis), 1981 Economic Slump (Sino-British’s talk over the political future of Hong Kong failed), 1987 ‘Black Monday’, 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and 2008 World Economic Recession. Hong Kong took great pride in having been able to overcome these economic downturns and seek the opportunities to reform as a result of all these lessons. The governing fundamentals in our city are still  strong but we have to watch out the future balance of power management—Hong Kong does have to be a very international city if it wants to maintain its status as the economic centre in Asia.

We can never tell what goes on in between Hong Kong is and what it will become. The uncertainty of destiny of a city is always a blue and scary section of hell. No one is able to give us the map which can put Hong Kong continuously on the map. Rebound for life is what happens when other people are busy crying and you are busy making new plans after the COVID holocaust! This is why I am now busy packing my bags for my 1st trip to Thailand since 2020! Oh my gosh, 3 years have passed!

Devastation never ends, and hope never melts too.

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