"Sometimes the best way to understand something is not through our eyes" - a day with Grandma at the airport
“When we pay the price for something which has no value, it is effectively a forced or even wasteful act, and definitely does not constitute the kind of sacrifice mentioned by the women at the airport. Who hasn’t heard the verdict that boycotting at school is just a waste of time and will simply let down your parents? But if they believe they are fighting for something valuable, then they are not sacrificing anything, but rather it is a means to strive for what they want.”
I review recent news and watch the live news with my grandma weekly, so she has evidence to back up her views when she hangs out with her friends over a cup of tea or when she bumps into neighbors on the street. Yes, the elderly talks about politics as well, why not?
As an elderly who experienced the Cultural Revolution and the June 4th Incident [Tiananmen Massacre], how can she not understand the Communist Party's trickery? She survived through students arrests, violent suppressions and even struggle sessions in which people denounced each other. During the early stages of the Anti-extradition Movement, it would be difficult for her not to say, "Let it go, stop fooling around, everyone should stop already. The police are definitely gonna beat you up so hard that you get internal injuries." In reality, it’s only because it pains her to see the youth getting injured. She does not want to witness bloody scenes again.
On the night of the clash in Sheung Wan on 28 July, my grandma camped in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast and she witnessed the police’s violent clearance. She saw how the police fired tear gas from an overpass and nearby buildings down towards the protestors on the streets with no prior warning. Afterwards, rubber bullets and sponge bullets rained down on protestors, journalists, social workers and civilians alike as the riot police pushed forward.
My grandma watched sadly as she swore and yelled, "The police should be dead! No decent person will ever become a cop. They are firing from the overpass, they are firing on the ground. They should never have kids, their kids will have no anus (*A cantonese idiom to curse another person's children)." "Look at those damned cops firing endlessly, they are out of their mind! Why aren’t they as mighty when they are fighting thieves?" "What's the point of raising the warning flag? They don't raise it before they shoot, so what's the point?" "You would suck as a soldier in a war, you are only good at bullying our youth. If they broke the law, you can just arrest them, so why are you firing so many rounds of tear gas, beating them up and so on? Really…."
During that night, my grandma stepped not an inch away from the TV until midnight. After that night, she puts on channel 32 (RTHK) everytime she wanted to watch live broadcasts. Unsure, I asked, “You don’t watch channel 81 (TVB) anymore?" She replied, "Nah, they only show bits and pieces. I can't tell if it's real or not."
From that day on, she switched from binging soap operas to following live broadcasts. She sometimes gets updates even faster than I do. In August, she suddenly told me she wanted to go to the airport to experience the "Fly with You" movement that lasted 3 days. Considering that transportation to the airport is convenient as many different buses reach the airport, there's air-conditioning at the airport so my grandma won't have to suffer under the heat, and that there are many restaurants so my grandma can eat whenever she wants, I believe she could handle it. Thus, we started our journey with little hesitation.
When we arrived at the airport, we approached the departure hall on the 2nd floor. My grandma was nervous at the beginning. As she leaned against the glass to survey the 1st floor, she mumbled, "I thought the news said very few would be here, but there's actually quite a crowd…"
As more people started arriving at the airport, the air-con seemed to have malfunctioned, and I had to take out my paper fan that reads ［Not leaving until it's withdrawn, Hongkongers Add Oil!*］. When my grandma saw the fan, her face turned pale and she urged me, "Aiya (Jeez)! Put away the fan, you never know what people are going to do to you."
We slowly walked down to the arrivals hall on the 1st floor. Many young protestors lined up politely to hand out posters, postcards, bookmarks, stickers to my grandma. Most of the material was written in English, to which my grandma referred as "Ghost-like symbols". However, she still received the messages well. Perhaps she felt their passion, and wanted to cheer them up. When she was surrounded by a warm crowd that echoed "Stay Healthy" and "Thank You", who cares about the "Ghost-like symbols"?
The protestors’ supporters have no language or age barrier, and my grandma had already forgotten about the paper fan I was holding.
When we reached the end of the line, we noticed a screen set up at the exit of the airport, showing documentaries produced by RTHK. A crowd of middle-aged women gathered and made subtle comments as they watched the police in the documentary. My grandma, who was watching from the side, naturally joined the crowd and started enthusiastically discussing with them.
A woman came up and asked with curiosity, "I really want to ask you a question. Your generation came from the mainland. You should know what's wrong with the CCP. That's why you came to Hong Kong. Then why do so many people from your generation still support the government and the police?"
I was eager to know her answer.
"It was like that in the past. Your neighbor denounced you, some children denounced** their parents. Everyone forgot what happened and no one ever mentions it. If you don't ask me, I would never have talked about it, so who knows what has happened?"
The woman continued with another question. "Yeah, why are they like that? Is it because they get free meals?" (*The pro-china party give people free meals to bribe their votes)
My grandma smirked, "Sigh.. it is what it is. It's only a meal, but some people really think that way."
The documentary continued playing as the crowd focused on the screen. The scenes shifted from the Yuen Long Triads to Kwong Chun Yu (LegCo Member) then to the Fishball Revolution in 2016. When some didn't understand the cause of the incidents, others were eager to explain.
Suddenly, someone joined into our conversation and launched a series of heated criticisms: "Did the mainlanders lose their memory? Who donated so much money to them during the Eastern China Flood in 1991? They always say Hong Kong will die without China, if Hong Kong dies, where are you gonna buy your milk powder?", "Apparently standing together as three like we are is enough for them to charge us for illegal assembly, be careful grandma!", "You are beating up people like this. You might as well just shoot them all and let the police rule. You won’t even let the Chief Secretary talk, so I don't even know who is ruining society now!"
I was relatively young amongst the crowd that was around the age of 65. I stood in a crowd of people that was eligible to apply for the Elderly Card for almost half an hour. I surprised even myself.
At last, a woman asked the crowd, "Do you think these people will be punished by karma?"
Everyone responded, "Of course!"
I added: "You all have to stay healthy and live long to witness it!"
Emotions surged into her as she said: "I want to witness it too… but I'm worried all the young adults like you will be sacrificed. You guys have already put your last testament inside your bag. Let's add oil together!"
I didn't participate in any frontline activities; I couldn't directly relate to conflicts, last testaments, and sacrifice, yet I responded: "We will do whatever we can, take care of your health, add oil!"
As a pacifist (locally known as Peaceful, Rational, Non-violent; PRN), I don't have the courage of the frontline protestors, but I will participate in every protest movement. I hope I can raise awareness for people around me, letting them know and face the various current events in Hong Kong. This is an inexcusable duty for everyone who loves Hong Kong.
When we pay the price for something which has no value, it is effectively a forced or even wasteful act, and definitely does not constitute the kind of sacrifice mentioned by the women at the airport. Who hasn't heard the verdict that boycotting at school is just a waste of time and will simply let down your parents? But if they believe they are fighting for something valuable, then they are not sacrificing anything, but rather it is a means to strive for what they want. Therefore, should you be willing to join our fight in this battle, within the bounds of your personal capabilities, try to take an extra step forward and do a bit more.
Sometimes, the best way to understand something is not simply through observation done by our eyes analysing a TV screen and coming to a conclusion. When we immerse into the experience and communicate with other participants, we gather a more complete picture and perhaps catch some details that we would otherwise have missed out.
May our hearts’ yearning for the truth take root and prosper. Never simply echo what everyone else says.
HongKongers, Add Oil!
- February 2022
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Journalist: Whale Sam
Graphic: Orange Peel
Photos: SL ; Handsome Fat Jai
*Lit. injecting fuel into a tank. A common phrase in Hong Kong to express encouragement and support. (https://public.oed.com/appeals/add-oil-expressing-encouragement/)
**Translator’s note. Original: [批]鬥. We used “denounced” to match her original light tone. However, during the cultural revolution from 1966 to 1976, it was common for intellectuals, landlords, teachers and doctors to be criticised, humiliated, tortured, and killed under the pretence that they have not followed the Party’s thought close enough. Children was encouraged to torture and criticise their parents because Mao called for a social class struggle. Villagers would report their neighbours to the village office and then confiscate their property.