My Beijing trip - Time traveller experience

And no, I don't mean anything new age. I travelled back in time instead.

I went to Beijing for work right before the start of the National Day golden week holiday. The flight was packed but this time with the rich and famous from HK instead of bankers. They were all heading to Beijing to join the National Day Celebration for Overseas Chinese (Isn't HK and Macau part of China now? Why are we still Overseas Chinese? It's a subject to spend some time on!) It was awkward as the crowd was talking about their business, holidays...etc, things that are beyond my reach. At least, I don't need to consider which husband to go on holiday with. I only have one and have no plan to get #2. The old lady sitting next to me and I stood out like a sore thumb. Oh well, no wonder the two of us were placed next to each other.

The first 30 minutes was quiet until we were given the health declaration form. I think the health declaration form in itself is a health screening tool. My neighbour couldn't read the small prints and so I helped her out. It was a very small act but it turned out to be the beginning of a very meaningful conversation with the old lady (Ms Chan) and I gladly walked down the memory lane with her.

I forgot exactly how it started but Ms Chan recounted the story of how the publishing and printing business that she and her husband started in Guangzhou was nationalized and Ms Chan stayed behind with their four young children while the husband came to Hong Kong in search of a new life after the forming of the new China. She didn't get to join him until 1961 with the two younger children. Took them another year and lots of money to get the older boys to move to Hong Kong. The family had to start from scratch again but they never forgot to help people who didn't have the opportunity to learn back in China. All through the years, they purchased and shipped books for free to China to stock libraries in remote places. It wasn't an easy thing to do during the time when the Hong Kong government didn't exactly consider their philanthropic act as politically correct. The officials in China also wanted them to pay a business tax on their donation (!?!)

I felt very honoured to have the opportunity to listen to the story first hand from the source. My family wasn't well to do when I was young but I didn't have to live in hardship the way the older generation did. I remember my grandparents telling me how they have to escape the Japanese during the war and tree bark was pretty much all they had to eat. Hope was such a luxury for them and yet they prevailed and here I am today with the next generation.

It pains me to look at the youngsters in Hong Kong these days. They take lots of things for granted and respect is something very Ali G to them (if you don't know who Ali G is, the other persona by the same actor includes Borat and Bruno. Wiki it). What does it take for the young generation to have a better sense of responsibility, be able to respect the others and be able to love others and to love themselves (Geez! I am starting to sound like Whitney Houston)?