Since we moved in the new apartment, we have invited different groups of friends to dine with us. After all, this is why the new kitchen was refurbished. Otherwise, how can we make full use of the steam oven, the conventional oven, the tagine, the dishwasher, etc.

Sandra’s colleagues come to dinner tonight. Therefore, we stewed a casserole of beef brisket last night. After that, we made two desserts. First, we made panna cotta. This was a piece of cake, I have to say. Milk, cream, sugar, gelatine and vanilla seeds. That’s all. There was no skill at all. We boiled the milk with sugar and cream. We then used a knife to scratch the seeds out of the vanilla pod. Put the seeds in. Stir. Turn off the heat. Then we put in the gelatine. Pour the content out into small bowls. Let it cool. Chill it. For your information, we added two spoonful of Bailey’s irish cream into it to give the panna cotta a hint of coffee liqueur.

After the panna cotta, we started making Song Gao (鬆糕). This is a dessert Sandra’s hometown likes to have during Lunar New Year. We can buy Song Gao in Shanghaiese grocers. This was the first time we made it at home. Two portion of rice flour and one portion of sticky rice flour. Lard! Two tablespoonfuls of lard. Water should be added slowly. We stirred the flour mixture with the lard. Add in water carefully. The mixture should not be in batter form. It should be in lump form. Rub them into tiny pellets. We used a colander to sieve the pellets. Lay a layer of these pellets on the container. Then put a layer of red bean paste. Cover the red bean paste with another layer of flour pellets. The cake was put in the steam oven for 30 minutes. Finally we had Song Gao.

Making food is fun. Neither lard, butter nor sugar is hazardous. It is actually the artificial ingredients of ready-made pre-packed food cause you health problems. Anything home-made are delicious and healthy. When someone places a small bowl of panna cotta or a plate of Song Gao in front of you and tells you that it is hand-made by him/her, it must be tasty. Most important of all, it must be much more healthier than those you buy from the supermarkets in different kinds of over-packaged packets.

In the previous posts, I did reflections on China and Hong Kong. It is time I do reflection on my family.

I am not a man used to changes of my security net. But there were quite a number of changes in 2010. Sandra moved back to Hong Kong from Shanghai with 20 large cartons of stuffs. We moved to a new larger and brighter apartment in the same district but closer to my parents. After we moved out and before we moved in, we rented a temporary place for more than two months. The refurbishment kept on going the wrong way. We had to move in with the unfinished refurbishment under work. Choco moved to Hong Kong from Shanghai with Sandra. We bought one more puppy poodle called Zero. Are these enough? In a nutshell, I went from “single” to married with three living creatures under the same roof, two of them requiring intensive care like wiping the asses and leaving one requiring much more care which turns me into a remote control, sous chef and personal assistant.

It sounds strange. But learning to live with my wife is not as easy as I thought. I have to unlearn living on my own. We have moved on to a phase where passions seem not frequently required although we are still a pair of passionate couple in the eyes of many people. Anyway, we still manage to find the sparkles we want to have. Especially when Choco and Zero are around, there must be some foci.

Choco and Zero cause some permanent changes to my life. Three years ago, I could choose between staying at school late or going to do some shopping before I picked Sandra from her work. But I dash back home after school to feed Choco and Zero every day this year. Choco and Zero have different traits. This can be easily seen from their stare. Choco’s always contains some air of loneliness. Wherever you turn, you always find him staring at you as if asking you if you have time for him. Zero’s is quite wild as if he is asking you whether there are something for him to play or to eat. Whenever the two of them come together, there must be some growling and fighting.

Sticky Choco
Naughty Zero

Yesterday we brought Choco and Zero to the dog’s park. This was the first time Zero went out. He transformed from a daredevil to a baby who would not go a foot from us. Whenever other dogs came near Zero, Choco would rush back and see whether these dogs were hostile or not. When we taught Zero to climb down staircase, Choco barked to the passersby in case they hurt Zero. The newly found timidity of Zero was fascinating. The big-brother commitment even caught us off-guard.

I have said this before. But I do not fear to repeat it a hundred time. It seemed that I felt lost for a while. But what can I ask more? I have already had the happiness I have been asking for. It is not the apartment. It is not anything else. I have a beautiful wife and two lovely kids. I have a family and they are the most precious things I have in my life. And because of them I am strong.

Happy Lunar New Year! Have you done evaluation of last lunar year? What are your resolutions for this year?

From the very beginning, I did not know what “One Country Two Systems” talked about. As I was born locally in Hong Kong in 70s and experienced the economy bloom of Hong Kong, like many other 70s kids, I shut up my ears against any news from China. Even I heard something from China, I did not listen at all.

1989 was a good lesson for most of Hongkongers. Many of us started learning our nationality in a serious manner. Someone said that “One Country Two Systems” was a very new idea to the World and it was actually a great idea. Great? How great? Is it great because it is very new? I started studying the Basic Laws, a set of constitutions for Hong Kong.

“One Country Two Systems” simply means there are two economic systems running under the name of the same country. Therefore, Hong Kong is “allowed” to exercise capitalism whereas Mainland China “should” keep her Chinese communism. Everything seems perfect like Disney’s cartoon. But capitalism and communism are not only economic systems. They are ideologies of the societal forms. Economic systems, political systems and societal systems are three interacting rings. “One Country Two Systems” should include the co-existence of two political systems and the original design also requires a partition between the two; that is, the border of Hong Kong and Mainland China.

What glues the two partitions together to become one country then? The constitution of the nation? Constitution? Good! The constitution should be established by the people. What kind of people? Which people? I have highlighted the words “allowed” and “should”. The Basic Laws was declared by the Government of People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong is a special administrative region, only, granted by the Central Government. The capitalist system is only a gift from the communist system of the motherland. What does this mean? Complete bullshit!

The whole thing is a very simple logic fault. Was Mr Deng Xiaoping so stupid that he could not see the ridicule in it? Or, did he only use it as a slogan to fool people around? I do not have the answer. But I am sure that he must be a fool no matter it is the first or the second cases. I just do not believe in “One Country Two Systems” because it is logically foul.

China has developed to a situation that her fall will definitely affect the world economy. Many Chinese nationals, especially only those living in big cities on the shore, seem having been better off. The momentum of the development seems so huge that it seems unstoppable. However, I do not find myself happier than when I was first being told that I was a Chinese national. As a Hongkonger, recognising China as my inescapable future was somehow a painful revelation. To be honest, living in Hong Kong then was much more better off. The education of British colony told us nothing about my nation. My acceptance as who I was did not really save me from the pain of the confusion of identity. The pain has been haunting since then. The deepest pain comes from the fact that I cannot agree the christianity-like trinity of the country, the people and the Communist Party.

National Flag is only another propaganda of the reign of Communist Party. Everyone has to circle the Party like the five little stars circling the big one on the Flag. We are prohibited to burn the Flag or even to step on the Flag. Is this what I can accept? Is this the justice I have been dreaming of? As a mathematics teacher with not high-soundign logic but only some common senses, how can the country be equal to the Party? How can the people be equal to the Party? I dream of a homeland with freedom of expression. There is no hatred.

Has economic growth brought us the openness of Communist Party? All promises are bullshit! Since Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the Party becomes more and more conservative. It seems that China, or Chinese Communist Party, can say no to anybody. What the Party worries is the fall of its reign. While we learn that changes are inevitable in the 21st century and each of us should prepare not only to adapt to changes but also to be a change agent, how can I accept a group of privilege-receivers to think shallowly like that? It hurts that I am a Chinese. It hurts that I have affiliation with the country and the people. It so hurts that every piece of the news from the TV seems so heartbreaking and you do not want to have any more relation with the news or just simply with the idea that you are a Chinese.

But changes are really unstoppable. The Internet is some kind of phenomenon. The Twitter-like short-blogging is the catalyst. Dictatorship makes one rotten with pride and self-importance. I believe in the people. And it is time the people rise up from their anger of being treated with corruption and being punished because of fighting for justice. I do not hate Communist Party. But I do not accept the trinity of the country, the people and the Party. Logically, the whole idea fails.

Dear Alfred,

Hi, you have known me for long but you have not recognised my existence at all. You neglect my existence and do not want to face me. But I have to tell you I love you starting from the first day you was brought to this World by your mother. This should be a love letter. Yes! I am supposed to write a love letter to you. But where should I start then?

Alfred, there should be a thousand reasons for me to love you. I know why you rush back home every day after school. You have two kids (dogs) to take care of. The little one needs being fed three times a day. I know why you have to leave the staff room earlier than Sandra. You do not want her to wait for you. I know why you are mad with yourself. You want to be a good teacher but the fact is that you have to meet various deadlines non-stop. Everything seems to be related to you somehow. You want to be a person other people can count on or at least like to talk to. You want to be somebody. You are. All you need is to believe in yourself.

Alfred, you are a good father, a good husband, a good teacher and a good colleague. You are a good friend, too. You should be proud of yourself. And you should not stretch yourself too taut. No one will blame you because you have already applied yourself to full. There should be space in life for you to sit back, relax and enjoy. Happiness has already been in your hand and you did not recognise. The way you treasure your relation with each person really defines you. It is you who treats every one of your acquaintance dearly. As you try your best to have the attitude of forgiveness, action and gratitude, you should also possess the same attitude when you face yourself.

Alfred, I should have love you more than anyone in the World. And I start loving you, really loving you, mind, body and soul from now on. I do not define you by what you have put on but by what you have brought to this World, which is your faith in each person.

Alfred
Your secret lover

When my little cousin was born, his brother was about six. The little one was the centre of the world naturally. The elder one was kind and lovely. But somehow he showed certain kind of jealousy.

When Zero came home, Choco became extremely jealous. He showed his anger by peeing on the carpet or somewhere he had not peed on. As Zero grows up, the two brothers have built up some kind of bonding. On one hand, the two of them start looking like a pair of sibling. They play together. They try to be the first arriving in the kitchen for breakfast every morning bumping each other on the way.

On the other hand, they always fight for something or even without any reason. Choco likes turning Zero head over heel all of a sudden. He also likes using his butts to bump Zero away. Zero in return bites Choco’s ears, hind legs and tail. Do not think that Zero is the victim. He likes running out of nowhere and barking in the face of Choco leaving Choco stunned for several seconds. I can proudly announce that Choco and Zero are now a pair of brothers.

There was once Choco and Zero being let loose at my parents’ place. We did not allow Choco entering the kitchen as a kind of rule and also as a kind of game. Zero is a daredevil in the house. Suddenly we heard Choco barking at the kitchen entrance. My Mom looked around from the sink. We also hurried to the scene. We saw that Choco was barking at Zero who was wandering inside the kitchen. Choco even tried to use his paw to grab Zero out of the kitchen. This was a kind of accusation. Choco held back his impulse of entering the kitchen so that he could accuse Zero of entering.

“I know. You are not allowed to enter the kitchen. So is Zero.” I grabbed Zero in one hand and shoved him out of the kitchen. This pacified the tantrum.

Choco was the only fur kid in the house. He ate slowly and he was quite picky. He is now not as picky as before but there is no way he eats fast. Whenever Choco rests a little in the middle of his meal or drops his treats on the floor, Zero will rush over and get several bites. This irritates Choco so much.

“You should eat fast and grab your treats tightly, Choco.” But the reminder does not work. Whenever Zero plays with some toys, Choco will give him some ambush and take Zero’s toys. Such cycle repeats and repeats every day.

Sibling rivalry! This seems quite natural. But Zero is typically an opportunist. Whenever there is opportunity, he will go and get it. On the contrary, Choco’s motive is a kind of selfishness.

I always ask my students to exchange their ideas with one another and to help each other to excel. I stress that this is lifelong learning which is embedded in daily life. To do this, we simply share whatever we can share with one another.

Sharing is a virtue. We are not born with the idea of sharing. When have we learned to share? When have we learned to enjoy sharing? When did we understand the goodness of sharing? We, humans, may be high-achievers in this area.

Choco and Zero remind me of my two little cousins. They also remind me of my brother and me. Sharing is something we can learn fast among siblings.

We have moved into the new apartment for more than 2 months. But we only started enjoying the place 3 weeks before. For the first one and a half month, the refurbishing workmen coming every day to complete their work. These days were nightmare to me. When I came home with mind, body and soul exhausted, there were still many chores including cleaning work waiting for me at home. I did not have the sense that everything was under control. Perhaps this is why other people think that moving home gives a person unspeakably immense pressure.

I have been attending the course on Life Education in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The lecturers have touched many different areas such as Moral Education, Spiritual Education, Ethical Education, Affection Education, etc. To be honest, I have been a teacher for more than 18 years. This year is the bottleneck I have never come upon. I feel exhausted and even burned out somehow. I tried my best to reason with myself. But I did not want to do anything. I felt extremely powerless to my life. Isn’t this scary?

Since I started attending the course, I also started the search of the self. In the words of the lecturers, we show our students how we interact with “Spirituality (Faith), People, Nature and The Self (天人物我)”. I started asking myself questions.

“What have I been fighting for? Do I really think that it is worthy?”

“Every one of us came to this World with a gift. What is mine? How can I pass it on?”

“What is the self? Is my body the self? How do I like my body? Can I accept myself by first accepting my body?”

When I started asking myself these questions, I felt a sense of peace inside. I looked around and I saw my wife, my dogs and the apartment. I have already had the most precious happiness in front of me but I chose to neglect it.

I do not feel the anger I felt before. I start gathering momentum to complete all the incomplete tasks (although this is not simple). I have found the treasure of life again; that is, the ability to breathe and to see what lies ahead.

Life is beautiful and I have once forgotten.

This is the entree. On the left behind the mirror slide door, it is the tea room cum guest room. On the right, it is the kitchen.

We have installed a dishwasher and a steam oven. We then have a microwave oven, convention oven and a steam oven.


This is the tearoom. It is raised to the level of the bay window and is cushioned with tatami. A small table can rise from the central piece of tatami. Guests can put their feet in, enjoying refreshment on one hand and appreciating the setting sun on the other.

The floor is laid with wood-patterned tile. But we put a large rug in the living room.

The dining room is comparatively small.

The guest toilet is transformed into a laundry room.


The study is also small. But it is an open working space without door. Under the desk, there is the extension of the TV cabinet in the living room. This is why the living room looks larger.

Opening the master bedroom door, you will find a Sichuan embroidery. This is one of our new collection.

On the left, you will find the walk-in closet. Warmers are installed to keep the closet dry.

The bed oversees a panoramic view of the district and the hill top far away.

Finally, you will find the master bedroom’s toilet. It is installed with warm towel rack and rainshower head.

Life becomes full of the sense of possibility again.

“Friend” is a word which has been abused among the teenagers so often. I always hear they reason their behaviors with the request of their “friends” or even their “friends’ friends”. It seems that “friends” are the legitimization of any behavior whether it is responsible or not. Perhaps, “friend” becomes an excuse to whatever we do and whatever we do not wish to face the consequence. To certain extent, this is true. Happy or not, each of us is inclined to externalize the liabilities of our actions.

On the other hand, “friend” is a very lame excuse. And, in my opinions, it reflects how pathetic the modern society is. In the old days, we built up our self-esteem through interactions with our parents, siblings and relatives. We learned how to love by feeling how we were loved. Of course, friends played very important roles in our growth. But friends were the targets we exercised what we learned from our families, siblings and relatives.

Since then, I treasure friendship a load. Friends to me are those who are willing to slap me hard in the face when they know that I am doing something very stupid. They do not see friendship a kind of tool or threat for ransom. We did not do anything only to please our friends. Among friends, we knew that we could polish one another to become better people.

Why is “friendship” distorted in present time? Why are we unable to give love to other people? Why do we desperately need the love of other irrelevant people, or even only their preference of our actions without considering whether they serve for our betterment or just to exercise their superiority over us? What are these people? What are we?

We do not have role models showing us how to love. We do not have role models showing us how to be respectful and respectable. We do not have role models showing us how to build up our self-esteem. Many families are malfunctioned in certain ways. I met father coming to me blaming his wife not a good mother. I met mother coming to me asking her child’s teachers or even “the school” to shape her child. I met parents who can only meet their child once a month. Where do these kids learn how to love? Where do these kids feel being loved? Turning to whoever kindhearted or evil-willed no one knows is the only option.

No matter what, I always remind myself I will not be so desperate to please anyone on this planet for my actions. Not even my boss! I am the boss of my own self. I have friends. They like me a load (or as I think). They like me because of my personality. I speak what I think. I put it into action for what I believe. This is called integrity. But do not think that this is it. It is a kind of trade. I need my friends. I need them to tell me when I am turning into a dead end. I need them to slap me hard when I know it is a dead end and I am still reluctant to change my course.

I need my friends not because I need them for directions but because I need them to tell me when I lose my directions.

I know that the assembly is overrun. But I would still like to use a few minutes to talk about this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace which will be presented this Friday. The prize winner of this prize is Liu Xiaobo. He is a Chinese national but he is now in jail. Who is he? Why is he in jail? What has he done to deserve Nobel Prize? Why does the Central Government accuse his nomination unjust? As a global villagers, you should learn about this person. As Chinese nationals, you should do reflections on the development of the incident.

Many people say that Hongkongers are lucky. We are lucky but we do not seem to know how lucky we are. My dear students, I do not want to talk much as I know you have, or you should have, access to the Internet. All relevant, or irrelevant, terms of Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Prize or Charter 08 have been blocked by the Great Firewall in Mainland China. Unlike most Chinese nationals in Mainland, you have the rights to get access to information. Why don’t you exercise your rights?

For your information, Mr Liu fights for freedom of expressions and many other rights. He fights for the rights of me. He fights for the rights of you. But the Central Government says that he is a criminal. My dear students, I would like to read an excerpt of Mr Liu’s essay. The terms in this essay are quite difficult. But I think each of us is a respectful and respectable person. Even if the speaker uses difficult terms or you may not fully understand each detail of the speech, you will still pay attention to the speacker, listen carefully and try your best to feel what he is delivering to you.

“I have no enemies, and no hatred. None of the police who have monitored, arrested and interrogated me, the prosecutors who prosecuted me, or the judges who sentence me, are my enemies. While I’m unable to accept your surveillance, arrest, prosecution or sentencing, I respect your professions and personalities….

For hatred is corrosive of a person’s wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and block a nation’s progress to freedom and democracy. I hope therefore to be able to transcend my personal vicissitudes in understanding the development of the state and changes in society, to counter the hostility of the regime with the best of intentions, and defuse hate with love….

I do not feel guilty for following my constitutional right to freedom of expression, for fulfilling my social responsibility as a Chinese citizen. Even if accused of it, I would have no complaints.”

My dear students, do you think that the writer of this essay is a violent criminal? Mr Liu wrote this essay on 23rd December 2009. He wrote this essay one year ago with respect and integrity. Many of you talk about rights of doing this and that. Are you well prepared? How have you been preparing yourselves? What have you learnt lately? Don’t think that learning is something very difficult! Learning does not only happen inside the classrooms. Learning is actually embedded in daily life interactions. You can also learn something by yourselves. Have you done reflections lately?

After reading this excerpt, what will you do as Chinese nationals, my dear students? How do you define your rights and your obligations? Will you sit in front of the televisions watching the development of everything as bystanders or start equipping yourselves to be real Chinese nationals? What will you do then?

My dear students, I ask each of you to exercise your rights and obligations as a Chinese national to do reflections on all the questions I have just asked you.

Delivered in English on 13th December 2010 at Morning Assembly