Don’t get overawed (Lee Yee)
On the day that the National Security Law was passed by the National People’s Congress, I got a message of a friend from afar: “Are you secure?” I answered without even giving it a thought: ”No one is secure in a secure country.”
When maximal authority of a country is realized, individual rights are so minimal that no one is secure. Even in China where the plebs would answer with a big NO, are people in power secure? Was Liu Shaoqi, the late Chairman of the People’s Republic of China persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution, secure? In the past 70 years, have most of the people in power of different levels been secure in view of the miseries they have encountered? Was and is Jiang Zemin, the former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party(CCP), secure? Is Xi Jinping secure?
The befalling of the National Security Law is likened to “the second handover of Hong Kong”. An online article points out “the difference between the first and second handover” is that “the people who resent the CCP in 2020 is countless times more than those in 1997, and in terms of reputation, conduct and calibre, the people who espouse the second handover in 2020 are not even comparable to those who espouse the first handover in 1997”. Another says that “Hong Kongers belonging to no country before handover used to live in peace and work with contentment”, and asks “where their homes are when they belong to a nation”? In China, even the movers and shakers evacuate their relatives by fair means or foul from their country to a strange place they call home in the West.
The Articles of the Hong Kong version of National Security Law was not announced until it took effect, so that Carrie Lam was unable to utter a word about the details of it on the day of implementation of the Law. Legislation as such is preposterous. The full text of it is awash with equivocal meanings of unfinished wordings, which is so jaw-dropping that even a layman would ask: What kind of legal document is that? Zhao Sile, a journalist from China, said online: “The Law is typically from China because the laws of China have always been ambiguous and ill-defined”. She continued, “How are they enforced? Arbitrary and flexible provisions are made by different administrative departments which then inflate in power unceasingly.”
Regarding the abovementioned, it is almost pointless to delve into every Article of it for clarifying under what circumstances does one offend and not offend the Law, and where the grey areas are. Take those dubbed the “four ringleaders of Hong Kong independence” and “gang of four that jeopardizes Hong Kong” by Chinese media as an example. While they are known to be opposed to Hong Kong independence and even anti-localist, and did not advocate the protest last year, China deems them to be guilty of all of the above by dismissing the actuality. Subsequently, some budding political groups disbanded in no time. However, if the CCP decides to recriminate, on no account can they escape. That being said, it is possible that China will sit on the issue of Hong Kong independence provisionally in an attempt to dilute the sanctions against it from overseas. With the arbitrariness and flexibility of laws of China and its enforcement, no one is secure, nor one is doomed to committing a crime. Falling into a trap is simply akin to running into a car accident.
Looking at the National Security Law, Hong Kongers, who are accustomed to living under the rule of law, will naturally get frightened and anxiety-ridden, and try to wash their hands of sensitive issues. They think they will stay secure by stopping short of slogans with content of “secession of state” or disbanding a political group. In reality, if the CCP wants to get you in trouble, it does not have to leverage the National Security Law. Manipulated by the CCP, the SAR government can do and will do whatever stipulated by the National Security Law. Is the Law retroactive? Wasn’t the disqualification sentence for Leung Chunghang and Yau Waiching, former Legislative Council members, retroactive? And the judge that brought in the verdict based on retroactivity was Andrew Cheung Kuinung, the next Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal to-be. Does it make sense to contemplate upon the situation differently before and after the enactment of the National Security Law?
Now that the CCP can do whatever it wants. Is the enactment of the National Security Law an unnecessary move? As Chinese officials said, the Law, like a sword dangling above Hong Kongers, is to get them overawed and frightened.
Scared? Surely. Yet, one should have been scared much earlier on. If one had been scared, one would have arranged for fleeing from Hong Kong. Those who choose to stay should not let fear take control of them.
I have always remembered what British writer Salman Rushdie wrote after September 11 attacks in 2001: “Amid the conflict between liberty and security, we should always opt to stand with liberty without remorse even though we make a wrong choice. How do we beat terrorism? Don’t get overawed and don’t let fear take control of you even though you are scared.”
The late U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” If we let fear take control of us, we give up liberty.
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Going to italia diary:the scouts(part2)(中英)
I walked into a basketball stadium. He was there with 22 Scouts and another two coaches. They were all waiting for me. Yes, I was a bit late......Just a bit...
I prepared a speech for them. They raised the flag before I started my speech. Although the content of my speech was not serious, I appreciated that they took it seriously. Scouts respect the tradition. The atmosphere around became quiet and solemn.
The sounds of "attention!", "stand at ease!" and "salute!" were suddenly raised in the ambient occasionally.
After the Flag Raising, the tense in the air disappeared immediately. And I felt that I don't need to hold my breath. Everything returned back to normal.
A ceremony is an interesting thing. It is incredible how the emotions among people were gathered or delivered by those certain actions. During the Flag Raising, I could clearly see the proudness inside those little Scouts. Right there at that particular moment, the Scouts are like warriors in a Warfield.
After the Flag Raising, one of the coaches announced, "Everyone, come around this bike. This gentleman has some stories to share with us".
To be honest, I was nervous, or precisely speaking, "frightened". This was my very first speech delivered in English. Not only the description needs to be modified but also the way people used to receive information can be different in a different language.
Even with Mile's help, I messed up a bit on that speech. My legs just could not stop trembling during that 20 minutes of the speech. But, still, I was glad to have this chance and cherish this experience.
Some questions were asked after the horrifying speech,
"why you have a license plate on your bike?"
"what is the weight of the bike?"
"Do you travel all by yourself?"
"Have you been to Africa?!"
I have tried to answer those question with a sense of humor, although I was not sure how successful I did.
"That license plate belongs to the first car I bought years ago. That car, unfortunately, was involved in an accident. I keep the license plate not just because that was my first car, but also that accident was caused by a kangaroo. I keep this because it was a funny and special experience."
"two hundred pounds"
"I did once have a travel mate. But he rides so fast that I was left behind. So now I travel alone. But I may meet new friends who will travel with in the future, who knows?"
"I haven't been to Africa yet, but I will be there soon. Let's just hope I can ride fast than lions. I don't think the feeling of being a feast for the big cats will be nice."
After those nice chat with young Scouts, Miles awarded me with a scarf and two badges. I guess I am now a part of the Scouts. I regard this precious memory with the Scouts of the Ashbourne as a gift from the God.
In the next morning, Miles and I said goodbye at the peak of the mountain.
"Do not give up your dream and all the best please," he said this short sentence with a firm voice.
"Thank you, I will never give up. I know somewhere in the world there will still be people like you, who is waiting for me. I will make friends with them, bring some exotic stories to them. Life, after all, is a journey itself. I am glad that I have met you."
"Goodbye, my beloved family, my second home in England."
P.S. I believe most of us, including me, do not know the meaning of our lives, but I do enjoy the process of finding my answer.
前往義大利日記:童子軍的榮耀(下)
我進入了一個操場大小的體育館,裡面有22位的小朋友跟三位教練
在演講之前需要升旗,一切都得遵循百年前的傳統儀式,吵鬧的空間一下子變得寂靜,敬禮,稍息
結束了升旗典禮後,下一秒回復了天翻地覆的噪音,下一秒教練提高嗓音說
(大家圍繞這台自行車,這位大哥哥要說故事了)
我是一個正在實行的教材,但我非常緊張,因為我第一次用英文演講,講得亂七八糟,不時還有教練幫我補充幾句(事實是小孩子聽不懂),但是教練非常有耐心地幫我翻譯細節,我腳的顫抖從未停止過,太可怕了。
經過了長達20分鐘的演講,他們問題是
(為什麼車上有牌子?)
(車子幾公斤?)
(有夥伴嗎?)
(你去過非洲了嗎?)
我用幽默的單字拼湊出答案回答給他們
(因為我第一次買車就撞到袋鼠,他活著我車卻毀了)
(200斤)
(有,但是他騎太快了所以我們失散了)
(我即將要過去,希望我騎得比獅子快)
教練頒發了兩個徽章和領巾,這是老爹給我的禮物,我想我會一直帶著領巾,直到有人比我更適合他,我會交給他。
人生第一次英文演講就獻給了ashbourne
的童子軍們,這真是珍貴的回憶,
隔天,我跟邁爾斯在山頂上道別
(不要放棄你的夢想)
(我從來沒想過放棄,因為還有像你的人在未來等我。)
再見了,邁爾斯一家人,英國第二個家。
PS:人永遠找不到答案,直到你老去,
有趣的是,有人正在享受找尋答案 的過程。
frightened sentence 在 Afraid, Scared, or Frightened? - Learn Confusing English Words 的推薦與評價
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