Today is the 12th day of the ironworkers strike, and news said they will continue tomorrow with a protest ending at the government headquarters. Many construction site workers join in the strike, making 1/4 of the sites not in operation. (Well, it also keeps raining in HK these two weeks.)
The ironworkers' demand is simple -- reasonable wage and working hours.
To date, daily wage of ironworkers have dropped from around HK$1200 to HK$1300 before 1997 to around HK$600 since SARS in 2003. Workers of racial minority are even earning as low as HK$300 per day. With inflation and the "best economy in 20 years", there's no sight of any "increase" of salary of the ironworkers. (I am very hesitated to use the word "increase" as the ironworkers are only asking a daily wage of HK$950, still lower than the highest point.)
On the other side, the business association refuses to give in, making the negotiation almost a mission impossible. (Oh, forgot to note, there's no such thing as "collective bargaining" for workers in HK. International labour rights groups and trade unions describe HK as an "uncivilized society".) Many workers of course are facing financial problems now, and the unions are planning to set up a fund to support their living in the time being.
Here's the ironworkers' strike statement:
Lately, people have been asking me what's going wrong, cause they had read the previous post.
Well, thanks. I am quite OK except a little bit exhausted from work, and practicing Chinese calligraphy again and the evening walk make me sort of relax from the tight schedule.
However, when I wrote the previous post, my real intention was to share my happiness (of eating fresh onion when there's no expectation :) and show how easy it could be to stay happy.
I can be happy quite easily, to my and many of your surprise. I am fueled with energy every morning when I walk pass the HK Park to work, seeing all the people working on the trees, the flowers and the fishes despite the heat or the rain. I feel warm when I see kids giving up seats to elderly in the train. I am delighted when I hear the sound of some real musical instruments from a Canto-pop CD.
It all depends on how you look at one thing.
P.S. I think I have to improve my writing skill.
I walked pass the HK Park to Pacific Place and grabbed a salmon bagel for lunch just now. When I opened the wrapping, I saw there were some fresh onion in it, and I suddenly felt a strong sense of happiness during a rather depressed period of time lately.
It's not that difficult to feel good sometimes.
P.S. Fresh onion is my favorite veggie, among a handful that I eat :)
Typhoon Pabuk turned away from HK on Wednesday, but suddenly returned again this morning. In just a few hours, it goes on from Typhoon No.1, 3 and then 8 at about 2:30pm.
This was how we crowded at the entrance of the Admiralty MTR station:
Before we passed the gate:
On the platform:
I should have gone for a drink first!
P.S. I would like to thank a group of young people who looked like a group of HKU students in an orientation camp.
While I was still waiting on the platform, the train came and they were inside. There were around ten to twenty of them, all wearing dark green polo shirts, and they wanted to get out of the train.
For those who have a taste of the HK MTR system during peak hours, you should have expected that those on the platform (excluding me) would try to push into the train although it's all packed with people and quite a number of them tried to get off.
With this group of young people on the train, they kept shouting together "let people get off first; let us get off; you can only get on board if we are off", etc., and they united and pushed...... Yes! They were off the train and left a lot of space inside, making me safely on the train finally :)
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
誠實地 無懼地
隨遇地 行過去
彈指間 第幾關
原來都走到這裡
別說出發以後習慣失去
鮮花開過掌心裡
把握青春最後十年
珍惜中午的光線
很多支票未曾兌現
只因長大了看穿
成名得獎一概不算
不可更改的最佳路線
何謂幸福秒秒在變
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
誠實地 無懼地
隨遇地 行過去
彈指間 第幾關
原來都走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊於這裡
寫好這刻這一句
掌握青春經歷老死中間不免有唏噓
今天這一家用至少不只可以談空虛
行過去 行過去
行過去 下一區
華麗地 懷舊地
前衛地 行過去
路彎彎 共深山
由無知走到這裡
但我高興繼續漫遊多幾歲
由這裡 行過去
行過去 下一區
成熟地 緩慢地
回味地 行過去
彈指間 又一關
誰要劃時代創舉
只想懂得慶賀目前
不早不晚的一歲
平常心境中探取
沿路的風裡
I haven't listened a CD through a CD player for a while. First, it's because my CD player is half broken. It can't detect some of my CDs. The most frustrated case is it can only detect Disc 1 of Chet Lam's dual-CD album The Private Life of Chet Lam, which I think both have to be listened together continuously......
Then, it's also because I subscribed MOOV. While I turned on my computer, which means most of my time except while I am sleeping, I use MOOV to listen to tonnes of new CDs, which I seldom register at all. Otherwise, I rely on my iPod Nano while I am travelling, but this usually means I can't quite listen to the music clearly under a rather noisy environment, and not to mention I always have a book handy.
But then I got Keith Chan's 12 Faces of Women yesterday. For some unknown reasons, I put it in my CD player, instead of my computer, and it plays. All the real musical instruments make it difficult not to be played in a real CD player. It sure is nicer from there than from a computer.
The CD+DVD was first performed at this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival, and I watched that too. I have to say I am not those "visual kind of people", and was not quite interested in the 12 short films accompanying the 12 pieces of music. However, the music sure is attractive, and it's worth all the trouble of putting the CD into a proper CD player.
Sometimes, when you are trying to communicate or be communicated, it's important to concentrate and listen carefully.
Sometimes, going the more traditional way is the mean to move forward.
I watched the HKREP's Secret Love - Peach Blossom Land tonight.
Twelve years ago, some of my friends also produced the same drama in Edmonton. I was part of the production as well, but I was the Deputy Stage Manager for another smaller scale production -- Night and Day -- which was on stage the same night:
After so many years, I have to say that some of them I couldn't even remember their faces now. But some have also marked a place in my heart, even though we had lost contacts since then.
P.S. I still remember the first cue I made at the performance was a wrong cue! And I kept asking the producer about the script (since I didn't find it logical at all) during rehearsals, and finally he couldn't stand it any more, and asked me to concentrate on my cues and props and costumes, etc. He said a DSM was not there to understand the play :P
