了解．關懷一百萬人的故事 (Understand and Care the 1 Million People)

It's a TV programme in HK that attracts a lot of discussion even after the first of the five episodes was aired on Monday.

Basically, it's a programme produced by the most popular TV station in HK and broadcast during prime time. In each show, TV or movie stars interview those in HK living under the poverty line and show us how the poor faces everyday challenges. We have around 7 millions people in HK. According to the statistics, unfortunately, around 1 million are living in poverty.

Ever since I first watched the promos, I was expecting the programme, although I also expect it to be sentimental and shallow.

The programme doesn't fail me on this. What I didn't expect is the tremendous impact. After only the first show, a facebook was created, and if you search the internet using the programme name, hundreds of people have already written about it.

When we watched the first episode, my mom wet several pieces of tissue. At one point she asked if it's inevitable to have the rich becomes richer and the poor becomes poorer as a society develops. I said yes, but others are not as mean as we HK people.

Don't know since when, we start to hate the rich and are not sympathetic to the poor either. We don't like anyone that's different from us. While "we" have to be right and normal, those that are different are undoubtedly abnormal and unreasonable. There's one popular newspaper in HK that criticizes almost everyone and everything everyday, including the government and the civil society, including the politicians from left to right, including the rich and the poor. I finally understand why it's so popular.

The TV programme attracts a lot of criticisms too. For example, the interviewers (i.e. the TV and movie stars) are so ignorant and insincere. Very often I feel that the TV station is only using the poor as a gimmick. However, I do hope that more people can realize that poverty does exist in our society, and don't tell me why the poor can't work harder. Most have already worked hard enough. They just still can't make a living.