August 29, 2008

Today I went to Government House (the former official residence of the Governor) and had tea with Mr. Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

As soon as we sat down, I was quite surprised when the Chief Executive asked with great concern about the current situation and future prospects of Hong Kong’s film industry. I told him honestly that there is no such thing as the Hong Kong film industry anymore and that it has already changed into the China film industry. There are a lot of directors that I know who have gone to Mainland China to further their careers and this is all because of the domino effect; the advanced development of the Internet, the uncontrollable and unrestrained use of pirated discs, plus the lazy attitude of young people who are not willing to go out to watch a movie in the cinemas. Besides that, young people also find that it’s too expensive to go out, watch a movie and have a meal. They think that it’s much easier and more convenient to download the movie off the Internet, and now the trend to download movies is becoming even more popular as new films are being released. As a result, no one is going to the cinemas to watch movies anymore.

In Hong Kong I’ve seem people laugh or make fun of other people for using authentic products. This doesn’t seem to be true overseas. In other countries, if you use fake brands or pirated goods, people think it is shameful. I learned about this from my observations of Jaycee. There was a period of time when he lived overseas and he threw away all the pirated discs because he could sense that everyone around him considered watching pirated movies or using imitation products as a disgrace. However, if you are in China and you refuse to use pirated goods or imitation brands, people will laugh at you. It’s this mindset and attitude that has turned the Hong Kong film industry into what it is today.

In the past I remember telling you that in Korea they don’t have Korean movies on pirated discs, only Chinese movies on pirated discs, and they boastfully say: Hong Kong and China are not our markets! Hearing this made me feel very unhappy but I also couldn’t help but admire their achievements because they were already able to use their local markets to support their local film productions. If people in Hong Kong could be like the Koreans or Japanese in having the love and loyalty for their own country; if the vehicles that civilians travel in are manufactured in our country; if everything we use is produced locally, then Hong Kong would have a chance to return to its glamorous state and have another chance to take flight.

During our discussion, I realized that being the Chief Executive was not an easy job because you really have to know about everything: Hong Kong’s economy, film and entertainment, environmental protection; there are just too many things that need to be taken into consideration. I know that Mr. Tsang is continuously working at these things, hoping to do his best and serve the people of Hong Kong.

I think that being the Chief Executive is very difficult because you are criticized no matter what you do or how hard you try and you can never please everybody. When things are going well, no one will praise the government for doing a good job. But when something bad happens, people will lay the blame on the government. I’d like to quote what President Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” I think these words are very meaningful and make a good point.

When I hear people complain or openly blame the government for the flooding problems that occur during the rainy season and not dealing with the blocked drainage systems, I really want to ask them where they think the rubbish that blocks the gutters and drainage system comes from. Apart from the government, don’t other people have a responsibility as well? Let me give you a real life example: the gate outside my house has no rubbish because I clean the gutter and drainage system on a regular basis. When it starts pouring rain, the gutter doesn’t get blocked and therefore there’s no flooding. If everyone could put in a little effort and make sure that the gutters are free from rubbish and stop complaining or blaming other people for the problem, then our society will become even more wonderful and harmonious.

Fortunately I’m only an artist and not a government official; as long as we are frank and honest with the things we do, we don’t actually feel much pressure. But this is not the same for a government official. They are expected to do a good job so they might not be praised for their efforts. But if they do a bad job, they will definitely get mass criticism and a lot of the time they will be blamed for every move they make. Therefore, I hope that everyone can have a little more tolerance, a little more understanding and forgiveness because doing this would be good for us and society. I don’t know what other people think but I support our government. Let’s just take it one step at a time; the government needs to accept more public opinion and try their best to take into consideration the needs of the people; the public should also support the government and make suggestions if there is anything unsatisfactory, but you also need to give the government some time to make the changes and improvements. Together we can create a wonderful, peaceful and harmonious Hong Kong.

Text and photos copyright 2008 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

August 29 (星期四)

与特首茶聚：

          今日我去了礼宾府（前港督府）跟香港特首曾荫权先生茶聚。

          想不到一坐下来，特首竟然很关心的问我有关香港电影的近况和前景。我坦白的跟他讲，现在没有香港电影了，已经变成中国电影，我认识的导演当中，有很多都去了国内发展。这都是因为骨牌效应，互联网的发达，盗版的猖獗，加上年青人的惰性，他们都不愿意出去看电影。另外，年青人又觉得上街看戏吃饭消费贵，在网上下载更方便和便宜，那下载电影的风气越演越盛，最后都没有人走进电影院看电影了。

          香港有些人真的很奇怪，他们会取笑别人使用正版的物品，可是在外国使用冒牌或是盗版的东西，人们会觉得羞耻。这个道理我从小房子身上知道的，因为他曾经在外国住了一段时间，他把所有的翻版光盘丢掉了，因为他感受到周遭的人都以看盗版电影或是使用冒牌物品为耻。但是，在中国拒绝使用盗版或是冒牌物品会被人取笑，就是这种种风气把香港电影弄成这样子。

          以前已经跟大家讲过在韩国是没有翻版韩国电影光盘的，只有中国电影才有，他们可以夸下海口的说：香港和中国都不是我们的市场！我听了很不高兴，但是又不得不佩服他们的本地市场已经可以支持本地电影。如果香港人都可以像韩国人或是日本人有那种爱国心，国民坐的车都是国家生产的品牌，所用的都是本土产品，那香港就有机会回复到从前的风光景象，有机会再次起飞了。

          在言谈间，我觉得做特首并不容易，对于香港的经济，电影，环保，无所不知，要兼顾的事情实在是太多太多了，我知道他不断在做，希望为香港人服务。

          我觉得做特首是挺可怜的，做什么都给人骂，总是吃力不讨好。好景的时候，没有人赞扬政府做得好，有事的时候就会骂政府。我引用肯尼迪的一句话：「不要问政府为我们做了些什么？我们到底为政府做了些什么？」，我觉得讲得很有道理。

          所以，我听到有人埋怨或是投诉政府没有处理好淤塞的沟渠，在雨季时，都出现水浸。我想问那些淤塞沟渠的垃圾是从那里来的？难道除了政府有责任，其它人是没有责任的吗？举个真实例子，我家门口是没有垃圾的，因为我会定期清理沟渠，当大雨来临的时候，沟渠就不会淤塞，如果人人都可以出一分力做好清洁，不是老是埋怨或是投诉，我们的社会会变得很和谐很美好。

          庆幸我只是一个艺人，不是政府官员。因为只要我们做事光明磊落，我们没有什么压力；政府官员却不同了，做得好是理所当然，不一定得到赞赏，做得不好一定会被炮轰，很多时候都是动辙得咎。所以，我想大家多一点包容，多一点体谅，对我们和社会都是一件好事。我不知道其它人怎样想，我支持我的政府，就让我们一人走一步，政府要多接纳市民的意见，在施政时尽量兼顾到他们的需要；市民也应该支持政府，有不满可以提出，也要给时间政府去改善，共创和谐美好的香港。