Cherish Hong Kong during a trying time, advises Taiwan’s former cultural minister

by Former Taiwanese cultural minister Lung Ying-tai

SCMP - Hong KongToday, 2:11 PM

Hong Kong, known for decades as the “pearl of the Orient” must be cherished as a unique jewel within China’s culture and society, Taiwan’s former cultural minister said in an exclusive interview ahead of her talk on Saturday at the Hong Kong Book Fair.

Lung Ying-tai, the island’s cultural chief from 2012 to last year and a prolific author of numerous titles, said the city must take extra care to nurture its literary scene during its transition to a new, post-colonial identity.

“Hong Kong is like a glamorous hotel for overnight guests but now it’s gradually evolving into a flat for permanent dwellers,” she said.

“The city’s change of identity is what causes controversy and even pain in the process as people care about their home more so than a hotel room. The sentiment has conjured up an intensity that is the strongest in Hong Kong perhaps in the past 200 years,” the 63-year old Kaohsiung native added.

“Hong Kong is like a glamorous hotel for overnight guests but now it’s gradually evolving into a flat for permanent dwellers.”

Former Taiwanese cultural minister Lung Ying-tai

Amid heightened tension tension over the city’s future, Lung said it was important for Hongkongers and the world to recognise how unique and special it is. 

“Hong Kong is a glowing pearl in the world of China that deserves to be cherished and nourished for its sheen to last,” she said.

Her talk at the book fair, titled My Memory Is What I Am, is to be her first public address in Hong Kong since she resigned with the entire cabinet in December after the Kuomintang government’s heavy losses in district elections. But Lung declined to comment on politics, saying she wanted to avoid opening that theme at her talk as well.

“That is not my intention,” she said. “I want to listen to the voices of Hong Kong audience, I miss their Cantonese.”

Lung left Hong Kong in 2012 after nine years as a visiting scholar at City University and the University of Hong Kong to become the first minister of culture in Taiwan. But she said she had a “live channel” to the city through her son, who has lived here for more than 10 years.

“I am half a Hongkonger and have always cared about the city and its happenings despite my busy workload at the ministry,” she said.

“Hong Kong has a very special kind of beauty that few, including the ever busy locals, rarely notice. It offers a glamorous view in the Victoria Harbour, which is so much prettier than Taipei, while in the countryside there is the lovely cuckoo chirp.” Lung recalled the sound of cuckoo birds around her former home on Sha Wan Drive in Pok Fu Lam.

But Lung was preparing for a new experience in the city where she completed some of her best-selling titles, including Big River Big Sea – The Untold Story of 1949.

“Hong Kong has entered into a time of uncertainty. I can’t even say for sure the state of mind of my audience at the book fair, something I had no problem with three years ago,” she said.

“Those three years, on one hand, were the time when I was preoccupied with my work [at the cultural ministry], they were, on the other, the time when Hong Kong went through a major transformation,” she added.

Lung said she was excited to see the rapid change in the city, but that she also understood it could be painful.

“It is rare for one to experience such huge ups and downs in one’s lifeline, it’s really challenging, and it’s not finished yet,” she said.

The author of 17 books said she has resumed her writing and a new title is expected next year.

“I am setting up my working room and I need three desks there. I am used to writing three books at the same time,” she said.


http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1839344/cherish-hong-kongs-literature-during-trying-time