When I was growing up in Hong Kong, I recall hearing the elders bemoan the ‘promotion’ of technical colleges into universities, saying that it would dilute the market of intellectual elites. On the other hand, we have witnessed a growing pool of labour claiming to have had university education.

But what is this university education that so many employers require? Now, with over 8 universities in Hong Kong, the meaning of a ‘university education’ has become very vague. In fact, a reduction of education is happening.

Whereas in the old days, universities prided themselves in teaching students in ways that technical colleges would not. Nowadays, universities have become even more like technical colleges, focussing on core skill sets such as accounting, marketing, finance… as if they were prep-schools for employers too lazy or too cheap to train their own trainees.

The future of education is apparent. It is to be market-driven. In fact, new educational institutions can only hope to be properly funded if they address the needs of the commercial world. That means subjects less ‘used’ would fade into the sunset. Popular subjects would create masses of graduates versed in narrow skill sets that would become obsolete in a year or two. That cannot possibly be healthy for Hong Kong, whose labour pool competes hopelessly with graduates from the Fatherland. What we need is an education that has a core value system that is immovable and eternal – not one that sways with the wind.

A lady (aged one hundred and ninety) at the counter at PK Shop in front of me yelled “My purse” then looked at me and proclaimed “You took my purse” so I said “yes, I took your purse, I collect them.” and she started yelling at me and the manager came over and I had to explain that I was not admitting to the theft (if any), I was being sarcastic. Her purse ended up in one of the many bags she was carrying but she continued to glare at me without so much as an apology. When the girl served me she apologised and I asked her “Why, did you arrange someone to act like an old crazy woman for me?” and she laughed and said that I was funny so I asked her out but she said no.

親愛的爸爸，

家庭無疑是社會裡面最主要的組織，而你是我們家庭這堅石扮演很重要的角色。今天，我們又一次有機會慶祝及確認你所扮演的角色。 你是老師和教練，你們是我們的導師和行動榜樣。你們是成功的典範，同時也是帶領我們上成功路程的重要人物。

我這麼說，不是因為我的爸爸不是一個完美的父親 世界上沒有完美的人。我知道他反過錯誤，未來也會犯更多的錯誤。但當我面對困境時，身邊的爸爸還是有某些經驗教訓可以幫助我的。而且，他也對自己的行動負責，也對他所愛的人負責。這，我有親身體驗。

我爸爸也知道要為他孩子樹立一個好榜樣，可讓他對他孩子有更高的期望。他以前在單位工作的時候，取得了不少榮譽獎和工作證書。他的奮鬥心也很自然地影響了我。

在他細心體貼的照顧下及關注細節當中，他把同理心價值觀轉受了給我。這不是同情心而是同理心。這是無私的一個能力，是一個能透過別人眼睛看世界的能力。他知道：給人看到體諒，善良的一面不是軟弱的表現而是一位強者的風格。

我們一家人應該讓爸爸在作出負責的選擇時更加容易，更加好受。我們應該鼓勵他所為我們服務的精神，因為他幫助我們提高生活質素，讓我們更加容易辦好我們的事情。我們應該承認他所對我們的付出，因為付出是真的，而他的付出很值得我們的認同。這樣，爸爸才知道我們喜歡甚麼，而不需要用 fuzzy logic 來猜度。

人是向善的。我們一起發展，一起進步，一起努力 經過崎嶇的路途，結果一定是好的。

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one reason why the elders bemoan modernity

This afternoon in the the Financial Times, I read an intriguing letter titled “Lawyers can have a corrosive impact on society” from one Gregory Shenkman who noted an inverse correlation between the number of lawyers and the measure of happiness in a society. Although it doesn’t refer to empirical statistics (it would be interesting to make a count), the article makes a point. Asia has far less violent crime than the United States (that’s why a lot of expatriates have moved abroad) and Asia has fewer lawyers than the US. However, one can also note that there is much violent crime in Sudan, yet there are no lawyers in Sudan. Whatever the case, it seems to me that lawyers are not at fault for the failures of justice, just as the clergy should not be held directly responsible for the good of religion.

Alice laughed, “there’s no use trying”, she said. “One can’t believe impossible things”.

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice”, said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes, I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Political parties and figures in Hong Kong have used the terms democracy and universal suffrage often and interchangeably. As much as this will probably evoke readers’ irrational emotions and even more irrational debate (as do luxury handbags and diamonds), I write this: ……

We live in a city where antitrust laws have done their utmost to the public good. Our cellphone plans are cheap, our food is quite cheap, our trains are on time and air conditioned, our airport is world-class… and the list goes on. Meanwhile, lets take a look at the stone-age cell phone plans in the USA!