Too insular

2015/11/19 08:41:18 網誌分類: 生活

19 Nov

        　　Has Hong Kong become too insular? I asked myself this after listening to RTHK's English channel last Sunday while having breakfast. First, I heard a commentary by Civic Party legislator Kwok Ka-ki. His commentary was a mantra of the same old issues that Hong Kong's politicians talk about daily. Kwok Ka-ki talked about democracy, the Umbrella Movement, and the controversy regarding the appointment of a pro-vice-chancellor at the Hong Kong University. He criticized Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and the pro-establishment camp for eroding (slowly destroying) Hong Kong's core values. Then I heard a commentary by a British reverend living in Hong Kong about the Islamic State and the wars in Syria and Iraq. He criticized many countries for spending billions of dollars on military weapons.

        　　The contrasting (very different) commentaries of the reverend and Kwok Ka-ki made me wonder if Hong Kong had become too insular. An insular country is a country that is not interested in what happens in the outside world. Insular (inward-looking) societies only care about what happens in their own societies. Kwok Ka-ki, a local politician, repeated the mantra of democracy and the HKU. The Hindu word “mantra” means a word, sound or phrase that is repeated over and over again during prayers or meditation. But the word now also means something, such as a political slogan, that is often repeated. In contrast to Kwok Ka-ki's mantra of local politics, the reverend, a foreigner, talked about issues that affected the whole world.

        　　When I heard Kwok Ka-kis commentary, I wondered if Hong Kong people cared about what is happening in the outside world. Do Hong Kong people know or care about how or why the Islamic State started? I heard the two commentaries just one day after the terrorist attacks by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Paris. The barbaric (cruel, brutal, inhuman) attacks shocked me. I spent hours on the internet reading about the attacks and learning more about ISIS. Do Hong Kong people care more about the danger of ISIS or about who becomes the pro-vice-chancellor of HKU? I don't know.

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        　　香港已然變得獨善其身（insular）？我上星期日邊吃早餐，邊聽港台英語頻道過後，我不禁這樣問自己。我先是聽到公民黨郭家麒議員的一則評論，也還是香港政客天天都說的那些老舊議題的呢喃（mantra）。郭家麒談及民主、雨傘運動以及香港大學副校任命的爭論。他批評特首梁振英及建制派正在蠶蝕着（eroding）香港的核心價值。接着我聽到一位居港的英籍牧師，評論到伊斯蘭國及於敍利亞和伊拉克的戰爭。他批評許多國家在軍事武器上花費過百億元。

        　　牧師與郭家麒的評論迥然不同（contrasting），令我心生納悶，香港是否已變得偏狹而不理世事（insular）？An insular country就是不理外界發生何事的國家。Insular societies只關注自己社會內部的事。郭家麒是一位本地政客，反覆唸的盡是民主與香港大學的呢喃（mantra）。印度字“mantra”意思是祈禱或冥想時反覆誦讀的咒語或真言，但它現在也可以解作重複提及的物事，例如政治口號。相對於郭家麒那本地政治的呢喃（mantra），一位外籍牧師卻談及影響全世界的議題。

        　　當我聽到郭家麒的評論時，我不禁好奇，香港人是否關注香港以外所發生的事？香港人是否知道或關心伊斯蘭國是為何或怎樣崛起的？我聽到這兩則評論，剛好是伊斯蘭國在巴黎發動恐怖襲擊的後一天。這個殘暴野蠻（barbaric）的襲擊令我很震驚。我花了好些時間，上網閱讀與襲擊相關的資訊，了解更多伊斯蘭國的事。香港人更關注伊斯蘭國的危害，抑或是誰當上港大副校長？我茫無頭緒。

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

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