Personal and public concerns

Hong Kong – It was mere coincidence that when I decided to visit daughter Veronica and her newly born daughter, Ysabel, Hong Kong would be celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. I only knew of it when I was already here and noted what looked like small potted orange trees blooming in shops and office buildings. I was later told this is the equivalent of the Christmas pine trees or its artificial version since people became conscious of conservation. This is my first time in Hong Kong for the lunar New Year. So while a part of me, being a journalist kept watch on developments of the US war on Iraq, the maternal side wanted to keep private and in step with the sentimentality of the occasion. To the Chinese, these days are special — the time of the year when they feasted and visited relatives and friends, very much like we do at Christmas.

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Indeed, this most important festival for the Chinese is a moveable feast and comes anytime between late January and early February. Here in Hong Kong, if you are a visitor be prepared for the only time of the year when most shops and businesses are closed. I did all my shopping yesterday which was officially the last shopping day. It is like the Christmas-New Year holidays in Manila which overlap and make for a long holiday for Hongkongers. Tonight there will be the fireworks display which can be viewed from the Piazza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre but the nights have been chilly and I doubt whether we will brave the strong winds. Superstitious Chinese observe the ushering of the New Year by a thorough housecleaning and where possible, it is the time to pay all debts. It is also the occasion to pay respects to the Kitchen God and the shrines of ancestors. My elder grandson, Gabriel, brought his gifts for friends in school called han bao or lai see. They are little red envelopes with gold Chinese characters for luck and happiness. Inside the envelopes are coins or anything round. For the little ones, the only safe round coins was chocolate wrapped in gold. Veronica dressed the children in Chinese costumes with the newly-born baby in shocking pink brocade. Everywhere one goes, one is greeted Kung Hei Fat Choy which literally means "good wishes, good fortune."

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It occurred to me that these customs have influenced the ordinary Chinese way of thinking. Take the huge flower fairs in Choi Hung Chuen on Kowloon side and Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. What could be more festive than the sight of flowers blooming everywhere and for this to signify prosperity. Plants and prosperity. If you plant, you will be prosperous, that is the hidden message that has spurred the Chinese to till the soil. We can learn from them by imitating such celebrations and contests of the best produce by our farmers and exhibited to the public. It is also the time of reunion. It is expected that hundreds of thousands will cross the borders from Hong Kong to the mainland for family reunions and even farther afield to families in Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

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I tagged along with Veronica when she brought baby Ysabel for her first check-up at the posh Matilda Hospital at the Peak. No wonder there have reportedly been more births among expatriates and rich Hong Kongers. The hospital is a spanking maternity hospital with fabulous views of the China Sea. It is a former military hospital refurbished like a five star luxury hotel with first class medical facilities especially for those who wish to breastfeed their babies. Special attention is given to promote this return to nature and good health and all help is extended to would-be mothers for this challenge. Earlier, catering facilities were provided by the Ritz Carlton. The fees are high but so is the quality of service and the range of freebies is generous. Given free are baby clothing and wraps, slippers, dressing gowns, hotel-type toiletries, hairdryers, mother’s nightwear. And in case there are those of you who would like a longer stay with your family when and if you do decide to give birth at Matilda, there are luxury serviced apartments

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It came to me that public concerns sometimes blur the fact that all citizens, or ordinary people want is to be able to live their lives in peace and that often the world-shaking events that we see daily on our televisions do not promote that wellness. More often these events, especially politics merely hinder us from continuing with our peaceful lives.That is the biggest objection to war — that it will disrupt the lives of ordinary people. They become the casualties of the power play between politicians. I think that even now that I write this article, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi families will be deprived of the simple happiness and well-being when a decision is made by President Bush to go to war.

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The wonders of electronic communications have kept me in close touch with news from Manila almost instantaneously. It was good to read that Senator Edgardo Angara and Senator Barbers are co-sponsoring the Senate resolution for a constituent assembly for charter change. Any reasonable assessment of what is good for our country will point to constitutional change now as the starting point of political reform. I am surprised at those who have made the pursuit of the May elections in 2004 as more important than changing our political system. It is precisely that which is being corrected so how can it be more important? Yet so many have supported this false reasoning just because certain politicians have said so. If we are trying to correct flawed elections which select presidents on the basis of popularity and money why should we hold just another election doing the very same thing we are trying to correct. What it really means when we propose constitutional change only in 2004 is to protect the election of still another unqualified president before we finally break with a system that has stopped from progress and good governance. History will vindicate Angara and Barbers for taking up the challenge of leadership despite the odds in this period of our history when we struggled to break out of the decaying presidential system.

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On the US war against Iraq, we will just have to wait until Secretary Powell comes up with the evidence promised by President Bush. It is a straightforward matter — either there is evidence or there is none. That will not be long and is promised next week when Powell will make the presentation before the Security Council. We are looking for something quite specific: Mr.Bush said Mr. Hujssein had failed to account for 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents, 38,000 liters of botolinum toxin — which he said could kill millions and materials that could produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and Vxnerve gas.

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