杭州觀察(十二)

 

馮儁熙

 

二零零四年一月二十四日

 

春節感懷

 

　　四年來第一次在香港拜年，很感慨。畢竟有些面孔我今生已無法再見了……（這是我的性格，常常都慨歎，很難改。）我發覺自己居然會忘記了部份的堂／表弟妹的名字，更不要說那些隔了四年才見一次的親戚。其中一對兄妹，幾年前，我彈鋼琴給他們聽，希望刺激他們對音樂的興趣，他們那時候聚精會神地聽。今年他們帶了琴書來我家表演鋼琴，這次是我做聽眾的時候了。又有一個表妹，她小學時不愛讀書，我的其中一個姨常常憂心她的成績；現在，她在某名校成績名列前茅，音樂比賽又得獎，運動上又是校隊成員，我的這個姨自然喜形於色。另外有一個遠房的表姨甥女，從前很怕羞不願稱呼人，現在竟會大聲叫我：「表哥（嚴格來說，應該是表舅父）」。還有大表哥的女朋友，從前我直呼其名，現在她卻升格為我的表嫂了！

 

　　「少小離家老大回」我就沒有資格，但若果我再不回來走走，恐怕快變成「大鄉里出省城」了。暑假回港時，想試試地鐵將軍澳線；今次寒假回港，又多了九廣西鐵。我個人覺得最能反映「自由行」對香港經濟（特別是旅遊業）的影響，是地鐵的廣播多了普通話，放在廣東話和英語之間。幾個月前，我乘港龍機上杭州，機上廣播是廣東話和英語對照。這次回港，安全指示那一部份已是普通話與英語對照，末了附上一段廣東話，請大家自己看座椅上的安全指南。由此可見，國內遊客對這些機構的重要性。而對我們香港人來說，普通話的流利程度已經開始關係到掙錢開飯的問題，不能不重視。

 

　　說起找工作，發覺中學／大學的同屆同學中，要找工作的絕大多數都已經找到，有的還轉工轉過一兩次。其餘的都在讀書──final year, master, 甚至PhD。中學同學裡，即使在學業上曾碰到挫折的，多走一兩年的彎路，最後大多可以完成學士學位課程。說來，也是一份安慰。我們這一代，出生在香港的流金歲月，中一至中五時，正是九七回歸前，經濟最繁榮的日子。那時我們還非常年輕，有誰懂得生活艱難，有誰可以想像一個大學畢業生在香港找工作會是這麼困難。如今，我們都變得踏實了許多。我相信，這樣的際遇，也許是對我們的一種「化了妝的祝福」。若果我們有父母那一代的鬥志和毅力的話，或許，香港下一個經濟發展高峰會由我們的雙手所創。

 

祝願維港的兩岸，繼續燈光璀璨。

 

於二零零四年二月五日和二十四日修訂，並於二月二十四日翻譯成英文。

 

Observations in Hangzhou (12) (English version)

 

Isaac Chun Hai Fung

 

24th January, 2004.

 

Sharing of thoughts on Chinese New Year

 

        It was the first time in four years that I celebrated Chinese New Year with my relatives. I sighed, as some faces will I never be able to meet again in this life…. (That’s my personality –sighing frequently. That is difficult to change.) I was stunned by the fact that I have already forgotten the names of some of my cousins, not to mention those relatives whom I have never met in the past four years. A pair of siblings, to whom I played the piano as a demonstration to stimulate their interests in music several years ago and they were then listening so attentively, brought with them music scores to my home this year. This time I am in the audience when they were playing the piano. Another cousin, who did not work very hard in primary school and made my aunt very worried with her academic results, did very well now in a famous school. With her good academic results and prizes in music and being a member on one of the school sports teams, she is a now the pride of her parents. A distant relative, who was a very shy girl and did not dare to greet visitors when she was young, was now totally changed and greeted visitors with confidence. And the girlfriend of one of my elder cousins, whom in the past I could address directly in her English name, was now upgraded to become my cousin’s wife!

 

        Though I had not really left Hong Kong for a very long time, the rapid changes here would soon make me a country bumpkin if I did not come back and see for myself. When I was here in summer, I would like to try the new Tsueng Kwan O line of the MTR (i.e. Underground/Metro); this time in winter, we have the new KCR West Rail. Personally, what I consider to reflect most the impacts made by the “free individual travellers” from mainland China on Hong Kong’s economy, esp. its tourist industry, was the introduction of Mandarin Chinese, between Cantonese and English, in the MTR broadcasting system. Several months ago, when I took the Dragonair flight to Hangzhou, the broadcast on board was bilingual in Cantonese and English. This time on my return flight, its safety instructions had already changed to bilingual broadcast in Mandarin and English, with a short announcement in Cantonese in the end to remind you to read the sheet of safety instructions provided at the back of the seat. It is obvious how important are the mainland Chinese travellers to these organisations. And to us Hong Kongers, the proficiency in Mandarin Chinese has now already become a matter in job-hunting. We cannot neglect it anymore.

 

        Talking about job-hunting, I am pleased to find that most of my friends from secondary school and university, had already got a job. Some even managed to change their jobs once or twice. Those remaining are still studying—in their final year, or doing a master or even a PhD. Among my secondary schoolmates, most of us manage to get a bachelor degree in the end, even though some might have to take a difficult route and spend a year or two more. That is comforting. Our generation, who was born in the heydays of Hong Kong, spent our form one to five in the days of a booming economy before the handover of sovereignty. We were very young then and did not understand how difficult life could be. It was then very hard to conceive how difficult job-hunting would be for a university graduate in Hong Kong at present. Now our attitude towards work and study has become more down-to-earth. I believe that these circumstances perhaps are a blessing in disguise. If we share the same determination and stamina with our parent’s generation, perhaps, the next peak of Hong Kong’s economic development would be created by us.

 

May the skyline along the Victoria Harbour stay resplendent as it is now.

 

Revised on 5th and 24th February, 2004. Translated into English on 24th February, 2004.