Ringo L.

Born and raised in the former British colony, Ringo L., a veteran of Hong Kong’s financial services industry, has witnessed many of the city’s most significant events in the last thirty-five years. Still a young boy at the time of the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, Ringo—as many others—held out hopes that the reversion to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 would bring about a better future for Hong Kong as well as a greater sense of pride of being Chinese.

But that was not to be. For Ringo, the proposed introduction of Moral and National Education in 2012 was a turning point. Even though Ringo did not have any children at the time, he felt that the proposed curriculum was a major assault against the way of life of the people of Hong Kong. So he took part in the protest.

The Umbrella Movement was for Ringo a time of hope. He supported the idea and the objectives of Occupy Central, and he was inspired by the sight of a massive group of Hongkongers all working for the same goals. For him, notwithstanding the outcomes of the Movement, the protests were an excellent vehicle for civic education for all involved.

The firing of tear gas by the police, however, brought home the reality. To Ringo, it was clear that the government was not interested in making any concessions, and it would dawn on him that a fair portion of the population in Hong Kong—the so-called “blue ribbons”— actually supported the government.

So there was a sense of powerlessness. Much as he wanted to stay in Hong Kong, where his roots and “home” will always be, in the aftermath of the Umbrella Movement, the desire to be “free from fear” of speaking his mind has led Ringo, along with his wife, a Canadian citizen, to relocate to Vancouver.

Ringo remains hopeful about the protests surrounding the proposed extradition bill, but he is mindful of the deep fissure the on-going protests have further exposed. Compared to the time of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, he observes, the apparent social rifts stemmed not just from differences in opinions but from seemingly deep-seated hatred. Now that two opposing camps have been formed, he asks, what can really be done?

At the end of the day, Ringo is concerned about the next generation of Hongkongers. If one really cares about “what kind of education they will receive and and what they will be thinking,” he concludes, one should “think carefully about what the next step should be.”

27 June 2019

Ringo L. was a senior training manager in the financial sector in Hong Kong before immigrating to Canada in 2018.

「如果你珍惜你的下一代……那就真的要想一想下一步應該要怎樣做。」已移居溫哥華接近一年的 Ringo L. 如此寄語。在香港從事金融理財行業十多年的他，在經歷雨傘運動後，毅然決定以配偶關係移民到加拿大。

八九六四事件發生後，他對回歸曾經抱有疑問。然而，他憶起當年的感受時提到，雖然六四事件引來許多擔憂，但最後仍對回歸抱有希望，認為中國政府會珍惜香港這片土地，並會小心處理中、港關係。但回歸後，Ringo 見到的是許多負面改變。無疑，回歸初年，受惠於中國大陸的發展與機遇，香港本地經濟曾有過不錯的增長。然而，基本民生問題不但未得到解決，情況反而越來越嚴重。雖然當時他並沒有孩子，亦未有生兒育女的計劃，但2012年的反國教運動，對 Ringo 來說，猶如當頭棒喝，亦促使他參與其中，希望香港教育制度所擁抱的價值不會隨著時間被改變或扭曲。

2014年雨傘運動的爆發，令 Ringo 更加明白到，對於何謂普選，中央政府與一般香港人之間是有很深的分歧。長年有參與遊行的他，樂見雨傘運動的誕生，認為這比年復一年的示威遊行更能促使改變。對 Ringo 來說，雨傘運動不單是一堂非常有意義的公民課，也是一個難得的機會，讓世界各地的人加深對香港的認識。看到一大群原本互不相識的人，為了共同理想，一齊用心盡力做好一件事情，亦重燃了 Ringo 對香港的希望。

然而，隨著第一枚催淚彈的發放，希望亦隨之幻滅。很明顯，無論是中央政府還是他們的香港代理人，都無意認真回應抗爭者的訴求。說到底，就算是他認為最有機會成功的運動，最後也沒有帶來甚麼改變。Ringo 不得不感到失望。

Ringo 承認，雨傘運動令他放棄了一些以往能走在一起吃喝玩樂的朋友。他有考慮過應否在社交平台繼續分享自己的想法，覺得可能會影響到自己的生活及工作。但他不甘心加入沉默的大多數，亦不想失去「免於恐懼的自由」。雨傘運動後，他感到很無助，覺得無論是「新香港人」或是一直以香港為家的既得利益者，為數實在不少，而自己可以做到或改變到的事情，其實不多，最後就決定在2018年與太太移居溫哥華。

Ringo 強調自己是土生土長的香港人，雖然已移民到加拿大，他的根和家都在香港。只可惜，對他而言，這個「家」已越來越難以辨識。他感言，從近日的反送中運動我們可以看到，社會上的撕裂，已不單是言論上、意見上的的分歧，而是已達至仇視對方的程度。而當對立的局面已成事實的時候，大家其實又可以做些甚麼呢？

2019年6月27日

在香港從事金融理財行業的 Ringo L.，經歷雨傘運動後，決定與加拿大籍太太移居溫哥華。