Hong Kong Stories

“Wish you a two-child family in three years” is a Chinese saying commonly said to a couple as a blessing. What would it be like to have three children in one year? Triplets are extremely rare. If you are lucky enough to be pregnant with triplets, your family will need thrice as much of everything prepared for the children and of the effort in taking care of them. Yet, the joy they bring will also be tripled. The triplets of the MA’s family are: Hiu-wing (Ah Wing) (the eldest), Hiu-yu (Ah Yu), and Hiu-Sze (Ah Sze) (the youngest). Parents George and Janice welcomed their eldest daughter Hiu-lam (Lamlam) in 2002. When Lamlam was in kindergarten, they decided to have one more child so that Lamlam would have a younger sibling. It was a pleasant surprise to know that Janice was pregnant with triplets. Their lives have since become boisterous. The identical triplet sisters, who look the same as each other, have great fun every day bustling around and bringing joy to the family. Preterm birth is common for triplets, and the MA triplets are no exception. Janice gave birth to them after merely 27 weeks of pregnancy. Each of them weighed only around two and a half pounds by the time. Among them, Ah Yu and Ah Sze showed developmental delay and autistic features, only starting to speak at the age of five. Janice has been putting her heart into nurturing her daughters. At 11 years old now, the triplets are no longer lagging behind other children of the same age. The whole family is filled with joy. Triplets of the KWONG’s family are: Sze-ching (the eldest), Tsz-ching, and Wing-ching (the youngest). Parents Quentin and Ashley did not have plans to have children by the time Ashley was pregnant. The unexpected arrival of the triplet sisters a year ago turned the couple’s world into a family of five. The KWONG children were also born prematurely, each weighing only about two pounds at the time of birth. Sze-ching and Tsz-ching had to stay in hospital for two months, while Wi

How many people can really keep their marriage promise of “love for a lifetime”? And to love their other half, in sickness and in health, as long as they both shall live? There are myriads of challenges in a marriage. If your life partner suffers from chronic diseases, will you still be able to love and stay with him / her forever? The featured number of this episode is “1”: Love for One’s Lifetime. Facing the test of illnesses, the two couples have kept their promise of loving their other half for a lifetime.

1 plus 1 equals “2” – even kids know how to solve this math question. Nonetheless, if we see it as a love formula, in an attempt to master the calculation of this number “2” and to build an ideal world for two, it would be no easy task. Stan and Kathleen, a romantic couple who has dated for 5 years, see each other almost every day ever since they first met and fell head over heels in love. They always show their affection publicly as they are so lovestruck. For them, the number “2” means to stay together in pair and to live happily ever after. They believe truly that fairy tale love stories can be found in real life. What is interesting is that, the two are a couple, but also have a superior/subordinate relationship, working for marine conservation in the same organisation. The pair gets off from work together every day, and always goes scuba diving together. The more time they spend together, the more they understand each other, but conflicts also arise more often. The double relationship makes them closer. Stan and Kathleen have been looking for true love, thinking that they have to cherish when they have found the right person. The two believe in marriage, regarding a marriage certificate as both commitments and responsibilities. For the newlyweds Stan and Kathleen, the number “2” represents the beginning of a whole new world for two. The experience of another pair, Rex and Sarah, is like another fairy tale story. In 2015, Rex and Sarah gave up their high-paying jobs and opted for “naked resignation” to pursue their dreams. They went on backpack travelling on a low budget. In their 364-day journey, they had travelled to 38 countries and hitchhiked on 137 cars. Each of them spent HKD $80,000. Not only did this unfettered trip give them some extraordinary life experiences, but also let them accommodate with each other, so that they could walk further in the journey of life together. Having travelled around the globe and appreciated beautiful sceneries of a

“We only live once and we all have our dreams. There are dreams that we can spend our lifetime to chase and there are dreams that can only be fulfilled in a certain period of time ,,, as the chance only comes once every 4 years. Hong Kong fencer CHEUNG Siu-lun began to represent Hong Kong in international competitions since 2007. In his first Asian Games, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, he made history by winning the silver medal in the individual foil and earned his fame. His was in his best form when preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, but unfortunately his injury prevented him from being selected. Perhaps, an outstanding athlete should be born with the never-say-die spirit. CHEUNG came back from injury after almost a year and regained his top form quickly. In his second Asian Games, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, he took a bronze medal in the foil team competition. Four years have passed in a blink, and CHEUNG is now in his 30s. With two Asian Games under his belt, a CHEUNG hopes that he can finish his athlete career after the Asian Games this year and put a perfect end to it. Unfortunately, he loses in the selection process and his dreams are shattered. Yet, after the setback, he gets his gold medal in the Asian Fencing Championships and stands on the highest point of the podium. CHEUNG decides to postpone his retirement plan and his target is to make the top 20 in world ranking. He also hopes that he can help the team to be ranked number one in Asia and participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 27-year-old Janet WONG works full time as an assistant engineer. She began to discover that she was good in sports during her primary school days: dancing, judo and volleyball, she was an all-around athlete. She was the ace of the long-distance running team in her secondary school, winning each and every competition. At that time, Janet realized that she might really be talented in long-distance running. Unfortunately, even though she is talented, the lack

A number itself is only a tool for showing data, yet the meaning behind certain numbers may be good enough to affect our lives, for instance the 5** on the diploma of HKDSE Examination diploma. If you can obtain one 5**, you have gained a degree of recognition to a certain extent.

While one thinks he is not tall enough, the other thinks he is too tall. Two men, both 6 feet tall, lead two very different lives. Retired local basketball player LI Ka-yiu (Dale) received attention on the basketball field early on thanks to being 6 feet tall. During the 19 years of playing in the A1 Division of Hong Kong, Dale mainly served the position of the 4, or power forward, and was responsible for rebounding and passing to teammates. He played for the Youth Basketball Club, Winling Basketball Club, HKPA Basketball Team, SCAA Basketball Team, and was selected as a member of the Hong Kong Basketball Team to participate in international matches. Crowned the “Best Rebounder”, Dale had the edge right from the beginning for the first half of his life because of his height. Yet, being 6 feet tall is merely a minimum requirement in basketball. Although he plays the 4 well, being several inches taller would be even more ideal. While Dale’s height makes him stand out outside the basketball court, inside he is like a dwarf. The number “6” in being 6 feet tall brings him a lot of challenges. Unlike Dale, Johnee LAU, also 6 feet tall, never likes his height. Johnee, who is gentle and amiable, has always enjoyed artistic work since childhood and performed poorly in sports. As a 6-foot-tall introvert, he did not become a talented basketball player or a bright and stylish man. He had always been rejected by his male classmates during all his secondary school years and grew up without the support from friends. Looking back at this stage of life, Johnee describes that his height made him even more embarrassed as he looked all the more lonely being tall and unaccompanied at the same time. But destiny did have its own way. After graduation from secondary school and studying Digital Media afterwards, Johnee created the animation “Galaman”, which won him local and international awards, and he finally received recognition for his talent. For 10 years, he has been drawing

Having lived in Hong Kong for 7 years may not only mean a status of permanent residency to new immigrants, as long as they have goals and are ready to fight hard, people from different places can find something more valuable than a recognition of identity – sense of achievement. The two protagonists of this episode are Japanese Yusuke HATANO and KWAN Ka-lee from Hoi Ping, they both managed to find their own world in Hong Kong through their perseverance and unyielding spirit. As his father has to work in different countries, HATAMO has to live in different places since his childhood: he was born in the US, returned to Japan when he was 10, lived in Malaysia and Singapore from 15 to 18, and later went to study in a university in Australia, where he met his wife Jean. After the two got married, they returned to Hong Kong in 2011 and have been here for 7 years. HATANO, who studied music, got his first job in Hong Kong as a pianist in a hotel. Not only did this job help him expand his music horizon, but it also provided great help for him to enter the film music industry. In 2017, HATANO won the Best Original Film Score award at the Hong Kong Film Awards with Maestro Peter KAM for the film “Soul Mate”. In addition, he also made soundtracks for a lot of movies, including “Mad World”, “Full Strike” and “Happiness”. He always keeps in mind his mother-in-law’s words – “One minute on the stage, ten years of practice off the stage”. As such, he never let go of any opportunity, and he practices hard to do his best. And for this reason, no matter how busy his work is, he still insists on continuing to play different types of songs with his piano in the hotel one night per week. HATANO thinks that when he came to Hong Kong, there were a lot of new directors in the film industry, and the fact that they like to work with young musicians has created a lot of opportunities for him. KWAN Ka-lee, now a secondary school teacher, came from Hoi Ping to Hong Kong when she was 1

High living cost and small living space are problems Hong Kongers cannot evade nowadays. They are why some married couples only plan to have one or two children, worried that it would be difficult to handle too many children. Even for couples who have decided not to have children and keep only pets, they also limit the number of pets to one or two due to the amount of time needed for taking care of them and limited space. Still, there are people who are not deterred by the pressure in life and crave a family with a number of children today. Kannes married Edmond soon after graduation. Both coming from a large family, they were not particularly concerned about financial or housing issues by then when considering having children. They believed that they should have as many children as possible before turning 30. The couple has four children now. They live together with Edmond’s parents, who also stay in Mainland China sometimes, making them an eight-person household. Speaking of nurturing four children, Kannes thinks that the biggest difficulty lies in how she allocates time and love for each of them appropriately. Rather than spending a lot of time and money on interest classes, she believes in helping her children build a good relationship among siblings, which lasts for a lifetime. In contrast, Irene and Arrick had a consensus on not having children long ago. The married couple intended to live a quiet life with their two cats. Yet, they came across stray dogs Coffee and Yuanyang by chance. They later realised that there were many stray cats and dogs that needed help in the city, and that was why they also became adopters. Currently the couple has eight pets, which makes their family life boisterous and busy. Even though taking care of these eight “children” is demanding, Irene and Arrick still insist on volunteering at an organisation for stray cats and dogs in their free time, hoping to find a home for each “furbaby”. Regardless of the type of family, a

For many people, the number “9” means forever and ever. The average life expectancy of Hong Kong people ranks amongst the top in the world. Yet, nobody can foresee how long himself / herself can live. After all, what do people still need when they are in their nineties? MAK Wai-sheung (Grandpa MAK) had just turned 90 in October 2018. Born in a rural village, Grandpa MAK spent his childhood there. He had received primary education only. After that, he had experienced the anti-Japanese war and the liberation of China, and then arrived in Guangzhou. Until he was in his twenties, Grandpa MAK came to Hong Kong on his own to seek a livelihood. He had worked as a casual worker in construction sites, waiter in a Chinese style tea restaurant, hawker, etc. It took him a lot of efforts to finally have a stable life, and then he got married in Guangzhou. Soon after that, he even applied to send his wife and his eldest son to Hong Kong for reunion. Grandpa MAK has worked as a hawker at Tung Choi Street for decades. He had been working hard for his children’s schooling, and to provide his family with a stable home. He retired before 60 and followed his children and grandchildren to migrate to New Zealand. However, he chose to return to Hong Kong for living as he could not adapt to the life in the foreign country. The second half of Grandpa MAK’s life is far longer than lots of people. It seems that he does not have much planning, but instead has his own thoughts. He believes that one should go with the flow in life. When the environment changes, one has to change too. YEUNG Sau-wan (Grandma Sau-wan), who is also 90 years old, came to Hong Kong at 7 with her relatives from her hometown to reunite with her father. She had started following his father to work and helped replace gas lamps when she was not even 10. The early-married Grandma Sau-wan gave birth to seven children after tying the knot, and has since then devoted herself to taking care of her family. With primary