Father

Today is Father's Day.

Hong Kong people live a fast-paced and stressful life, with heavy workloads and long working hours. In recent years, business trips have become more frequent, and hundreds of thousands of local people, from cross-boundary drivers to professionals, are required to work outside Hong Kong constantly.

Time is essential for building a good relationship. Today, however busy we are, we should slow down and spend some time with our fathers or children. We should cherish the company of those who are still with us. Try to arrange a gathering with them and capture the shared moments with a camera for future recollection. If you are geographically separated, then make a phone call. You will be surprised by how much you can gain from a few minutes of long-distance chatting, which may only cost you a trifling sum. If your father has passed away, then go to the cemetery and spend a few minutes alone in front of his grave, remembering him in silence or whispering how you miss him. Nowadays, small children already understand a lot of things. Some day in the future, you might hear them mention in passing how this Father's Day was spent.

Chinese people, especially Chinese men, are often too reserved to express their feelings in words. We should make an exception on Father's Day. After all, it is not only family bonds but also destiny that brings two generations together.

My father was born in the year of the Xinhai Revolution. Before turning 20, he left his home in Shandong and travelled a long distance to Hong Kong. It was a turbulent time in the Mainland then, which I only learnt about from the newspaper, and my father was badly homesick, which I could see with my own eyes. Now that I have children, the thought of my father and his reticence always stirs my memories and triggers my tears.

Happy Father's Day to you all.

June 16, 2013