Giving warmth on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival

At the Mid-Autumn Festival, nothing compares with appreciating the full moon with your whole family.  It’s even better if we can spread the warmth of a family reunion all around.

The older generation have lived through war. They have spent most of their lives in poor living and healthcare conditions. We therefore have the obligation to take good care of them.

Today is the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. My wife Regina and I invited more than 60 elderly people living in elderly homes operated by the Po Leung Kuk and the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association to come to Government House with their family members to celebrate this festival together. Some of our guests are in their 70s or 80s, while several are already over 90 years old but are still very energetic.

Apart from presenting shadow puppetry shows and sharing riddles, we also treated the participants to Shandong-style and Chaozhou-style mooncakes since the native origin of many of the "old friends" is Chaozhou and mine is Shandong. So we looked at the moon while tasting two types of mooncakes. Shandong-style mooncakes have red bean or date filling, both easier to digest than lotus seed paste.

Addressing population ageing is one of the four major policy priorities of the current-term Government. We will continue to allocate resources to improve the lives of the elderly. I also hope that the whole society will love and care about the elderly more so that the older generation can lead a secure life in their golden years.

My wife Regina and I join a group photo with all participants. All the elderly guests are full of vitality.
I introduce Shandong-style mooncakes, one of my native foods, to a senior citizen.		I express to the elderly participants the community’s respect for them.
Regina and I give gifts to the elderly participants as a token of goodwill.		My "old friends" and I have a great time watching a shadow puppetry show together.
Shadow puppetry is a valuable traditional Chinese art form that should be promoted.

September 26, 2015