Xiao Hua Issue 17

XiaoHua ISSUE 17 | FEB 2018

校話

Reflecting on

THE THIRD CULTURE KID

MY TIME AT CIS

迷途的羔羊

最後的十九學友

The Outburst of White Supremacy in America

VEGANISM in a Nutshell

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C O N T E N T S Photograph by Xavier Banson 2

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Happenings

Six-Month Recap P18 Updates from Your Student Groups P20

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Lifestyle

Voices

The Last 19 漢基中文科的幕後功臣 - 楊敏 老師 去杭州漢基真的能提高學生的 中文水平嗎？ Reflecting on My Time at CIS 最後的十九學友 The Old Becomes New: Nova Noirs

48 Features

A Primer on Politics in Hong P48 Kong Echoes of the Umbrella Revo- P52 lution 透過杭州看清中國都市的想像 P56 和現實 日食 P60 傳說中恐怖的語言A，究竟是 P62 事實的扭曲還是壓力下的心 理暗示 Filial Piety P64 The Beauty of the Growth P68 Mindset The Joy of Bad Cinema P72 The State of Global Education P76 The Third Culture Kid P80 高考那年： 暗戀 。暮沉天阔 P84

P22 P24 P26 P28 P29 P30

Teacher’s Football Predictions Hot Bites – The Wing Wah Cafe Hot Bites – Flamingo Bloom 魔術斗篷之下的香港文化 Teacher Diary: Jessica Bullock Minimalism: Simpler Living in a Complex World 影评《巴黎淘氣幫》 Sundance Film Review: Ghost Story

Editorial

Veganism in a Nutshell The Decennial: From Project Purple to the Future 訪問牛老師 The Outburst of White Supremacy in America 迷途的羔羊 Climate Change Issue

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P32 P34 P36 P38 P40 P42

Sports

P86 P88 P92 P94 P98 P100

House Captain Interviews Coping With Schoolwork and High Level Sports Spotlight on Sports Team: Soccer Spotlight on Sports Team: Volleyball Athletes to Watch

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P102 P106 P108 P110 P112

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XiaoHua EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ryan Chiao

MANAGING EDITOR Angelina Wang HEAD OF BUSINESS Enzo Cremers HEAD OF ADMINISTRATION Hannah Guo Staff Elysia Ye, Cheryl Ting FEATURES EDITOR Katherine Wu Reporters Jaspar Chan, Raghav Goyal, Ian Choi, Katherine Yang, Emily Xia, Josephine Yip, Francisca Lam, Kaitlyn Wells, Eugenie Ahn

NEWS EDITOR Catherine Ding Reporters Shannan Liu, Chih Ning Kuo, Phyllis Lam, Jacqueline Ho, Raghav Goyal, Tiffany Ng, Eugenia Chow CHINESE EDITOR Justin Ngai Reporters Ophelia Sung, Calvin Gu, Stephanie Sze, Elaine Hua, Jennifer Zhang, Larina Cong, Joyce Jiang, Christy Tang, Faith Lee, Jocelyn Kwok SPORTS EDITOR Isaac Um Reporters Indya Steains, Alex Okita, Rahul Melwani, Michelle Keoy, Stephanie Kung DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Xavier Banson Photographers Karen Chan, Cheryl Ting, Lara Carolan, Eloise Oliver, Ethan Chen, Isaac Yee, Chih Ning Kuo, Evelyn Kwan, Philippa Yuen DIRECTOR OF ILLUSTRATIONS Kristen Wong Illustrators Adam Wang, Catarina Jacobelli, Bertha Ho, Gabrielle Hioe, Tracy Lee, Ashley Tuen

DIRECTOR OF LAYOUT Gioia Cheung Layout Designers Stephanie Kung, Gabrielle Hioe, Jocelyn Kwok, Vanessa Chan, Bertha Ho, Whitney Deng, Colin Huang, Elysia Ye, Tracy Lee, Tienne Ip, Summer Chan, Chloe Wong 4

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A N S W E R S

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EDITORIAL BOARD Katherine Wu

Catherine Ding

Features Editor

News Editor

Angelina Wang Managing Editor

As news editor this year, I have been impressed with the high calibre of my writers and the culmination of efforts from the Xiao Hua team; putting this magazine together is truly a collaborative endeavour. I have also come to the realisation that news can be construed as being many different things, especially within the context of our school. Happy Reading CIS!

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Every year I’m amazed by the sheer amount of talent and thought that Xiao Hua congregates. In this interim, the landscape of our school, community, and society is ever-changing.

However, Xiao Hua has once again managed to encapsulate the essence of these times: of excellence in spite of uncertainty, and the nuance this entails. I’m incredibly proud of everyone involved in this issue, and I look forward to what’s to come!

XIAO HUA

Being tasked with the careful facilitation of this year’s unique amalgam of voices has been a humbling endeavor. As senior features editor, it was a truly a pleasure to observe the unwavering conviction of Xiao Hua’s feature writers manifest once again in Issue 17. From regional politics to oxymorons in the cinematic industry, the diverse array of feature publications that surface in the following pages mirror the candid spirit of the collective student body voice.

Every year, Xiao Hua has played an indispensable role in furthering meaningful discourse, and this issue fares no differently.

Happy reading from Xiao Hua features!

Xavier Banson

Director of Photography

Gioia Cheung

Kristen Wong

Director of Layout

As head of layout this year, I’m extremely happy to see more and more people take interest in design and layout. The team as a whole have produced a lot of quality articles, photographs and illustrations, and it is so great to finally see all our efforts come to light together in Issue 17.

Director of Illustrations

All of the photographers came into Xiaohua this year with various styles, experience levels and strengths. Being able to guide this diverse bunch in the creative process that is photography has been a blessing and a privilege.

I am really proud of the photos my team has captured this year and I hope you all enjoy!

As head of illustration for this issue, I was glad that we were able to get everything done ahead of time and of good quality. I’ve contributed little to this issue, and would instead, like to thank all the brilliant illustrators, photographers, editors and writers in the team. Good job!

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Justin Ngai

Isaac Um

Chinese Editor

Sports Editor

Hannah Guo

Director of Administration

新一期的《校话》出版了！倍 感荣幸能与一群有才有识的同 学携手创造这一期的《校话》 。每次翻开最新一期的《校 话》都能看见汉基同学们各种 才华与创意。如果您被其中的 故事感化，或被七八年级的作 品逗笑，那不妨来加入我们校 话的大家庭。校园的回忆可能 会随着时间逐渐淡去，而同学 们也必定也会渐渐老去，可文 字则能亘古不变。所以让我们 将这些回忆以文字的载体锁入 永久的宝盒吧！在不久的将 来，某年某月某个晴朗的早晨 当我们再次打开宝箱，翻开校 刊，希望我们都还记得这停留 过的地方。

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To the readers of XiaoHua: for this issue we’ve decided to give the sports section longer and more informative pieces rather than the shorter, quicker reads from past issues. To my writers: please reply to my emails!

I’m incredibly proud to have worked on this issue. Xiaohua grows every year, bringing in new content, illustrations, and ideas. Good job to everyone in the team who helped make this issue one full of the brightness of our school!

XIAO HUA

Editor’s Letter

Looking back, I’m positive that most of us would agree that 2017 was a year of change. With the Trump presidency, the evolving face of global extremism, the rise of cryptocurrencies, and so on, nothing ever seemed to stay the same. As a school community, we’ve moved into new facilities. We’ve adopted new policies. We’ve experienced a changing of the guard among the school’s leadership. Most importantly, we’ve allowed change to be the catalyst for our growth.

In Issue 17, we took inspiration from the changes taking place within our lives; in CIS, Hong Kong, as well as in the wider context of the international world around us. The Editorial Board, whom have been working tirelessly over the past couple of months to allow this issue to come to fruition, chose the theme Reflection to encapsulate the diverse range and topics of the articles written.

Kaitlyn Wells (‘20), in “Third Culture Kid”, shines the spotlight on herself, drawing from her understanding of the rapper ‘Rich Chigga’ and her own experiences with cultural ambiguity to discuss the problems that ‘third culture kids’ face in their everyday lives. In “Alumni Features”, Jimin Kang (‘16) reflects upon her undertaking of a gap year in Brazil, sharing her highlights and experiences, as well as how it was “the best decision I could’ve made post-graduation”. 古寬（’19）提取他兩年前在杭州的個人的經 歷來回答一個潛伏在許多家長和學生心中百思 不得其解的問題:「去杭州漢基真的能提高學 生的中文水平嗎?」。宋穎臻（‘20）在「恐怖 的語言A」則試圖著消除對語言A課程的任何 偏見，將學生的誤解進行深度探討，而最終一 一逐破。

With this issue of Xiao Hua, I invite parents, teachers, alumni, and students to come together as a collective, as a family, to take a step back, and to reflect on the events that have shaped us over the year.

Happy reading, Ryan Chiao Editor-in-Chief

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Faculty Letter

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The main theme that encapsulates the diverse range of interviews, articles and photography in this issue of Xiao Hua is “reflection”. I know I should take advantage of this opportunity and write an encouraging Faculty Letter about the benefits of reflective learning, but perhaps I will be forgiven if my tone-deaf ears confuse 校話 with 笑話 and I choose a lighter tone.

As a mathematician, I tend to dedicate more attention to numbers and patterns than others.

Walking home from school as a primary school kid I kept amusing myself by searching for interesting relationships among letters and numbers on license plates, and looking at registration numbers inquisitively has remained one of my secret pleasures ever since. I am also a bit superstitious when numbers are involved, and I frequently interpret a particularly nice pattern as a good omen. So perhaps you can imagine my joy when on the first day of the Christmas holiday I spotted the W 1124 JB license plate on a vehicle at Vienna Airport - 1124 being 210 + 102, with J and B the 10th and 2nd letters of the alphabet – parked directly next to W 2189 HK (hint: Fibonacci).

tions and other qualifications, and of course I will always remember 2017 as the year when I stepped in for 12 months as Head of Secondary.

Interestingly, I hadn’t planned any of these events in advance. My high school application was triggered by a misplaced phone call two days before the application deadline. I ended up studying for a mathematics degree because I needed a second major to accompany my first subject (I bet you don’t know what). My move to Mexico was the result of a cup of coke spilled in a rusty Saab on my way to the 1991 Paul Simon concert in Central Park. I ended up at CIS in Hong Kong because the school I considered in Delhi hired only US citizens and they happened to have their desk next to the CIS recruitment station. Similarly, I never had the slightest desire to take the helm of a secondary school.

The Alumni Features interview with former Head Girl Jimin Kang on the following pages is also full of examples of how making a quick decision or jumping on an unexpected opportunity can help us gain life-changing experiences, and this very same theme of “flexibility” is present on other pages of this issue. I encourage you to remain flexible and open-minded, and don’t hesitate to take risks. It’s good to have a plan, but don’t allow your plan to force you in a deep rut. After all, as Einstein says, “the measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

I have also noticed that every fifth year since 1977 tends to bring something professionally significant into my life; a milestone, a key event, or a challenging but rewarding experience. In 1977 I was admitted to a prestigious high school where I developed my appreciation of mathematics. In 1982 I enrolled in university Happy reading, and in 1987 I earned my first advanced degree. Laszlo Varro In 1992 I started my international school career Interim Head of Secondary in Mexico, and in 1997 I moved to CIS. 2002, ’07 and ’12 brought further degrees, new posi-

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A L U M N I F E AT U R E S JIMIN KANG

When did you decide to take a gap year? How did you come about this decision?

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t intending on taking a gap year before finding out about Princeton’s Bridge Year Program (BYP). I found the nature of the program — nine months abroad doing service and learning about an entirely new culture in a familial environment — super appealing and I thought it’d be a wonderful opportunity to explore a continent I’d never visited before.

In retrospect, however, taking a gap year was the best decision I could’ve made post-graduation. Had I known how much a gap year would help me develop into a more humble, mature and self-aware human being — in other words, the kind of person I admire — I would’ve taken a gap year, no doubt.

What did you do during this year? After how long were you able to comfortably refer to your homestay as “home”?

Good question! To make a (very) long story (veeeery) short, the focus of the year was ‘experiential learning’. In other words, we were learning about a new language and a culture by directly living in its reality and making deep relationships with the people around us. One of the main tenets of the Bridge Year Program is service, and so I spent several hours everyday working at Canteiros Coletivos, an

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Interviewer: Eugenia Chow

NGO / social movement that creates art and plants flora in public spaces. I spent a lot of time in the founder’s garden watering plants, picking produce, and listening to awesome Brazilian music on the radio.

Another fundamental tenet is language learning; I completely agree with Nelson Mandela when he claimed that speaking in someone’s home language is like speaking to them in ‘the language of their hearts’! We had Portuguese classes twice a week, but to be perfectly honest I learnt a lot more talking to strangers on the street about Bahian food and Korea and conversing on the couch with my homestay mom... ...which leads to the homestay element of the program.

I’d say, without a doubt, that my two homestays — one in the city of Salvador, and another in a rural region named Palmeiras — were the most rewarding parts of my time in Brazil. I honestly felt like my mom in Salvador was my real mom; to this day I greatly miss her ‘vitaminas’ (milkshakes made with lots of bananas, cocoa, milk and love!) and the times we gossiped together to the hum of the TV. I miss my twin homestay sisters in Palmeiras, whose surprising and serendipitous love for K-Pop meant I ended up watching the entire Dream High series whilst in Brazil (of all places!).

I’d say I started considering my homestay ‘home’ after

a month or so of living there. It takes a while to get settled into a routine and to learn how not to feel awkward when walking around the house to do menial things (e.g.

I used to be so conscious about going to the kitchen to get a glass of water). There comes a day, however, when there is a corner in the kitchen filled with your special stash of snacks, when your toothbrush sits in the bathroom, and when photos and words from your life fill the walls of the space you make into a home.

What was the aim of your gap year? (Was it to immerse yourself in the Brazilian culture? Was it to meet new people? Was it to learn a new language? Step out of your comfort zone? etc) I assume this question is directed towards my personal goals, so I’ll run with that interpretation.

My personal goal was to mellow out. After many years of stressing myself out over small things and constantly feeling a need to ‘achieve’ (whatever that means), I thought going to Brazil would be a great opportunity to take life a little slower. Culturally, Brazil (and many South American countries in general) have a ‘polychromatic’ view of time, which is a fancy way of saying they don’t see time as finite ‘blocks’ to schedule and follow. This is in contrast to the ‘monochromatic’ perspective we have in Hong Kong and in the US, where people are constantly thinking about the next thing to head off to and are obsessed with ‘being punctual’.

Oh gosh, it is hard to get used to Brazil time. No one gets to parties on time; the norm is to arrive an hour late, if not more. When my homestay siblings asked if I wanted to go to the mall, I said yes! and eagerly got ready to leave.

Fifteen minutes later, my brother hadn’t even gotten off the couch — and my sister assured me mall plans were still on. Half an hour later my brother got in the shower, and an hour later we were finally on the car to the mall. I was super antsy in the interim, and couldn’t focus on any other task.

Those days were difficult, and I was frustrated and impatient a lot. But towards the end of my experience, I was a lot better at managing Brazilian time — if someone wasn’t showing up to a meeting, I’d whip out my crochet yarn and work on my DIY project, or I’d delve into a really good book. I find that I do neither of these things here in the US, because I’m conditioned to see time as a commodity — which means I never make time to do the little things. Eventually, those little things build up and mean so much. And I miss feeling that.

Did you manage to achieve this aim/goal?

Hah, I guess I kind of answered it above... ;) Why Brazil?

To be perfectly honest, my first choice was to spend nine months in Bolivia as I’d studied Spanish all throughout secondary school (fun fact: I was the only Spanish student in the CIS IB program for two years straight). I wanted to enter college with a mastery of spoken Spanish.

To my surprise, however, I got an offer to spend nine months in Brazil, where the primary language is Portuguese. I thought, why not? Brazil is also in South America and I’ve never been to the continent before.

Looking back, however, Brazil was definitely the right choice for me. I not only got to learn Portuguese (a beautiful, musical language which brings out my most open-minded, enthusiastic, honest self) but I also got to live in a city environment (Bolivia’s program takes place in more rural environments). I thought living in a city was great because it was a lot easier to compare and contrast Salvador with Hong Kong, which meant the skills and lessons I learnt in Salvador became more directly applicable to life in HK, and now, Seoul.

Did the language barrier make communication difficult at the start? If so, how did you overcome this challenge and adapt to the new and unfamiliar environment?

Oh my gosh, yes! For the first month I was straight up speaking Spanish, which slowly developed into Portuñol (a funny mix between Portuguese and Spanish). Luckily the two languages are mutually intelligible (for the most part, but not always), and so I was able to get around okay... but it was still frustrating to completely lose my eloquence and, to make things worse, my basic articulation.

I felt like a child, which was ironic because I’d hoped to mature on my year abroad.

I overcame this challenge by doing one thing that I now realize gap years teach you how to do: be human. And with being human comes great empathy. If you are really, really intent on understanding someone, you’ll understand them regardless of whether or not you speak their language. Likewise, if someone wants to understand you, they will. It’s a matter of finding people who want to get to know you and listen to you, and thankfully I was surrounded by a lot of generous people.

To stray off the poetic route, gestures and mimes helped as well. Oh, and Google Translate. :)

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Favorite moment from your gap year?

Too many to even count, but one of my highlights was my surprise nineteenth birthday party. My initial ‘birthday party’ was a humble, at-home affair, during which everyone left right after finishing the cake for various reasons (“I have a dance class”, “I’m just really tired”, etc). Suffice to say, I was super bummed — especially because all the preceding birthdays had been awesome and full of dance and song and laughter.

Later on in the evening, my homestay mom asked if I wanted to go on a walk — and of course I couldn’t say no! We ended up at the environmental organization where she works, and there were candles lighting the entrance... which wasn’t strange, because the founder of the organization is a bit of an eccentric (he also lives in a treehouse, so).

It was only when I saw a Korean flag on the ground that I began questioning what it all meant. But before I could figure it out, all the lights went on and I was surprised by all the other students on my program, my directors, my neighbours, my family... and I burst into tears. It was wild.

We danced a lot.

How do you think your gap year experience will benefit you in both the near and distant future? (In university and in the “adult” world) Wow, in so many ways. I’m a lot less stressed in an academic environment than I was in high school, which gives me more mind-space to be present for others and just enjoy being alive. I also have a lot more perspective when it comes to my studies: whereas previously I was used to absorbing information and holding onto it as a means to an end (i.e. performing well), nowadays I’m always linking what I learn to the things that matter to me. For instance, learning Portuguese grammar out of a textbook is the most tedious thing ever. But I think about my homestay family and entire countries’ worth of people who speak the same tongue as my homestay mom and think: if I want to serve these people to the best of my ability, I need to be understood — and communicate well. And so I study with a greater vigour.

Perspective-wise, it’s also important for me to step back from the ivory tower of academia and actually question the value of my (very expensive and somewhat elitist) education. When I read an awfully fancy-worded and esoteric (oops, fancy word) text, I don’t feel an insane pressure to understand everything. If I spend all my time worrying about texts and ideas that don’t affect huge swaths of the world, am I really doing much good to serve humanity?

Should I spend my time actually in the field, doing handson projects with the real people who make the world what it is? These considerations motivate me to perform more

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acts of service and generosity in my day-to-day... it’s the least I can do to give back for the privilege of studying where I am.

Besides, when I was in Brazil no one gave two hoots about the fact that I’m a ‘Princeton student’. Most people (i.e. everyone minus my homestay sister’s boyfriend) didn’t even know what Princeton was. In environments like CIS, we attach so much value to things that don’t hold much meaning in and of themselves. In Brazil, I was valued not for what I’d achieved but for how I listened with an open heart and was willing to share my life with those I’d never met before. And that made all the difference.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve gained from taking a year off?

Empathy makes the world go round. The world would be so much happier if we just took the time to genuinely listen to people and care for them. Here at college, I could spend all my time working my butt off to achieve the best grades I could potentially get. But I don’t, because I know that what makes me happy — and others happy — is spending quality time with people who inspire me with their thoughts and ways of being. If the world were to enter a state of anarchy tomorrow and college life were to disappear, would this thirty page reading still matter? Perhaps (it’s important to do your homework kids!!!!!!!!!!). But what would matter more to me is being able to turn to the friends beside me and say, “damn, this kinda sucks. But let’s resume that great conversation we had the other evening.”

Would you suggest a gap year as a prerequisite to university, or does it depend on the person? Would you recommend this experience to others?

That’s a good question. I wouldn’t recommend a gap year ‘for the sake’ of going on a gap year; it’s so important to enter the year with some clear goals and intentions. It’s so important to also have some sort of structure / accountability to a gap year, lest one end up retreating into their comfort zone. For me, I was lucky to have been part of a

pre-prepared program with regular check-ins and organized challenges (for instance, I would never have been able to do homestays in the way I did had I decided to just travel to Brazil alone). There are many organizations that offer organized gap year programs, so those are worth checking out.

I’d say, however, that everyone would benefit from a gap year. You just learn so much about yourself when you’re taken out of environments that condition you to think certain things and behave in certain ways. You don’t even have to go abroad, which is a misconception many people have. All you have to do is do something different from what you normally do, and go deep into it. Meet cool people and spend time with them. Laugh a lot. Learn to become humble. Learn to understand where you fit in with the rest of the world. Learn to live a little before heading back into what is an overwhelming world of academia.

On another note, how has Princeton been treating you for the past month or so! ...Would you rather be back in Brazil?

Haha, I love this question! Princeton has been treating me very well — in a literal sense, there have been a lot of sweet American desserts floating around left right and center, temptations I can never resist...

the sheer amount of stuff I’ve been learning, is also insane. College is insane, in all the good ways.

But of course I miss Brazil everyday. My next door neighbour actually did the same program the year before me, and so I hear Brazilian pop wafting out his window in the evenings — a phenomenon that leaves me with lots ofsaudades (the untranslatable Portuguese word that roughly means nostalgia) in my heart. I wear around my Brazilian earrings with great pride and I’m always eager to tell others about my experiences. Whenever I’m stressed about a reading, I wish I could just fly back to Brazil and spend hours crocheting or doing watercolours and not feeling like I’m ‘wasting time’. But for now, I’d like to see Princeton as my second ‘Bridge Year’ of sorts — a new challenge I’m willing to learn from, and that I hope will help me become more humble and more mature.

Princeton offers summer programs in Brazil, however, and I’m definitely eyeing those. ;) *** Jimin Kang graduated from CIS in 2016, and is currently studying at Princeton.

Find out more about Jimin’s experiences in Brazil at https://lifeofjimin.wordpress.com/ category/brazil/

...but all jokes aside, I’m happy here. It’s definitely hard — a lot harder than high school I’d say — because I have to juggle both a heavy workload with being an adult (doing laundry, keeping in touch with people, taking care of bureaucratic stuff when need be and, most importantly, taking care of myself). I feel as if there aren’t enough hours in the day. But that’s also a great thing, because I always have something interesting to do, be it a belly dance rehearsal, a dinner with a friend, or a work shift in the dining hall. I’m constantly amazed by how humble and brilliant my classmates are, and I’m grateful for the time I spend with them. The quality of my classes, and

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LET’S Credits: Natalie Lin

BE

REAL

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

THE CANDY MAN

THE NEW BUILDING

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PUBLIC HOLIDAY (?)

中文A

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SIX MONTH RECAP

MONGOLIA

Photograph by Rachael Lee

NEW ZEALAND

Photograph by Xavier Banson

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Photograph by Isaac Yee

J A PA N

Photograph by Cheryl Ting

THAILAND

Photograph by Stephanie Yu

C R O AT I A

Photograph by Isaac Yee

AFRICA Photograph by Enzo Cremers

PHILLIPINES Photograph by Kevin Ky

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UPDATES FROM YOUR STUDENT GROUPS

By Rahul Melwani | Photograph by Isaac Yee (OTP), Karen (SC), Phillipa (Arts)

THE ARTS COMMITTEE Mission Statement As the CIS Student Arts Executive, we aim to give students the chance to enjoy the arts regardless of whether or not they are taking it in school. We believe that in order to increase the appreciation of the arts, we must experience it ourselves.

Hong Kong is filled with countless arts opportunities, and we want to find new ways to encourage students across all years to engage and participate in the arts.

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Members Rachael Lee, Ally Lai, Ryan Chiao, Lucy Stewart, Amy Chen, Karuna Li, Nicholas Wong, Colin Huang, Yusan Wong, Norice Lu, Hanley Chan, Ashley Hsu and Curtis Lo

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX Mission Statement Order of the Phoenix is a Sports & Activities Advisory Council made up of 12 selected students to serve for 2 academic years, beginning January of Year 11. Students chosen embody excellent communication and leadership skills, school spirit and involvement in the diverse range of activities they represent. The council works alongside the CIS leadership and community to celebrate sportsmanship and spirit, to uphold school traditions and values, and to instill pride in being a Phoenix.

Members Year 13: Tippy Pei, Ingrid Tsang, Victoria Ngai, Christina Li, Gabrielle Tam, Joyce Liu Year 12: Rahul Melwani, Max Emery, Bernard Ko, Eugenia Chow, Anna Leven, Norice Lu

Goals For This Year - Official name - Committee of 12 - Chosen in Y11, two years of commitment - Have shown spirit, leadership & school involvement in their own way

- Diversity - Spirit; bringing the teachers and students closer together - Celebrating sportsmanship, uniting teachers and students with school spirit - Upholding & creating new traditions & values - Ambassadorship

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The Last

By Chih Ning Kuo Photograph by Ethan Chen

E

mma is one of nineteen year 10 students dedicated to her Braemar Hill roots. She has chosen to stay in our Hong Kong campus instead of joining CIS Hangzhou’s one-year study abroad program. She updates us on her first eight weeks of school - without the liveliness and spirit of the rest of her year group. On a more positive light, she reflects on her first ever project week experience.

There is more homework, more assessments, more stress, as we have a community project to do now. The community project is freelance and service-based, addressing a specific need in a community. We find and communicate with an NGO, then we create a project to help them. My project is to provide music therapy for children who have learning difficulties. The community project is new and was just introduced, I assume it is a replacement for the PP (which is cancelled next year). There are higher expectations and more requirements from teachers.

We stay with the same people for mostly all classes. The whole year is at the same progress, have the same teachers, same homework, take assessments at the same time.

Just to clarify, our class size didn’t get smaller, it is at 19 people, so our whole year is in one class. For me, all my friends from year 9 went to Hangzhou, so I had to make new friends here in Hong Kong. Socialising with a smaller group of classmates can be a good thing, because we all know each other well and have more chances to talk to each other. However, some people like me with friends in Hangzhou may feel left out or detached from the things happening there.

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For CCAs, we mainly join with the year 11s, so there are still a lot of options available. But I know that in Hangzhou, there are more choices for sports, such as dragon boating and spinning, activities that aren’t offered in Hong Kong. Year 10 is the first year where doing service is a requirement, and I chose to help out in the Chicken Soup Foundation. Last year, I also helped out for Kids4Kids, but this year I’ve been more reflective and take service much more seriously.

For my first project week, I chose to go to Cambodia. Project week is basically like an elevated version of CEP. In Cambodia, we worked for a rural community for two days, digging trenches and building water jugs. For the other four days, we went around the city and did some sightseeing, and there was quite a lot of relaxing time. My trip to Cambodia did not only allow me to experience the life and culture there, but also to socialize with friends and have fun. I am already missing project week. After this year’s project week, I am definitely looking forward to next year’s project week.

Since we only have one class now, all 19 of us share the same teacher for each subject. This will allow us not only to become closer with them, but also makes it convenient and easy for them to give advice to us. To be honest, I really wished to go to Hangzhou, but there were specific reasons that prevented me from going. I see my friends there and it seemed to be very fun and a new and special opportunity presented to us. I sometimes wish the Hangzhou program only ran only for half a year, so I could possibly join as well. In the beginning, it was hard to feel comfortable with only the 19 of us. But after two months, it starts to feel better as we have grown closer and gotten to know each other better.

I think the leading factors of choosing not go to Hangzhou was because I had to stay in Hong Kong for my music school. I study music in HKAPA and if I drop out, I will have to audition again in order to get back into the school. In addition, my parents object going to HZ as they are concerned about the academics there and about having to transition back to CISHK (sharp increase of workload).

Chloe gives a cheerful account of school with

all the added attention and care from teachers, as well as her project week in Spain.

I would say that in the beginning of the year it was very different since I was used to seeing a lot of people in the hallways. However, overtime I was used to seeing less people, spending more time with my friends as many of them have stayed back in Hong Kong. The classes were not very different for me as the class size did not really change, it was just seeing the same 19 people all throughout the day. I thought that it gave me more opportunities to talk with the teacher more with less distractions, so it was definitely a big plus for me. I continued on doing what I usually do weekly for CCAs, but there was the new topic of taking up service weekly. At first it was a big change but I started to treat it as just another thing I do weekly.

My first project week was definitely one of the most life changing experiences of my life. I travelled to Cuenca, Spain, and took on the Iberian Adventure. I don’t learn the Spanish language and I thought it was challenging to communicate with the host families that were looking after me, however I still enjoyed the activities planned such a series of adventure-based sports like kayaking, biking, canyoning. We even got to interact with the local kids and hike to see amazing views.

Although we are apart from the Hangzhou people, it gives us a lot more chances to grow as a closeknit group, and I don’t think I have anything negative to add on about the experience as a whole.

Denise

There’s definitely more challenging work to do, but we’re all capable of doing it. It’s not as stressful as I imagined it to be, our teachers are very supportive of us and we are able to have one on one conversations with them. Now that we’re immersed into the 2017 school year, it’s more stressful as there are more assessments, assignments, and teachers set requirements and higher expectations. I miss my friends but the environment in CISHK makes me not fear of missing anything in HZ anymore. We have our own inside jokes and we’re able to have fun everyday now that we’ve grown to be a family. It’s nice to be able to talk to every single kid in our grade taking into account that there are only 19 people. I just recently started service last week, it’s enjoyable to be able to interact with little kids every once a week. I first thought service would be stressful considering we would have to do a specific amount of service hours at the end of the year. My first session was quite nerve wracking as I was in a new environment and I had to adapt to teaching kids.

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漢基中文科的幕後功臣 - 楊敏老師

By Ophelia Sung | Photographs by Cheryl Ting

語言A，是漢基有一部分學生 的惡夢，但是，漢基學生之所以有這 麼好的中文成績，是因為學生背後有 一群幕後功臣默默地協助他們，而其 中一位功臣，便是教語言A班別的楊 敏老師。相信漢基有很多人都知道楊 敏老師是誰，但又有多少人真正認識 她呢？因此，我跟楊老師做了一個訪 問。

猜猜楊敏老師在漢基教了幾 年書？三年？五年？答案是：八年！ 楊老師加入漢基的大家庭已有一段時 日，而她非常喜歡漢基的同學們（ 尤其是今年的學生），還把七年級的 一個班別叫作「天使班」呢！因為那 一班同學經常上課前後嬉皮笑脸地跟 她開玩笑，但一到上課却突然變得严 肃，非常認真。那麼楊老師當初當老 師的动机又是什么呢？原來自小楊老 師受到當校長的母親影響，在家裏濃 厚的學習氣氛下漸漸爱上了书本，更 渐渐悟出文字的神奇。而且她当年上 學時还擔當著「小老師」的角色，每 逢同學复习或做功課時遇到難題，无

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论课前课后都会第一时间请问「 小老師」的她。現在，楊老師除 了在學校當老師，在家裏她同时 也 「兼职」 着她兩位兒子的终 身教师呢！浸泡在教师这个角色 里的楊老師，覺得能夠做老師是 一種福分，也是一種樂趣。

除了工作以外，楊老師的 日常生活也别具一格。在这个科 技爆发的时代，一人一部智能手 机不足为奇，可楊老師却持着傳 統諾基亞的「板砖」手機引以为 傲。楊老師解释道，虽然传统电 话可能导致有点脱节，可比較喜 歡宁静生活的她，不希望讓科技 改變她一直以來的生活。即使沒 有智能手機，楊老師一樣能過多 姿多彩。楊老師在秋天时喜歡遠 足，而在夏天時则会转向游泳， 时不时还会做瑜伽调节身心呢！ 可比起任何嗜好、活动，楊老師 最喜歡跟她家人一起共享天倫之 樂。而在没有科技繁华的喧嚷之下， 楊老師才能從清靜之中找到快樂。

IB的宗旨就是讓學生接受挑戰，IB的中 文也是想讓學生用中文思考，欣賞母 語，學校的政策也是要有足夠能力的學 生讀語言A的，因為如果我們讓有足夠 能力的學生降級，那不就是浪費了他的 能力和時間嗎？有很多學生畢業後都會 回來學校，感謝我當年沒有讓他們降 級，讓他們的中文有顯著進步。但我總 是告訴他們，要感謝的是學校，不是 我。 問題2: 楊老師您覺得上學是求分數還是 求開心？

除了訪問楊老師外，我也訪問了幾 位語言A的學生，看看他們對於楊老師和她 所教的語言A课程有什麼看法。有一部分的 語言A學生認為楊老師的課堂非常實用，有 趣，因為楊老師講課十分詳細，而与此同 时又讓學生發揮創意。有時她也會就著課 堂內容分享自己的小故事，增添課堂的樂 趣。但也有同學覺得課堂比較沈悶，甚至 無聊，因為他們母語就是中文，所以國際 學校的中文課對他們來說更是簡單。可是 大多數同學也覺得語言A的工作量太大，而 且楊老師很多時候會為了鞭策我們而對學 生提高要求，增加了學生的壓力。而當同 學們被問到喜不喜歡留在語言A，他們大部 分也覺得其實語言A能夠讓他們學到很多東 西，所以他們是喜歡留在語言A，只有少部 分同學覺得語言A教的東西太難了，而且不 想面對那麼大的壓力，所以他們並不喜歡 留在語言A。最後，幾位同學也問了一些問 題，希望楊老師回答，以下就是楊老師對 於這些問題的回應： 問題1: 為什麼楊老師總是不讓語言A的學生 降級？

楊老師:我個人覺得兩樣都要求。在學校 的分數固然重要，但在學校讀書讀得不 開心，又怎麼可以 拿到好的成績呢？只要你在學校讀得開 心，那就自然會拿到好的成績，所以上 學的時候， 開心和成績都要求，那麼上學的那段時 間就會變得有意義了。 問題3: 選科的時候應該選中國文學還是語 言A+文學？還有應該選Higher Level嗎？ 楊老師:如果你是非常喜歡閱讀的話，那麼 中國文學就會比較適合你，因為我們會在 課堂裏看很多 來自中國和西方的文學，而且這些作品都 是非常值得細味品嚐，喜歡讀書的就會非 常愛這個班。但是如果你對社會的事情比 較有興趣，那就應該選語言A+文學了。我 們在課堂上會用中文討論時事，增加同學 們對社會的關注。而選Higher Level 的話就 要看同學其他科目的配搭。 最後，楊老師覺得漢基學生的中文水平參 差不齊，幸運的是，學生們的學習態度也 非常好，所以只要同學們努力學習，一定 可以提高中文水平。楊老師也不忘提出一 些能夠幫助學生學習中文的建議。楊老師 建議大家把中文融化在生活裏，例如我們 可以看中國出品的電視節目，這樣就可以 寓學習於娛樂，增加學習中文的樂趣了！ 各位同學，讓我們一起加油學好中文吧！

楊老師:其實我並沒有不讓學生降級，而是

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去杭州漢基真的能 提高學 生的中 文水平 嗎？

By Calvin Gu | Photographs by Teck Huat Wee and Ryan Chiao 綠城學校的老師和學生，你都會需要以中文 與他們溝通。而在漢基杭州的一年當中，你 會有許多的機會需要外出。在杭州陌生的街 頭上，中文也是你唯一的選擇。由此不難想 像，杭州的環境有效的促進了學生使用中文 作為主要的溝通語言，從此間接地提高學生 的中文水平。

「欲

把西湖比西子，浓妆淡抹 总相宜」，作為一座具有獨特風格的古老城 市，杭州的美足以與中國「四大美女」中的 西施相提並論。回想起那跟我已作別兩年的 杭州漢基的生活，心頭不禁湧上一股難以言 語的失落感。先別提杭州那夏天百花盛放、 冬天白雪紛飛的美景，就只是那兩座座落在 杭州綠城學校裡的漢基杭州教學樓和學生宿 舍，就已留下了許多令人不願忘卻的美好回 憶。漢基杭州，對許多人來講所代表的不僅 僅是一次全新的經歷，一年告別的父母、自 主的生活，更是一次難得的體驗中國內地生 活、提升自身中文水平的機會。而在這裡， 很多家長和學生都會不由自主地提出一個問 題：「去杭州漢基真的能提高學生的中文水 平嗎？」 就提升學生中文水平而言，漢基杭州毫無疑 問地具有很多明顯的優勢。在中文課以外， 漢基杭州的生活基本上可以說是與中文息息 相關。杭州漢基座落在杭州綠城學校裡面， 漢基學生只要伸出手就可以觸碰到中文，無 論是你的輔導員（coach mentor），還是宿 舍裡的保安、護士、清潔阿姨，抑或是來自

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杭州的中文課也與香港的有很大的差異，能 幫助學生更有效地提高他們的中文能力。杭 州漢基的中文老師利用了杭州大量的中文資 源與所學的內容相結合，令學生可以在學習 中文的時候事半功倍。還記得當年在漢基杭 州的時候，我們中文課在學習戲劇單元，老 師就組織了一次全年級一起外出欣賞杭州當 地的戲劇表演。透過這樣，學生們可以更深 層次地理解到老師教授的內容，所以在以後 上中文課的時候進步特別快，內容也能夠舉 一反三。此外，杭州每星期的課程表中還有 三節「中文 X 課程」，裡面會有三個不同的 老師，針對學生中文的不同方面：閱讀、口 語等，透過各種活動幫助學生全方面地提高 他們整體的中文水平。

除了中文課以外，杭州的其他課程都盡可能 地去加入中文的元素。例如在地理和歷史 （I&S）的課程當中，學生會被要求定期在一 個輔導員的陪同之下，以一個大約六個人的小 組去學校外为自己所感受疑惑的問題去尋找答 案。學生們需要透過去到杭州的不同地方，訪 問他們在目標區域所找到的訪問對象，而透過 整理和分析收集到的答案去回答他們最初的問 題。再者，漢基杭州和綠城學校有很多的合辦 活動，例如：科學實驗、數學興趣班、文化 日、體育比賽、交換生等。透過這些活動，漢 基杭州的學生擁有許多機會去和綠城學校的學 生和老師互動。在多溝通、多交流的環境下， 漢基學生的中文水平，特別是在口語、表達能 力的方面上將會有很顯著的提升。 在生活方面，漢基杭州也極力提倡中文、英文 雙語化。在不同的中國傳統節日时，老師會組 織各種中、英文的表演。例如在新年假期的前 一晚，每一個宿舍都需要在晚會上面表演一個 中文和一個英文的節目。在學校演唱團表演的 時候，也主要是中文的歌曲。而漢基杭州更舉 辦了許多有趣的活動，例如：雕刻，書法，中 國繪畫等，用以培養學生對中國文化的興趣， 從而對學習中文更有興趣和動力。 由此可見，漢基杭州在提升學生中文的硬件和 軟件方面都具有很優秀的條件。但追根究底， 學生的中文能力能否進步主要看學生自己。我 在杭州漢基學習的一年當中，看見有大部分的 同學的中文水平明顯地提升了許多，但也有少 數的停濟不前，原地踏步。這主要的原因是學 生本身對中文興趣缺乏，荒廢了杭州豐富的中 文資源。無論如何，我相信，只要學生本身有 動力，能堅持，杭州漢基絕對可以有效地提升 你的中文水平的。

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REFLECTING ON MY TIME AT C I S

By Eugenie Ahn | Illustration by Gabrielle Hioe

I remember when I first got told I’d be taking a test to go to a different school than my friends from primary. I was distraught - thinking that this was possibly the worst mistake I’d make in my life. I even purposely tried to fail the test, but I had a bit of a self esteem back then so I got in anyways. When I got accepted, I was crying, because I didn’t want to go; but at the end of year 10, I was crying, because I didn’t want to leave.

The 4 short years I spent at CIS went by like a breeze.

But if I go into the memories deeply, so much had happened and I came out a completely different person than I did when I first came in. From my year 7 stop motion film animation nomination to gorging in camp in year 8 to icky relationships in year 9 to every single moment in Hangzhou, so much has happened and CIS gave me so many opportunities and experiences I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

Looking back, my time at CIS were full of mostly good times, but just like everyone else, I had times I couldn’t get a happy ending out of. I had times where I’d fake sick than rather come to school. I had times I wish I hadn’t shaken hands with people. But for all the gloom in these unpleasant experiences, it was important for me to keep in mind that turned out well in the end. Even with all the support, CIS had given me in during the 4 years I was there, there were many times where I had to do things by myself. There were many decisions I had to make - either choosing to hurt other people or myself was one of them.

Exchanging my sanity for someone else’s happiness was down the road too. But every obstacle I faced, every challenge I occurred, every decision I made, led me and made me become the person I am today.

School is school, but what made up my ‘school’ was mainly the people. I met so many different people during my time at CIS, and today, I am grateful for the people who have stayed. Meeting people was an obvious part of school but what people didn’t tell me was how much it was going to hurt when I couldn’t make the decision of if people were going to leave me or not. The figures that stumbled across my life at CIS have taught me so much and given me so much to be grateful for, and people’s

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words of comfort and advice still stick with me to this day.

It’s all the little things that turned out to make the biggest impact on me. It’s all the small moments and memories I made with people that I miss when I’m all alone in my new environment. Sitting outside the practice music rooms on the 5th floor with my girls, laughing with my friends over something dumb a boy did in the cafeteria, and watching and genuinely loving the courtyard concert because I knew I was going to be missing it one day.

All these little bits and pieces shaped me into the person I am and the made knowledge I have and carry with me. Sometimes I wish I could relive certain moments because I miss them so much. But I know I can’t, and I think that’s what hurts the most.

This was all in the past, and now things probably have changed. Someone’s probably using my locker (which I have plenty of stories to tell about), people might actually like the food in the cafeteria, and someone else must be placing their head on his shoulder. All the inside jokes and code names I had with my friends just don’t work anymore because no one else gets me like they do. I wish I could go back to the people I let go of and tell them how much they meant to me, because they did so much good for me in my life and deserve to know that they once made someone genuinely, so, so happy.

Things haven’t been the same for me since I left; it’s like I’ve lost a big chunk of me because being at CIS was such a big part of me.I miss the people, I miss the cheap and plastic - like food, I miss the cold weather that was even colder at school because we were so high up, I miss the essays I wrote, the photos I took, and the stories I shared. I won’t ever be able to re-live these exact moments again, but hopefully one day I’ll go through something similar. Now I’m just waiting until the time I get to go back….

最後的十九學友

By Faith Lee | Photography by Isaac Yee

杭州漢基是我校獨有的寄宿學習項目。此項目於2013年 啟動，至今已有四屆十年級的同學參與。2016-2017年 度，數十位十年級同學當中，大部分同學選擇前往杭州 修讀第四年的國際文憑（IBMYP）課程，剩餘的十九位 同學則選擇留在香港漢基。

今年課堂、社交活動的規模變小，開學兩個月了，同學 們適應得如何？ 「儘管不在杭州，我們這一年也算是一個建立友誼的機 會，因為在短短幾個星期中，我們十九個人都沒以前那 麼疏離了，同學們之間的感情挺好的。」-- 王寶賢同學

雖然教學方式相似，都是採用小班教學，但由於是寄宿 學校的關係，課程、時間表、生活方式就略有不同：一 個星期有六個上學日，每天上五節55分鐘的課，下午的 時間則是合唱團、運動項目或自由活動時間；星期天 則是休息日，學生可以選擇外出。課程上沒有特別大 的差異，只是香港漢基的歷史科（History）與地理科 （Geography），合併並被Individuals and Societies（人 文科）取代。學校亦會舉行不少課外活動，讓學生了解 祖國傳統文化，如練習太極扇、做陶瓷，又或者製作影 片，訪問當地居民。此外，學生們亦跟合作院校杭州綠 城育華學校的本地學生進行多方面的交流，合作活動包 括綠城-漢基科學展（Greentown Interaction）及國際文 化節。

「課堂很有趣啊！整體來講，我覺得這種轉變也不算太 突然，很容易就適應得了。」--吳芷欣同學

香港與杭州，最大的區別在於學生的生活圈子。在杭 州，學生們的生活都是圍繞著學校，跟校內的老師、其 他同學相處得最多。因此，在杭州的一年是建立友誼、 培養感情的好機會。香港漢基則是全日制學校，除了跟 家人相處時間較多以外，學生能利用課後時間接觸到更 多校外的事物。開學差不多兩個月，有今屆杭州漢基的 同學說：「我們有更多自由，課堂好像更有靈活性，交 朋友也容易多了。但杭州對我來說還是有點陌生，香港 漢基始終是我的家。」那留在香港漢基「最後的十九」 ，又有何感想？

選擇不去杭州，有沒有特別的原因？ 對香港漢基的同學來說，作出如此的決定並不容易，要 經過多個月的深思熟慮。大部分人是因為參加了於本地 舉行的活動或興趣（如網球隊或鋼琴課），在杭州也許 繼續不了，所以選擇留在香港。

同學們對這一年的體驗有什麼看法？有沒有特別喜歡或 不喜歡的地方？ 「雖然只有十九位同學，我並不介意。況且也只是一 年，在這個稍微不同的環境下上學，應該會是個有趣的 經驗。」--金和曉同學 有同學則對人際關係方面有些少擔憂。芷欣同學坦言： 「他們（杭州同學）跟我們的經驗會很不同，我就是害 怕錯過了杭州那邊發生的各種趣事、社交活動，可以說 是一種『錯失恐懼症』吧。」和曉同學卻補充道：「兩 個校園之間固然會有差異，這是意料之內的。」幸好， 同學們都認為兩地同學的友誼並沒受到影響。兩班學生 都有保持聯絡，不時互相分享兩地的生活點滴。 雖然分隔兩地，生活截然不同，但香港漢基與杭州漢基 的生活各有各精彩。畢竟到了最後，去過杭州與否，校 園生活還是一樣的難忘。

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The OLD By: Chih Ning Kuo

Becomes

D

A look into Nova Noirs

NEW

o you ever find yourself in a vintage store, glancing at the clunky records and puffy wigs and thinking, ‘That is SO back in the day!’ But then you listen to the recent remix of The Rolling Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’ by Zeds Dead, and think, hey I liked that, were the 70s that cool? A ‘fad’ of the past doesn’t just stay glued to a certain point in a timeline; its legacy lives on and inspires future generations to develop their arts to new heights whilst not straying from the roots of its origins. Jazz was originally a street dance brought to America by slaves from Africa, danced specifically to jazz music. By the late 50s it evolved into “modern jazz dance”, where new ballet and contemporary steps were incorporated into jazz, and could be performed to any type of song, all the while preserving its original features of being a “free conversation-like style of improvisation”. The art movement Post-Impressionism emerged in the late 19th century as a protest against Impressionism. They were dissatisfied with how they captured the illusion of natural light, their choice of saturated colours, and the lack of structure. They extended the influence of Impressionism, yet rejected its limitations.

While they continued to use vivid colours, thick application of paint, and depict real-life subject matter, they emphasized geometric forms and distortion, features which were not prominent in Impressionism. Bearing thos examples in mind, have you ever wondered how the popular animation Zootopia could allude to the most classic of films such as Sunset Boulevard? That’s film noir for you.

Film Noirs are mystery and crime dramas that peaked in 1944 following the end of the Second World

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War. The name hails from the fact that Film Noirs are shot in black and white, and that the overall tone of the film is dark, bringing out the moral ambiguity of the contemporary world. Post-war, ‘world-weary’ Americans wanted to see a harsh, hard-boiled view of society realistically reflecting the darker side of their nature. Instead of radiating the confidence, heroism, and charm of the American dream, this protagonist is all too often introverted, lonely, and pessimistic. With the men at war, for women, the 1940s was a time of increasing feminism, liberality, and change, and in such circumstances, the femme fatale was created. While the femme is morally dubious and designed to seduce the protagonist, the Good Woman is the traditional Hollywood beauty, who alludes to safety and family togetherness. Inspired by German expressionism, noir filmmakers took on a unique approach to visual aesthetic. Their use of low-key lighting, dutch angles and sharp focus produce a sense of claustrophobia and disorientation, echoing themes of moral ambiguity, mystery and confusion. The external setting of Film Noirs resides in the frequently pictured dark streets and the seemingly imperfect Los Angeles, which represent the protagonists’ internal violence, trauma and nightmares of the mind.

ironically boasts that ‘anyone can be anything’, however stereotypes are in place preventing aspiring police officer Judy (a bunny) from becoming one. Does that ring a bell about our society? ‘Pulp Fiction’s dark setting, flawed characters, a plot revolving around crime, drugs and violence all allude to the original themes of film noir.

Its characters have strong opinions and a matter-of-fact, “so done” attitude which reminds strongly of the core elements of the noir protagonist. Such neo-noir films appealed to a broader range of audiences in terms of age, socio-economic group, and ethnicity in comparison to the original classic noirs. The immense commercial (box office) success of these films drew in international acclaim and attention for noirs. The point is, a neo-noir can be found in a sea of zappy, colourful commercial hits - popular and accessible to a wide group of audiences, while preserving key elements of the classic noir.

The prestigious Cannes Film Festival is launching an ambitious debut to the global film community.

Profundo Nero - International Noir Film Festival, a celebration of the style and genre of film noir, will be held in June 2018 on Corsica, a touristy Mediterranean island.

“Whether it’s Christopher Nolan and David Fincher in the U.S. or Takashi Miike and Park Chan Wook in Asia, film noir is a style and a category that continues to attract and inspire many of the greatest and most distinctive filmmakers around the world,” says co-founder Profundo Nero and Asian cinema specialist Yves Montmayeur. The festival aims to draw an international audience to admire the genre’s evolution over the last hundred years. As film critic and director Jean-Baptiste Thoret notes: “Film noir is a genre that emerged with an interesting critical eye on society, and it continues to have this useful and important political dimension”. The 9-day festival will feature an international competition, retrospectives and tributes, movie screenings, a music concert, and a sidebar featuring noir movies adapted from manga. “Film noir is the perfect

You may think such old black and white movies genre to serve as a bridge between the [cultures of] East (screened on ancient boxed TV sets) have long been bur- and West, and Corsica, with its natural beauty and rich ied under the plethora of zappy, colourful commercial hits cinematic history, is the perfect place for all of us to gather of our modern days. Is that really the case? The end of and celebrate,” says producer Hattie Yu. the Golden Age for classical noirs in the late 50s paved way for the neo-noir genre (contemporary noir). While An international star presence dominates the acknowledging the stylistic elements of classical noirs, festival scene: one of China’s biggest and most popular these films have updated and improved filmmaking tech- screen stars Zhao Wei (趙薇), as the official ambassador nology from its roots in the 1940s. Professor of philoso- for the event. Filmmakers across the globe are get ready phy Mark Conard coins the term as “any film coming after for this major event, prepare their modern-day noir films the classic noir period that contains noir themes and noir to be selected into the rigorous competition. Rumours say sensibility”. Simple as that, neo-noirs allow for a variety that the “Godfather” star will be hosting the event as well. of films maintained within stylistic and tonal frameworks Will things truly be outdated and forgotten, becoming a of classical noir. They range from the 2016 animation faded memory of the past? Or will they continue to be ‘Zootopia’, to 2005 fantasy film ‘Batman Begins’, to 1994 refined, polished, and updated to fit the needs of today’s crime drama ‘Pulp Fiction’, to name a few. ‘Zootopiais a generations? I guess the evolution of film noir says it all. social allegory of a utopian city which

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TEACHER’S FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS

By Shannan Liu | Photographs by Phillipa Yuen

“I was born in a town called Southport in the northwest of England, near Liverpool and Manchester…In the late 70s and 80s, which is when I grew up, Liverpool was the most successful team in Europe, and maybe even the world, so I became a huge fan, and I still follow them really closely. I am honestly a very passionate fan, and so this football league is another aspect of supporting the team.” - Mr Tsang That paragraph sums up a person’s unique experience with following football, but it has elements that ring true for many other football fans around the school, even the world.

The man behind the quote is Mr. Tsang, a dedicated, hard-working math teacher at CIS who is also an avid Liverpool supporter. Mr. Tsang has supported Liverpool since he was young, and although he admits that they are not as good as they were, he continues to support them with all his heart.

Knowing his keen interest in football and his participation in a Premier League prediction competition with other members of staff, I thought I would interview him to find out more in regards to both aspects of his involvement in football.

Q: “How many teachers participate in the prediction game?”

[Mr. Tsang] This year we have seventeen members of staff. We could have done a full fantasy league type of game, but that takes up a lot of time and a fair bit of research: you have to check who’s injured and know the prices of players. The league that we play isn’t as complicated. Basically, every weekend there are ten games and you just have to

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predict the result of each game, win, loss, or draw for the teams, and you get a point for each correct prediction. Predictions take less than 5 minutes.

Q: “How long have staff been participating in this prediction league?”

[Mr. Tsang] This is the fourth year that we have done this, and the previous winners have been Mr. Caves, Mr. Hooper, and Mr. Mulcahy last year—I came second last year! Mr. Mulcahy beat me by 2 points…so if he had gotten one wrong and I got one more right then our points would have been equal. So it was just one prediction that could have made the difference.

Q: “Is there a prize at the end of the season?”

[Mr. Tsang] Yes! There is a prize. We actually pay $200 to enter the league, and the winner, in the end, receives all the money that people paid. Last year there were 21 people in the competition, so the total was $4200 to win, but half of it we decided to give to charity, and the other half is just for the teacher’s to keep. But in the past, every teacher who wins has given it to charity.

Q: “Which charity is the money donated to?”

[Mr. Tsang] We donate to the same charity every year, and I think that has been Child Welfare Scheme, which is a charity set up in Nepal that sponsors the education of Nepalese Children. They have a foundation in Hong Kong as well, and they generally target the underprivileged: people without protection, shelter, food, and education—just basic human rights honestly.

Q: “Is the game an exciting topic to talk about when you enter the office?”

[Mr. Tsang] It is! Mr. O’Shea, Mr. Murphy, Mr. King, and Mr. Kwan, I’ll talk to these guys about it every Monday morning.

This is because you have seen how the teams have done, so you immediately know what their current form is and their injuries. This is better than waiting a week and trying to remember how teams did.

I think that helps with the accuracy of predictions.

Q: “Who’s in the lead right now?”

[Mr. Tsang] Last week I was ahead by one point, but right now it’s Mr. Watts.

But I also just have a good knowledge of the league in general since I’ve been following it for a long time.

We actually missed the first week of the season since it was during the summer and not everyone was back yet.

Q: “What is your standard prediction for Liverpool?”

[Mr. Tsang] This week there is a very big game. Liverpool against Manchester United. Right now, Manchester United are playing really well, and we’re so inconsistent. But it doesn’t matter, I always put down Liverpool for the win. Every time.

Q: “How do you plan on winning back first place” [Mr. Tsang] Scores usually go up and down during the season, so I’ll just keep trying to predict as accurately as possible.

One of my strategies for the tipping, though, is that I usually try to predict as soon as I can. So when the weekend has ended, I try to do the tips straight away.

When I am trying to predict and if Liverpool is in a terrible run of form, I think: do I go with my head or my heart? That’s a question I have sometimes, but in the end, I know it always has to be Liverpool for the win, so I go with my heart.

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榮 華 冰 室

106A Cha Kwo Ling, Kowloon

HOT BITES:

T H E W I N G WA H C A F E

By Jaspar Chan | Photographs by Lara Carolan and Eloise Oliver

Near the gated community of Laguna City is the historic squatter village of Cha Kwo Ling. Located at the foot of the hill that is its namesake, the village is spread out along the stretch of road leading from Kwun Tong to Yau Tong. Originally a Hakka mining village centred around a clay pit, it greatly expanded in size and population during the refugee surges experienced by Hong Kong in the decades between 1950-70, with many layers of makeshift dwellings erected by poorer refugees from the Chinese mainland swaddling the original Hakka village. Nowadays it is sparsely populated, with many of its villagers having moved out and into better accommodations in the wake of numerous fires and subsequent government efforts to relocate the village’s considerable refugee population. In spite of this, many of the ramshackle houses in the village still stand, the remnants of a fading village in the outskirts of Kowloon.

The Wing Wah Cafe (榮華冰室) located on the narrow alleyway serving as the village’s main street is perhaps one of the more well-known features of the village. It is inside the outermost layer of the village, and can be easily reached from the Cha Kwo Ling road that stands between the village and the Victoria Harbour coastline. The cafe resides in a narrow two-story stone house, with a variety of residences and mom-and-pop stores adjacent to and opposite it. A bulky, antiquated drinks cooler and a tiny cash desk to either side of the entrance are the first things you

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see upon entering the cafe. It is a cosy, cramped space, with two parallel rows of snug wooden benches and tables lining the sides of the walls, and the rear inner portion of the cafe is given over to the kitchen area.

I visited the cafe on a Saturday afternoon when I thought there would not be too many diners present. The stout house across the narrow alleyway cast a long shadow over the cafe, and the lighting from fluorescent tubes flickered through the rotating ceiling fan. The menu was written on a whiteboard to the side, and offered a variety of local fare served by most Cha Chaan Tengs.

I was quite absorbed in the wall of photographs and newspaper clippings prominently featuring the cafe. For some time I alternated between looking at the menu and the wall of clippings, and taking in the surrounds of the cafe, which, although undecorated and quite cluttered, retained an old-timey charm. My curiosity towards the aesthetic of the cafe must have shown, as the aged female restaurateur, 鏡嫂 (Jing Sao, or Aunt Geng) sat down across me at my booth after bringing me my drink and asked about my visit to her cafe.

“Oh, we get requests like this all the time”, she says when I inform her of my intention to interview her about the cafe. “This must be the sixth or seventh time I’ve been present at an

interview here”, the woman at the adjacent booth interjects, and Aunt Geng introduces her as a former villager, and a regular at the cafe. “I’ve watched her grow up, like so many of the village children, and even after they’ve moved away a lot of them still come back to visit”, she tells me proudly. “I’ve been servicing four generations of villagers now,”, she says, “and even some of the grandchildren of people I’ve grown up with have settled down with families of their own.”

I ask her about the origins of the cafe (she and her husband have been operating it by themselves since 1962) and about the low prices of the food they serve (they see no need to factor in inflation as a reason for price increases, seeing as the only diners they serve are villagers from Cha Kwo Ling.) “The only business we get most of the time are from Gai Fong, (街坊, a common Cantonese figure of speech roughly equivalent in meaning to ‘neighbour’), and we don’t see much advantage in increasing the price of food anyway.”

Remarking on the collage of photographs that adorn a sec-

tion of the wall, she informs me that she’s received numerous interviews about her restaurant. “Some of these I’ve cut from magazines and newspapers”, she says. The photographs feature various celebrity figures with one or both of the couple in their cafe, as well as family photos.

For a while, I listen in to the conversations between the diners and Aunt Geng. The topics discussed range from the rising price of school fees and the increasing cost of living outside of the village, to matters of village welfare and a petition to implement a minibus stop at the village.

“These [petitions] almost never work; the district councillor wants nothing to do with our village. But there is no harm in trying anyway”, says the women in the adjacent booth. It is clear that the cafe serves not only as an eatery, but also as a gathering place for the villagers as well. “The village office is seldom open, but we can always count on the cafe to be open” says the woman’s friend. “I have been running this establishment for over fifty years without fail, and I’m open almost all of the time” Aunt Geng adds. “Except during the Lunar New

Year, I don’t really have that many rest days.”

Tucked away in a corner of Kowloon, this cafe in a backwater village embodies many of the qualities that are considered to make up the Hong Kong culture - not only in the food they serve, but also in the strong sense of community it makes possible, and in the resilience and tenacity of Aunt Geng and her husband to have stayed behind in their village even while their friends and family left and the village shrank around them.

As such, it is a cafe worth visiting, for its village charm and for its persevering sense of community.

The Cha Kwo Ling village can be reached by taking the 23B and 23C minibuses, which stop across the road from the village. The Wing Wah cafe’s opening hours are from 11am to 5pm from Monday to Sundays.

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HOT BITES:

FLAMINGO BLOOM

By Jacqueline Ho | Photograph by Eloise Oliver

H

ave you ever felt thirsty while wandering through the streets of Central? Wanted to catch up with an old friend over a cup of tea? Flamingo Bloom, an appealing and adorable tea house, opened on the streets of Central in early July. Located on Stanley Street, Flamingo Bloom’s skillful tea-baristas handcraft their own artisanal premium floral teas, which is brewed right in front of you from the open bar. Like its brand name, this unique tea house serves your drink with a mini flamingo floaty (with additional costs). Flamingo Bloom offers a contemporary and convenient experience with a renewed focus on its taste, quality, health, and transparency.

Don’t scorn upon the tea house’s small cramped shop: its layout allows each customer to efficiently order and receive their floral tea, while comfortably socialising with their friends. A gigantic pink flamingo floaty sits outside the teahouse, inviting curious customers to come in and take a look. Flamingo Bloom’s modern open bar allows customers to see what exactly they’re consuming; the cosy wooden tables and chairs provide a pleasant and enjoyable setting to enjoy your tea; the tropical decorations scattered around the shop lets you take aesthetic photos for your Instagram.

This quaint and picturesque tea house with its warm and amiable atmosphere is an ideal place to take a break from Hong Kong’s busy hustle and bustle.

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G/F, Shop B, World Trust Tower, 50 Stanley Street, Central Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 11:00-21:00 Flamingo Bloom collects premium loose tea leaves and uses all-natural high-quality ingredients to bring out their signature floral flavour. Customers can choose from four types of highland region tea leaves: Jasmine Green Tips tea from Fujian, Chrysanthemum Pu’er from Yunnan, Honey Orchid Black tea from Sichuan, and Highland Oolong from Taiwan. From there, customers are free to spice up their tea with fresh fruit, boba pearls, handcrafted floral buds, or a delicious crown of whipped milk. Typically, customers enjoy adding a light touch of Flamingo Bloom’s house pour - a light touch of sugar cane - to highlight the floral taste. Flamingo Bloom brews fresh batches of their base teas every four hours to ensure that each customer receives a perfect and decadent cup of their specialty floral teas. Averaging at $30 per drink, it is definitely worth it to go and grab a quick refresher. To really get the full Flamingo Bloom experience, a mere $15 will get you a take-away mini flamingo floaty to go with your freshly brewed drink!

Not only does Flamingo Bloom provide a tea salon concept that mod-

ernizes Chinese tea culture, but their floral tea is also a healthier alternative to coffee. Packed with antioxidants, Flamingo Bloom’s menu is well known for its anti-inflammatory, fat-busting, mentally-boosting, digestive, and stress-reducing properties, along with being a proven savior of skin and health. Each of their 4 base brews have their own special health properties: Jasmine Green Tips provides a sense of well-being and calmness, Chrysanthemum Pu’er reduces cholesterol and aids digestion, Honey Orchid Black awakens and aids digestion, Highland Oolong aids detoxification and fat-burning.

This distinctive pop-up tea house has a self pick-up takeaway menu for bulk orders of 10 or more. Simply email hello@flamingo-bloom.com and place your orders before 12:30pm and arrange your preferred pick-up time from 11:00am - 12:30pm or 3:00pm - 9:00pm. However, during their peak hours, 12:30pm - 2:30pm on Mondays to Fridays, self pick-up orders will not be open because of their increased customer demands.

Unable to stop by at Flamingo

Bloom? Do not fret: Flamingo Bloom offers delivery service that is convenient and efficient! Working alongside with Uber Eats, Flamingo Bloom’s delivery process is simple and quick. All you have to do is place your order online and wait until Uber Eats delivers it to your doorstep.

Doesn’t ship to your area? Just email Flamingo Bloom with the email address above to discuss alternative delivery arrangements for orders of 10 or more cups.

Despite its stylish setting, exquisite menu, friendly staff, and convenient service, customers usually have to stand in long queues during their peak hours because of its popular demand and the long brewing process.

But everyone seems to agree that Flamingo Bloom’s signature brewed floral tea is worth the long wait. With its fresh taste, all natural ingredients, and unique flamingo floaties, it’s no wonder that their drinks have a high demand. If you do plan to give this adorable tea house a visit, I would highly recommend a Smashed Fresh Strawberries and Milk Cap, with Jasmine Green Tips as the tea base.

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魔術斗篷之下的香港文化 作者：施君怡 插畫：何承蓁

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什麼是流行文化？八九十年代無人能擋的影 視樂壇，2000年的MK文化以及各種潮語的興 起，現在風靡全球的韓流歐美娛樂產業，香港 流行文化在不同時代留下了屬於自己的痕跡。 而隨著時代的改變，曾經的文化變成了幻影， 消失在人們的目光中，成為歷史。取而代之的 卻是另上一代人感到陌生的事物，受追捧的卻 似乎並不屬於這座城市······ 「有華人的地方，就有香港電影。」這句曾經 在八九十年被廣泛流傳的話足以體現出香港娛 樂產業消逝的光芒。當時的香港電影成為了華 人文化的代言，將東方人文引入世界的鏡頭之 下。明星制度也是從當時開始的。香港樂壇也 是從那時興起：除了電視劇配樂（也就是現在 的OST）還有原創歌曲和改編歌曲，這些都曾 經紅極一時。 到了90年代初，人們似乎厭倦了那一個有一個 悲催卻引人哭啼的愛情故事。這時候，一種正 如其名的文化展露出了頭角：無厘頭文化。周 星馳電影便是這文化最佳的代言人，直到現在 依然受到人們追捧（不知道有多少少女還等待 著自己的意中人踩著七色的雲彩來找她）。這 種文化靠著草根式的笑話和令人摸不著頭腦的 戲劇表演迅速獲得了香港人的推崇。或許有的 人會認為這種文化反映出香港人當時的消極自 甘墮落，這種文化背後所表達出對現實的衝擊 卻是獨一無二的。直到90年代中期，香港娛樂 產業開始滑落，被亞洲其他地區所取代。港產 片不再如此受歡迎，人們寧願花多一點錢去看 一部歐美大製作。 經過1997年的回歸，香港在二十一世紀步入了 一個新的時代。香港流行文化不再限於娛樂文 化，「樓上鋪」便是最好的代表。從這個世紀 初開始，香港的樓價一發不可收拾地上漲，很 多商鋪也因無法承受租金而需要搬到人流小的 樓上。這也奇特地成為了香港獨有的流行文 化，直到現在還有很多本地人乃至遊客會特地 到灣仔，銅鑼灣，上環等地逛這些鋪子。「樓 上鋪」也就這樣成為了這座繁華都市裏少有的 一片寧靜及懷舊。 說到香港流行文化MK文化絕對是必不可少 的。這種文化又名旺角文化，顧名思義起源 於旺角，它的中心思想便是「古惑仔」這一形

象。獨特的衣著、談吐、儀容······ 這都是MK 文化留給大家的印象。可隨著時間的變遷MK 文化逐漸受到人們的忽視，變成了一代人的回 憶。 「OP」，「SAS」，「goodest」只要對粵語有 一定的接觸必定不會對這些字眼感到陌生。這 些都是香港流行的潮語，促成了香港人日常生 活中隨行無厘頭的一面。這些字詞不僅僅來自 於日常中的玩笑，更大量含有政治背景，反映 出這座城市裏都市人現時的煩惱及生活狀況。 或許也只有語言是可以經得住時間的考驗，一 直延續傳遞下去的吧！ 隨著全球化的推廣，市場的開發，香港本土文 化逐漸與世界各地的文化相融，失去了它原本 獨特的光彩。試問現在多少人會每天晚上八點 半守在電視機前，等待無線電視台新的一集電 視劇播放；試問現在多少年輕人還會去聽時下 的粵語歌曲：就算去KTV唱的也許還是當年 那幾首經典金曲。「樓上鋪」逐漸不受大家的 喜愛，導致因租金貴人流不足而被迫倒閉；潮 語變成英語縮寫；如果你現在穿的一身「古惑 仔」出門應該只會迎來路人異樣的眼光...... 韓 流，歐美電影，這才是現在年輕人所熟悉並喜 愛的 — 與其說是香港的流行文化，不如說是 全球的流行文化。全球化雖說能促進新穎文化 的交流，卻又因此造成了另類文化的完全吞 噬。 流行文化為什麼重要？因為它代表著一座城市 的回憶，反映出一個時代的經歷。也許很多曾 經被大家所向往崇拜的人和物終究會隨著時間 的變遷，時代的改變消逝，可這卻象徵著另一 個時代的誕生。一切事物隨著世界的進步總有 一天會被影響改變，可這並不代表它應該被遺 忘，就此永遠消失。與其等待這些已失去的過 往「重生」，不如珍惜當下，想辦法緩存殘留 的那一絲屬於香港的流行文化。

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DIARY OF A TEACHER: JESSICA BULLOCK Interviewer: Eugenia Chow Photograph by Ethan Chen

Quick run-down of how your time is during a school day?

I actually wake up at 3am every day, and sleep at 6:30pm.

So clearly, I’m an early bird. Usually from 3:30-5am, I’m working on grad school stuff for my PHD - I’ve finished all the coursework, and I’m now working on my dissertation. From 5-6am, I’ll be planning lessons, when I arrive at school at 6:30am, I’ll have my first cup of coffee. At school from 6:30-7:30am I’m planning lessons again. I usually have one lesson off every day, but these are usually filled with meetings, as I’m on the committee for the restructuring of the year 11 curriculum. My lunch and breaks are usually used to meet students, and so I don’t really have time to eat during those times. I’ll try to go up to the cafe to grab a sandwich whenever I can, and I’ll just eat it during class. Before I get home, I’ll usually drop by Causeway to buy something for dinner. When I arrive at home, I’ll make my dinner, watch something stupid on TV, then get ready for bed at 6:30!

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Do you currently lead any CCAs at CIS? If not, what is an activity that you would be interested in teaching students?

I don’t lead any CCAs at school this semester, but I’m currently in the midst of developing a psychology one for next semester, and I’m hoping to expand it to other schools in Hong Kong. Since I’m the only psychology teacher in CIS, I wanted to collaborate with other psychology teachers from other schools such as those under the ESF system. I made posts on Facebook groups to see if anyone was interested in working together, and now we have a Hong Kong psychology association. We meet around 4 times a year to discuss our visions for the future education of students. One of the things I love about psychology and teaching is the freedom of sharing information - having a good relationship with colleagues is very important. The main focus of this CCA would be for students to replicate existing psychological experiments, because when I obtain my PHD, students will be able to publish these findings. The aim is for students to develop the skill of finding solutions to problems, and I think this would be a very practical way to do so, while being an

Do you have a favorite year group to teach?

I was actually trained to teach the older years such as year 11, 12, and 13, so those are my favourite year groups to teach. This is also to do with where they are with their cognitive development, because they prove to be the best at understanding. I love the energy and creativity that the year 7s have - it’s amazing and very surprising, but once again, the year 12s and 13s have different challenges that they face, and their interest and understanding towards the subject always impresses me.

How do you employ your knowledge of psychology and behaviour in a school classroom/outside of school environment?

Oh, in so many ways. When I watch movies, I diagnose.

When I watch news, I also diagnose. As someone who studies psychology, it’s actually against the code of ethics to diagnose people (for example, diagnosing Trump as a narcissist) with certain conditions, but most of the time, I just can’t help it. I always read people’s behaviours (which can be both a blessing and a curse) which can help with interactions. Sometimes, when I find my year 7s are hard to handle, I try to remind myself that they cannot control the loudness of their voice, because their prefrontal cortex has not developed yet. The freedom that comes along with the secondary school system can be detrimental to them, which is why I have been working on improving the school curriculum and schedule for a few years now.

Another example is when I’m marking my students’ work.

It’s a part of human nature to have biases when we’re marking. For example, if I mark one student’s after another, then it’s inevitable that I compare the two. Therefore, I need to take a break after I mark two papers - at most - to reset my brain. Most of the time, I’ll clear my mind by watching an episode of Big Bang Theory!

Have you taught at other schools before coming to CIS? Difference between these schools?

I’ve taught at several schools in the US, and I spent 4-5 years teaching in a local Beijing school before I came to Hong Kong. I taught AP microeconomics, psychology, and perspectives of history in China - and it’s called “perspectives” of History, because they wanted a Western perspective, but not full disclosure of all that happened. The reason why I moved to Hong Kong was because I wanted a true international school experience, and of course, the pollution was getting quite bad.

Favorite and hardest thing about being a teacher?

Hardest? Not having enough time in a day to meet with students who need support, not having enough time to plan lessons, and not enough time to mark students’ work.

Because of this, I’m always spending my weekends working, and I wish I had more time to help and support my students. Even with the psych lab now in place, it’s still hard to match up my times with my students because a

lot of them have CCAs after school, and they don’t have availability to attend the psych lab.

My favorite thing about being a teacher is teaching! It’s what I’m here for, and it’s what I enjoy the most. I don’t enjoy marking, planning lessons and having meetings - the worst weeks are the two weeks of orientation for teachers before school begins for all of you. I like interacting with students; working with students and the actual teaching that gets done is the best part of my job. I recently received an email from one of the students I taught in Beijing, and she wrote to me telling me that she presented her first paper. I often receive notes from students thanking me for teaching them how to use APA style, because they end up being the only one in their class who knows how to do it.

The most amazing thing is watching students all of a sudden develop a passion for something. Especially during conferences, I love seeing students talking to researchers, because seeing them interact in that environment shows me that the subject has become something that they want to do with their life, and i see them begin to plan their future. I often begin to see them take a trajectory in life, and it feels good to be a part of the trajectory.

What makes a “good” day at school?

Having 20 minutes to eat my lunch. Generally, a good day is one where I feel accomplished, and where I can confirm that learning has occurred. Some days, I feel like I could’ve been better, provided more clarity, and could’ve been more patient with my students, but for example this Friday, all IAs will be returned, feedback and marking will be done, so I will feel like I’m on top of what I need to do, and I like the feeling of being prepared. I used to work in business, but because of the financial crash that occurred years ago, I chose to take up teaching instead, because I wanted to be able to end the day feeling good about what I did.

If you could sit in on another teacher’s class for a day, whose would it be and why?

The subject I’d sit in on would definitely be TOK. I taught TOK lessons before, and I think that it’s such an important subject that everybody should take. It’s about thinking, and everyone needs to understand knowledge - especially because of the many misconceptions about fixed mindsets.

As for the teacher, I would probably like to sit in on one of Mr. Cruikshank’s TOK classes, because it’s always fun to talk to him about TOK, or Mr. Sautin. Actually, I also think it’d be really interesting to sit in on a math teacher teaching TOK, or any teacher who teaches a hard science, because they would provide an interesting perspective on the subject.

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M inimalis By: Raghav Goyal

What is the first thought that comes to mind when you encounter the word “Minimalism”? Do you picture a hermit living on an island purposely closed off from the outside world? Scoff at the prospect of having to give up your prized possessions and live with bare necessities? Minimalism doesn’t have to be any polar extreme (the only forms of minimalism the media or clickbait are eager to report). Minimalism is simply about reducing clutter in various aspects of your lifestyle, a way to free up your mind and your time. You decide how big a change you want to make and all it takes is your own initiative and willingness to accept change. Whereas a detox is a temporary solution, a way to test the waters, minimalism is a permanent solution that can positively impact your emotional health in the long run. For me, minimalism is split in two areas: digital media (apps in general and not just social media) and possessions.

Dave Egger’s The Circle is a dystopian science fiction novel in which The Circle, a social media company develops methods to accumulate the world’s information. So much so, that they are able to influence governments and legislation

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to become the sole dominant power in the world. Well, what can be so bad about complete transparency?

In a centralised location? When one organisation is able to see the big picture and trends amongst so much information they can easily take advantage of their power and shape the world they want to see. We lose our own control and the concept of power to the people. Having finished the book I can assure you that the world depicted in the novel won’t be a reality in the future. However, I came to the realisation that we are gradually giving up more of our time towards digital media as a result of clever methods companies’ devise to capture our attention. More than ever, I wanted to take back the reigns and be in control of the time squandered by various apps on my iPhone.

At this point you must think that I’m a luddite or against a social lifestyle, but I’m none of these types of people. On the contrary, I love new technology and the prospects it brings for a more convenient lifestyle. Just not when it comes at a cost of giving up time to yourself. Having a strong social life is also important. We have an innate instinct to socialise with others and our brains reward us for doing so. As a Stanford experiment on life expectancy uncovered, having strong positive relationship with family and friends is the single important determiner

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across the board for those who live long to those who don’t. Also, we all know how great it feels to have the support of your friends to fall back on, to be understood well and to be valued by them. But if your social life detracts from time to yourself it can pose problems. You lose focus, develop a short attention span, you get distracted easily, but most of all you lose time for deep and critical thinking, those golden moments when new and creative ideas are spawned. Manoush Zomorodi, a podcast host and author, did a study in which she discovered that when you space out during long walks, or when you are bored with nothing to do, you tend to come up with the best ideas. This seems ironically frustrating, the idea that when you aren’t actively thinking or doing anything you are the most creative.

Check out the Bored and Brilliant podcast challenge or book to apply these ideas in action.

While digital media use that goes out of hand leads to a lack of time to ourselves, having too many possessions can make you feel overwhelmed and adds unnecessary stress. Consumerism, which leads to owning too much is an irresistible and unhealthy cyclical loop of desire: buy, use, repeat. This stems from our yearning desire to get the newest and most convenient products available which changes every

sm

S impler L iving

in a

C om p l e x W or l d “You must think that I’m a luddite or against social lifestyle, but I’m none of these types of people.”

year. As long as companies continue to innovate there will always be a product better than the one we currently own, hence the never ending purchasing cycle. We end up feeling dissatisfied with what ever we currently own and items start filling up our houses and every room invariably becomes a storage room. What’s bad about owning too much is that when there is too much clutter it is hard to find things you want and often times you might lose something amongst the clutter. You could also think you have thrown something away only to find it emerge days or weeks later. These scenarios don’t just result in inefficiency but also add an unnecessary pressure of feeling overwhelmed. To deal with having too much stuff, we should go through everything we own and ask ourselves: “Does this item spark joy in me?” If so it should be kept otherwise it should be chucked. Following this process results in us feeling joy whenever we are in rooms that are tidied up. This concept is attributed and fleshed out by Marie Kondo in her bestselling book Spark Joy.

This summer I wanted to make a few changes in my lifestyle primarily my digital media use and reduce my clutter. I wasn’t a heavy social media user but Whatsapp was a large source of distractions for me along with the rest of the 3~4 pages of apps on my iPhone. I would download apps whenever I wanted to, convinced that I would one day find the ultimate lifestyle app for myself, but all that came of it was that my phone was turning into a garbage dump. Pages of apps took shape, apps that I would one day test but never got around to doing so because I would spend more time getting them than deleting them. In the process I also downloaded two games that I got addicted to and would spend my commute on public transport playing them. So over the summer I deleted every single app that had an “x” icon and got my dad to set up parental controls so that I could delete the app store, camera app and safari. So what’s left after this cull are 8 apps, 5 of which I have no use for but are impossible to

delete. Before deleting every app I asked myself whether I really needed an app or not or if there were alternate ways of getting the same service. As a result, I am more prepared and self-reliant and don’t need to fall back on an app for convenience sake. This exodus of apps gave me peace of mind because I knew for sure that there wouldn’t be any possibility that I would get disruptive notifications.

I made this change in the first place because I decided that any free time I had, I would spend on a bucketlist of things I want to do and learn, as I found that my most effective stress relief method was engaging in my hobbies.

This started a domino effect. Next, I cleared out anything from my study room that did not belong to me or general things I no longer wanted, until each and every item in my room was either something gifted to me or something I purchased and also brought me joy. This has allowed me to visualize my own personal goals that have yet to be completed. I now know exactly where everything is and am able to keep stock of the stationary I have should I need more.

While this may seem extreme, you don’t have to make a lifestyle changing difference all in one go. Take small bite-sized actions everyday towards the lifestyle goal you want to see. Be it sorting out a different part of your room every weekend or deleting one app every week. Or maybe minimalism for you could be finding other methods that suit you to cut away at complexity in your life. No matter what you decide to do, whether it’s a big or small change or you’re content with the status quo and do nothing at all, take note that sometimes less truly can be more.

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影評-巴黎

又開學了，同學們不如在繁忙的學業壓力下 稍稍歇息腳步，看一部電影舒緩一下緊繃的神經。为 此，《巴黎淘氣幫》不妨是一個不錯的選擇。

故事簡介：

故事围绕着八岁的男主角尼古拉展开。尼古 拉在学校有一帮淘气的小伙伴, 一個想長大後成為自 行車冠軍卻一天到晚被老師罰站，一個是闊氣的小帥 哥，一個想追尋父親腳步當警察，還有一個愛拍老師 馬屁的马屁精。神奇的是，他們都喜欢穿着小西装和 黑皮鞋在校园里踢足球，搞新花頭。时不时就闯出点 儿禍的他们可把校长和教导老师们弄的头疼。但是， 对尼古拉来说，这样的好日子可能快到头了。要说为 什么的话，因為他在父母一天的对话中偶然偷听到， 自己在不久后会迎来一个弟弟。他担心不再在是独生 子女的自己会受到父母的嫌弃，像糖果屋（Hansel & Gretel）的故事一样被丢在树林里 。后来，误会越变 越深，于是，鬼靈精怪的尼古拉和他的伙伴们想出了 一系列的計畫來預防事情的發生，甚至还打算聘请 ‘ 黑帮’ 拐走小宝宝。但這些計畫屢屢受到阻礙，最後 他們究竟能否想出對策呢？

觀後感：

法國人是一個浪漫的民族，無論是法國的名

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著亦或者是建築物，文化都附有一層濃厚的浪漫氣 息。在50年代左右，二戰剛剛結束，法國雖然作為戰 勝國但整個國家則遭遇了不少迫害，人民處於一種無 形的悲傷之中。而《巴黎淘氣幫》這部作品原著則誕 生于這個時期。作品歡樂並附有正能量，傳達了不少 鼓勵人們的信息，也能看出作者本人對於生活，或者 法國未來的美好期望。帶著這些時代背景再去看這部 作品則能領悟到許多它的動人之處。這也可能是為什 麼當時電影在2009年上映時在法國帶來了一陣熱潮， 想必經歷過的人們看又是另一種感受吧！這也是這部 電影的魅力所在。乍一看輕鬆有趣，沒心沒肺的孩子 們奮力抗爭的模樣很是滑稽，但其背後其實也有更深 的意義。

電影思想上的東西，但不得不講的還有它精 彩的敘事手法和眾多出彩的元素。《巴黎淘氣幫》由 男主角尼古拉的視角講述，帶領著觀眾度過了92分鐘 的天真爛漫的童年時代。使觀眾們處於一種 ‘知道事 情是誤會但是可以聽到尼古拉乾著急時腦洞大開的心 理活動’ 的這種狀態，大大的增加了電影的趣味性， 全場大笑完全停不下來。再者是電影出色的人物設 定，每一個淘氣的小傢伙都在觀眾的心中刻下了鮮明 的印象，他們各個有著崇高遠大的夢想，就好比 ‘大 戰初癒’ 的法國有著對未來的無限期望。但他們其中 使我印象最為深刻的還是那位闊氣小公子爺的和他夥 伴的一段對話

淘氣幫

By Elaine Hua

‘我的父亲曾对我说过他的致 富经历。’ ‘.....’ ‘有一天，他见到一个苹果并 把它卖了，赚了一法郎。’ ‘然后呢？’ ‘他用赚的一法郎买了两个苹 果，并以两法郎的价格卖出了 两个苹果。’ ‘再然后呢？’ ‘他继承了他叔叔的遗产’ ‘...............’

終。幸好尼古拉爸爸實際上也是個非 常能幹的員工，他憑藉自身實力獲得 了老闆的嘉許。這與之前小公子爺的 那段相反，教導了我們 ‘大道理中的路 不一定是最快的一條路，但絕對是一 條正確的路‘。捷徑雖方便，但是也有 很大風險。

回歸正題...要是我們仔細看這 部作品的話還是能在許多細節上發現 它耀眼的亮點，想要哈哈大笑找點兒 樂子的同學們可以考慮看看這部電 影。最後囑咐各位，生活是艱苦的， 但是 ‘麵包會有的，牛奶也會有的’， 下一期的校話也會有的！

生活不是理想化的。就只是孩 子口中一兩句當作玩笑般的話語，卻 道出了一些現實社會的縮影。父親可 能只是在逗他孩子玩，也有可能真的 在從小培養他對大人世界的認知。類 似的情況在故事的主線也出現過，尼 古拉的母親提議通過請尼古拉父親公 司的老闆來吃飯討好他，從而幫助尼 古拉父親升職，但是最後卻以失敗告

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SUNDANCE FILM REVIEW GHOST STORY

By Tiffany Ng | Illustration by Gabrielle Hioe

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‘I was very aware of falling flat on my face’

track evoked an undeniable sense of anguish and grief, embodying the film’s simplistic portrayal of an abstract concept.

Having began as a summer passion project, director David Lowery’s ‘Ghost Story’ is a unique take on a tragic love story which toys with the boundaries of technical storytelling in conjunction to the existentialist themes of time, space, and the state of being. It captures M (Rooney Mara) upon the death of her partner C (Casey Affleck), who becomes a ghost, ‘Ghost Story’, and is essentially a visual manifestation of Lowery’s existential crisis.

With visible traces of (Terence) Malickian influences, evident in his aerie yet spiritual construction of the film, Lowery took a risk in his evasion from the conventions of big blockbuster Hollywood films. The slow pace of the film commanded patience and fabricated a perpetual feeling of disintegration. Much like Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Lowery believed in drawing focus to the minute mundane details to intensify the underlying feeling of melancholy.

At the expense of thematic climaxes, Lowery capitalised on the idea of impermanence through his use of cutaways. Building off of the idea of Mono No Aware (the pathos of things), this subtle sadness of reality extended to the anticlimactic editing structure of the film.

Lowery documents the ‘afterlife’ of C (Casey Affleck), in a variation between first and third person. The dubiousness of C’s spiritual presence in his ‘spectator’s perspective’ sparks uncertainty in the collision of two spacetime dimensions and establishes an undertone of insignificance. Opening with a lengthy montage of spacious wide shots, Lowery downplays the presence of C’s wandering spirit. The erratic pacing of the film long takes, continuous transitions through centuries, and simple displays of mundane routines, most notably his 5 minute pie-eating sequence, introduced an alternate perception of time and space. By eliminating a visual escape from the ‘reality’ of the suffocatingly long scene, the element of realism is juxtaposed by the proceeding swift passage of time towards the end of the film.

Incorporating an imminent loss of control with the eerie image of a bed-sheet ghost, David Lowery captured undeniably genuine raw emotions in a narrative that was in no way realistic, ultimately generating a love that is inevitably infinite.

In employing jarring contrasts between the rudimentary elements of afterlife and reality, Lowery introduces a refreshing degree of ambiguity in the plot. While the minimisation of dialogue pushes the emphasis on the score and heightens the effects of inexplicability in his narrative, the complete dependence of film rhetorics makes for a simplified immersive emotional experience. In a flashback of the film, M listens to a tape C made for her and lies on floor.

Cutting between the flashback and the present, M is pictured stretching across the floor and almost touching C’s bedsheet. This inevitable visual separation between the estranged lovers, coupled with Daniel Hart’s impeccable sound-

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A PRIMER ON POLITICS IN HONG KONG

By Jaspar Chan

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The keystone belief of the pro-democracy movement is the successful implementation of genuine universal suffrage for the Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong, more commonly referred to as the “one-person onevote” system that the movement advocates as a replacement for the highly exclusive and Beijing-controlled Election Committee. The movement also calls for the abolition of the functional constituencies in the LegCo elections, as well as that of the vetting process that Chief Executive aspirants have to undergo to obtain Beijing’s endorsement in order to run as a candidate in the election. Since the handover, the pro-democracy movement has characterised Hong Kong’s politi-

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cal scene with its high-profile campaigns that advocated for a higher degree of democracy and autonomy and the protection of civil rights in the city. Pro-democratic lawmakers run on platforms of electoral reform and achieving genuine universal suffrage during the Legislative Council elections, and the pro-democracy movement has organised massive displays of civil disobedience in response to perceived encroachments on the city’s civic and political liberties, most notably when the movement mobilised 500,000 people who took to the streets to protest against the legislation of the unpopular anti-subversion law Article 23 in 2003.

The pro-democracy movement has traditionally been the preserve of the city’s middle classes. Having grown from a loosely-connected alliance of independent politicians, social activists, and political groups in 1986 to counterweight the influence of the conservative, pro-business Group of 89, the movement garners support from the city’s academics and universities, as well as from many liberal-leaning social organisations including the Civil Human Rights Front and the pro-labour Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions. The movement consists of professional-based, centrist/moderate liberal parties such as the Democratic Party and Civic Party, as well as pro-labour social-democratic groups like the Labour Party and the League of Social Democrats (LSD).

The alliance between the liberal and social democrat parties of the movement has proved to be tenuous at times, as evidenced by the schism within the movement in 2010 when the Democratic Party faced overwhelming criticism from within the movement for its willingness to

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compromise with Beijing over an electoral reform package. The revelation of the clandestine dealings of the Democratic Party with the central government resulted in the party being directly challenged in the 2011 District Council elections

by People Power, a hardliner radical-democratic political group that broke away from the LSD. Many disaffected politicians of the Democratic Party left their party in the wake of the schism, forming the Neo-Democrat party that ran on a platform of localism and anti-mainland immigration in the 2015 District Council election.

In stark contrast to the strict party discipline in the pro-establishment ranks, the infighting between the right-wing and moderate factions of the pro-democracy movement has tarnished its reputation, with its failure to make any significant inroads in achieving their goal of genuine universal suffrage over the past decade emblematic of its inefficiency. The pan-democrats’ dependence on the use of delaying actions against the passing of establishment-supported bills in LegCo has drawn harsh criticism from within and without the pro-democracy movement as well. Notably, the estimated 115 hours spent on headcounts triggered by quorum calls in 2016 have been estimated to cost 24.8 million Hong Kong Dollars in taxpayer money, a consequence of the pan-democrat’s intensified campaign of non-cooperation during the tenure of former Chief Executive C.Y. Leung.

The explosion of localism onto the city’s mainstream political scene (and public consciousness) has been partly attributed to the rift between the right-leaning localists and the established pan-democrats in the aftermath of the Occupy movement, where divisions had arose within the pro-democracy camp concerning the tactics used in the months-long protest movement. The pro-democracy movement’s traditional principle of nonviolent protest espoused by leading figures such as Occupy movement founder Benny Tai and prominent pro-democracy politician Leung Kwok-hung was a particularly divisive issue, with localist activists advocating for a more aggressive and militant stance in propagating the pro-democracy movement. The schism between radical localist groups and established, moderate elements of the pro-democracy movement is further exemplified in the disaffiliation of the student unions of four major universities from the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS) over the Federation’s handling of its participation in the Occupy movement, with critics lambasting the Federation’s hesitancy in mobilising students and perceived failure to commit fully to the movement.

The infighting between the incipient localist and liberal elements of the pro-democracy movement can be evidenced in the nature of post-Occupy political activism.

The Mong Kok riot in February 2016, as well as numerous anti-parallel trader protests in the New Towns during 2015, saw

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varying degrees of violence used against counter-protesters and police, with the localist groups involved being less adverse to the use of physical force in confrontations than established groups of the pro-democracy movement.

The wide-reaching strategizing common in more established pro-democracy actions like the 1st July marches was also absent; the decentralised anti-parallel trader rallies were initially organised from social media, and the rapid escalation of the Mong Kok riots was incited online by the political group Hong Kong Indigenous with little pre-planning.

Most vocal of the pro-democracy movement’s critics is the academic Chin Wan, who authored the 2011 book Hong Kong as a City-state and is widely regarded as the “Godfather of Localism”.

His book condemns the efforts of the pro-democracy movement to propagate democracy in China, decrying events such as the annual June 4th vigils as detracting from the more pressing goal of achieving a high degree of separation for Hong Kong from China.

Describing Chinese mainlanders as “barbarians” incapable and inherently unwilling to embrace democracy, and hypothesising of the dangers faced by Hong Kong’s resources and cultural identity from a newly democratic and populist China, Chin argues for the prioritisation of Hong Kong’s interests over China’s. His book, while credited with giving legitimacy to the fledgling nativist movements of Hong Kong at the time, was strongly condemned by

both mainstream pro-democracy activists and the establishment for its vitriolic anti-mainland and anti-Chinese sentiments.

There has always been some anti-mainland sentiment in Hong Kong, from the anchor babies and birth tourism from the mainland in the early 2010s and the widespread public animosity against parallel traders of around the same time, to the lasting distrust and fear of the Chinese Communist Party dating back to the chaotic 1967 riots and heightened in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Massacre. The release of Chin Wan’s book in 2011 following the failure of the pro-democracy movement to secure concessions from the government over the controversial Express Rail Link (XRL) project gave rise to a radical brand of anti-mainland sentiment that sought to distance itself from the moderate pro-democracy movement. The stinging letdown of the anti-XRL movement, where a broad coalition of social, political and environmental activists had fiercely opposed the project over the course of a year, highlighted the indifference and callousness of the government in addressing legitimate opposition, even as the pan-democrats were criticised for their lack of success and organisation in fighting the XRL project in LegCo. The XRL controversy furthered a sense of disaffection from the established pro-democracy movement, and reinforced support for the militant approach to political activism espoused by the localist movement.

Even after the Occupy movement, Hong Kong’s has not progressed much from a narrowly defined political spectrum that has been in place since the handover. The establishment composes of pro-Beijing and pro-business political parties, like the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the Liberal Party, and the New People’s Party, while the diverse opposition consists of pro-democracy parties like the Democratic Party and the Civic Party. Localist parties like Demosistō, the Proletariat Political Institute, and Civic Passion have expanded exponentially after the Occupy movement. But politics in Hong Kong still remain staunchly divided along partisan lines not dissimilar to that in the politics of the United States. Put simply, political parties are either for or against the pro-Beijing, pseudo-democratic government of Hong Kong, hence the terms of pro-establishment/pro-Beijing and pro-democracy/opposition to denote the two major political blocs of Hong Kong. As a result, the development of politics in Hong Kong has been severely hindered, with the divide between the two blocs now having become near-irreconcilable.

The opposition pan-democrats have always been the underdogs of Hong Kong’s political theatre ever since the first LegCo election in 1998 which had seen the establishment gain double the seats of the opposition in the legislature despite only having won one-third of the seats that

had been democratically elected through the geographical constituencies. The victory of the establishment in the occupation-based functional constituencies, where business entities and professional organisations have a vote, ensured an assured establishment majority in the legislature throughout the years due to its strong backing from the functional constituencies in spite of lukewarm support from the geographical constituencies.

lence. The implosion and fade into irrelevance of the HKFS, and the disaffection of political groups towards established organised pro-democracy events like the June 4 vigil over their perceived archaic ritualism, were rebukes towards the inefficiency of the pro-democracy movement, while the Mongkok ‘Fishball Riots’ saw the alarming puissance of radicalised protesters unrestrained by conventional protest protocols.

The support of young people, in particular secondary school and university students, is no longer a given for the pro-democracy movement due to the proliferation of radical localist groups (for reasons explained above). The superseding of the established strategies of the pro-democracy movement by localist groups highlights the obsolete tactics of the pro-democracy movement and their need for innovation in the face of emboldened interventions in local matters by the central government. Evidencing this is the harsh criticism by newly-radicalised youth of the leadership of pro-democracy groups in the Occupy Movement. The attempts to coordinate and centralise the actions of all three protests sites by pro-democracy heavyweights were met with opposition and stiff resistance from a variety of radical political groups, many of which had localist leanings and had disagreements with the Movement’s strategies, including its principle of peaceful non-vio-

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Echoes of the Umbrella Revolution

By Francisca Lam | Illustrations by Kristen Wong The Umbrella Revolution was a political movement in which various political factions, from the pan-democrats who demand greater autonomy for Hong Kong to the localists who demand outright independence, had taken part. A main party, Scholarism, had used Umbrella Revolution as an attempt to drive the Hong Kong government to retract a NPCSC decision that was birthed in August 2014. At the time, citizens believed that the Umbrella Revolution would force the Central Government to scrap its procedure of selecting candidates for the 2017 Chief Executive election, and allow Hong Kong to not just achieve universal suffrage, but also achieve judicial freedom.

Joshua Wong previously made a statement in 2014 in an attempt to pressure the government for a civil nomination in the 2017 Chief Executive Election. He had stated that his decision to found Scholarism was during the 2012 Anti-Patriotic education campaign.

In 2012, Wong wanted to fight the bill that planned to introduce the “Moral and National Education” programme into the education curriculum. Along with many democrats, Wong believed that the programme was Beijing’s way of indoctrinating the youth as it referred to the Chinese Communist Party as “progressive, selfless, and united.”

“That’s when I first aligned myself with civil disobedience and student activism” Wong

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The Umbrella Revolution was a key, sit-in street protest that lasted seventy-nine days. It arose organically as civilians came out to support the students after they had been tear-gassed by the police to disperse their protest outside the Legislative Council on September 28, 2014. The political movement occurred after the NPCSC had pushed for a reform to Hong Kong’s electoral system as the democrats believed that any form of intervention from the Central Government would remove the previous stipulation of the principles under “one country, two systems”. Along with the student leaders of Scholarism, Benny Tai was a key figure who proposed the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement (OCLP); however, his plans were upstaged by the protesting students and civilians and it forced Tai to announce the start of OCLP on September 28 - contrary to his original plans of starting on October 1st. Since Tai is a professor and a practitioner of the Law, he was accused multiple times of violating the law and the code as a legal worker because he had urged civilians to break the law and engage in civil disobedience.

The revolution marked a turning point for Hong Kong’s millennials, and for high school engagement in Hong Kong politics. It demonstrated to the public the means and capabilities of a mass demonstration of civil disobedience - 120,000 people, many of whom were disaffected millennials, protested, and demonstrated outside governmental facilities, inclusive of working spaces.

“Over the past 20 years we have been guided by the the terms of the handover of Hong Kong to China- that we can achieve universal suffrage under the constitution.” - Wong

“Over the past 20 years we have been guided by the the terms of the handover of Hong Kong to China- that we can achieve universal suffrage under the constitution.” - Wong The concept of universal suffrage refers to the right that all adults are able to vote, subject to some exceptions.

Exceptions in countries include assessing a person’s mental capability to vote, or people convicted in serious crimes. Currently Hong Kong has a lawmaking council, known as the Legislative Council that consists of seventy lawmakers. Professional and special interest groups, most of which are aligned with the agenda of the Chinese government, elect thirty legislators. The remaining forty are voted upon based on the geographical constituency of the city’s population. There are two main principles - quotas and remainders. Quotas refer to the amount of votes that candidates need, whilst remainders refer to when there aren’t enough politicians to fill the quota, a remainder vote will be drawn on previously unselected candidates to give them another chance at taking a seat.

The hypocrisy that the democrats see is that although Hong Kong has implemented the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Central Government is

still opposed to the concept of Universal Suffrage. Back in 2014, the Central Government released a report that stated Hong Kong should be subordinate to the Chinese government. Democrats in Hong Kong also did not see Universal Suffrage offered as an electoral system back when it had been offered by the Central Government to Hong Kong in 2014-15.

From 2014 onwards, the Central Government has made multiple attempts to pass bills that would economically link China and Hong Kong together, which have caused many democrats and citizens to grow wary of the increasing presence that Beijing has over Hong Kong.

Until the ousting of the democrats who were deemed to have insincerely sworn into the Legislative Council in 2016, Pan-democratic legislators had held enough seats to veto most pro-Beijing bills, whilst pro-democratic bills had similarly been turned down throughout the years.

Wong has stated multiple times that he believes that “universal suffrage is the key to solving all of Hong Kong’s social issues”. Wong insists the quality of life that citizens enjoy currently directly stems back to the fact that only fifty percent of the cabinet is directly elected. Wong insists that Hong Kong is fundamentally different from the Occupy protests in liberal-democracies: while the Occupy Wall Street sought to start conversations about transcending liberal-capitalism, Umbrella Revolution was about achieving liberal-democratic reforms to allow everyone to enjoy the right to vote.

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“Without universal suffrage, how can we achieve a better quality of life, and make progress in labour issues and social welfare?” - Wong A few months after the Umbrella Revolution had been shut down, there was an incoming wave of smaller protests in shopping malls along the Chinese border against the Mainland Chinese who visit Hong Kong to buy certain goods and resell them in China. This is known as parallel trading in the local community.

The protests have caused officials in Hong Kong and mainland China to be anxious as both parties believed that although the protests were small in scale, they engendered xenophobic sentiments towards the Chinese “locusts”. Locals continue to blame the government for allowing unlimited visit permits, and for permitting “Sheung Shui Culture” - where store owners in Sheung Shui have been piling stocks of diapers, milk powder, toothpaste, and detergent. To add to the locals’ frustrations, there have been shoppers from the mainland who arrive just to buy household items under Hong Kong’s 0% sale tax (mainland China has a sale tax of 17%) and leave with filled suitcases.

Back in 2008, there was a shortage of infant formula in Hong Kong after the supply in the mainland had been contaminated. The Hong Kong government responded by imposing stronger restriction on formula exports.

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As Hong Kong continues to push for democratisation, it continues to criticize Beijing’s influence on local politics and the collusion between pro-Beijing economic and political elites in Hong Kong. To demonstrate this point, a high profile example would be the verdict that came in late December in 2014, which ended the corruption trial that had convicted the former chief secretaries and the former joint-chairman of Sun Hung Kai Properties. The oligarchs of Hong Kong wield their power over the city, and further highlight their complicity in perpetuating the wealth gap in Hong Kong and decreasing housing affordability for the working- and middle-classes. Although the verdict in December revealed to the public that there had been a large degree of corruption in the real-estate sector, it still has not pushed the government to enforce stronger laws to break down the power imbalance in our society.

Hong Kong is a wealthy city that is known for its “economic freedom”. That said, economic freedom should not be equated with socio-political freedom as the living conditions in Hong Kong are dismal - two hundred thousand people live in cage-homes - and developers frequently downsize the living spaces in the market. Liber Research Community, a grassroots think tank, estimated that the average living space for a person in Hong Kong is 161 square feet.

Before Occupy Central even launched its “dress rehearsal”, there had been a wave of mini-protests against “parallel traders” and the development plan to urbanise at least 85% of the Pearl River Delta region.

Officials and developers have been claiming that the development plan will push forward more intimate cooperation between Hong Kong and Macau. Nevertheless, the localists who have been protesting against “parallel traders” have already channeled their economic dissatisfactions into ethnic ones.

For property developers, Hong Kong’s agricultural lands have traditionally been a gold mine. The government has plans to develop the territory in Northeast New Territories to integrate Hong Kong and Shenzhen into one metropolis. The concept was conjured in 2007 with the aim of shaping Hong Kong and Shenzhen into an “innovation circle”, which would become a joint high-tech hub to out-compete other global cities. However, the integration project has stirred a commotion among the small population of local farmers.

“Hong Kong’s fate has always been closely entwined with the mainland’s economic and political circumstances at different periods” Cho Kai-kai, member of an organic farm in Hong Kong The plan to uproot most of the city’s agricultural land will force Hong Kong to become even more reliant on the Pearl River Delta for basic necessities. According to Cho, only 3% of land in Hong Kong is used for agriculture. In 2010, there was a burst of outrage against the construction of the national rail which would connect all major Chinese cities to Beijing. In return, the building of the rail demolished a farming village in the New Territories. As the integration plan with the Pearl River Delta continues, the Hong Kong government still believes that the development project will solve the housing crisis regionally.

Researchers continue to insist that even when the housing supply in the private sector increases, it will not bring about more affordable prices.

Instead, it will do the contrary - it will continue to benefit the “real-estate oligarchs” and will forcefully remove villagers from their homes.

The government should demonstrate transparency, especially in terms of land reserve figures. Officially, the figure is 4000 hectares. The Liber Research Community has however challenged the misconception that Hong Kong will always be short on land supply. The only method to solve the crisis is for private developers to urbanise and for the government to consider options such as brownfield sites or vacant land.

“Scarcity is relative - the government talks about it as absolute” - Chan Kim-ching, researcher at the Liber Research Community As these issues continue to persist, many still buy into the dominant view that universal suffrage is a crucial step towards resolving Hong Kong’s socio-economic problems. Meanwhile, localists have chosen to privilege ethnic scapegoating at the expense of developing intelligent socio-economic critiques of Hong Kong society. Universal suffrage and chauvinism aside, questions remain: could achieving universal suffrage undermine the power that the city’s oligarchs wield? If not, then how should the democrats go about resolving the numerous socio-economic issues? People who are genuinely interested in reforms may no longer be able to sit aside and watch from afar - so long as the issues remain, the city will not rest.

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透過

杭州

看清中國都市的

想像和現實

By Jocelyn Kwok | Photographs by Lara Carolan

在港长大的我，透过在杭州汉基短短一年的居 住和学习，目睹了中国都市的进步，也体验了想像与现 实中，中国都市的分别。由于中国都市近年来快速的进 步，中国政府和人民也有了对国家都市的想像。

甚么是都市呢？儘管都城设计在中国历史上，历 史悠久，而长安、洛阳、北京等都曾是盛极一时的着名 大都市。但是对现代的都市形象的想像，主要都是来源 于西方的典范。在1929年12月，一则由国民政府所定的 计划堪称是现代中国城市设计的滥觞。西方—— 作为现 代都市设计标竿, 在接下来的八十馀年中，成为中国人都 市想像的主要参照。上海和香港是受西方城市文化薰陶 并结合中国传统文化特色而建立的都市，成为中国不同 年代对现代都市想像的根据。在1930年代的上海，有各 国建筑云集的外滩，有商品琳琅的百货大楼，有小资风 情的咖啡馆，还有声色犬马的舞厅，这些场所点缀着这 个大都会熙熙攘攘的忙碌白昼与灯火电焰的浮华夜晚。 这既是1930年代的上海，也是1960年代的香港，以至 1970年代之后中国人对于都市的「新」想像 。

在2010年的上海，中国与多名成员国在世界博 览会里见证了中国历史上重要的一步。以城市为建筑主 题的世界博览会在上海盛世举办。世博会以后现代的建 筑风格和材料，它以媒介景观，人工生态勾引了人类对 未来城市的憧憬。在世博会的官方描述中，未来的城市 将会是一个斑斓的梦幻都市：「在『花园之城』，城市 的街道都成为孩子的运动场；在『知识之城』，我们不 用学习就能过学会所有知识；在『天空之城』，我们在 天上长大，然后直接去太空；最后，在『能源之城』， 城市汽车所产生的能源足够供应整个社会。」在这场以 媒介呈现中介的都市幻想展上，未来城市的一切看来都 十分美好璨烂，与世博会的口号：「城市，让生活更美 好」互相呼应。 「让生活更美好」不但是一个对未来城 市的期望，也是中国政府对这三十年来中国城市化发展 的总结。 56

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现在，从各大着名的中国都市裡，我们都能看见 从古至今，所有的美景都能收囊眼皮下，都市裡 拥有着应有尽有、不同建筑风格的建筑，从杭州 来福双塔到西湖 ，人民能目睹到中国历史上大有 名声的建设，也能看到充满未来城市气息的高楼 大厦和建筑。

「大」与「高」大概是中国人对现代城市 的最初想像,因为城市空间有别于「阡陌交通,鸡犬 相闻」的乡村景象。都市化意味着对高楼大厦、 车水马龙景观的追逐。当旧城区不能容纳日益增 长的人口和配合城市发 展的需要时,郊区、新区、 衞星城市 就成为城市延伸的四肢。城市规模的扩 大对应的是不断涌入的移民。 截至2013年底,北京 常住人口突破 2,114 万,上海更是突破了 2,400 万。 这其中超过三分之一的人口并非本地人口,更遑论 每天不断涌入这些巨型城市的流动人口。人口聚 居是城市得以成型的基础,而膨胀的人口更为城市 的扩张煽风点火。 人口流动需要交通工具以及连 接地方的交通网络 。改革开放初期,中国一度被称 为「自行车上的国家」。然而,当中国的大门敞开 之后,城市规模的扩大、城市居民收入的提高,使得 自行车已经不能满足人们的出行需求,「自行车王 国」开始向「汽车王国」迈进。2013年,中 国的汽 车拥有量已经超日赶美,高踞全球第二,而私车拥有 量已经轻鬆过亿。

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「汽车轮上的国家」这一曾经专属于美国的称号,也提早成为今日中国都 市的写照。 如果说汽车象徵的是私人交通的加速,那么飞快搭建起的公路 和铁路网络,则象徵着城市内部、城市之间日益紧密的纽带。在中国经济 最活跃的长三角,每天数百时速可达 300公里的高速列车在沪宁杭的铁路 线上飞驰,它们像是中国城市化过程中奔腾的血液,通过不断铺开的血管网 覆盖这片土地。对长三角的城市来说，「1-2小时生活圈」不再是一种想 像,而是触手可及的现实。时空的压缩不仅仅体现在城市 平面的扩展上,向 天空迈进是拓展城市空间的另一种方式。摩天大楼现已成为都市化的象 徵,而建筑物的高度也成了国家和城市力量的标志。

城市对于很多中国人(尤其是年轻人)来说,不仅仅是一个想像的空 间,还是可能性的象徵,是容纳 现代生活方式的舞台,它通向机会、 权力、 财富以及所有可以想像的成功。「走,到纽约去」曾经是二十世纪初全世 界人们奔向梦想的号角,它成就了卡 内 基、洛 克 菲 勒和千千万万不知 名、但曾经除了梦想便 一无所有的人们,使他们共同塑造了二十世纪的美 国神话。在今天中国, 这个追逐梦想的口号变成了「到北京去」、「 到 上海去 」。 那些奔向大城市的年轻人所想像的是乡村和城镇所不能给予 的机会和施展才华的舞台。随着城市化深入的发展,愈来愈多的年轻人意 识到城市应是摆脱传统束缚的捷径，是走向自由、开放、 包容，以及多 元的生活方式的道路。 在2014年初，中国最有影响力的自媒体平台之一 「腾讯.大家」掀起了一场有关大小城市的辩论：究竟是大城 市的繁华忙 碌更令人嚮往,抑或小城市的恬澹安逸更使人着迷？站在不同的角度,每个 人都对此问题有横看成岭侧成峰的感慨。 大城市,不再是千人一面追逐的对象，它 变成了个人权衡和抉择的角斗场,不同于 对大城市高楼大厦、车水马龙的想像，也 不再仅仅将大城市看作通向权力和财富的 康庄大道。那些依然渴望留在大城市的人 更加珍视的是大城市在文 化上的多元和 包容。如这一场辩论中的一位辩者说道: 「大城市的空气很糟交通很堵，但比较起 来,起码当你身处五道口或者南京东路,没 有一个人会因为你单身，是同性恋，新年 没和丈夫团聚而留下来停留一秒钟，这种 情况在亲戚家却会遭到无休止的盘问。」 在这样的想像中，中国的城市化和现代化 捆绑在一起，继续吸引着无数的年轻人。

中国人几十年前对城市的美好 憧 憬与想像,在今天变成了可见可触碰的现 实,但现实往往有丑陋的一面,城市并不如 想像般美好。这可以称为「城市想像」的 辩证法,在想像的层面,城市固然象徵了文 明、进步、多元、包容以及更加舒适的生 活,但这样的想像还有另外一面：贫困、 拥挤、孤独、忙碌以及日益恶化的生态环 境。在某一部中国大陆爆红的电视剧里讲 述了在大城市奋斗的年轻人，为了买房， 为了买车，为了能过体面的生活，而不惜 做情妇、傍高官的故事。 剧中情节反映 出千千万万在大城市奋斗的年轻人的生活 现实：他们或有知识，有文凭，有能力， 工作体面，衣着光鲜，但依然吃着廉价的 盒饭，租住着五环外的小隔间，每天侧身 在拥挤的地铁中。

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这是发生在北京、上海、 广州、深圳 的故事,也是中国所有大城市的缩影。即 便是富人，也未必在城市得到 真正美 好的生活。城市里的汽车愈来愈多，交 通却愈来愈堵。在北京、上 海等一线 城市,堵车已经成为城市新风景。2013年 6月，北京地铁的日均客流量就突破了 1000万，如果按照每人每天出入 两次地 铁计算，每天有 500 万人穿梭在北京的 地铁之中，这几乎是两个巴黎的人口。 拥堵的交通令汽车、行人都寸步难行。 这是「流动的现代性」的反讽，城市的 交通愈是发展，蜂拥的人流就愈是难以 动弹。 拥堵的交通使城市流动被压缩的 时间又重新延长，而如虫蚁般繁殖的汽 车和大量的工业排放则令废气充盈了空 间。在今天中国，生态环境的恶化成了 城市不能迴避的创伤。 在2013年12月， 中国东部城市遭遇了 入冬以来最严重的 雾霾天气，北京、天津、河北、河南、 安徽、江苏、 浙江、上海的雾霾结成 了一大片，掩盖了中国的东部。雾霾严 重的时候,部分城市的能见度不足百米。 加速的城市化，日夜赶工的工厂，愈来 愈多的汽车，就像加了风箱的烟蒂，不 断地向城市释放着毒气。

都市是一种特殊的空间，是想像与真实的结合。在中国 的城市想像中，城市不仅仅是高楼大厦，车水马龙，而最终指 向一种美好生活的想像，它是通向自由、开放、多元、平等、 机会和公义生活的渠道。在以后的日子，中国各大城市定会向 未来的憧憬迈步，各个方面会更加发达，很有可能代替香港在 世界金融业上的地位。可是与环境保护相比，中国迅速的发展 是否更重要呢？

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日食

By Jennifer Zhang | Illustration by Kristen Wong

美国在两个月之前的八月二十一日发生了激动 人心的日食，被称作 “伟大的美国日食”。这一 场日食是自从1918年首次从美国西海岸横穿东 海岸的日全食。为此，美国当地的居民都为观 看这一次天文奇迹做好了充分的准备, 在日食 当天聚集在了沿海的沙滩和空旷的空地里仰望 天空。观看日食的群众们都带上了专门观看日 食的日食眼镜，以防灼伤眼睛角膜，而且还取 出了手机和相机，记录下这罕见的奇观。日全 食首先出现在俄勒冈州，然后逐渐在爱达荷， 蒙大拿，怀俄明，密苏里，伊利诺，肯塔基， 田纳西，佐治亚，北卡罗来纳和南卡罗莱纳出 现，整个过程大概90分钟。而在这说长不长， 说短不短的九十分钟内，饱含了民众们惊讶， 震撼，疑惑和新奇等种种情绪。 日食为何如此激动人心？而日食到底是什么？ 日食是一种天文现象，是由月亮，地球，和太

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阳的运行关系而造成的一种现象。当月球的位 置在地球和太阳之间，处于一条直线的时候， 日食便会发生，因为此时月亮正好挡住了太阳 向地球射出的管线。而且，日食还分成了四个 种类，日全食，日偏食，日环食和全环食。日 全食是当月球正好到达一个固定的区域，刚好 遮住了太阳，通常只能在地球很小的一片区域 才能观看到，出现频率也比较少。日偏食是当 太阳的一部分被月亮的阴影所遮挡，通常伴随 着日全食发生。日环食是当月球还没有达到和 太阳完全重合的距离，所以太阳的边缘仍然环 绕于月球边缘。全环食发生的时候，会接连出 现日环食，日全食，日环食，也比较罕见。 虽然现在人们对于日食有了逐渐的了解和研 究，古代的人们对于日食曾有他们的猜想和迷 信。古时的人一般对于日食都有负面的看

法和理解，编织成的日食谜也大多都是关于 鬼神和厄运的。印度人以前曾相信日食的来 临是因为有一个被斩了尸首的神明，斩下的 头升上天吞下了太阳，而相似的中国民间传 说 “天狗食日” 也包括了吞食太阳的情节。 北美的印第安人也有类似关于日食的谜，说 是有一头熊一口咬掉了太阳。有了这些信仰 的人们，在日食发生的时候也会做出一些现 代人看来滑稽可笑的应对措施，比如说对天 大声喊叫，或者向天空射箭驱赶天上的野兽 等等。可以看出，古代人因为对于日食有限 的了解和科学依据的缺乏使他们在无知中惧 怕。 而用想象的故事来填补这种无知和惧的 他们，因为得不到结论和解释而投向想象的 一种应对方式。

内，人类发明了种种科学仪器，通过实验和 理论、探索了大自然的许多奥秘，其中也包 括近期发生的日全食。虽然世界所有的疑问 还没有全部被揭开，但是我们正是带着这一 些疑问迅速地推进科技的发展。正因为这种 对未知的向往和知识的渴望，推动着我们飞 速前进，运用科学和知识来解开一系列的谜 题。 所以，我们不止期待下一次日食的来临。人 类向未来迈出的下一个脚印，不也是同样值 得期待的吗？

生活在当今的人们，比起以前，对世界的各 种现象拥有越来越深刻的了解。仅仅几百年

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传说中恐怖的语言A，究竟是事 实的扭曲还是压力下的心理暗示

By Larina Cong | Photographs by Chih Ning Kuo

在香港的一所国际学校中，有一种广为 流传的变态课程，叫做语言A。传说， 去了语言A的同学，无一不对中文课恨 之入骨，在课上的每一分钟都是煎熬， 充满了绝望。。。 今天我就带大家一探 究竟，看看众说纷纭背后的真相。 作为一个一直在语言A亲身体验过的同 学，首先我要明确的澄清一点，语言A 并不是大家传言中的地狱。大家所听到 的传言，不过是学生在压力下对自己的 心理暗示，从而导致了对语言A的抗拒 和恐惧罢了。 语言A的教学内容其实和我们平常的英 语文学课差不多，不同的材料主要是一 些现代作品，例如诗歌，散文，小说等 等。而分析是语言A教学的重点，无论 教材是什么，最终的任务都是分析，并 以不同的形式进行考核，如口头分析， 写作分析等等。导致很多同学适应不了 的一点，就是语言A和六级的巨大差距。 由于他们的水平远远高于六级的同学， 却与语言A也有很大差距，导致他们在 这区间里徘徊游荡，在中文学习中无所 适从，从而觉得语言A是个噩梦。在我 身边就有很多这样的同学，他们的中文 水平已经很高，但没有达到分析文学作 品的程度，不甘留在六级，却又怕被语 言A大量的文本分析压得喘不过气，进 退两难。那么这些同学一定希望学校可 以提供一个语言A预备班，给那些想要 进语言A却能力还有限的同学们。

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看似复杂多样的文本，其实也就 是普通的故事，耐下心来一点点 仔细的读完，就会发现其中的奥 秘。而到了分析的部分就更简单 了，只要你把文章读懂，套用老 师教给你的评论格式，并且记住 一些专业术语，看似头疼的文本 分析就必然会引刃而解。 对于语言A，如果说要提一个个 人意见，那么就一定是对传统 文化的涉及甚少。语言A看似学 的很深，却只局限于对现代文 本的分析。而其特点导致缺少语 文本身的精髓，对中华传统文化 几乎毫无涉及，如唐诗宋词文言 文等。作为香港国际学校的学生 们，在这个高速发展的社会，已 经渐渐淡忘对博大精深的中国文 化的重视，千百年来古人们智慧 的精髓，在这个所谓精英遍布的 社会里却已被忽略。在大陆的学 校里，语文课一半或以上的内容 都是古诗古文，同学们虽需要花 大量时间背诵原文及注释，却在 无形中加深了对文化的领略和自 身修养。随便在这个学校里找一 个语言A的学生，能背出少量古

诗的少之又少。而大陆的学生们 则相反，从唐诗到宋词，从岑参 到李清照，从白雪歌送武判官归 京到蝶恋花，无一不张口就来， 背的滚瓜烂熟，铭记于心。 所以，语言A并不是传说中的噩 梦，去掉所谓的心理暗示，只要 认真下功夫都能实现自己的中文 梦。

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A STUDY OF

by Emily Xia and Josephine Yip | Illustration by Caterina Jacobelli

Working Parents by Josephine Yip In a series of anecdotes and personal tips, Year 9 writers Josephine Yip and Emily Xia identify and ruminate on the filial relationships we have today. This article shows us that whatever the context be, small steps to embracing filial piety can help us nurture our relationships.

If both of your parents work at a full-time job, this can be both good and bad. An anonymous CIS student has expressed that though both of her parents work, she is still closer to her mom than she is to her dad. That is because her mom usually returns home by 8pm, hence allowing time for them to bond and chat, whereas the dad went on more business trips.

First of all, what is Filial Piety? It is respecting your elders, especially your parents. Filial piety - the concept of � - was first introduced around the Qin dynasty, when the scholar Confucius’ teachings first gained widespread recognition, and has continued circulating in Chinese culture. Confucius tells us to honor our parents and older family members. In the movie Mulan, a respect for one’s ancestors is depicted in its tribute to Chinese culture, with characters praying to them in times of need and even building shrines to convey their respect. However, filial piety is not necessarily a one-way road. In fact, many Western cultures have taught us how to maintain a peaceful parent-child relationship through mutual respect.

As can be seen in the example above, one big problem with having working parents is that it may cause a more estranged relationship between the child and the parent because of a lack of understanding and communication. Having one working parent can also cause the parent-child relationship to be unbalanced, with the child being more comfortable with one parent than with the other. This can arguably lead to non-ideal familial circumstances, as the child may gradually gravitate towards a stronger connection with the stay-at-home parent.

Parent-child relationships are not all the same. There are many factors that could affect your relationship with your parents and your whole family, including siblings and work. As is most relevant in our case, school is yet another influential factor that plays into the dynamic of these filial relationships. CIS students are therefore perfect examples for a study of filial piety, and how it functions in our immediate surroundings today.

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Another issue with working parents is that the child may also start to neglect his/her homework as there is no one to supervise them and ensure that they are completing their responsibilities as a student. We suggest that working parents should be more aware of the time that they spend at work and try to make up for it by getting home early enough to eat dinner with their children. They should also try to take breaks from work during holidays and weekends to express their care for their children.

Here are a few tips for all of you out there who feel that your working parents do not spend enough time with you. You can try to make use of technology.

When your parents are out of town on business trips, you can always video call them or text them to inform them of anything important. Bond during dinnertime and holidays. Make sure that every week, the whole family eats a meal together at least twice.

FILIAL PIETY This can help create a more united and harmonious family. Most importantly, cherish your time with them.

When it is their birthday, put in effort to make them a card, or buy them a present. The more you convey and express your love to them, the more they will return that love to you. Try hard to foster this relationship and eventually it will work out.

However, not all students in CIS have working parents.

I, for example, have a strict ‘home mom’. You might think that this solves every problem, as home moms can both stay at home with you, thus cultivating a closer relationship, and watch over their child no matter what goes wrong. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Non-Working Parents by Emily Xia Are you familiar with the term “tiger mom”? This is a type of mom that pressures you to do work, has a tendency to quiz you on everything, and has a very, very, very high expectation of your academic achievements.

Home moms can express their care in vastly different ways. It could be watching movies with you everyday, and having heartfelt conversations at every meal, or, it could be the constant nagging of ‘homework’ and grades and being more obedient. There is a thin line between the lovable ‘home mom’ and the terrifying ‘tiger mom’. For some, there is indeed little difference.

Students, understand that the constant nagging is also a form of love. When I grew up, my mom was a healthy variation of both. However, I have also had the talk of the dreaded ‘pencil’. It goes something along the lines of: “If you do not bring a pencil to school, you cannot do homework. If you cannot do homework, you will fail your tests. If you fail your tests, you will not be able to get into a good university. If you do not get into a good university, you will not get a good job. If you do not have a good job, you will not be able to make money. If you cannot make money, you will not be able to feed your family. If your family does not get fed, then all of you will die of starvation.” This famous, or should I say infamous saying, has been widely circulated in pop culture due to its relatability and prevalence.

It all sounds very dramatic, does it not? Yet, parents say it all the time. Let me give you a tip: home moms are good supervisors and good confidantes, but do not, let me repeat, do not let them overstep the boundaries.

Yes, there is a magical line where enough is enough. A small reminder is good, but independence is important.

If you rely on your parents forever, you’ll never grow up. And no, you won’t be Peter Pan. Talking of Peter Pan, didn’t he have a family of orphans as his brothers? Let me tell you now: siblings can also have a drastic effect on parent-student relationships.

We have all heard of the lack of love from working parents, but there is also a thing called too much love.

When parents constantly asks their children to eat more, or when they continuously tell them to wear warmer clothes, these reminders can get so annoying that students stop noticing them all together. There is an old Chinese proverb that means if you do too much of something, the effects will only be reversed. Too much care and attention could cause people to take everything for granted. If one grows up under such circumstances, I’m inclined to think that one might think that the world revolves around them. And that is definitely not the case.

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Siblings by Emily Xia

This category of filial relationships involves your older sisters, baby brothers, and even twin sisters. They can strengthen your relationship with your parents, or conversely, they could drive the relationship apart.

One commonly encountered problem is parents having a favorite child. Now, this is not rare at all. Especially in the eyes of a child, some parents may seem to like one of their children better than the other, whether it becuase he or she is smarter, funnier, or more athletic… I could go on and on. This can lead to a green eyed monster emerging- jealousy. A child might be jealous of a precious relationship between his or her sibling and their parent. It is a natural reaction. The only thing I can say to parents is this: Don’t have a favorite child. Parents, you can secretly like one child more than the other, but do not show it by giving more presents to one rather than the other.

Students, do not be ashamed of your feelings, but do not encourage them either.

Another even more commonly encountered sibling-related phenomenon links back to the tiger moms. Have you ever watched ‘Expectations vs.

Real Life’ videos? They are always humorous, are they not? However, the truth is that expectations exist all around us. For instance, if you are the middle child, you may be expected to care for a younger sibling and overpass your older sibling. If you are the eldest, you must be a ‘model’ for your brothers and sisters to look up to. If you are the youngest, you carry the burden of overpassing all your predecessors.

Given this inevitable paradigm, we believe that parents should not pressure children into competing with another. While being competitive is good, a child should never feel like parents are forcing them to always be perfect.

So how do you achieve a ‘perfect’ relationship with siblings? Of course, there is no such thing as perfect, but you should always strive for it, if you have the time. First of all, learn from your older siblings. Accept that they have lived longer, and have more ex-

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perience than you. Older siblings can give you useful tips, whether it be an easier way of memorizing the multiplication tables, or ways to appease your parents. Second of all, have fun together. Cherish your relationship with them, for not all people have other people to rely on. I’ve always felt grateful for my brothers and sisters. When I am bored, I can always hang out with them or simply seek conversation. Siblings should group together, and comfort each other in times of need.

Again, an age-old of chinese Wisdom would perhaps be relevant. “A long, long time ago, an old father had eight children. The children always fought and argued, and never had a day of peace together. So, the ancient father became furious with his horde of angry children, and decided to teach the kids a lesson. He brought eight sticks and told each child to break the stick. Each child broke the single stick easily. The father then took eight new sticks and bound them together. He told the children to break them again, and this time, not matter how hard they heaved and strained, they could not break it. The brothers finally understood what their wise father was trying to tell them: There is strength in unity.”

So yeah, stick together. Get it?

However, what if you have no one to stick to? What if, all you have is yourself and your parents? Well, you are not alone. In fact, the remaining 37.5% of Hong Kong families are one-child families.

Only Children by Josephine Yip

Being an only child is drastically different from having siblings. As you can see in many movies, siblings can be very close and tight-knitted, the best of friends ever, like Annie and Hallie in the Parent Trap. So how can having a childhood alone affect someone’s parent-child relationship?

When we consider this scenario, a lot of negative connotations may arise. Such as the one that states that being an only child can be quite demanding.

Parents can often put all their hopes on their only child, causing pressure on the child to live up to their expectations. Whether it’s telling their child to major in law or go to medical school, or making sure that they achieve the highest grade possible in every subject, this can cause a relationship to go downhill.

Everyone has their own passions, interests and talents, and not every child is good at the things that their parents are not so good at or the things that their parents didn’t get to do. Spending large amounts of time doing extra-curricular activities and work can cause the child to become even more isolated. Just because the child is in group lessons does not mean that he or she gets to interact and have free play with other children. As Mr Kalsi, a teacher at CIS, always says, humans were born to be social creatures. Facing your parents and no one else all day can be a very depressing thing, and eventually cause wounds in the relationships that cannot be healed. The child may get “bored” of their so-called “friends”, hate their parents’ actions, or just get very frustrated.

Of course, there are two sides to every penny. Being an only child does not have to be negative. As children grow up without anyone in the same “generation” as them to interact with, they should treat their parents as their closest confidante and playmate. Parents should know this, and create a strong bond in an early stage. It could be simple actions like bringing you to other friends’ houses, or playing games with you. I, for example, have a home mom with no siblings. As my mom is a psychologist and takes interest in children counseling and parenting, I am quite a lucky child. Yes, I know how to be grateful. Contrary to many stereotypes, only children are

not always self-centered and spoilt brats. Please, never make this assumption.

As an only child, I have a very close relationship with my parents, especially my mom. As a toddler, she often took me to the park and played along with my childish games of cooking and whatnot.

However, this can cause a lack in the child’s social skills in interacting with their peers. But old habits die hard. Without anyone else to talk to, I always told my mom everything that I saw and everything that has happened at school. Even when I tried to keep things in to avoid nagging as mentioned above, things eventually came out and that might be a good thing. Talking about something makes you feel better. With these habits, the parent can know and understand more about the child’s feelings and daily life, creating a strong bond between the family.

Little things like words of comfort or wisdom and make a big difference in coping with difficulties in life and the child will eventually realise this and develop a lifelong gratitude towards their parents.

All in all, parent-child relationships are important in keeping a family together and our responsibility to uphold filial piety, no matter how substantial these efforts may be, is an important aspect in this.

Relationships can vary drastically, but remember that respect is always the key. It is your actions that determine the final result. Do not hate your parents for high expectations, as they really just want you to succeed in life. Parents, remember to lighten up, and remember how it was like when you were a child.

Learn from past mistakes, swallow your pride, forgive, forget and respect.

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Since globalisation ‘managerialism’ refers to the usage and application of a business model to measure different factors (accountability, efficiency, and sometimes surveillance) on education. As many education systems develop, managerialism has an increasingly profound impact on the structure of education systems. The previous primary goal of achieving student happiness is now secondary to the primary need of attaining high exam results - factors that could influence this includes the governmental desire to prioritise economic growth and the natural influence from globalisation.

GROWTH MINDSET

THE BEAUTY OF A

By Francisca Lam Photographs by Eloise Oliver

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H

ong Kong is known for fostering an “exam culture” where students

are put under extreme pressure to do well in exams. The imposition of

this culture is more imminent than ever as exams have an increased

amount of importance on society now. Many educational institutes now have a shifted focus on results, and a higher desire for student academic success.

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As managerialism affects the society, it inherently pushes students towards achieving academic success, even if it means putting in more time and effort outside of class to achieve so.

A recent survey shows that most students in Hong Kong go for tutoring lessons after school- 54% of students in Form 3 (the Year 10 equivalent) and 72% of students in Form 6 (the Year 13 equivalent). The results demonstrate that students are under a certain pressure- the time where they previously would have been able to enjoy something of their interest may be taken away due to extra tuition classes that push them towards the ultimate goal of academic success. But Hong Kong is not the only city (and country) to have such a pressurising exam culture. Schools in England create a similar pressuring environment for students to study in. Parents and workers in the educational field should be worried about the damaging effects that the pressuring exam culture can bring to students.

“

Good exam scores are important, but the hothouse atmosphere and the paranoia that can create can be damaging

”

- Richard Harman, chairman of the Boarding Schools’ Association

To put this into context, there has been a 59% increase in self-harmers in the year of 2010-2011, which is a double of the year previously. The statistic becomes increasingly important as researchers begin to find correlations between mental health and academic stress. The Nuffield Foundation reports a double in teenagers with rising mental health problems, and the Samaritans (British-based) have found that 70% of the teenagers who engage in acts of self-harm

and with accompanying suicidal thoughts stem their problems back to academic problems. Astonishingly, the figure from academic problems is much higher than other figures from problems that stem from relationships, parental issues, or bullying.

students and children to change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, and to develop skills and strengths for them to become resilient people in the future and have them understand that their skill-set is largely beyond the boundaries of a number or a letter grade.

In 2006, Margaret Lee and her colleagues in the Chinese University of Hong Kong found a correlation between suicidal thoughts and test anxiety, which stemmed from parental dissatisfaction based on how the students performed academically. This correlation was further investigated further in a later study in 2009

by Lee when she surveyed 3383 students on the same subject on the correlation between academic pressure and an adolescent’s mental health.

People with a fixed mindset usually believe that they are good at something, or they are not. They believe that being “good at something” derives from a person’s inherent nature because a person is who they are born to be. On the other hand, people with growth mindsets believe that anyone can do anything because of their own actions. The differences between the two mindsets are extremely subtle, but the effects are long-lasting.

A person with a fixed mindset would find any form of trouble to be devastating towards them. They will eventually talk themselves into giving up, instead of trying to learn from this process and take one failure as feedback, which is what a person with a growth mindset would do.

Despite statistics and correlations in research, there hasn’t been a single piece of research that can verify that the sole cause of the decline in mental health is because of society’s exam culture. However, it is worth noting because that there isn’t a single root cause to these issues, it is now causing researchers to claim that it is more becoming reasonable and justifiable than it was in previous decades that the growing competitive educational systems are a major contributing factor to these issues. Schools and parents should try to help their

“

One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves, has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality.

”

- Carol Dweck, Mindset

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The two mindsets are fundamental; whichever mindset you inherit affects your behaviour, your relationship with success and failure (professionally and personally), and ultimately, how happy you are. In Carol Dweck’s book Mindset, she found that “the growth mindset is so winsome since it creates a passion for learning, rather than a hunger for approval.” The quality of a growth mindset is that a growth mindset believes that anything, ranging from fundamental human qualities like intelligence and creativity to emotional relations like love and friendship can be cultivated over time if a person deliberately puts in effort to make a conscious change.

People with growth mindsets know that failure isn’t something that will set them back- in fact, they consider every “failure” to be something that can be learned from. Something that they can grow from.

A growth mindset however, doesn’t mean that a person believes that they can do everything. In Dweck’s research, she specifically emphasises on how the developing mind works and identifying methods on how the mind can be reprogrammed.

In Mindset, Dweck reveals the people with fixed mindsets usually see risk and effort as a giveaway of what a person is inadequate at. Essentially, it reveals that people with fixed mindsets inherently come up shorter in one way or another.

In The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz (psychoanalyst and professor at University College London), Grosz discovers that the root of the “stubborn fallacy” of that creative excellence is inherited by birth, and not cultivated through active application of a certain skill could be due to a child’s childhood, and upbringing.

From Carol Dweck and Claudia Mueller’s study

(from 1998), Grosz discovers that today’s culture of excessive parental praise is the driving cause for the destruction of a child’s self-esteem in the future. It cultivates an unhealthy environment for the child and by producing out empty praises, praise essentially has the same effect as criticism- it expresses the indifference of the parent. Rather than giving a child praise or punishment, the presence of a parent is more important.

Presence helps build a child’s confidence by demonstrating to the child that he is deserving of the attention.

An absence in presence demonstrates to the child that an activity is worthless unless if the outcome of the activity leads to praise.

When applying this theory back to the exam culture in Hong Kong, it can be assumed that the only “path to success” is from parental praise- in Hong Kong, parental praise stems from academic success. If students are focused on academic success, it causes

unnecessary pressure and causing a student to feel trapped under the education system in Hong Kong.

Parents often spend a considerable amount of resources on tutorial lessons for a student after school; this causes them to overlook a student’s’ mental and physical health and well-being.

“Being present, whether with children, with friends, or even with oneself, is always hard work. But isn’t this attentiveness- the feeling that someone is trying to think about us- something we want more than praise?” - Stephen Grosz, The Examined Life

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It’s important for teachers and students both to recognise the importance of developing genuine interests and skills, and how to lead a fulfilling life. Our current education system in Hong Kong (DSE) should enter a reformation to better accommodate students and to protect their mental and physical health and well-being whilst striving for academic success. Even without a reformation, it is imperative for students to understand that there is more to life than academic results, and they should be striving to have a well-rounded life.

In 2016, 68128 candidates took the DSE- 24611 students met the minimum requirements to enter any of the universities in Hong Kong. Despite this, the universities only offer a maximum of 15000 places, leaving some students to apply to courses from the Vocational Training Council. Students who “fail” should recognise that although there is a high emphasis on academic success, there is still a place in society for what they are capable of doing.

A student should focus on their growth mindset - focus on the skill-sets that they aren’t familiarised with and strive to get better. They shouldn’t fix themselves to thinking that they are inherently worse than others in a certain subject or skill. After all, the main goal of school is to teach students skills that they can bring

along with them later in life. Although our exam culture breeds high pressure, it is important to not focus all the attention on the negatives of the education system in Hong Kong. Focusing on the negatives will not help rationalise suicidal behaviour found in adolescents in Hong Kong, and it will not normalise suicide especially stemming from difficulties and the high pressure environment.

There are many means to help alleviate the situation on the suicidal behaviour found in adolescents that are inadvertently caused by society. It is imperative for the media to stop simplifying what suicide is- stop labelling and rationalising suicides that are from our exam culture. It is the duty to stop the normalisation of the act of suicide from a student. It should never be “common” for a student to commit suicide because of the environment they were bred in. Educators should discuss the implications of suicide and should take an active role in the student’s’ life- students need to recognise that suicide is not the “exit” from our exam-culture. Finally, parents should remain seized in their child’s life- share what your child loves, and most importantly, let your child know that they are loved regardless of their academic success.

As the times shift, it’s inevitable that the city progresses alongside with globalisation, resulting in Inevitably, there are consequences that follow with such a shift.

We can all contribute to the effort of protecting our youth in this culture - encouraging the youth to shift to a growth mindset. Assist the youth in understanding that there is much more to life than academic successdon’t dwell on the failures that they meet along the road. The ability to learn from a failure is much more valuable and precious than beating yourself up over one minor setback.

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THE JOY OF BAD

By Katherine Yang I Illustrations by Tracy Lee

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e, as a collective society, love the idea of failure and stupidity. Seven-second loops of people falling over in unexpected ways, unfortunate translations on public signs, and bizarrely inconsequential reality show storylines are all specimens of silliness that surprise and delight us to no end. Perhaps one of the most prevalent and fascinating forms of this phenomenon is the joy of bad cinema—our love of movies that are really, truly, objectively atrocious.

What defines the cult classics of a Good Bad Movie (also filed under: So Bad It’s Good)? Firstly: the ‘bad’ part. This is easy: a bad movie is generally indicated by poor technical skill—clumsy direction, cinematography, editing, and sound, unconvincing acting, corny special or visual effects, and so on. Narrative-wise, it has weak narrative structure—for example, plot holes and cliché plot devices or tropes. It is also easily identified by negative critical reception. In a more nuanced distinction, a bad movie often has minimal self-awareness of its ‘badness’, in that it’s clearly striving for seriousness but falls pitifully short. Somehow, despite all this, there’s the ‘good’, which is characterised by its success among cinemagographers— a seemingly inexplicable popularity.

As an aside, a bit of statistical geekery: all of those characteristics are subjective determiners,

but there are ways to make a grossly oversimplified guess as to whether a movie is a ‘good’ kind of ‘bad’ movie or just plain ‘bad’—an objective quantification of taste, if you will. Before deciding to watch a movie, many people will first consult the ratings for that movie. The major sites that determine these ratings are: the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and Letterboxd. For many movies, these ratings will be similar, but the differences become clear when we look at ratings for Good Bad Movies, especially between the two powerhouses of IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Disregarding the algorithms used to find the average rating, the number that IMDb gives depends on user contributions—anyone, from occasional movie-watcher to seasoned critic, can give a rating from 1 to 10, which tends to be more about the entertainment and enjoyability factor. On the other hand, the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes only looks at reviews from professional critics, giving a ‘freshness’ rating depending on what percentage of reviews are generally positive or negative, which tends to be more about the objective quality of filmmaking.

To summarise, a Good Bad Movie can be said to be an entertaining pile of crap, very roughly indicated by ratings that are lower on Rotten Tomatoes and higher on IMDb. The most infamous example of a Good Bad Movie is the legendary 2003 movie: The Room. Directed and produced by Tommy Wiseau, it stars Tommy Wiseau, and the script, written by Tommy Wiseau, follows the tragic relationships between a successful banker, his unfaithful “future wife”, and his best friend. It’s known as the worst film ever made, and on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ consensus describes the movie as “subvert[ing] the rules of filmmaking with a boundless enthusiasm that renders such mundanities as acting, screen writing, and cinematography utterly irrelevant.”

The dialogue is nonsensical, the plot repetitive, the actors amateurish, and the production value is altogether less impressive than some of the films produced by 14-year-old CIS students. In The Disaster Artist, a book that documents the makings of this cinematic marvel, co-writer Tom Bissell remarked, “There’s not often that a work of film has every creative decision made on a moment-by-moment basis be the wrong one.”

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D CINEMA To someone who hasn’t had the painful pleasure of watching this movie, these accolades may sound incredibly intriguing. Though the movie needs to be seen to be believed, perhaps a few simple examples of this cinematic gold can be presented here.

For one, much of the movie serves no purpose: an example can be seen in that it features not only a gratuitous and painfully drawn-out pornographic scene, but four of those scenes in just the first thirty minutes. The rest of the movie, meanwhile, consists primarily of scenes that recycle the same basic content. For another, the movie’s dialogue is incomprehensible; below is an excerpt of one beautifully nonsensical scene. Imagine each of these lines spoken either too late or too quickly, such that they seem out of sync and out of order.

Johnny: (removing sunglasses) Yeah, can I have a dozen red roses, please?

Florist: Oh hi, Johnny, I didn’t know it was you.

Here you go.

Johnny: That’s me! How much is it?

Florist: It’ll be eighteen dollars.

Johnny: Here you go, keep the change. Hi doggy! (pets dog on counter) Florist: You’re my favorite customer.

Johnny: Thanks a lot, bye!

Florist: Bye bye!

Part of our fascination with bad cinema boils down to the genuinely perplexing question: how is it possible to have made a movie this bad? For many fans of a movie like The Room, the joy is not simply in the movie, but more in the why and how of the production. Tommy Wiseau is a notoriously mysterious individual, and this seems to have been reflected in the movie he created. The Disaster Artist describes how Greg Sestero, who plays the best friend, first met Wiseau in an acting class. Their friendship developed and Wiseau was eventually determined to write, produce, and direct his own movie, all while having little to no knowledge of filmmaking. The production process was highly unconventional and tumultuous. For example:

► The script, which, in its original form, was longer and even more incoherent than the final movie, was constantly being rewritten between scenes. ► Mark, the best friend in the story, was named after Wiseau’s favourite actor, Matt Damon, whose name he had misheard as Mark. ►Wiseau’s original intention was to reveal his character to be a vampire, but was forced to abandon the idea when the budget could not allow for a flying car. ► Wiseau was allegedly confused between the two formats of 35 mm film and high-definition video, so he spent excessive time and money building a custom rig to house two cameras that were both filming the same shots at the same time. ► Many members of cast and crew dropped the gig in the middle and had to be replaced. The Room saw three separate cinematographers throughout the six months it took to film. One of the principal actors, Kyle Vogt, had to leave midway through the overextended shooting period for a prior acting commitment—they dealt with this by giving the remainder of his role to a completely new character and actor for the final part of the film.

As a result of the instability and unnecessary expenses, the movie cost six million dollars to produce, and most of the four hundred people working on the movie firmly believed it would never be seen by any major audience. “It is like a movie made by an alien,” Bissell writes, “who has never seen a movie but has had movies thoroughly explained to him.”

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The Room is the classic example, but there are countless other movies that demonstrate interesting characteristics of Good Bad Movies. In paracinema—which is an umbrella term for everything outside of the mainstream—there are independent arthouse movies and ‘trash cinema’, such as Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010) by James Nguyen and Fateful Findings (2013) by Neil Breen, but Good Bad Movies can also be seen in the form of more well-known critical failures, such as Godzilla (1998), White Chicks (2004), and Anaconda (1997).

tion—which major celebrities such as Alec Baldwin, Edgar Wright, and Jonah Hill can attest to— and it transcends and subverts convention in such an unbelievable way that it has served as the inspiration for a video game, a dating site, and, if we are to believe Wiseau, a possible Broadway musical.

With all these shortcomings, why, then, do these objectively bad movies give us so much joy? In a negative review of a movie, critic Dave White observed, “If we could all stop for a moment and think about how excellent and uplifting garbage can be, America would rally around this movie like the treasure it is.” Each person’s favourite movies are different, because there exists so much subjectivity and divisiveness in being emotionally moved by a story, or believing in the genius of one director over another, or thinking something is funny or beautiful or important, or any myriad of factors in regards to taste. On the other hand, bad movies are universal. Any person can look at the actors in Birdemic aggressively swatting at hovering, flapping, and exploding cartoon vulture sprites, accompanied by intense fight music, and lament the death of good cinema. Indeed, this spirit of unity is often harnessed by fans of bad cinema, most notably in the case of The Room. Screenings of the movie, which show no signs of stopping even 14 years after the film’s release, are in no way recommended for first-time viewers, as the focus is not on the movie itself, but rather, the audience’s interaction with and enthusiastic mockery of the movie. Audience members will come dress up as the characters, yell responses and commentary throughout the movie, and throw plastic spoons at the screen. The most entertaining of screenings feature appearances by the man himself—Wiseau will often give a Q&A before screenings, which apparently ends with his recital of a Shakespearean sonnet. This excitement over trashing the film resembles a cult-like or mob mentality. It’s a thrill to be part of the conversa-

There’s a lot to be learned about good movies from watching bad movies, for both aspiring filmmakers and casual cinephiles. Most viewers have a general, intuitive sense of why these movies are terrible, and it can be a fun exercise to identify exactly what elements make it so. In Birdemic, there’s an exchange between two characters on the street that is laden with sound holes. From this, we’re reminded of the placement of microphones, room tone, and ambience sound, which all help maintain consistency when cutting together different shots of the same scene. In Fateful Findings, two characters have a heated conversation, which is undermined by stilted cuts that completely contain the video and audio of each character speaking. From this, we’re made aware of the invisible cuts—in editing terminology, J-cuts and L-cuts—that overlap video and audio in order to make the conversation feel seamless. (A common tip to help with directing flow through editing is to imagine yourself as an observer of the conversation, and cut each time you would turn your head to see someone speak.) In The Room, non-sequiturs, inane subjects, and isolated pieces of information are prevalent throughout the script, and the result is that the audience doesn’t understand or care about the characters, rendering the movie more or less pointless. From this, we come to a more difficult lesson about writing dialogue that matters in order to craft characters that feel real, drive the movie forwards, and reveal insights into the

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In addition to the community, bad movies also have a more personal impact, in that, through its extreme contrast to good movies, watching and appreciating a bad movie can affirm the viewer’s sense of good taste.

themes. As an extension to this, bad movies often feature heavy-handed, moralistic messages, delivered with all the subtlety of a brick, and it comes off as a paltry effort to elevate the superficial material.

Screenwriting, we learn, is therefore a struggle to present your viewpoint as a filmmaker through real characters and stories, in a way that provokes the viewer to think deeply in an attempt to find their own answers to the questions posed.

As entertaining as they are, bad movies, even the best kind of bad movies, are not at all more valuable

than critically acclaimed good movies. However, they certainly cannot be underestimated, especially in terms of their community, their educational value, and thus the insight they provide into how we assign value in terms of media that entertains and fascinates us. Regardless, if this article has impressed upon you nothing else, let it be only that you would be doing yourself a favour by watching the legend—the masterpiece—the Citizen Kane of bad movies—The Room.

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THE STATE OF In the most simple terms, education is the process of instruction that allows people to gain knowledge. To many in the developing world, it is a way out of poverty and into the middle class. To many in the developed world, it is a system by which they learn about the world and which they use to maximise their own opportunities in life. To most families across the world, giving their children the best education possible is a top priority, and thus through this article I’ll be examining how various countries, organisations and families have been trying to achieve this goal. Quality of education is still split by national and socio-economic lines, and thus in different areas of the world and even in different regions of a single country, concerns are vastly different. Thus, the article will be split into three key areas: education in the third world, where universal access to education is the key goal; education for the middle and upper classes, where quality of education is at the forefront of discussion; and higher education, where the rising cost of education is giving families much cause for concern.

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Education in Third-World Countries In many third-world and developing countries, getting a good education is seen as a way to improve one’s chances at employment, to get out of the poverty cycle. ‘Quality Education’ was even one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon in 2015.

However, the success in providing basic primary education to all children is faltering in the third world. Global donor support for basic education has decreased markedly over the last few years, from USD 8.1 billion in 2011 to 7.6 billion in 2015. More of this funding is now being directed at post-secondary education, and less is being directed at the poorest countries. Many teachers hired to work in newly built schools in regions such as sub-saharan Africa and South America are untrained, leading to a poorer quality of instruction and thus a lesser quality of learning on the part of the student. Students can still be discriminated against based on gender: in 2016,

By Ian Choi Photographs by Gioia Cheung

GLOBAL EDUCATION

while most countries decreased the disparity between male and female literacy rates, most of them do not have complete gender parity: countries like Ghana (0.931 girls to every 1 boy) took steps towards gender equality, others like Chad (0.618 girls to every 1 boy) still lag behind.

Children often drop out after primary schooling, while those who stay until secondary are even more likely to do the same. To make matters worse, recent years have seen no change in the number of out-of-school children: UNESCO estimated this number to be around 264 million in 2015. The socioeconomic status of a family can also limit a child’s education. Families from poorer parts of society are less able to afford schooling, and also need their children to help them with housework and farming.

Further issues include the long distances many children have to travel to reach their school, conflict preventing children from being able to learn in a safe environment, and the lack of facilities to teach children in.

There is still hope, however, and change has already been taking place. The Global Partnership for Education, for example, recently supported Sudan with a grant of US $76.6 million in 2016, with the aim of improving students’ learning environment, providing textbooks, and improving the management and planning of the country’s education system. In African countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya, the abolition of school fees has allowed people to attend school with minimal impact on their family income. UNICEF’s Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children is working to help countries with policies that work to address the problems of exclusion in developing countries. And of course, the hundreds of NGOs that have worked in regions such as Africa have helped provide education opportunities and worked to improve the quality of instruction as well. Increased awareness of the real problems that plague Africa’s numerous education systems are gradually changing the continent for the better.

Education in the Middle and Upper Classes

As one would expect, the concerns of people living in the upper classes of society are quite different when compared to those of the developing world. Discussions often revolve around topics that we CIS students are much more used to hearing about. In developed or nearly developed countries such as the US and China, discussions are usually in regard to two things: first, the split between public and private schooling, and secondly, the best way to teach a child.

Looking at public schooling systems across the world, a great number of countries offer free primary schooling: in addition to Western nations such as Germany, New Zealand and the US, even many developing nations like Nigeria and Brazil see it as a worthwhile investment. Most countries also offer their own national curriculum. However, while public schooling has been seen as a generally good thing, there are a few criticisms of these systems, especially in developed countries. Most notably, many see this free education as being influenced by the political needs of the ruling party, and thus deduce that the cost of ‘free education’ lies within the fact that it imbues children with the ruling party’s beliefs and values. Additionally, in countries such as the US, public schools are incredibly underfunded and thus are just not able to keep up with students’ needs. And while primary schools are state-sponsored in most countries, free secondary education is not offered in many parts of the world. It is not provided in most of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in China, India and a few other countries in southern Asia. In China in particular, the state-sponsored education system has been put under scrutiny: while

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tuition-free primary education is declared as a right, in practice many public school students still need to pay school fees.

Meanwhile, private schooling seems to be the education method of choice for rich parents all across the world. Private schools receive no funding, which means much higher school fees and tons of fundraising. They are perceived to be superior in terms of quality of education, which is one of the many reasons it is much more desirable than public education. Despite this, there are many arguments against going to a private school: for one, because public schools are open to anyone, their student bodies are more likely to contain students from a variety of socio-economic background and can give the child a better outlook on society. In contrast, due to the often exorbitant prices of private schools, the people who attend them are almost certainly going to be as rich, or even richer than, the child. Some studies have also come to the conclusion that the autonomy of private schools makes them slower than public schools at teaching students content, since public schools have to stick to a curriculum and schedule.

Regardless of which method is better, the debate between public and private will probably go on forever, so let us turn to the other pertinent discussion: what is the best way to teach a student? In recent years, Western nations have become more aware of Asian education systems, and their superior scores on competency tests such as the PISA have led many countries to attempt reforms in their own schooling systems to put them on par with East Asian countries like South Korea and China.

Meanwhile, eastern countries have been doing the exact opposite, taking the western model of self-directed learning, which aims to foster an interest in each subject, encourage critical and creative thinking, and encourage students to learn to work with others. The usual criticisms of Asian education abound: that its test-oriented programs lead to increased stress for students, that the rote memorization of syllabuses discourages critical thinking and makes individuals unable to engage in self-directed learning. Regardless, further developments in this area will be interesting, especially as Western countries seek to revolutionise their education systems in an increasingly competitive global market.

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Higher Education Higher education refers to the optional education that students can choose to take after secondary schooling.

In most parts of the world, it is referred to by the terms ‘University’ and ‘College’. Despite it being technically optional, most students that graduate from secondary education find themselves going to university, as it is seen as a pathway to getting higher-paying jobs, and thus a way to securing a higher standard of life. Yet, criticisms and debates abound when talking about higher education. One of these is the necessity of it in itself: do you really need a university degree?

In reality, many university degrees lead students into specialisations with few job opportunities. It is arguably the truth that even students with a master’s degree may not be able to find good work in a society. There is a plethora of jobs that don’t require a degree, such as ones that weigh practical experience more than anything else. However, the undeniable truth is that most professional jobs in areas such as engineering, law and medicine require a university education simply given the nature of their work, and if a student wanted to enter these fields, they would have to enrol.

But not all students have the ability to enrol. In the US, the cost of one year in a public university went from around $3,000 in 1998 to a little over $10,000 in 2017, more than a threefold increase. The same thing is happening in other countries. For instance, in the UK, tuition reached a record average high of over ÂŁ9000 in 2017. These rising costs are reflective of the high demand for these institutions in our modern society. Given the perceived importance of college education and the crippling debt that it often causes, many European states such as Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, and (surprisingly) Slovenia have offered free higher education at universities. In states like the UK, students can take out government-sponsored loans for college, which have low interest rates and allow students to be able to attend university without fear of running their family into the dirt.

The worst case in the developed world, though, is by far the US. The privatisation of the college loan program in the United States caused interest rates to skyrocket to practically unsustainable levels: about 70% of college graduates graduate with student debt, and in during Obama’s presidency 8.7 million students were unable to pay their interest, all while total student

loan debt in the States has risen to $1.31 trillion. Betsy DeVos has not made matters any better, further deregulating loan companies and making it easier for them to take advantage of students. One thing is for sure, though. The problems with university education are significant and need to be solved one way or another.

So, what is the state of Global Education today?

Progress is being made to solve the problems that plague every level of education, but there are still many prevalent problems. From the poorest corners of Africa to the Chinese middle class to the upper class millionaires of the United States, everyone has no doubt about the importance of teaching our children. Regardless, nations will never stop trying to improve. After all, children are the future of a country, and educating them properly is essential for protecting their future.

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THE THIRD C U LT U R E KID

By Kaitlyn Wells | Photographs by Evelyn Kwan, Ethan Chen and Isaac Yee

I was born in the US to an American father and Chinese mother, and I moved with my family across the globe to Hong Kong on the brink of turning five. Third culture kids are acculturated by cultures other than their parents’ for a significant number of their formative years, through their environment, other human influences, and the media. The “third culture”, by definition, refers to an amalgam of the culture of the kids’ parents and that of the society in which they are living.

When visualised, the concept does not apply only to the archetypal third culture kid image we conjure - the white and mixed children of Caucasian expats and interracial couples who enjoy the luxury of travelling and living abroad, but also people of any ethnicity, circumstance and socioeconomic class. You could be born in Pakistan to lower-middle class parents, who moved to Hong Kong for a better life and sent you to a Cantonese-speaking local school. You could be a Hong Konger who goes to an expensive Anglophone international school, who barely engages with the local community, and go to a summer school in the US every year. Or

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perhaps, just like rapper Rich Chigga, you could be homeschooled your whole life in Indonesia, yet become so thoroughly Westernized via the Internet that you could rap and sound like an American. While these examples of cultural hybridity are hardly what we have in mind when we think of third culture kids, they more or less live up to the definition that has been set.

Linked with culture can come language, developed either through environment or inheritance. DenizenMag found that 85% of third culture kids can speak two or more languages. Being multilingual is a desired and practical skill, allowing for another depth of understanding so vital for grasping the values, behaviour, customs, and craft of culture, usually achieved thanks to a ‘third culture’ upbringing. Open-mindedness and adaptability are the two main traits that are perceived to be widespread among third culture kids. Having to adapt to shifting cultural environments, third culture kids engage in foreign practices. I think that adjusting to each of the many foreign experiences of Hong Kong culture after moving here, and honing in on a perspective or way to

genuinely admire each of them, has definitely made me more open-minded. To me, it’s wonderful living a cross-cultural lifestyle, especially since it’s naturally cultivated in me a positive and accepting mindset.

Once upon a time, I was totally oblivious to the cultural and ethnic differences that set myself apart from a majority of people. As I grew older, I began to realise how these came to affect the impression this leaves on others, from the language you speak, your accent, your appearance and cultural knowledge. I only recently realised that I find myself feeling more attached to the culture opposite to my environment. In my case, I feel more Chinese when I’m in the West, and feel more American when I’m in the East. In China and the United States, I would always feel half-connected to the people and things around me.

Never an outsider, but never an insider either. Being biracial, I sometimes unwittingly attract eyes that try to figure out what I am, especially in Asia, and particularly in less urban and international areas where the number of foreigners trickle. My relationship with Hong Kong is also one of complexity, because even though I am not speaker of Cantonese, I am nevertheless forever homebound to this place where I have been raised for most of my life.

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Third culture children who live a nomadic lifestyle may be more likely to experience stress from the internal and social strain induced by moving, and finding yourself immersed in an unfamiliar culture. Third culture kids can face great problems when moving to a different community, may it be the grief of separation or pressure of handling the unknown. Losing that sense of environmental familiarity, so significant in the human experience of childhood, can really be difficult, but surely something a third culture kid can learn from. When my five year-old self went to kindergarten in Shanghai for a year in between our transition from New Jersey to Hong Kong, I remember crying throughout the first week of school, because I felt displaced in this alien environment where everyone spoke Mandarin, and I could only really communicate in English. During the Olympic games, my mom would jokingly pressure me into picking a side whenever Hong Kong, China, or the US were ever up against each other. My dad would emphasise the importance that I understand merican history, even when my knowledge of Hong Kong’s current politics and history as a

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British colony is shamefully basic, thus oddly widening the space I felt between myself and the faraway US. When I tell people in China that I come from Hong Kong, I’ll usually have to follow up that statement with “我的爸爸是美國人 , 我的媽媽是中國人” to diffuse the confused looks.

Now there is one question that has the power to give a third culture kid a sensation of dread. It’s probably been in your mind the whole time you’ve been reading: “where are you from?”

That’s the whole reason why sharing my personal experience and outlining my perspective might be helpful. This intimidating, bewildering, ambiguous question is one that not many third culture kids have a definite answer to. Their reply can take many routes, depending on where, by whom, and in what situation it is asked. For third culture kids, it reminds them of their cultural homelessness, in that they are not bound to any one familiar place and culture to which they fully belong - a key contributor to happiness and self-fulfillment.

However complicated your answer may be, I don’t think it’s any hassle or offense when someone asks a question like this out of pure curiosity. Inquiry should always be welcomed, no matter how silly or ignorant it may sound to the person being asked, because exposure, tolerance, and most importantly understanding, is what makes the world go round. It’s actually healthy to practise how to form a response to ‘where are you from’, because what you say out loud and tell others is always derived from some truth, and should be a sincere expression. It forces you to think about and reflect upon your perception of your identity, what you consider yourself to be, and how you choose to portray yourself to others. Although the answers can be easier to find for non-third culture

kids, it definitely doesn’t mean that they are in any way less interesting or settled in terms of self-identity and background.

It’s a significant step forward in the pursuit of self-discovery, given that identity plays a huge role in understanding yourself and recognising your individuality.

After all, everybody has a different familial and personal story to share.

I am a firm believer in a what-you-saygoes policy of expression of self identity. I am not bothered or unnerved by repetitive, crude, or baffling questions like ‘where are you from’, because I’ve grown to know that confusion is okay, and that it’s your own responsibility to ensure that you perceive others as more than just a background, culture, or ethnicity, since everyone would like to be treated that same way. It takes a different amount of time for every third culture kid to finish figuring out how to define their story and background in a handful of words. It’s crucial to maintain a positive, humble, and open-minded approach to such matters of background and belonging.

What we can take away from all this is that no matter your background, how many places you’ve lived, how many languages you speak and ways you identify as, it is always beneficial to maintain a receptive and positive attitude when sharing or learning from others. Exercise this by asking questions, wondering what other people’s lives are like, in families of cultures different from or similar to yours.

Each one is unique - a fingerprint of the land, people and history that comes with it; each one will mean something different to everyone. As Pliny the Elder said almost two thousand years ago, “home is where the heart is”.

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高考那年： 暗戀 。暮沉天阔

By Joyce Jiang | Illustrations by Caterina Jacobelli “高考倒计时200天”… 林暮望着黑板上没有生机的白色粉笔字有些出 神，桌上摊着的练习册还等待着被密密麻麻的 文字填满，她环顾四周，每个人都如行尸走肉 一般。窗外的风呼啸而过，带落一片秋叶。冬天 快来了，也就是传说中的黑色高三，深秋就是高 三第一轮复习进行到中期的时候，各种月考，校 模拟考接踵而来，直到明年三月份的全省第一次 统一模拟的侧刀落下之前，天越来越短，夜越来 越长，睡得越来越晚，成绩越来越飘忽，心情越 来越烦躁....就仿佛，明天永远不会到来一样。十 几岁的少年少女们，像一个个苦行僧一样修炼坚 忍。 林暮走神走到很远才清醒，一偏头，一个熟悉的 高大身影大步流星地从教室的门外经过，不带任 何停留，带着天生的孤傲。太久之前了，久到闭 上眼已经不知道怎样再去勾勒那个太过熟悉却又 陌生无比的背影。都说喜欢一个人是很卑微的， 尤其是在对方根本不知道你是谁的时候。林暮高 二的时候写过一本很厚的日记，日记只有一个内 容，只有一个人。她每天小心翼翼地在校园的走 廊里跟在他身后，将他的一举一动、一言一行、 一颦一笑逐一进行细心描写，甚至她一闭上眼就 能看到他的背影在午后的光束下穿梭，在林暮眼 眶里微微晃动。楚天阔，连名字都那么潇洒。林 暮这些年依然坚信着他们之间的缘分，相信着几 千年前柳永为他们牵红线的一句词 “暮霭沉沉楚 天阔”。然而可悲的是，楚天阔是后三个字，总有 一天，他可以站得足够高，突破小小的天地和格 局，望到云层外，而林暮却只是沉在他脚下的暮 霭。其实林暮也是一个优秀的女孩，在年级排名 永远在前十，可每次看见最顶端的三个字 “楚天

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阔” 都感到有些无力。 “ 我们总是会不接受自己在某一个群体中的位 置。抗争成功的人得到喜欢的位置，抗争不了的 人，总有一天会习惯的。” 所幸的是，林暮是第 一种人。高二文理分科的时候，林暮毫不犹豫地 选择了文科，大概是一种逃避的心理吧，因为没 有人愿意永远当炮灰，在这之后林暮便稳坐文科 第一的宝座。谁也不知道，林暮对这高中三年唯 一的念想便是在高考之后最后一次升旗和他并肩 站在一起，而只有历年高考的文科和理科状元才 有此荣幸。所以，她只能更努力.... “高考倒计时5天”…..高考近在咫尺了，班主任老 太太在讲台上絮絮叨叨地把准考证，身份证，2b 铅笔叮嘱了第5遍之后，不知道哪个同学带头哭 了，接着抽泣声想起在教室的每个角落。班主任 也红了眼眶，“当初带你们的时候，差点把我气晕 过去，现在想起来你们还挺可爱。以后不管去了 哪里记得回来看看，老师希望你们都好好的......” 这天林暮留到最后一个走，拖着三年的课本，练 习册，离开教室的时候，缓缓关上那扇门，忽地 感到有些遗憾。青春就是这样吧，谨慎珍惜还是 恣意放纵都一样，反正不管怎么度过，最后都会 遗憾的明白，这段好时光，到底还是浪费了。 高考当天，全国的辛辛学子从四面八方赶考，一 场考试，演绎着千千万万不同的人生。林暮也是 其中之一，她带着那份隐秘而酸涩的心思。接到 试卷的那刻，目光异常坚定，也许为了证明自己 的高中三年没有白费，也许只是为了那虚无的自 尊....... 最后一门数学考完的时候，林暮合上笔

盖，低下头，心里默念，再见我的高中三年。林暮 下楼时经过其他考场，各色的脸上各色的表情。 这一次林暮依旧是「一中」文科第一而且还是他们 省的文科状元，以高分顺利被北大清华录取，然而 这次的理科第一不再是楚天阔，是一个矮矮瘦瘦的 男生。据说他高考发挥失常，可林暮知道他以物理 竞赛的成绩已经早早被保送进了北大。她并没有如 愿和楚天阔一起升旗，她看着台下的楚天阔，心猛 地漏了一拍，以至于旗子是一跳一跳地升上去的。 台下的人笑成一团，林暮看见他也笑了，嘴角轻轻 上扬， 那个白衬衣，短发清爽的挺拔少年，仿佛是 上帝泼墨时候不经意遗留下来的空白，在拥挤的操

场上，渲染着不真实的光彩.......够了，林暮。她勉强 地将嘴角前上去，忽略了眼角的一片湿润.. 后来呢？林暮的故事没有那么多美好的后来，也没 有那些最后现实到无法逃避的结局，她的故事叫高 考那年，叫青春，叫暗恋，叫遗憾，叫不老的少 年……

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VEGANISM IN Veganism. A diet that is growing increasingly popular nowadays. But what exactly is it? According to The Vegan Society, veganism is a way of living which aims to minimize cruelty and exclude all forms of exploitation to animals through abstention from all animal products.

Like vegetarians, vegans avoid eating all animals, but they follow an even stricter practice: they avoid all animal products as well. Some stricter vegans even choose to limit themselves from using products (clothing, accessories, bathroom products, and makeup) with animal products or animal testing. Whilst the term vegan usually involves a diet, vegans also choose not to visit zoos and aquariums, or take part in horse racing and bull fighting.

With so many restricted foods, what can vegans actually eat? According to SFGate, a vegan diet typically relies on plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.

Vegans can also eat mock meats made from plant protein, or dairy alternatives made from soy, rice, and nuts. With the right substitutes and a positive mindset, vegans can still enjoy their favourite meals while sticking to their strict diets. As you can see, it takes quite a lot of determination and motivation to become a vegan, but the environmental and health benefits of being a vegan is definitely worth it in the long run.

It’s common knowledge that going vegan brings notable benefits to our environment. Many environmentalists recommend lowering meat and dairy consumption to enhance our Earth’s sustainability and preserve its natural biodiversity. According to CulinarySchools.org, veganism leads to greater environmental benefits rather than buying a hybrid vehicle or eschewing showers for 6 months. Raising animals

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for human consumption creates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined, and the production of meat is a heavy burden for the Earth.

The immense amount of grain feed used in meat production is a significant contributor to species extinction, habitat loss, and deforestation. 5.6 million acres of Brazilian land are used to grow soybeans for European animals. This land is responsible for world malnutrition by forcing impoverished communities to harvest crops for animal feed, rather than food for themselves. Additionally, it takes about 2, 400 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, in comparison to the 25 gallons it takes for a pound of wheat. By adapting to a vegan lifestyle, we can reduce the impact of climate change, pollution, and rainforest destruction, while still saving water and other precious resources.

There has been an increasing amount of people switching to a vegan diet, hoping to losing excess weight. Celebrities, such as Bill Clinton and Ariana Grande, have reported that turning vegan has resulted in an evident and efficient weight loss.

Many controlled studies have proven that vegans generally have lower body mass indexes (BMI) than non-vegans, along with reports that show how the vegan diet is more effective for weight loss than other diets. A study conducted

by Journal of General Internal Medicine has indicated that veganism could lose 5 more pounds in the short term than those with traditional diet plans. Experts say that this is because veganism has a natural tendency to reduce one’s calorie intake, which makes them effective at promoting weight loss without the need to actively focus on cutting calories.

Veganism can lead to a higher daily intake of beneficial nutrients. According to healthline, vegan diets provide more protein, potassium, magnesium, iron,

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calcium, antioxidants, and other essential vitamins. Vegan diets are also lower in saturated fat, which can help mitigate some of the modern world’s biggest health issues, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Regardless of its many benefits, there are still people who are opposed to this diet and lifestyle; claiming that is not healthy and too expensive to maintain.

Although a vegan diet may aid in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, meeting basic nutritional needs may still be a concern for most vegans.

Protein is a crucial element to everyone’s diet, they are the building blocks of our body. However, the commonly known sources of protein such as meat and dairy products are all prohibited in a vegan diet, thus limits a vegans access to protein. Although protein can still be obtained through nuts and beans, vegetables and plants simply do not have the same amino acid profiles as meats and fisheries. According to HealthGuidance.org, “the protein from of ‘BCAAs’ which means ‘Branched Chain Amino Acids’.” These proteins are joined to have a similar construction for muscle and tissues.

A NUTSHELL

By Jacqueline Ho and Phyllis Lam | Illustrations by Bertha Ho

Therefore, it requires a lot of effort for our body to convert when meat has been completely cut off. With insufficient amounts of protein, vegans may struggle to develop muscle tissue and may require more time for wounds to heal.

Veganism may also lead to the deficiency of iron. According to VegetarianResourceGroup.org, iron is “a central part of the hemoglobin which carries oxygen in the blood.”. It can be found in two forms of food, the heme and nonheme iron. “Heme iron absorbs well and can be found in meat, poultry and fish. Whereas non heme iron does not absorb as well but can be found in fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts.” Since vegan diets can only rely upon non heme irons, vegans must be especially aware of foods that can increase their iron consumption, suggested to deplete 1.8 times higher than omnivores. Therefore, the lack of iron in the body can lead to fatigue, dizziness, chest pains and problems with brain function.

The lack of vitamin B12 could suggest why some are against the idea of a vegan diet. Other than the dirt in the ground, meat is the only source of obtaining vitamin B12.

This type of vitamin is crucial to the development of one’s brain and it isn’t entirely beneficial to obtain it through supplements. According to HealthGuidance.org, the deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause damages to the nerve and “create problems for utilizing calcium which can lead to

osteoporosis.” As a result, some may not see a benefit to a vegan diet when supplements are needed to meet the basic needs of the body.

However, to those who are wondering: how do you switch to a vegan diet? First of all, give yourself time to adjust to a vegetarian diet. Giving up all animal products and immediately switching to a high fibre diet could upset your stomach. Begin by removing all meat from your diet but be careful not to increase your consumption of dairy products. Pay attention to the ingredients of the food that you are eating and when you start to feel more comfortable, feel free to slowly cut out all animal products. You could begin with swapping out all of your favorite non-vegan foods for vegan alternatives to help ease the transition.

Instagram accounts are also useful for restaurant recommendations with a variety of vegan recipes to choose from. Although specialist ingredients such as chia seeds, nutritional yeast and nuts can be quite expensive, there are much cheaper ones available to you if you hunt around online. When possible, visit a few vegan restaurants and cafés to see what great things you can eat on a vegan diet!

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THE DECENNIAL: FROM P R O J E C T P U R P L E TO THE FUTURE

By Raghav Goyal | Illustrations by Ashley Tuen

“Every once in awhile, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. And Apple has been...very fortunate...to introduce a few of these into the world....Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone, and here it is.” With these words, this visionary changed the world forever, and boy, was Steve Jobs right. The iPhone has become so engrained in our society today that we can’t begin to imagine life without it. With over 1 Billion iPhones sold worldwide, the iPhone is not only the undisputed best-selling phone, camera, music-player, video screen and computer of all time, but can also arguably be considered as the best-selling product of all time.

Steve Jobs had a knack for innovating, as well as creating disruptive revolutionary products that completely upended any playing field he entered.

Prior to the release of the iPhone, the Nokia, Motorola, and Blackberry were the best and most popular phones available. Nokia, complacent with their thriving sales, ignored the iPhone rising presence. This action consequentially cost them everything, resulting in their disappearance into obscurity. At the time, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer scoffed at the expensively priced iPhone without a keyboard, disregarding the possibility of competition. But later, when Ballmer resigned from his position as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he regretted focusing too much on Windows’ computer business; as a result, they lost their chance of having a stake in the phone market. The arrival of the iPhone was like an impending tsunami, decimating the “sitting ducks” and their landscape in its wake. During the years when Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple, he started NeXT, a computer and software company. Although their computer sales were limited, their operating system NeXTSTEP was highly influential. His experience starting NeXT gave him the realisation that in order to create the optimal user experience, having good software is just as (or even more) important than having good hardware. This is also a factor in Apple’s unmatched edge over competitors, even though some have greater market share. Steve Jobs, as a side project, also started Pixar, a pioneering animation studio that created breakthroughs in animation technology and the first feature length Oscar-nominated animated film, Toy Story.

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As this year is the 10th anniversary of the launch of the iPhone, we’re going to travel back to before 2007, and uncover the story behind this revolutionary device.

Initially, Steve Jobs didn’t really see a phone project working out. However, after several arguments, Mike Bell, a veteran of Apple, was able to convince Jobs to create their own phone using Jony Ive’s futuristic iPod designs instead of putting their features into other people’s phones. He did this by explaining his theory that eventually, the internet, music and cellular functions would converge into one device, and that the market was exploding worldwide.

This theory was later affirmed by the passage of time.

Because of Steve Jobs’ deadlines for demos, the original designs and look of the iPhone icons were created in one night. The team, after having experimented with different designs , settled on an aesthetically pleasing springboard design where the icons were laid out in a grid. Although their presentations were impressive, the team still lacked cohesion for what a touch-based phone would be. So in February 2005, Jobs gave the team two weeks before he would call the program dead. Christie, the team leader, gave each designer a fragment of the design to develop into an app. They spent two sleepless weeks building these apps up, eventually presenting collectively as a phone’s operating system.

The demo was such a huge success that the team entered lockdown, becoming the top secret project in the company. The lockdown entailed the implementation of new security measures such as complete exclusion from the rest of the company and team-specific ID cards. This was the turning point. This was when the real work for the iPhone began.

In the mid 2000s, the best employees in various teams at Apple were mysteriously disappearing left and right. Managers went to the offices of star engineers all over the company and told them that they were selected to come and work on an undisclosed project and leave immediately. Some employees declined, satisfied with their current job, but others who agreed joined a mysterious team to build the iPhone.

All they were told was the role and tasks they would have and that they would work the hardest they had ever worked in their lives. They would later give up nights and weekends for years, sacrificing their personal lives until the product was made.

The team’s first foray into creating a multi-touch device started with very simple and basic touch interactions. They first got scrolling with touch to feel natural and demo-ed it to Jobs, who was impressed and approved them to start building the phone. Jobs ensured that the iPhone project would have top-to-bottom secrecy so that nothing would be leaked. Company-wide employees were kept in extreme secrecy - no one in the company knew what they were doing, and the inner team members involved in the project were not aware of the final product they were working towards.

The team members only knew of the extremely specific tasks they were assigned. Cleaning staff were not allowed in the room for fear of them discovering or erasing the designs.

“It was really intense, probably professionally one of the worst times of my life.” said Andy Grignon, a senior iPhone engineer. “...

Because you created a pressure cooker of a bunch of really smart people with an impossible deadline, an impossible mission, and then you hear that the future of the entire company is resting on it. So it was just like this soup of misery.... every time you turned around there was some just imminent demise of the program just lurking around the corner.”

Jobs wanted to show off the device to a Top 100 meeting inside Apple. This selective convention was where Jobs would gather the 100 employees who were close to him and discuss the future of the company. In preparation for this gathering of the Apple’s cream of the crop, the iPhone team were given a month to put something workable together. They considered how every app, from the calendar to email, should look in your hand. The work was brutal and grueling. Christie even booked hotel rooms nearby so people didn’t have to drive home; some even slept over at Christie’s house. When the Top 100 meeting rolled around, Steve Jobs and everyone else were blown away by the demo.

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When the engineers saw the designs, they were wholly shocked. It was a consensus - “Oh my God, this is - we don’t know, this is going to be a lot of work.

We don’t even know how much work.” It was difficult even putting a schedule together to plan out the deadlines for each of the pieces to come together.

At that point, there were two competing projects trying to become the iPhone. One proposed to adopt the iPod’s features of phones, keeping the click wheel or circular navigational component that can be spun and clicked to navigate through the iPod. The other was a touch based phone with apps. Both secret projects were given code names — P1 for the iPod phone, and P2 for the multi-touch phone. The executives of both teams weren’t able to be in the same room together.

Executive employees would quit, some were fired — under this political fray was where the engineers worked away tirelessly trying to bring their respective projects to life. Both projects were under a parent project called Project Purple.

Team P1 finished first, producing iPods that could call in addition to playing music. It had a novel color based system with letters and numbers on the wheel; this made it hard to use. The team undertook multiple iterations to reinvent the iPod wheel. They produced dozens of designs, but ultimately were not able to impress Jobs due to its low interface intuitiveness. Jobs pushed them to work harder and not give up, but there were no simply no ideas left in the idea bank. However, the group was still able to get phone and calling functionality working, later filing multiple patents for the designs. They were on the verge of creating a product to be mass produced. They even got suppliers on board and were going to go ahead and ship the product. However, Steve Jobs felt like it wasn’t as exciting as the touch tech.

The P1 team was losing support as their device was extremely difficult to use. Consequently, the executives from both sides came together to decide which project to pursue. Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing who is still with Apple to this day, suggested that they scrap both and go with a device with hard keyboard buttons. The BlackBerry launched the first big smartphone which had hard keys for sending email

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and other work related tasks. Phil got no support as the other executives with better technological acumen saw the multi-touch device as the more futuristic option. In addition, Phil was not seen as a technology guy. The other executives thought he considered technology the same way grandparents would. With the iPod phone ousted, the executives backed the futuristic P2 project fully. The P2 project was propelled into full force, ultimately creating the iPhone with multi-touch gestures that we know and love today.

However, history has told us that every empire falls eventually, and the story will, in my opinion, be no different for Apple. I have reason to claim that Apple has already begun its descent from its zenith—and not solely due to the saturation of iPhones in the market, or the low marginal utility for a newer model.

From watching Apple keynotes for the past 5 years alone, I have noticed a decline in the level of innovation of newer products. Apple’s

presentations have lost some of the prized “wow factor” that was strong in all of Jobs’ presentations. Don’t get me wrong, Apple is surely innovating—it’s just not doing enough.

When Apple introduced the iPhone, it created a whole new smartphone category. The technology it included in the device put it at the forefront of the field, surpassing all competitors. Given this, over the years, few changes were of this caliber. In fact, the “technological breakthroughs” nowadays are starting to lean towards the generic norm; competitors like Samsung and Google have caught up with their respective phones either on par or with a slight edge over the iPhone. Starting with the last 2 or 3 keynotes, Apple is simply offering us improvements on their camera, display and chips which include complex technical terms that the layman would ignore and improvements over already amazing specifications that would go unnoticed to users. What we need in future products is game changing technology such as Siri and Touch ID. However, if Apple is not able to deliver on the “wow factor” they executed so suavely before, they risk losing the ability to innovate, and might even lose traction in the market.

What the now increasingly complacent Apple did to the once-complacent Nokia will soon be done unto itself by another company.

One way Apple can continue to churn out innovative technologies is to look at their archive of patents and revisit their archive of innovative experimental projects. Apple’s side projects have led to groundbreaking innovations and clever features being created. However, many of these patents go unused, often being called upon solely to engage in lawsuits with competitors in case

someone else were to “steal” one of Apple’s prized ideas. There are some extremely novel innovations among the patents, some of which include a design for a curved screen, an accompanying Apple Pencil for the iPhone, an infrared, self-cooling coating, a new laser technology for heightened screen resolution, and many more. Apple has thousands more of these forward thinking patents: for both iPhones and other miscellaneous devices. While these innovations may seem relatively crude, they are testament to the fact that Apple hasn’t stopped innovating. This is just the icing on the cake. Apple’s burden now lies within their ability to apply these ideas - their job now is to extrapolate their best, and apply it flawlessly.

The empire that Apple is is spluttering out of fuel. Apple is reaching a threshold that its competitors are also coming close to reaching. Picture this threshold as the edge of a Russian doll. When Apple created the smartphone category, they were able to fill up a small space inside the Russian doll. However, now, as their innovation is reaching a limit, they’ve filled almost all the space inside the doll. If Apple wants to break through this doll’s veneer into the next bigger doll, then charge ahead.

Become the clear leader in the tech industry and distance yourself from competitors. Ramp up your innovation efforts. If Apple intends to last well past the next decade, does not want to be superseded or risk fading into obscurity, then it needs to reinvent the phone. Again. Should it achieve this Herculean feat, Apple will cement itself in the tech “Hall of Fame” and go down in history as the greatest company that ever existed, shaping the future of technology as a role model going forward.

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Interview with Peter Niu 訪問牛老師

牛老师

Interviewer: Justin Ngai | Photographs by Karen Chan

By Justin Ngai | Photography by Karen Chan

問： 牛老師在漢基教書至今多少年了？

問：如果不當老師你想做什麼？

答： 自2010年起，不知不覺已經七個年頭 了。

答：之前寒暑假我都會去世界不同的地方做 义工、種地，體驗世界多元的文化。現在如 果走下講台，我最有可能創業。現在有一個 詞是「教師企業家」（Teacherpreneur），我 覺得這個定位很有意思，它指教师创建教育 产品、服务来解决自己或同行们在教室里遇 到的问题。這其實是教育空间内的企业家， 或者说是具有企业家精神的教师。

問：這期間有哪些難忘的經歷可以和我們分 享一下麼？ 答：（沈思許久）真是一言難盡。 2014年在 美國帶隊參加WSC並奪得世界團體冠軍；送 走第一批畢業生；創辦香港首屆漢字聽寫大 賽；和學生們一起在東南亞做義工；參與漢 基杭州項目……

問：在漢基工作帶給你什麼感受？ 答：亢奮。雖然在漢基年頭不短了，但其實 仍舊充滿了新的機遇和挑戰。老師也需要不 斷學習，做一個終身學習者。漢基給我提供 了多元化的平台，讓我很多天馬行空的想法 得以實現。

問：你覺得中文教師的使命是什麼？ 答：其實，不只是中文老師。我認可宋代理 學家張載指出知識分子的追求：為天地立 心，為生民立命，為往聖繼絕學，為萬世開 太平。大意是說讀書人其心當為天下而立， 其命當為萬民而立，當繼承發揚往聖之絕 學，當為萬世開創太平基業，說出了讀書人 應當有的志向和追求：天下、萬民、聖賢之 道、太平基業。

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問：這個很有意思，你想做什麼教育產品？ 答：有助於改善現在教與學模式、方法或提 高教學效率的都很值得一試。我最近研發了 一款增强现实（AR）智能漢字卡，就是想改 變傳統漢字教學的問題。

問：怎么会想到做汉字的学习产品？ 答：可能你想不到，就是源于一次我和学生 的对话。一次照例的中文听写测验被我临时 改到了下课前，没想到遭到了全班的一致反 对。其中一个学生说希望马上就考，否则一 会儿她就忘了。这句话让我反思了很久：我 们听写的目的是什么？难道就是为了考察学 生短暂的记忆力么？中文绝不能靠记忆来学 习。文字就像是一个民族的密码，饱含着各 民族先贤的聪明与才干。千百年来，汉字已 成为我们华夏民族智慧的象征。学习汉字， 只有弄清汉字的来源和造字方式，才能更精 确地使用。

問：這套智能字卡有什麼特殊功能？ 答：本套字卡包含29个基本汉字笔画 卡，216个汉字独体字。按照使用频率由高 到低分为“绿” “蓝” “红” 三组。配合app學 習，輕輕一掃卡，你會看到除有独特AR技 术支持的造字方式，还配有古形字的演变、 田字格背景、标准发音、笔顺及笔画演示、 组词、造句、录音、手写练习等全套示范。 学习模式结束后，独创的拼字游戏可谓匠心 独运。22级共110个词组让学习者在学习完 单字后，根据界面词语的拼音提示，找到符 合语义的正确汉字，并在ar区扫描。若正确 配对，显示该词语的发音，动画及喝彩声。 引进增强现实的技术，汉字学习不仅可以高 效传授教学内容，还颠覆了原来汉字只是在 课堂学的瓶颈，发展为内容和技术高度融合 之后的 「新内容」，随时利用碎片化时间 学习。 本智能漢字卡完全解决了母语及二语学习者 对汉字学习畏难、不感兴趣、不会读写的难 题，有效解决了教师占用大量时间无效教汉 字，死记硬背的痛点，“看”、“觸”、“聽”、“ 說”、“拼”、“寫”、“錄” 七合一。

問：在哪裡可以了解到這些信息？ 答：可以瀏覽網站 www.elearning.love

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THE OUTBURST OF WHITE SUPREMACY IN AMERICA

By Ian Choi | Illustrations by Ashley Tuen and Gabrielle Hioe

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Let us be frank. White supremacy is on the rise in America. In the last year, white supremacists have held over a dozen rallies - varying in size and degree of success - in cities and towns across the US. Of course, the most pertinent example on everyone’s mind is the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville that took place from August 11-12, where a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 23 year old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens more, but one cannot ignore the others: the failed second rally at Charlottesville on October 8, a rally in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on October 27, and many more. How did they become so outspoken despite their incredibly unpopular message? Why are they trying to break into the mainstream? Those are the questions this article aims to answer.

A Background on White Supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to other peoples of color. In a political context, this mindset can result in systematic injustice and blatant discrimination, while in a socio-economic context this ideology has been realised through the enslavement of blacks and racism still prevalent in our societies today. White supremacist ideologies have been present ever since the founding of the United States of America - the nation itself was built on a base of slavery. Slaves worked on plantations and as forced labour in building projects, most notably the White House.

Slavery itself isn’t necessarily a show of white supremacy, but in practice, in a world where the great powers were all ruled by those with fair skin, it tended to be whites owning people of color, most notably blacks.

Meanwhile, social attitudes towards slavery were beginning to change all over the world. By 1792, Denmark was the first to ban the slave trade, closely followed by Britain and the United States in 1807.

Over time, the attitudes towards slaves in the North, where slaves were much less relevant to the economy, changed. The abolitionist movement, which sought to end slavery, had already existed since the early days of the American union: Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both were supporters for the freedom of

slaves, despite ironically being slaveowners themselves. However, in the south, slaves were a central part of the economy, and in some cases accounted for nearly a half of the total population of a state. As one can imagine, the idea of freedom for slaves was still a foreign concept in these states. The world clamped down on slavery, and all of a sudden, farm owners who had relied on slaves for a lifetime now were being pressured on all sides to give up the practice. These states left the United States of America and formed the Confederate States of America. The northern states would not accept this succession, and in 1861, the American Civil War began.

As we can see, the civil war was not fought purely over the status of slaves. The other key issue that the war was fought over was the right of states to secede from the United States, but in more general terms the extent of states’ rights: the powers held by a state instead of the federal government. We can see these ideas playing out in conjunction during the Civil War, where many states used the ideal of a nation built by slaveowners and for slaveowners as a basis for their defecting to the Confederacy. Texas’ declaration of its secession from the Federal Union quotes, back in 1845, reads:

“We hold as undeniable

truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race.

”

This is white nationalism at its most fundamental: the belief that white people should create a nation for the benefit of white people, that a state should seek a white national identity. After the Civil War and the signing of the 16th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation, the new political status of former slaves and blacks became the foundation of many white supremacy movements in the south.

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Yet despite the clear victory of the emancipators, white supremacist movements didn’t die out, and their ideals were still found even at the federal level. People of color were not allowed to vote or hold jobs in some states. Still, in response to the widespread condemnation of slavery in the United States, many white supremacist terrorist and paramilitary groups began to form, such as the Ku Klux Klan, White Camellia, Red Shirts, and White League. These were all groups that believed in the supremacy of White Americans over all other ethno-racial groups, and which used violence to assert their ideologies across the eastern US, especially in southern states like Louisiana, Florida and Alabama. The most wellknown example is probably the Ku Klux Klan, which has gone through three iterations: the first Klan had a relatively loose structure, kept in check rather poorly by a central authority, but was ultimately taken down by federal action; the second Klan was much more organised and urbanized as a result of the urbanisation of the 1920s, but as their supremacist message became more clear to the public their popularity tanked and the organisation became insignificant. The last wave of Klan organisations extends up to this day, but groups are largely dispersed and have no central authority. Today, after decades of federal action and gradual social alienation, white supremacist movements have diversified, and formed numerous groups that all advocate for some form or another of white supremacy. Groups can be influenced by a variety of ideologies, and thus are inspired by a variety of ideologies not limited to the United States.

White Supremacy in Our Time In America, four main groups are at the forefront of national discussion. Neo-Nazis believe in the ideology of the Nazi Party - the idea of a ethno-racial hierarchy with white peoples at the very top and “untermensch” - subhumans - at the bottom. They hold a general belief that Jewish Populations are inherently evil and have been trying to undermine the white “Aryan” race; many hold an admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Neo-Confederates are inspired by, and arguably are a continuation of, the Confederate States of America. Their political parties, such as the League of the South, advocate for succession of southern states from the United States on the basis that the South holds a unique and distinct culture from other states in the US. Finally, the Alt-Right, which started off as a mostly online group, has only very recently come to the center of politics. While the definition of the term “alt-right” is hotly debated, for the purposes of this article, it comprises of a number of groups, which all spurn traditional conservatism because they believe that it does not protect the rights of white people. It is important, however, to recognise, that not all proponents of this “white identity” are necessarily white supremacists. The ideologies of these four major groups and many others have translated into a general distrust of other groups, most notably Muslims and Mexicans, and a general anti-immigration stance.

What is most disturbing, however, is the increasing prevalence of white supremacy: numerous groups have been emboldened, many attempting to break into the mainstream.

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2017 has seen attempts by many political parties to make themselves more appealing to a wide range of people: the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi party, changed its logo from a swastika to an obscure nordic rune; the Aryan Nationalist Alliance, a coalition of various groups, changed its name to the less inflammatory Nationalist Front; KKK members continually try to appear more presentable by donning suits instead of robes. But why is it, that despite their niche status, all these groups gained the courage to step out and try to make their movements more mainstream? The answer is absolutely multi-faceted.

Election of Donald Trump as President If we look at the short term, the absolute biggest factor was the election of President Donald Trump. His campaign employed Steve Bannon, the executive chair of Breitbart news, as the campaign executive for Trump’s campaign and then became Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor. While Trump’s administration hired two more controversial figures: Stephen Miller, the man behind Trump’s controversial bill to ban Muslim immigrants from a number of middle eastern countries, and Sebastian Gorka, who was seen wearing medals from Vitézi Rend, a group with historical links to Nazi Germany. Both have been accused of being of white supremacists, but whether they are or are not is irrelevant. The most important thing is that Trump embraced one of the most influential members of the alt-right movement, and regardless of what Bannon believes, the various political groups who make up the alt-right saw this as Trump, a presidential candidate, essentially accepting them and what they stood for.

The election of President Trump also gave white supremacists an optimistic idea of America’s views on conservatism: if Trump, a man who clearly understood his appeal to groups such as neo-Nazis and neo-Confederates, could win America over, then not only did that mean that America might be more accepting of their ideas, but also that even if their image was shattered (as per the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally), they would be defended by the President himself. Naturally, white supremacist groups thus began to attempt to inhabit the mainstream spotlight by trying to change the image associated with their various ideologies.

And yet on the other hand, Trump’s actions after he was elected have been confusing, to say the least. When dealing with the Charlottesville crisis, he initially was reluctant to outright condemn the alt-right, instead choosing to condemn the “display of hatred, bigotry and violence… on many sides”. Naturally, this only served to reinforce the idea that Trump would defend the groups involved in the Unite the Right rally. The Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website, put out hours later: Trump comments were good. He didn’t attack us. [...] Nothing specific against us. [...] So he implied the antifa are haters. There was virtually no counter-signaling of us at all.

Perhaps Trump was trying to not alienate what he believed to be his base. Perhaps he was trying to act like he was smart (arguably characteristic of him). Yet two days later he came out and condemned the violent actions of white nationalist groups: Racism is evil [...] including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.

This had the opposite effect on white supremacist groups: seeing the president turn from tacit support to outright condemnation was outrageous. Trump’s belated apology caused groups to lose faith in him. Many felt that they had been deserted by their president. Yet, white supremacists still continued to protest, and showed no signs of ending their attempts at being heard. Clearly, Trump may have jump-started this outburst, but he certainly is not the force sustaining them.

The Significance of the Alt-Right Another factor was the online presence of the Alt-Right, which allowed far-right ideologies to disseminate across the internet, reach more people and increase the strength of the various white supremacist movements. While this is not a direct criticism of online forums such as Reddit and 4chan, the fact remains that both these platforms are deeply entrenched in meme culture. Because memes are such an ambiguous method of communication and can be taken to mean a variety of things, alt-right groups were able to use this to their advantage to continually communicate with each other and strengthen their ideals and beliefs.

The original intent of a meme could be altered, ironically or unironically, and the often offensive cultures present in meme groups kept people out of them. Meanwhile, the ambiguous and sometimes ironic nature of memes made them the perfect way to convey alt-right messages. Memes that have any kind of white supremacist connotation can be used ironically while simultaneously conveying unironically an acceptance of the values of white supremacy. Over time, this created a large number of online white supremacists, members of the mainstream internet. This undoubtedly changed the nature of the conversation on forums and message boards to be more accepting of content that used to be controversial. Ironically or not, the alt right was gradually shifting the spectrum in places like 4chan and reddit, and at some point the irony stopped being ironic.

Of course, few people actually believed in far-right ideals.

But by putting white supremacy under the guise of simple fun, it blurred the line and made the movement ambiguous, which made it easier to spread. They gave the alt-right symbols to rally around, created a community, and were as close to mainstream as white supremacists had ever gotten.

Alienation of White Communities Furthermore, the feeling that America has left white people behind is another major factor. White supremacist groups saw the steady decline in coal-related and manufacturing jobs due to changing times and increased movement of jobs out of America as the US government steadily trying to stamp out the culture and legacy of white people. They saw the increased tolerance of immigrants and immigration as being a direct threat to national security and were horrified to see that the government was becoming increasingly tolerant of them. As time went on, and America only changed under Obama in a direction that they did not like, it is very likely that many far-right groups, white supremacists included, would want to try to rebrand themselves in a way that would be beneficial to their image, especially if they thought that the political spectrum was turning away from them and their beliefs.

Possible Future Developments But what will happen now? In August, Donald Trump denounced various white supremacists groups such as neo-Nazis and the KKK, but since then he has repeatedly defended his initial statement regarding ‘both sides’. Clearly, he sees the white supremacists community at the very least as valuable members of his base, and is trying to appeal to them.

And white supremacists are here to stay. On the 8th of October, Richard Spencer, the president of a high-profile white supremacist think tank, was at the second Charlottesville rally. He was quoted as saying, “We’ll take a stand in Charlottesville, we’ll take a stand in Washington, DC, we’ll take a stand anywhere and everywhere. You’re gonna have to get used to us. We’re gonna come back again and again and again.”

White supremacy is here to stay, headed by its leaders, and while Donald Trump may one day change his position on white supremacy, the members of these communities are not going to step down.

What do we do?

White supremacy will not go mainstream. Its ideals are too widely shunned by the American public, too controversial to be accepted, and their means are too extreme to promote sympathy. But they will keep trying. They have been emboldened by the words and actions of the president, emboldened by their increasing online presence, and feel threatened by the United States itself. What we can do is to speak out against these groups, to speak for the ideals of diversity and acceptance, and to never budge on our own beliefs. That is how we will prevail over this tide of hatred.

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迷途的羔羊

By Christy Tang | Illustrations by Gabrielle Hioe

相信我們都會有這樣的時候，認為自己是獨特 而又不一樣的煙火，卻常常緊跟大流，閉著眼 睛，盲目地和周圍的人一樣往前跑，不管為什 麼，去哪裏，都沒有個人的主觀想法，只是不 想掉隊。這就好像散亂無紀的羊群，當一頭羊 開始騷動，其他的羊就會不假思索地跟著動起 來，全然不顧大局。因此，「羊群效應」一詞 就被用來比喻人們的從眾心理，一種因個人的 觀念被真實或想象的群體所影響，而向與多數 人相一致的方向變化的現象。在「羊群效應」 下，人們會盲目地追隨大眾所認同的指標，將 自己的意見否定，不會主觀上思考事件的真實 意義。 常言道「法不責眾」，當多數人都在做一件事，而 當那件事情在社會上被普遍化的時候，就算事情本 質上是錯誤的，法律對於眾多犯了錯的人們也難予 逐一懲戒。這就是為什麼人們在遇到一波連自己都 帶有質疑的浪潮時還是會決定去追逐；因為對於自 己還不夠自信；因為無法面對被千夫所指時的壓 力；因為「法不責眾」，跟著大家準沒錯。

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這種根深蒂固的思想無時無刻不在侵蝕著我們思考 的自由，吞噬著我們的理性，一絲絲地剝奪著我們 苟延殘喘的獨立思考。在這樣的情況下，人們不再 會對一個行為本身的意義多加思考，只是單純地成 為了一只羊，不曾意識到自己未經思考地就陷入了 可笑的大流。

就好像這幾年流行的“dab”，一個模仿用手臂唔住 臉部打噴嚏的動作。我問過好多人dab到底是什麼 意思，他們卻都搖搖頭表示自己只是因為大家都 在做所以才做的，並沒有想過這個動作的背後意 義究竟是什麼。這就是典型的跟風現象，大家只 是盲目地跟隨一個好笑的動作，卻未曾考慮過它 背後代表著的是什麼。跟風甚至還存在於我們忙 碌的手指間－網絡撕逼。鍵盤俠這個科技爆發時 代的產物簡直是「跟風現象」的完美詮釋。當人 們的真實身份被隱藏，人們不用為自己在網絡上 所說的話負責，盲目地隨著其他人的角度一起去 漫罵某個明星或者去攻擊某件事情都成為了見慣 不怪的常態。在這樣的趨勢下，反倒是以理智看 待情況的人成了跟不上潮流的落後者。 但跟風不僅僅只出現在熱門潮流裏，在人際關系 上，它也是一朵隱形的罌粟。人們都有不一樣的 五觀，不一樣的性格，於是在社會不同的集體中 就少不了誰不欣賞誰，誰討厭誰的情況。人性少 不了八卦，人們交頭接耳一番後，你很可能會 “了 解” 到你隔壁班的某一位女同學個性刁鉆，目中無 人，你繼而會帶著有色眼鏡去看她，但事實是你 甚至一句話都從未和她講過。當一個傳兩，兩個 傳三，三個傳遍整個學校的時候，那個女同學很 有可能就會被很多人所排斥，即使她可能只是在 最開始的時候不小心撞倒了一個人的水杯。而所 有人卻都未經思考地就相信了別人的主觀，跟著 大流一起開始排擠一個你完全不認識的人。這無 疑對於那個女孩是個巨大的打擊，但她又能怎麼 做呢？當人們都故意躲著她，她又怎麼能找到機 會去展現自己原本就不壞的一面呢？沒有人願意 和她交涉，因為你一旦成為了她的朋友，其他人 都會在背後對你指指點點，說人以類分，什麼樣

的人有什麼樣的朋友。於是惡性循環，這樣的校 園暴力每天成千上萬次地發生，卻有多少人選擇 站出來，而又有多少人選擇沈默？可笑的是，當 被問到你為什麼討厭某人時，很多人都說不出個 所以然來。被「跟風現象」所帶來的痛苦無疑在 那些受害者生命中留下了深深的疤痕。 而如果將「跟風」升級到更嚴重的級別，那受影 響的就不僅僅是個人了。就拿教育體系來說，中 國有很多民眾對高考以及「應試式」教育體系有 很大的意見，希望中國能夠像歐美國家那樣有更 加 “自由”，少一些機械式的作業。但是，歐美國 家之所以可以實行一些相對「自由」點的教育， 是因為它們相對於中國有著更少的人口和更多 的資源，於是那些國家的學生在未來所要面對的 競爭力也相對沒那麼大，導致他們的教育體系可 以更加開放，自由。但如果中國政府真的盲目跟 從了其他國家的教育政策，在原有高考的基礎上 放鬆了教育制度，那就很可能會失去一批原來因 為這種高強度教育而被訓練出來的優秀人才，而 更多的後續問題會將被牽連而出。因此盲目「跟 風」地追求自由民主的教育體系，對於現在中國 的狀況而言也許並不是一個明智的決策。 所以我們不應盲目跟隨大眾的潮流，以我們寶貴 的理性去看待和分析每一件事情才是我們應該謹 記於心的。

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C L I M AT E C H A N G E D E N I A L

By Shannan Liu | Photographs by Evelyn Kwan

low are two graphs from NASA which display the global atmospheric CO2 levels over time, and the increase in global temperature over the last century. From the data, it can be seen that there is a correlation between the increase in CO2 levels and the increase in temperature.

Climate change is characterised by changes in global or regional weather conditions over long periods of time. This has occurred in the past due to natural cycles in which the earth has changed its orbit around the sun: changes in the earth’s orbit cause parts of the planet to receive more or less exposure to the sun, leading to natural periods of warmer or cooler temperatures. Thus, changes in global weather patterns are nothing new: they have occurred for billions of years. However, with the advent of the industrial revolution, the improvements we have made in our ability to generate energy through activities such as burning coal or oil have unnaturally increased Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentration levels within earth’s atmosphere. This has inevitably lead to a long term increase in earth’s temperature: global warming.

Although global warming is mainly recognised as a result of significant increases in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, it should be known that greenhouse gases have played a significant role in keeping our planet hospitable for human life. Since heat from the sun is trapped within the atmosphere by greenhouse gases, the gases have helped earth maintain a stable temperature. In fact, without greenhouse gases, the earth would be on average 30˚C colder than it is today. Be-

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The drastic spike in CO2 which can be seen in the first image begins at around the period of the industrial revolution. Since then, humans have added around 2,000 gigatons (21012 tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere. This has lead to a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2 due to the use of unsustainable fuel sources, deforestation, and the creation of industrial tools used in the construction of modern cities. However, CO2 is not the only greenhouse gas that has become more concentrated in the atmosphere. With the arrival of mass production techniques in agriculture and the growing use of natural gas processing, the amount of Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) in the atmosphere has increased as well. Methane, generally used as a source of fuel for heating and lighting, comes from the extensive breeding of farm animals such as cows, while Nitrous Oxide is produced through the large scale use of fertilizers in growing crops to sustain increasing populations around the globe. Below is a graph that displays the increase in CO2, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide over a recent period of time.

From the first three images, it can be seen that there is a relationship between the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the increase in the temperature of the earth: since the level of greenhouse gas emissions has increased the average global temperature has increased as well. This has had several effects on the planet: a rise in the global sea level, the loss of coastal regions, increased rainfall and flooding, ocean acidification, and more extreme weather.

Overall, climate change appears to be a prevalent and urgent concern with dire consequences if not acted upon. However, even with this knowledge and the vast amount of information presented in academic journals, climate change is often seen as a topic up for debate and disagreement. This is due to climate change denial.

The denial can generally be attributed to natural psychological responses in the brain. Often times humans have a tendency to respond to situations that affect them in the present moment. This is known as the Present Bias. Therefore, since discussions on climate change often indicate future consequences instead of immediate repercussions, it may be harder for some people to respond. Other forms of climate change denial are more bizarre, however, as they reject evidence by creating connections between unrelated topics. This is evidenced below, as a climate change denier looks at the current weather to draw misleading conclusions:

tors, miss out certain pieces of information, and link wrong ideas together to come to invalid conclusions.

This is key because it displays how climate change deniers are usually a product of misinformation, and understanding this means that we have the ability to make people change through teaching them the concrete facts.

Aside from informing others, however, here are a few steps that we could all take to reduce our carbon footprint: (1) recycling or reusing products such as shopping bags; (2) taking public transportation or walking more when travelling; (3) turning off electronic devices while they are not being used; and (4) eating less meat.

Through these steps, we could move forward in reducing our own effects on the environment.

Overall, the evidence that backs up climate change is too significant to ignore, and it would be immoral to disregard the potential economic and social consequences that could ensue from the natural disasters that could occur as a result of climate change.

The reason that Mr. Trump is incorrect is because he draws a misleading relationship between global warming and the cold weather, suggesting that global warming should prevent all forms of cold weather. This is wrong since areas with naturally cooler climates still have cooler weather, even if the average global temperature has increased.

Another claim that climate change deniers often make to support their case is that the sun is the cause of global warming. While it is true that the level of solar radiation can cause changes in the earth’s climate (after all, the sun has been the natural driving force of climate change), it is unreasonable to make this assumption.

This is because without greenhouse gases, which trap heat radiated from the sun, climate change would not occur. Additionally, in recent years, the sun’s solar irradiance has decreased: the upper layer of the atmosphere that the sun heats up has cooled down, and the surface and bottom layers of the atmosphere, where greenhouse gases reside, have heated up.

Looking at these examples of denial, we can notice that climate change deniers often misattribute certain fac-

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H O U S E C A P TA I N JINNA AND JACQUELINE

JINNA LEE Why did you want to become House Captain?

Through becoming House Captain, I wanted to encourage all Blue House students, regardless of their confidence in their athletic abilities, to participate in inter-house competitions.

I have so many ideas to offer, and I’m sure that through organizing exciting inter-house activities, more Blue House students will join in on the fun. Greater participation will not only strengthen our House Spirit, but also bond the student body together through our healthy competition.

How are you going to inspire House Spirit in your house?

As House Captain, I am planning to create new house chants, and I am also looking into blue merchandise for all Blue House students to use during inter-house competitions. Most importantly, I am going to try to create more interyear house competitions that create a sense of unity within our house. I have the confidence to lead Blue House into channeling the best House Spirit we can, whilst making it a fun and exciting time for everyone!

LET’S GO BLUE SHARKS!

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JACQUELINE NG Why did you want to become house captain?

When I transitioned from primary to secondary, there were a few things that I was super excited about. One, was being able to go out to the candy man without being stopped by Mr O’ Riley (not as easy as it sounds when you’re a little primary student). Another, was being part of a house. Apart from sports teams, I had never been in a school community group before, so naturally I was thrilled about the idea of being part a community whose main purpose is to create a tight knit bond and to encourage each other. I thought that the house captains were really inspiring and I wanted to get the student body amped up just like they did. They brought along a sense of community and unity that I really appreciated, especially since we (the year 7s) were the youngest out of the bunch. My goal this year is to carry on the tradition of creating house spirit, and is also the reason why I wanted to become house captain!

What outfits are you planning for sports day?

You have my word that blue house will look the most fab this year. Jinna and I have some great ideas in store for blue house. Since we are the blue house sharks, you can expect to see loads of jaw-dropping costumes. We are also planning to purchase body paint, hair spray and lots of blue accessories (wigs, sunnies, flags...) If you have any other suggestions about what we should wear or prepare for sports day, please feel free to contact us!

What issues do you see with the established house events, and how are you going to change them?

The main issue I think we have with the established house events is that many of them are very niche and do not capture the interest of the majority of the student body. There are a few tried a true house events that are a hit every year, but many of the newer events only last a year. Although it’s important to listen to individual voices and hear what they want, I also think it’s important to listen to the students as a whole, as that’s what school spirit is all about! If more people are interested in the events, then I can guarantee more people will participate and support their houses.

INTERVIEWS Interviewer: Alex Okita and Indya Steains | Photographs by Isaac Yee

BERNARD AND THELMA BERNARD KO

THELMA TRICOIRE Why did you want to become house captain?

When I was in year 7, my first year at CIS the coolest thing you could be was house captain cause it looked like such a fun job, and I remember talking to my friends about how cool being house captain would be, how much fun it would be to be able to run around screaming and shouting songs and not get in trouble.

If you know me, you know I love yelling and singing songs super loud in public and so I knew that house captain would be super fun!

If there was going to be an inter house captain race on sports day what would be in it?

I really really want there to be a house captain race on sports day, what better way to make people have more spirit than to roll around the track embarrassing yourself. I want there to be cartwheels, forward rolls, hands and knees, wheelbarrow, the ‘spin 30 times and try to run in a straight line event’. I honestly would just like Sports Day to be enjoyable and hilarious by incorporating more super fun events!

What do you think some of the biggest issues you are going to face will be?

The main issue is our school’s house spirit and pride.

Plainly speaking, our school spirit is terrible, and I know students talk about it amongst themselves all the time.

CIS is wired in an “academic first” sort of mindset, and I am not saying that it’s wrong to prioritise your studies, but this sort of mentality chucks the idea of “support”, “spirit” and just overall pride out the window. Where is it CIS? We need to bring it.

What will new house events you introduce or put forward in meetings this year?

Every single student in CIS is competitive by nature, and I plan on using this innate sense of competitiveness to drive the secondary student body. In my application, I had proposed to create a league for particular sports or games divided by houses and year groups. Like any league, my intention is to play this respective sport/activity for a certain amount of time, with each house battling it out for first place during that time period. There would be quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. I hope the competitive mindset in the students will allow this idea to become successful.

How will you ensure your house wins house Cup this year?

A bit of luck, magic and bribery.

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EUGENIA AND JEFFREY

EUGENIA CHOW

Why did you want to become house captain?

I’ve always admired past house captains for being able to shamelessly dress up and chant for their house during sports day and their ability to spread enthusiasm amongst the younger years. As a representative of my house, I wanted to be the person that students can not only laugh at but also look up to. I also wanted to be able to cheer on my house-mates and get involved with organising events, because I want school to be a more fun and exciting place for everyone!

If there was going to be an inter-house captain race on sports day, what would be involved in it?

It would be fun to have a Spartan race-like competition which involves plenty of obstacles and challenges, and a slip-and-slide down the 100m track!

NATASHA AND KRISTIE

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NATASHA LEE

JEFFREY CHAN

What new house events will you introduce, or put forward in meetings this year?

New house events I would like to introduce are water balloon fights, I feel like this is a really fun activity for all years. Since it is a new event, I feel like the turn up would be great and everyone would have an amazing time!

What new events in the field part of the health and social day are you planning/ would like to see?

This is not a new event, but I would like to re-introduce the event where you and your opponent stand on a beam and try to knock them off.

KRISTIE WONG

Why did you want to become house captain?

I feel like our school really lacks spirit. I always hear people saying, “no one cares about sports day” or “it’s not worth my lunchtime” or “it’s just sports”. I think that it is really important to address this mindset of CIS students, and help change that around. I really hope to change that and set better examples for students in the year below, especially to those who are thinking of taking the roles of house captain next year.

What do you think some of the biggest issues you are going to face will be?

I think getting everyone to commit and involved in various inter-house activities throughout the year. As the year goes on, everyone becomes busier with school work. I hope everyone can find a balance between studying and having fun, trying their best to participate most of the events we organize.

What new house events will you introduce, or put forward in meetings this year?

I’m a huge advocate for including teachers in house competitions. I think that it will not only strengthen the relationship between students and their advisors or other teachers in their house, but also further encourage students to participate in house events.

If there was going to be an inter-house captain race on sports day, what would be involved in it?

Three-legged race, a short obstacle course, cartwheels, spoon race, etc.... something really challenging and fun for the house captains and entertaining to watch for everyone.

ALEX AND INDYA

INDYA STEAINS

What outfits are you planning for sports day?

This year, I would love to see a streak of tigers on the track! Wherever you look, you see yellow yellow yellow! It would be awesome if everyone in Yellow House was dressed up in tiger suits all spread out around the field participating in their the events! Imagine when Yellow House Tigers are running their race or throwing their discus and they look up at the stands to find Yellow House cheering them on with our crazy chants with everyone dressed up as tigers!

ALEX OKITA

Finally, how will you ensure your house wins house Cup this year?

The easiest way to ensure that we win, is to make sure that that as many people as possible come to the events. Some ways I plan to do this, are working a lot more with the house reps for each year, and the advisors for each year group. We will be talking to them more and making sure that they get their advisories to come to the events. Another thing i’m planning is creating multiple social media pages for yellow house, this will be a much better way of communicating with everyone in the house, as not What ideas do you have for your house this everyone checks their emails all the time. Finally, year? we are the best house, so of course we will win the I have loads of ideas for house competitions and ac- house cup, I do not need to do much to ensure we tivities this year but wouldn’t you want it to be a do!!! surprise???

If there was going to be an inter-house captain Why did you want to become house captain? race on sports day, what would be involved in I have always enjoyed sports day because you get it? to skip a day of school, dress up and have fun! The It would have to be something that is both competreason I wanted to become House Captain was to itive, but also mainly for entertainment. Things like ensure that the younger year groups got to expe- barrel racing and other ridiculous activities would rience house competitions with more school spirit be necessities. Apart from that, there should also be and more school pride than ever before! a very competitive portion of the race, and it has to be for a large amount of house points, that way everyone will take it seriously.

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COPING WITH SCHOOLWORK Interviewer: Alex Okita | Photographs byYang Yi

Enzo Cremers Many young kids aspire to be great athletes, they look up to the great athletes of their time and wish that their own lives could turn out just like theirs. However, school and other commitments begin to take time away from training and playing the sports that they adore. Eventually, these young athletic prospects end up as nothing more than fans of the game, and occasionally members of recreational leagues.

It doesn’t have to be this way; today I will interview two members of our CIS community who are competing at the highest level of their respective sports, and are thriving in the school environment. We will discuss competing at a high level for Hong Kong teams and coping with rigorous school work at the same time, and whether or not it is worth pursuing a future with sports while attending CIS . The athletes we will focus on are Jacqueline Ng and Enzo Cremers. Both of these athletes compete for Hong Kong teams in their respective sports.

“I’m Jackie Ng and I play for the Hong Kong Women’s Ice Hockey Team. Hockey is a relatively niche sport in Hong Kong, but has been growing rapidly in popularity over the past few years. Ice Hockey is a contact sport that is played with a stick and a puck. There are six players on the ice at a time and an official game consists of three, twenty minute periods.”

-Jacqueline Ng “My name is Enzo Cremers and I sail the Laser class of boat for the Hong Kong team. The boat is the Olympic single-handed small dinghy, designed not for speed but for close racing, and presents more of a mental and physical challenge than most other classes.”

-Enzo Cremers

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Jacqueline NgNg Jacqueline One of the main challenges for student athletes is coping with both school work and training and competing in their sport.

Many student athletes just cannot cope with the constant barrage of commitments and things that have to get done. So let’s listen to how our Hong Kong team athletes cope: “Coping with school work while playing hockey does pose as quite a challenge, especially during tournament season. It is extremely important that I make sure to stay on top of school work because first and foremost I am still a student. The main way I cope with the work is by working ahead of time and trying to be as efficient as possible. It was definitely hard to find my way at first, but like with everything else, you get better as time goes on.”

- Jacqueline Ng One of the biggest challenges of sailing is that it takes up my whole weekend, which many students, and therefore teachers, view as a time to catch up on work. Of course, being in year 11, I do not have a huge workload, but due to the time training takes, I learnt how to effectively manage my working time and to focus hard when working. Because sailing is such a time-consuming sport, I had to make a decision a while back on whether to focus on sailing or on studies, and this was also a decision on whether I wanted to have a career in sailing or not. Had I chosen the sailing route I would have had to spend three or four full days training. I ended up choosing to prioritise school over sailing, which means I have to skip some training sessions, and it hampers greatly how well I do at events such as the world championships.

- Enzo Cremers

AND HIGH LEVEL SPORTS I one hundred percent think it’s worth pursuing a future in high level sports while attending CIS. I think that CIS provides an amazing academic foundation that prepares us very well for the real world. So if sports is your passion, I think it’s definitely worth a shot to take it as far as you can, possibly to the collegiate or even olympic and professional level because even if you change your mind, CIS’s rigorous academics would have provided you with a solid base for any university in the world.

- Jacqueline Ng All CIS students know that CIS is an incredibly rigorous, academically focused environment. The big question is, how does that affect your high level sports?

Since CIS has a very academically rigorous environment, it definitely affects my hockey career. I often find myself facing the dilemma of going to practice, studying and sleeping. Generally the first thing I sacrificed was sleep, but as the year goes on, I’ve realised that the only thing fuelling my hockey and academic careers is sleep. I’ve began to be a lot more selective on the practices and games I go to. Instead of hopping on any opportunity to play hockey like I used to, I have to weigh out the pros and cons of going and decide from there.

- Jacqueline Ng I made the decision to go for school over sailing, and with CIS being so tough my sailing ability has suffered.

But I made that decision and I’m not looking back.

CIS is still a very understanding school, allowing me to pursue my sailing passion if I want, and individual teachers are also understanding in that sometimes my work might not be as good as it could be.

- Enzo Cremers

I think pursuing a high level sport outside of CIS is great, but you have to understand that there is a decision to choose academics over sports or sports over academics to be made. If you choose sports over school, I think doing so at CIS would be extremely challenging and maybe downright impossible. But if you choose school over sports, CIS is one of the best schools that enables that balance.

- Enzo Cremers In conclusion, there is a way to be a student athlete, and to be successful at it. There is no need to give up on your dream, and all it takes is a little effort on your part. You have to put in the effort to be on top of your life, and you must choose the right battles (metaphorically of course). With those elements under control, you should pursue your sporting dreams all throughout your time at CIS. Besides, even if you change your mind, CIS will still give you great academics to help you succeed in life regardless.

Assessing all these difficulties while pursuing sports at a high level, as well as CIS’ highly academically focused environment, there is one big question remaining: Is it worth it to pursue a future in sports while attending CIS?

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SPOTLIGHT ON

U20 FOOTBALL TEAM

The U20 boys football team represents CIS in both the Hong Kong Schools Sports Federation (HKSSF) Football League and the International School Sports Federation Hong Kong (ISSFHK). The squad trains every Tuesday, from 3.30 pm to 4:30 pm, at the Happy Valley Recreational Ground. Matches are on weekdays and weekends in the HKSSF league from October to December; and from 27 February to 27 April in the ISSFHK league.

Last year the U20 boys got knocked out of the HKSSF tournament in the round of sixteen. This was against a tough opponent, Kung Lee. With a late goal in the last play of the game, the boys

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managed to take the game to extra time and then to a penalty shootout, which they lost. However, this year the team has a much better chance due to high quality players coming up from the U16 team and from Hangzhou. Furthermore, head of Sports and Activities at CIS, Mr. Fraser is the new coach of the team, with many years of experience playing professional football. This will also be the first year in a while that the team has had a spot in the ISSFHK tournament, giving the team more playing time as well as opportunity to prove themselves.

Two members of the current A grade football team at CIS represent the Hong Kong team. Erik Wihlborn, the captain of U20 Football at CIS, is part of the U18 Hong Kong team, as well as the Hong Kong Football Club Colts. Kyle Lau is currently part of the U16 Hong Kong team, as well as a U16 division 1 league team called Sun Pegasus.

SPORTS TEAMS Rahul Melwani | Photograph by Isaac Yee

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SPOTLIGHT ON GIRLS VOLLEYBALL POSITIONS There are always 6 players in one side of a volleyball court.

2 middles 2 powers 1 or 2 setter(s) (1 opposite if there is only one setter)

PROGRESS SO FAR U16 Girls This semester one season, the U16 girls have excelled in their performance in their ISSFHK Division 2 Pool, winning all their 10 games. They have the highest score in their pool and hence will be making it to the championships game, along with DSC, HKIS and AIS. U20 Girls As for the U20 Girls, they have won most of their games this season except for those against KGV, which is the hardest opponent for the girls yet. There has been very close sets with KGV, some games ending about just 5 points apart. The team has made it on the to championships game along with KGV, AIS and YCIS.

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TECHNIQUES Bump: To bump you should put your left hand over your right hand with palms facing up an thumbs on top.

Set/Volley: Imagine holding a ball up only with the tip of your fingers while they are spread apart. When the ball comes, have contact with the ball on the tip of your fingers and push up with your arms and legs.

Spike: To spike a ball you must know when to jump when the ball is highest in order to get the ball to go straight down. Always aim to get your palm above the ball to smack it down.

Sofia Chon (Captain): One thing I would like to note is the sense of camaraderie not solely within the teams, but across/among them.

Volleyball is one of the few sports at CIS where the guys and girls teams support each other. We attend each other’s games, give advice and occasionally play together. That partnership is something I hope to see in the future.

SPORTS TEAMS

By Stephanie Kung and Michelle Keoy

INTERVIEWS Coach Kalsi: When I started at CIS in 1999 we did not have a competitive volleyball programme. But we had interest. There was a recreational volleyball programme run by Mr. Pain (Head of PE at the time) and myself. I started a programme and our first teams played in the HKSSF. The local leagues are strong and we couldn’t compete. But then ISSFHK came along, and that’s how we began.

It fluctuates in numbers every year, but over the last few years we’ve had a competitive team in Division 2 for Girls U20 and now Girls U16. In the last few years a boys team has started as well.

I’ve really enjoyed how volleyball has grown to the level it is now. There is a lot of support for it amongst a segment of the student body. What would be great, in general, at our school, is if the students and parents started coming out to support and watch. That would be ideal for all sports. We need to support the Rising Phoenix!

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AT H L E T E S TO W ATC H Photographs by Isaac Yee

RAHUL

MELWANI FRISBEE

ERIK

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SWIMMING

FENCING

KYLIE WU

TRACY LEE

WIHLBORN SOCCER

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G A M E S

CROSSWORD (ANSWERS ON PAGE 5)

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GAMES

(ANSWERS ON PAGE 5)

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