Awaiting a Democratic Hong Kong
Just a thought about the propaganda song spewing yellow monstrosity currently doing the rounds up and down my neighbourhood. It’s completely wrong.
Obviously I think it’s completely wrong due to the message it’s trying to send, but that this can’t possible work in an election type situation. That truck is simply a noise polluter because in a communist country that truck is a symbol of power. It is a reminder that the state is here, aurally, physically, economically. Hear us. Listen to us. No matter what you are doing, we are here.
When I happenned into a commune in Vietnam, the truck went round and round, playing those songs, reminding everyone working there who was boss. It was like a machine boss. I asked the people there what they were saying and they told me it was news, what was happenning, announcements of the commune leaders and the government. They shrug, not that important, we don’t really listen that much, they said. But it must be in there somewhere, its embedded in the subconcious over and over, every day or once a week. However many times that truck is there to talk to them. Even after an hour the lull of the voice, the songs, got into my head. I can still hear it now, the sound of the white loud speakers mounted on the green truck talking talking, singing singing.
Probably why I am so grouchy about this, I feel like it’s all encrouching the wrong way.
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PS. I was in a commune in Vietnam because we decided to have a look around the “real” vietnam outside of the tourist places. We rented motorbikes and snooped around. So I didn’t get sent there or anything, don’t get paranoid.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 
This is kind of the same but kind of not… when Pranjal and I were in Japan, we got to see the infamous black busses twice, once in Harajuku (extremely busy shopping area) and once in this podunk nowhere-village. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but according to my tour book, these busses drive around, draped with imperial flags, broadcasting slogans like “Revere the emperor! Expel the foreigner!” Maybe I should have felt insulted, but both times I couldn’t help but snicker and shake my head in a “those crazy guys, what’ll they think of next!” sort of way.
But yeah, that stuff is totally annoying and it really should be considered noise pollution and made illegal. I know there are always exceptions to the rule, but I like to believe the majority of humanity is smart enough to develop political opinions on more than what some bus driving by happens to say. I hope :S
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wow, and I thought the politicians over here were a pain in the ass! I’m now getting a horrible vision of John Howard going the round the streets of suburban Australia on the back of a truck singing “waltzing matilda” or some other patriotic song, and it’s just not working for me.
Surely they don’t think people in Hong Kong are that stupid?
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Geez, man, that sucks. I agree, China shouldn’t have gotten Hong Kong back. Forget the legal niceties of the lease, that was colonial era anyway. There’s a greater moral responsibility not to let a light go out. Greece showed that a city state can be as important to the world as any nation. I hope China doesn’t swallow you up, but you are in the gorilla’s back yard… I don’t know, I guess I’m pessimistic.
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Geez, that sucks. I agree, China shouldn’t have gotten Hong Kong back. Forget the legal niceties of the lease, that was colonial era anyway. There’s a greater moral responsibility not to let a light go out. Greece showed that a city state can be as important to the world as any nation. I hope China doesn’t swallow you up, but you are in the gorilla’s back yard… I don’t know, I guess I’m pessimistic.
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Of course this way of hammering ideas in people’s mind is not what you could think a good way to grow a political awareness.
In my opinion, that should not be a big matter of concern over there, anyway.
Usually it is working on people with little culture – that shouldn’t be the case of HK. Probably that’s why, in the past, in places like Birmania socialist government has decreased the shift on education. Less education=fanatism, self-identification with slogans, etc.
I think there is hope over there.
Here in Italy there is a big problem with the TV media, held by the left wing party leader, who is also the prime minister.
Yet, the left wing coalition has won the last election (left wing here is not precisely the same as China, eh! š ) in spite of the massive propaganda of the counterpart. I hope it means that, anyway, most of the Italians manage to keep their head in place.
If this doesn’t happen, it’s not yet time for democracy… mh, maybe it’s too strong but in my view it’s something like that.
Anyway, i think there are signs enough as to think that the lid will go away of the pot over there in the continent – i hope it won’t blow up but that it’ll start to let the steam go out slowly-
cultural revolution has already flattened your cultural awareness, and it would be a nice thing if you manage to digest the pluses and minuses of your recent history to build up a new one.
I agree that, anyway, HK point of view in completely different. But maybe you’ll have the prometeic task of igniting the process or – more simply – of being there as a living witness of where things have to go…
Bye
eddo
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