I watched him drink a glass of white wine after another, and realized that everyone who left because of his hometown is actually a child rushing to go home.
Loneliness is as suffocating as the thick clouds and cold wind in London, and the city is still lockeddown at the time of writing. After meeting again since last October, half a year later, the situation in Hong Kong and my situation are very different.
Although it was only my second meeting with my friend C, we had a long talk for eight hours. He talked about his story, from the beginning he was just a “Hong Kong pig” who came to working holiday, met with the anti-sending, saw the absurdity of the article and finally He awakened to the absurdity of the provisions and finally devoted himself to propaganda work. However, as the protest disappears from the streets because of the epidemic, the liquidation finally comes to his door. One by one, his companions were arrested, and some of them were already in exile overseas.
For him and his companions, exile may be like parting from life and death in war, a norm that they should never get used to. He said that perhaps the greatest regret of exile is that he is on earth together, but he will never be able to witness the joyous events and funerals of his family and loved ones. He mentioned a friend of his who was arrested as soon as he stepped out of the plane because he was rushing home to attend his family’s wedding last year. I watched him drink one glass of liquor after another and realized that everyone who leaves because of his hometown is actually a child rushing to go home.
Another friend I met, A, had fought side by side with me in the Hong Kong District Council election and witnessed me from a journalist’s background ending up in exile. As soon as we met, he laughed and said, “It feels so Surreal to see you again so soon. He gave me a hug, and I looked at him, nodded and smiled under the mask.
Because of work, my friend A came to London in October last year. At that time, the government had already cancelled the Legislative Council election, the National Security Law was in force, and the whole city was in a state of panic; he began to worry that I would not be able to return to Hong Kong. So we met at a Nando’s. During dinner, he suddenly put down the roast chicken in his hand and said with a serious face, “Are you going to go into exile? At that time, perhaps thinking that I might not be liquidated, I said coldly, “It’s not my turn yet, is it? When I look back today, I think it’s a prophecy, right?
It turns out that too many things you want to say will be lost in translation. After walking for a long time we ended up sitting on the side of the road eating hot dogs and fries, watching the people coming and going across the road while we collected our thoughts. After taking a sip of coffee, he asked me, “Do you regret it? “
I’ve thought about the question of regret numerous times; the answer I finally came up with is that I don’t regret it. I answered him, “Someone has to bend over backwards and give up themselves for the sport. I can’t imagine what change I would have brought to society if I hadn’t made that decision. Even if I could do it all over again, I would still make this decision; it was the best choice I could make at that time. He nodded in agreement and said he didn’t regret electioneering either. Then he laughed and said, “We may really be the chosen generation! But it’s really so hard. I jokingly nudged him, “You were the one who was told to run! In the end, everyone is still here! As we laughed, it seemed like we were suddenly back in the mid-autumn festival of 19 years when the lights were on.
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