Painful learning process for Hongkongers
National and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flags flew at half mast. People in classrooms, offices, open areas outside shopping malls, piers and in the government headquarters joined the three-minute silence on Monday to mourn the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.
The Jockey Club has cancelled tonight's race meeting. Disneyland postponed its daily fireworks display on Monday. The daily Symphony of Lights on both sides of the harbour has also been suspended.
The city might have stood still for three minutes but, compared with the three days of official mourning on the mainland, beginning on Monday, it was largely a case of business as usual in Hong Kong.
It may have been largely symbolic, but the extension of condolences by Hong Kong people to the victims of the earthquake is set to bring about profound changes in mainland-Hong Kong relations.
For doubters who had questioned the sense of national identity among Hong Kong Chinese, many of whom were brought up under colonial rule and migrated overseas, their concerns can be laid to rest in view of the immense feelings of empathy towards their fellow countrymen and women in Sichuan.
The fact that they share common roots, history and culture, traditional customs and language, and deep feelings towards the huge landmass, was manifest in their response to the disaster. It has made the border a mere symbolic divide. The people on both sides of the line are of one heart, with one hope for the victims.
Thanks to the power of the media and the unprecedented openness given to it by the central authorities on this occasion, Hongkongers have been able to see for themselves the scale of the damage to lives and property, and the rescue efforts by the leadership, the army and civilians.
However gloomy the quake-devastated scenes are, there have been plenty of shining examples where the best has been brought out of the Chinese people in these times of adversity.
While strengthening the sense of unity and cohesiveness across the mainland, the Sichuan earthquake disaster has emerged as a profound, though painful, process of learning for Hong Kong people about their country.
While being reminded of the traditional strengths and character of mainland Chinese, Hong Kong people have also been made aware of those less-glamorous parts of the mainland, where most people live at a subsistence level and the quality of school buildings has left much to be desired.
For most Hongkongers who have taken stability and prosperity for granted over the past three decades, it has been shocking to witness scenes of people suffering from hunger, fleeing for shelter, distraught parents searching for their children amid the rubble and rescue teams racing against time to save lives. These images will become part of the collective memory of the people of Hong Kong and the mainland.
In view of the 150-odd years of British rule and the sharp differences with the mainland system, there have been vocal calls for strengthened national education, to help eliminate feelings of alienation within society, particularly among young people.
The lack of a daily flag-raising ceremony in some schools, for instance, has often been attributed to a lax sense of nationhood. Results of opinion polls that show most people identify themselves as both Hongkongers and Chinese have been cited as evidence of a lack of national identity.
The quake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, has torn Sichuan apart. Yet, it has cemented the hearts and minds of Chinese people in Hong Kong, on the mainland and overseas. With a deeper sense of national togetherness, and pride and identity, positive changes in mainland-Hong Kong relations are likely to ensue.
Chris Yeung is the Post's editor-at-large.
