Source:
https://scmp.com/article/1005293/still-struggle-hearts-and-minds

Still a struggle for hearts and minds

The night is forever in my memory. It was June 30, midnight to be exact. Standing in Tiananmen Square, among a jubilant crowd of tens of thousands of performers representing all of China's 54 ethnic groups, I saw their beaming smiles, heard their resounding cheers like peals of thunder and felt the warmth of the magnificent fireworks. Yet I failed to share their heartfelt laughter and cheerful voices.

As a Hong Kong reporter sent to Beijing to cover the handover ceremony of the city's return to China, a voice inside kept reminding me: calm down. As a journalist, I was supposed to be dispassionate. But, like many other Hongkongers, I felt that what was awaiting was a future not ours to see - even with Beijing's solemn promise of 'one country, two systems'.