YES Last week, I had a phone call from a friend who works for a British national newspaper. She wanted to know what ceremonies were being planned for the handover - you know, what sophisticated, unforgettable events would be forever imprinted on the minds of the world's visiting media. 'Well,' I yelled (a demolition site has suddenly crumbled into life outside my window and telephone calls can be exhausting affairs) . . . and then I hesitated, out of a sudden sense of loyalty. Too late.
'We've already run a piece on' - and here there was a pause followed by an intercontinental snigger bouncing off the satellite - 'Elton John. What a hoot that was, eh?' 'There were vital reasons,' I bellowed, stiffly. 'Yeah, right,' she laughed. It was not a happy moment.
Perhaps you will understand the shame of that conversation, although I have to say it wasn't quite as bad as the day I happened to be in London on holiday, opened up a newspaper and saw a row of strangely grinning people waving white gloves at me from the Overseas News page. I peered at the text, wondering what religious sect these poor souls belonged to, and was disagreeably surprised to see that they were all members of the Silent Order of the Hong Kong Stadium. And that the Michael Jackson imitation was obviously the closest any of us would ever get to the singer.
I enjoy living in Hong Kong because I like to feel I'm at the cutting edge of things - here I am at an extraordinary moment in the life of this glossy metropolis which inspires awe and envy all over the globe. Wow! my friends gasp, when they fly in from scrappy, lesser cities such as London and Los Angeles. And I beam modestly, buffing my fingernails (or clipping them, if I want to be really local), savouring the proud moment.
So I don't like it when everyone laughs at us. Headphones and white gloves - I mean, really, what is the Urban Council on? And this latest nonsense about saucy dancing and suggestive costumes, and subsequent talk of censorship is really straying beyond the boundaries of what's funny.
I'm not advocating pop concerts every week at the stadium, but when the Urban Council puts its foot down over two performances which were scheduled to mark a one-off event - an occasion which has been described as the world's biggest peace-time news story - there has to be something wrong. (What, they think China's going to hand us back and we'll have to have yet another concert to celebrate?) I read last week that the stadium was built on an old cemetery. Apart from highlighting a hideous fung shui aspect, perhaps this also explains the Urban Council's position. They want it, you see, to remain as silent as the grave.
Fionnuala McHugh NO.
