Name: Peter Wong Tze-kin Age: 35 years School: Shun Tak Fraternal Association Lee Shau Kee College. Subject specialities: Biology and English. Years of teaching: I've taught here all of my 13-year career. Interests outside school: I'm a clergyman and I spend my spare time preaching or helping people in need. For long holidays, I always go to China and preach there with friends. Background: I have four brothers, only one of them is younger. We all were born in Hong Kong. We are all Christians but we serve different churches. My brothers live in Hong Kong and most of them are professionals. One of them is a director of a community centre. My parents were born in China and emigrated to Hong Kong from Guangzhou in 1949. They are retired now. My wife, who is a housewife, is also a Christian. What does the handover mean to you? The handover is a new beginning for me. After the handover, we need to learn more about nationalism. I look at it positively. Many people are scared about the handover and are emigrating to other countries. But since I'm a clergyman, I'm not afraid of any political changes. God will tell us what will happen and he will bless us. On the other hand, I'm glad that we can now be Chinese citizens. We can assume there will be changes but these changes will be positive. You can see China is developing well and its relations with foreign countries are improving. What does the handover mean to your parents? My parents do not have strong feeling about the handover. They will just wait and see what happens and adapt to the changes. They feel they won't be affected as they have retired - but anyway, they don't mind changes. What are the future challenges in education in Hong Kong? Educators should prepare more for mother-tongue teaching. Most educators graduated from English schools and were trained in English teaching methods - they need to be retrained in mother-tongue teaching. Civil education also will be promoted after the handover. Our schools have started teaching students to sing the Chinese national anthem and salute the flag. How do you view Hong Kong 10 years from now? I look at the overall situation positively. The population will increase through mainland immigration and this will make housing, education and employment problems more serious. But on the positive side, these immigrants can push our youngsters to be more competitive. People in our church also view the handover positively. We are glad that we have a clear nationality now. During the celebrations, our church members will give blessings to God for peace in Hong Kong and China. I don't know if the Chinese Government will curtail freedom of religion. But we won't struggle against the government unreasonably. Christians need to support the Government.
