So many people have been trying for so long to explain why the end of British colonial rule is seen to some as a mixed blessing. The Arts Centre has said it all with an extremely clever bit of film programming.
From July 1-2 there will be screenings of the newly released mainland feature film, The Opium War, which deals with the indignities and humiliations that led to Hong Kong becoming British in the first place. This will be followed by the first public screening in China of the documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace, which deals with the build-up to the June 4, 1989, massacre in Beijing.
The first film shows how wrong it was for Britain to have seized Hong Kong from China, and the second how complicated life on the mainland has become in the meantime.
Both films came in for a lot of flak from the people they were supposed to depict. The Western media wrote The Opium War off as anti-Western propaganda, raking over old wounds to justify current nationalism when it really only shows how hopeless the Qing dynasty was.
And the Chinese Government was equally quick to dispute the contents of The Gate of Heavenly Peace as supportive of counter-revolutionaries, when in fact what makes it so disturbing is the cold-blooded determination of the student leaders, to see things through no matter what the cost.
Celebrity singing in the park Hands up those of you who were surprised that a number of Canto-pop stars turned down TVB's request for them to appear for nothing on their five-hour Brilliance of the Dragon Hong Kong Extravaganza concert on Monday night? If that was a sign of things to come, pretty soon stars will have to actually pay to be allowed to perform at all, which on second thoughts could be something to explore.
TVB's event, which takes place live in the Cultural Centre, is not even open to the public. ATV's rival offering is Handover Variety live from Happy Valley racecourse, featuring some (paid) local celebrities, and dragon and lion dances.
