IT'S NOT OFTEN in Hong Kong that strangers hug each other and dance in the street, but it's a sight you may see on Sunday.
PoPo is the latest craze sweeping Hong Kong, finding its way into schools, malls and hospitals across the city. 'Po' means to embrace or hug in Cantonese, and hugging is the central message of the movement and its theme song. For the 300-strong members of what's come to be known as the PoPo Family, it's a way of injecting some love and compassion into the community.
Lunar New Year revellers at the annual parade along the harbour front on Sunday will get first-hand experience. The Hong Kong Tourism Board has asked a PoPo team to perform before the main event.
One PoPo fan likely to be in the crowd is San Wui Commercial Society Kowloon School teacher Eric Yu Ho-yin. Yu says the PoPo song has helped his students, particularly new arrivals from the mainland who had trouble communicating.
'It's a chance for people to communicate, which is important,' he says. 'Music helps students release their emotions.'
The opening lyrics of the theme song go something like this: 'Come on everybody, raise your hands/ Come on everybody, raise your hands/ Come on everybody, shake your hips/ PoPo salsa music, come let's dance/ You should love bravely/ Love is useful/ Let's make a dream together and share love in the dreamland/ Gather everybody/ Don't be shy to give a big hug/ If you want the world different, stand out and use love to push down the walls.'