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I was born in Hong Kong in 1931.
We had eight children in the family. My youngest brother didn’t make it through the war. He passed away before he was one.
My mother was too busy taking care of us. I only got one-eighth of all the love she could give. I wanted more.
Though my dad didn’t make much money, he earned a lot of respect from people around him. He was an honest and serious person. His influence on me is much greater than my mother’s.
My mother passed away when I was 11. My dad remarried and had three more children.
I only started talking to my stepmother after my dad passed away. That’s how close we were.
I supported my stepsiblings financially. It was only money. We aren’t that close, we only meet up once a year.
I don’t have much of a family life. I’m single, and except for my sister who I live with, I’m not that close with the rest of my family.
The good thing about being single is you can go all out without any worries.
I was 12 or 13 during the Japanese invasion. I saw a lot.
I was too young to feel the fear of death during the war. Everyday we brought food to the mountain hideout. We chewed on snacks while waiting for the armies to leave. When we went back to our house, it was usually ransacked.
You can’t blame me for hating the Japanese army. They used to poop in our empty rice bucket!
I became a teacher because it paid well. The years went by and I became the school prinicpal.
I don’t like joking in class. Teaching is teaching, why do you need to tell jokes?
Teachers should be serious in class and students should have respect. Bribing the kids with snacks will not earn their respect.
I'm more interested in turning students from bad to good than from good to great.
I’m against tutoring. It’s an insult to schoolteachers.
Instead of sentencing people to jail for using foul language in the MTR, why don’t we educate people to look down on those who swear?
The sex survey in the Chinese U Student Press is vulgar. I don’t see how it promotes discussions of sex.
But suing a student is against the purpose of education.
Mingpao was condemned for doing the right thing. Reprinting the sex survey provides readers with the necessary information to make an independent judgment – and that’s exactly what journalists are supposed to do.
My trust towards China was both built up and broken down by Deng Xiaoping. There was hope due to his economic reforms - but the June 4 massacre killed all that.
I didn’t sleep at all the night of the massacre. I even fainted in one of the protests.
How many deaths are required to qualify as a massacre? Go ask Ma Lik!
The Chinese government are triads. They’re like gangsters who get whatever they want by intimidation.
I am a patriot. I love China. I just don’t like the government.
The Chinese government denied my right to go back to China. I am Chinese, I have the right to return to my home country. Whether I go back or not is another issue.
Democracy in Hong Kong is falling apart. The Urban Council is gone, and the government is now appointing more ministers.
Hong Kong is ready for universal suffrage, but Beijing is not. Our respect for the Rule of Law, our education level and the July 1 protests have already shown that we deserve it.
There are things Hong Kongers can do to fight for democracy. But the bottomline is, Hong Kong can only truly become democratic when China does.
The government’s respect for Hong Kongers is reflected in the Star Ferry and Queen’s Pier - taken down and under threat.
Education is about inspiration. Regina Ip and Ma Lik are some of the greatest educators in Hong Kong, inspiring people to think about democracy and take action.
Use it or lose it. The greatest regret of my life is I’ve forgotten all the English I learned in school.
My message to Hong Kongers: strive for universal suffrage. Join the July 1 Demonstration this year and speak up!


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Political Icon Szeto Wah

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Szeto Wah, 76, is an icon of Hong Kong politics. He is the founder and chairman of "Hong Kong in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China," which organized the biggest rally ever in Hong Kong in 1989 when one million people took to the streets. He is a former school principal who then became a legislator for 20 years before retiring in 2004. He shares his life story with Jan Leung.
