Opinion | Now's the time for confidence in changes ahead
People and government should take challenges in their stride; CY must look out for dark horse
What does the Year of the Horse mean for Hong Kong? May the spirit of the horse and dragon be with you; wishing for you to be the No1 horse; stay as successful as a victorious horse?
So go some of the popular Lunar New Year greetings, which demonstrate how all people admire the spirit of the horse - energetic and confident. So let's wish all Hongkongers are full of vigour and confidence for the year ahead, whatever difficulties might arise.
The Year of the Horse brings to mind a famous quote by Deng Xiaoping, who promised Hongkongers that after 1997, "horse racing will continue, dancing parties will go on".
It was Deng's way of illustrating his pledge that Hong Kong's capitalist lifestyle would remain unchanged for 50 years under the "one country, two systems" framework he designed.
But many in Hong Kong and on the mainland soon realised that the laws of nature would not allow anything to remain "unchanged". On the contrary, as a Chinese saying goes, "only change is eternal".
"One country, two systems" is about more than horse racing or dancing. What Deng was setting out was a concept. And while parties and races are still common in town, these activities are no longer exclusive to Hongkongers. Big-spending mainlanders can be seen gambling at the racecourse or having fun partying. This is already a big change.