香港人,中國人...

I was at 某某 bar the other night where I came across a French man.  He asked me where I'm from, I said HK.  Then he asked me in Mandarin, do I speak Mandarin, I replied no (in Mandarin, cos I don't speak fluent).  Then the guy told me, "then you're not Chinese, you're Hongkongese!"  So I asked him what's the difference.  He said, "You, like the rest of the Hongkongese are full of themselves, you don't speak Mandarin and you call yourself a Chinese?  I've travelled many places in China, and the people there they all speak Mandarin.  You Hongkong people just say you're Chinese because China has the money and the power." Excuse me?!?!  What kind of BS is that?  I'm yellow skin, born and made in HK to a Chinese father and a Shanghainese-filipino mother, I can speak, read, write Chinese, I have a 回鄉證.  If 香港人 are not 中國人, then what are they? British?!  HK has been a part of China ever since the Qin Dynasty which was before Christ, until the the British colonized HK in 1841 during the Opium wars.  Mandarin is what the majority of Chinese speak nowadays, like how English is an international language.  But besides Mandarin, there's different Chinese dialects like Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Fujianese to name a few. Plus, Cantonese have been around for about 2000 years already, where Mandarin (Putonghua) has only been around for 7-800 years.  I really didn't have to waste time on this guy, but clearly he has a misperception on Chinese race.   For him to deny the fact that I'm Chinese when he's just a French person who can speak Mandarin, it's something utterly absurd!  Here's the main reason why...

See I really didn't have to waste my time explaining to this man who appeared to be obtuse. It was clear he has something against HK people.But because I am proud to be a 中國人, I had to give him a clear insight hoping that he won't bark up another wrong tree.  Since he showed no interest in hearing what I had to say, I said to him, "Just calm down and let me just say this, it's not that I don't care what my nationality is, it's not a big deal, it doesn't matter, because just like you, I'm just another human being in this world, period!  Alongside with being a human, I'm also a Chinese, Hongkongese, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an artist, etc etc...  There's actually no boundaries between us, we're all connected as one in one big place.  Lastly, I AM WHAT I SAY I AM!  I don't need you to tell me who I am."  Even after I said that he continued to say I'm not a Chinese.  My friend who was listening to the whole conversation, and me just looked at each other and started ignoring him.  He can't even get the message that it was end of the story.  To be honest, the fact that he asked "Where are you from?" is really inappropriate when you first meet someone without even knowing their name!  I mean, what the duck?! Seriously, I hate it when people come up to me for the first time and say, "Hi! Where are you from?"   He did however apologise after we ignored him and pretended he was invisible. 

If you ever cross paths with such people, not necessarily under the same circumstance, don't let them get to you.  Don't let anyone tell you who you are, no one has more right to do that than yourself.  No one knows YOU more than yourself, no one has spent more time with you than YOU.  If you feel unsure of who you really are, which applies to some people, trace back your family background, ask your parents about the history of your ancestors. Or if that's not possible or inconvenient, do a research, do whatever it takes, for yourself, it's essential and never too late.  In the words of Bob Marley: "Get up, Stand up! Stand up for your right!"

Peace, light & nirvana,

薑