Things aren't that bad in Hong Kong, but our own chill definitely killed us last week. Seriously! Lots of us. All over HK, the elderly HK homeless died in considerable numbers. Stopped now. It took only one night littered with a raft of deaths to get the police out in force gathering up our local homeless to take them off in vans ... probably to shelters because this isn't Mainland China!
Also noticed that, all week, the police were questioning shabby-looking elderly people in the streets. Have no idea what they were saying but from all the gentle and friendly "I'm on your side" body language, I'm guessing they were trying to discover if they had enough heating etc.
So that was our big thing all last week: making sure the elderly poor were OK. HK may not be a welfare state but everyone does care. Kinda! And eventually! At least after a swathe of cruel deaths!
And while on that subject, I do have to report the very sad news that I haven't seen Strange Little Wan Chai Man for nearly a year. When I first moved to Wan Chai I used to report on his doings because he was so strange and odd and little, so he is known to family and friends. But if you don't already know about him, he was the strangest little man imaginable. About four and a half feet tall with dreadlocks down to his thighs, he used to wander up and down the streets of Wan Chai, wearing only a loin cloth whatever the weather, obsessively looking through the bins for bits of silver papers which he folded into tiny little squares and carried for the rest of the day.
He was obviously mad but so strangely beautiful and charismatic I had to find out about him, and it turned out that he lived in the trashcans behind a Wan Chai restaurant - a three-star one so he had good taste - and had done so as long as anyone could remember. And I also discovered that he never ever spoke so no one knew anything about him. He was just there! Always was, always would be, and never aging nor looking any different. Just part of the streetscape.
He's even in "The World of Suzie Wong". Honestly. There's a sweeping shot of Wan Chai in that film and you can see him right on the screen, looking exactly as he does today - oops, I think I mean "looking exactly like he did this time last year." - and that film was made in 1960 so that's at least 50 years he's been wandering these Wan Chai streets, so much part of the landscape no one noticed him anymore.
Actually, this strange little man is the reason I always tell people that Christianity IS the best religion, undoubtedly and outstandingly, because "by his deeds you will know him". What happened is that, about five years ago, I noticed Strange Little Wan Chai Man was crying as he obsessively walked our streets, and then one side of his face got all red and swollen and he began drooling. He was so obviously unhappy, I was very worried, so kept asking Chinese people if they'd do something to help. Not one! Not a single one would lift a finger! Kept saying he must have done bad in his previous lives so this was his destiny.
But then he vanished, and, after being missing for weeks, suddenly he was back on bin-duty looking right as rain. It was so odd, I had to ask around and, as I heard it, the locals from "The Old China Hand" had been seeing what I saw, so kidnapped him off the street to take him to the doctor. Turned out not a single Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim doctor would examine him. Finally, they got a Christian doctor who willingly took him on and, when it turned out to be an impacted wisdom tooth, they had the same problem with finding a dentist! Finally, again, they found a Christian dentist who willingly took him on, extracted the tooth for free and then a Christian charity looked after him until he'd healed and was able to resume his obsessive walking, this time also wearing a sweater.
This really brought me up short and got me thinking. Of all the great religions, only Buddhism has no remit to charity. Buddhists believe you get what's coming to you and so you don't interfere when people are having a bad time! That's just wrong, isn't it! Hinduism does have a remit to charity, but they also believe in reincarnation and karma and that you get what you deserve and so, again, you don't help people when they're in trouble! Charity is something you do for yourself - to gain karma points - and not something you do as a result of the needs of others. Islam also has a remit to charity but ... oh lordy, have you ever read the Koran? ... only in the Mecca Doctrines (can't remember if I've got this right. It's been many years!) all of which is contradicted in the Medina Doctrines which are said to supersede the Mecca Doctrines so who knows what they're meant to do. All I know is that the local Muslim Charity wouldn't lift a finger to help Strange Little Wan Chai Man.
So I came away from all this with the conviction that, given the principle of "by his deeds you will know him", even really bad Christians, like those to be found in "The Old China Hand", were ultimately better people than the best of believers in the other major religions, and that's all down to a single line in the Christian doctrines "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you!"
That's an amazing evocation, isn't it! "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you!" Until the kidnapping of Strange Little Wan Chai Man, I'd never given the line a moment's thought, but after this incident I came away simply blown away! It's HUGE! It's powerful. It's the single reason why Jesus should be considered the greatest philosopher EVER. Even Gandhi said so and he never had a reason to like Christians.
"Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you!" I guess that's why HK Police - and do remember that the Hong Kong Police Force was set up by Christians - have been spending our week of hideously chilly nights out there trying to do right.
But back to Strange Little Wan Chai Man! He hasn't been out on the streets since last Christmas. I wonder if I should go to "Old China Hand" to find out what happened to him!
But to choose what we're obsessing over this week in HK, it would have to be:
THREATDOWN
Hideous cold weather in a country
that isn't used to it,
doesn't expect it,
and isn't set up for it.
Hah! You thought I was going to say something about Christianity, didn't you!
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