On the 225th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to HTML, I can't help but think of the "Return" section in the 2019 movie "My Motherland and Me".
I cried several times when watching "My Motherland and Me" at that time. Some were moved and some were excited.
There is such a classic clip in the "Return" unit: when the national anthem was played and the five-star red flag was rising, Sister Lian, a Hong Kong police officer played by Hui Yinghong , ordered a group of Hong Kong police officers to change their cap badges collectively. Then the camera turned, Simon Yam played Hua Ge , holding his chest and crying with excitement while singing " Pearl of the Orient ".
This article talks about the Hong Kong story behind this clip.
1. Hui Yinghong changes her cap badge
The scene of Hong Kong police collectively changing their cap badges on the occasion of Hong Kong's return has been seen in previous movies, such as "Infernal Affairs 2".
Superintendent Wong, played by Anthony Wong, and Liu Jianming, played by Edison Chen , both replaced the previous Hong Kong Royal Police police badge with new police badges at the moment of their return.
At the same time, various police stations in Hong Kong also took down the old large police badges and replaced them with the new Hong Kong Police badges.
The scene of changing police badges in "My Motherland and Me" was shot more formally and with more momentum, especially Sister Lian played by Hui Yinghong, who is the police officer who leads the team to escort the handover ceremony. Their action of changing police badges is more iconic. .
Due to the limited close-up shots in the movie, many viewers did not understand the difference between the old and new police badges, and it seemed that there was not much difference.
In fact, the outlines of the old and new police badges are indeed very close, but the specific details have changed quite a bit.
The crown representing the British royal family on the old police badge has become the bauhinia flower symbolizing the Hong Kong SAR government in the new police badge. The original English "Royal Police" has become the Chinese character "Hong Kong Police", and the central pattern has been changed from a British ocean-going sailing ship. It has become the five most iconic buildings in the SAR: Police Headquarters Building, Bank of China Building, Hong Kong City Hall, HSBC Bank and Exchange Square.
2. Simon Yam’s Tears
In "My Motherland and Me", Simon Yam plays Brother Hua, a watchmaker. He was a refugee who was washed away by floods in Hong Kong. He was rescued by the police and later married Sister Lian, who was a policeman. , settled in Hong Kong.
In fact, the author believes that in the original script of "Return", Hua Ge's identity should be a young man who fled Hong Kong. There are two evidences. One is the tube tied to the young Hua Ge and the balloon he was holding when he was rescued. , obviously came prepared.
The second thing is that there is an old newspaper in a prominent position in Hua Ge’s watch shop. The content on it is the newspaper’s report on the “tide of people fleeing from port at sea.” The picture that appears in the newspaper is of young Hua Ge and Sister Lian.
Let’s speculate a little more. This newspaper is most likely Ming Pao written by Mr. Jin Yong.
Then, it is easy to understand Brother Hua’s tears when he returned to Hong Kong.
As a foreigner, although Hua Ge has lived in Hong Kong for at least thirty years, the feeling of "being a stranger in a foreign land" is difficult to erase, and he also has a sense of belonging, even though He integrates very well into Hong Kong society and he still has that "who am I" sentiment, especially when Hong Kong was a British colony equivalent to a foreign country.
After the return, Hua Ge and Hong Kong returned to the embrace of the motherland. The sense of belonging "I am Chinese" was immediately established. That feeling made Hua Ge burst into tears instantly.
The sense of belonging is actually a common problem faced by the immigrant generation.
3. "Pearl of the Orient"
When Hong Kong returned to China, the song "Pearl of the Orient" was accompanied by fireworks and crowds celebrating the return.
It is estimated that many viewers have heard the all-star chorus version of "Pearl of the Orient" and would think that this song was specially composed by Luo Dayou for the return of Hong Kong.
In fact, "Pearl of the Orient" was first created in 1986. At that time, the "Sino-British Joint Declaration" had been released. Luo Dayou came to Hong Kong to develop, and created the Cantonese version of "Pearl of the Orient" out of inspiration.
In 1991, the "Music Factory" jointly established by Luo Dayou and the Rolling Stones released its first album "Queen's Road East". Luo Dayou also composed the Mandarin version of "Pearl of the Orient" for inclusion in this album.
On the eve of Hong Kong's return in 1997, "Pearl of the Orient" became an iconic song to celebrate Hong Kong's return. In 2019, the song was selected into the "100 Excellent Songs to Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China".
Let me emphasize that the Pearl of the Orient refers to the radio and television tower in Shanghai, and the Pearl of the Orient refers to Hong Kong.
In the background of the singing of "Pearl of the Orient" is the scene of people celebrating the return of Hong Kong. Here I have to mention a topic other than the movie.
Almost every year on the anniversary of Hong Kong's return, a photo of people celebrating the return is taken out, and this photo is also collected by foreign museums.
The special thing about this photo is that Huang Xiaoming, who was a freshman at Beijing Film Academy Performance Department 96, was captured by the photographer as a crowd participating in the celebration. From then on, Huang Xiaoming was bound to the history of Hong Kong's return. together.
Let me tell you a little more. The smiling girl on Huang Xiaoming's right is called Xu Huanhuan. Her film and television masterpiece is "Like Rain, Like Fog and Like Wind".
4. Thoughts on the return of Hong Kong
In the movie "My Motherland and Me", there is a scene between Brother Hua and Sister Lian. Brother Hua gives Sister Lian the watch that his father had entrusted to bring him, and used it for the handover ceremony that day. Sister Lian's control of time is very symbolic. One of the words was said by Brother Hua's father: What is borrowed must be returned.
When Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, in addition to the warm celebrations, there was another view in the society: things that were forcibly borrowed were only returned after 1999. There seemed to be nothing to celebrate.
In fact, Hong Kong was divided into three places in history. Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain by the Qing government in 1842, Kowloon Peninsula was ceded in 1860, and New Territories was ceded by the Qing government in 1898. The lease of the "Special Article to Expand the Boundary Site of Hong Kong" signed with the United Kingdom expires on June 30, 1997.
According to international practice, it was natural for the British government to return the New Territories in 1997. However, Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula were ceded at that time and did not need to be returned with the New Territories. If China wants to return to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon , the most effective and direct way in history is to fight another war with Britain. If China wins, it can take back the places it ceded back then.
However, we did not go to war with Britain. Instead, we directly took back Hong Kong Island and Kowloon by not recognizing unequal treaties, that is, not recognizing cession. The British government had to agree. Although there is no war, there is actually strength behind it. It is a kind of "force intimidation", that is, "a soldier who subdues others without fighting."
Looking at it this way, the significance of Hong Kong's return is extraordinary. We don't even need to fight. We directly rely on our strength to make the " Iron Lady " Mrs. Thatcher submissive. She dared to Argentina for Falklands We started a war, but we didn’t even have the courage to start a war with our country. Compared with the arrogant empire of the late Qing Dynasty, which the sun never sets, isn’t this historical reversal worthy of celebration?
Sometimes, you have to understand why Daying is willing to put down his body and be the younger brother of the United States. With limited strength, he can only hold the thigh.
Therefore, we should not only celebrate Hong Kong’s return every year, but also celebrate it warmly.
