Guest Comments by Vandana Marino
LANTAU ISLAND, Hong Kong -- I admired Hong Kong people when they marched by the millions in 1989 to protest against the Beijing Massacre, as I also admired them when they marched by the thousands in 2003 against Article 23, the proposed national-security legislation. But their recent protest march in reaction to the deaths of eight Hong Kong people during a hostage incident in Manila was incomprehensible to me.
Did those people really think their government could not express their anger towards the Philippine government over a botched rescue attempt? Why did the protesters target ordinary Filipinos who come from a country with a history of mismanagement and corruption? Did they feel threatened by the poor people of that unfortunate country, thousands of whom slave for them here in Hong Kong? Are Filipinos really viewed as being on the same level as terrorists?
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The other night, I watched the film Masks, directed by Alba Rayton and set on Hong Kong's Lamma Island. At first, I was frustrated at the lack of dialogue and a bit puzzled at what was happening. It was obvious that the daughter was pregnant, but the long silent looks didn't impress me. The reason the mother went away with the daughter and left the son with his father and never returned, even for the father’s funeral, puzzled me too. However, when the unwanted boy arrived and the relationship with his rather lost and dysfunctional uncle developed, it was moving, even poignant. By the end, I wanted to watch it all over again so I could understand the strands better. I liked the choice of music throughout, but especially the theme song at the end. It makes a trip to Lamma Island more alluring.
Lily Bond, Thailand
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By Ivan Ashley
(First of Three Excerpts)
 The following comes from Red Island Clay (2010, Big Bridge Music, 214 pages), a novel about love and life in rural Canada spanning the second half of the 20th century. Published with the author's permission, this excerpt is set in 1950 when protagonist Tom Lowden is 11 years old. For more information: Big Bridge Music, P.O. Box 55, Elmsdale, PEI, Canada, C0B 1K0.
As Tom cycled along the road, he could see Buck getting closer by the minute. Soon they would meet and slew and swerve their bikes beside each other in the sand, making fresh marks, just like boys always did. They then continued on to High Meadows and soon were walking back the farm lane to try the trout.
In no time at all, they were joined by Stubby, the Lowdens' trusty border collie, who was waggling his tail as he tagged along, so happy to be with the boys.
In a small field behind the barn were the Lowdens’ two horses, Queen and her daughter Princess. The horses didn’t get to do as much anymore as the Lowdens had purchased a new Cockshutt 30 tractor about a year ago.
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 By focusing on people, not salacious activities, Yeeshan Yang presents an informative, outsider-peeks-in view of the sex trade in Whispers and Moans, Interviews With the Men and Women of Hong Kong's Sex Industry (2006, Blacksmith Books, 276 pages, HK$140). Hong Kong sex workers may be less famous than those in Bangkok, but they probably face even greater potential rewards, hazards and prejudices.
When the Hong Kong Tourism Board promotes its turf as a “shopping paradise”, it doesn't mean the sex trade. Yet when darkness descends, the sex biz emerges in districts “filled with shabby houses, signboards, shops and food stands”.
Amid the desires, torments and turmoil, even heroes face injustice. “Keikei exclaimed: ‘Watch out, kid!’ She dropped the cigarette she had just lit, dashed out in front of the lorry and grabbed the little boy. It was then that his mother appeared. Without a word she roughly snatched the boy away, half turning her back to Keikei…. She dragged her son away with one hand over her nose as if rescuing him from something rotten.”
Why write about the sex industry? “Even today, I cannot understand why I felt so strongly…. I was just someone whose imagination had been captured….”
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