Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Nice Video Play List for Learning German
Easy German - Grammar Episodes
Easy German - Basic Phrases
Easy German - Verbs
Easy German - Pronunciation
Easy German - Learning German from the Streets
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Die Lieder von George Lam
George Lam ist der bekanntesten Sänger in Hong Kong. Seine Lieder decken viele Genres. Neben den traditionellen chinesische Lieder, nahm er auch die Melodie aus europäischen Liedern. Die ursprüngliches Lied ist wie "ein schönes kleines Mädchen" ein russische Volkslied - "Moscow Nights/Подмосковные Вечера".
Zum beispiele sein Lied 'Aufregung' ist aus Hava Nagila, das ist das hebräische Volkslied. Der ursprüngliche Song Name bedeutet Aufregung zu. Die ursprüngliches Lied wurde von Abraham Zvi Idelsohn in 1918 geschrieben. George neu es und machte das Tempo schneller.
Er nahm drei Lieder von einer deutschen Band - Dschinghis Khan. Die drei Lieder sind:
- Dschinghis Khan, (urspruengliche und George),
- Moskau und (urspruengliche und George),
- Rom (urspruengliche und George).
Dschinghis Khan war eine von 1979 bis Mitte der 1980er-Jahre von Ralph Siegel produzierte deutsche Musikgruppe. Ihre größten Hits waren Dschinghis Khan und Moskau (1979). Ab 1999 kam es zu einem Comeback gemeinsam mit "The Legacy of Genghis Khan"; in Deutschland wurde 2007 wieder eine CD veröffentlicht. Bekannt wurde die Gruppe mit dem Titel Dschinghis Khan, mit dem sie den 4. Platz beim Eurovision Song Contest (1979) belegte.
Das Erstaunlichste ist, dass ein Mädchen-Band in Japan genannt Berryz Koubou ihre eigene Version gemacht im Jahr 2008.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Unglaublich
Unglaublich means amazing and unbelievable. Un- is the prefix that means not. glaub means think. -lich is the suffix turns it to an adjectives.
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Rezepte und Kochen
Sehr hungrig bin ich. Suppe kochen.
Das ist Tomatencremesuppe mit Croutons.
Die Tomaten sind sauer. Der Zucker brauchen wir. Die suppe wird süß sein. Die Creme kann die dick wenn die dünn ist. Nachdem wir einige frische Zwiebeln hinzufügen, wird die Suppe köstlich.
Zutaten Gartensalat
(Ingredients of garden salad)
Die Gurke, das Brot, das Olivenöl, der Essig, die Kräuter, das Salz, der Pfeffer und der Zucker.
(the cucumber, the bread, the olive oil, the vinegar, the herbs, the salt, the pepper and the sugar.)
Die Hauptzutat der Kartoffel Gratin ist die Kartoffel mit Wipp Creme. Die Hauptzutaten der Pfannkuchen sind das Mehl und das Ei. Die Zweiebeln können den Geschmack verbessern.
Ich bin gefüllt.
die Kartoffel (the potato)
der Käse (the cheese)
das Mehl (the flour)
das Ei (the egg) / die Eier
das Puddingpulver (the pudding powder)
der Apfel
die Banane
die Kiwi
die Mango
die Papaya
Das ist Tomatencremesuppe mit Croutons.
Die Tomaten sind sauer. Der Zucker brauchen wir. Die suppe wird süß sein. Die Creme kann die dick wenn die dünn ist. Nachdem wir einige frische Zwiebeln hinzufügen, wird die Suppe köstlich.
Zutaten Gartensalat
(Ingredients of garden salad)
Die Gurke, das Brot, das Olivenöl, der Essig, die Kräuter, das Salz, der Pfeffer und der Zucker.
(the cucumber, the bread, the olive oil, the vinegar, the herbs, the salt, the pepper and the sugar.)
Die Hauptzutat der Kartoffel Gratin ist die Kartoffel mit Wipp Creme. Die Hauptzutaten der Pfannkuchen sind das Mehl und das Ei. Die Zweiebeln können den Geschmack verbessern.
Ich bin gefüllt.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Gastfreundschaft.
die Kartoffel (the potato)
der Käse (the cheese)
das Mehl (the flour)
das Ei (the egg) / die Eier
das Puddingpulver (the pudding powder)
der Apfel
die Banane
die Kiwi
die Mango
die Papaya
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Die persönliche Einführung
Ich heiße Albert. Ich bin verheiratet und habe ein Kind. Ich habe nur halb Jahre Deutsch gelernt. Ich habe Deutsch gelernt, weil Ich die kulturelle Erkundungen und die Philosophie mag. Zum Beispiele, Oktoberfest, die Würste, Martin Heidegger und Immanuel Kant. Fernsehprogrammen mochte Ich von Deutsche Welle, Bundesregierung, ZDF, Anne Will und Markus Lanz. Ich mag zu treffen mit die Austauschstudentinen.
Eine kleine Erinnerung ist hier. Nur als Referenz sind die aufgeführten Vokabulare.
der Treff = the rendezvous
die Vorstellung = the idea
der Gelegenheit = the opportunity
die Philosophie = the philosophy
der Taxifahrer = taxi driver
die Wissenschaft = the science
die Umwelt = the environment
die Planung = planning
die Vorbereitung = preparation
die Durchführung = execution
die Mitschrift = the transcript / the note
der Gelegenheit = the opportunity
die Philosophie = the philosophy
der Taxifahrer = taxi driver
die Wissenschaft = the science
die Umwelt = the environment
die Planung = planning
die Vorbereitung = preparation
die Durchführung = execution
die Mitschrift = the transcript / the note
die Vokabeln (pl) = the vocabulary
zusätzlichen = additional
hilfsbereit = helpful
motiviert = motivated
motiviert = motivated
attraktiv = attractive
jung = young
talentiert = talented
organisiert = organized
aktiv = active
proklamieren = proclaim
treffen = meet
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Frohe Chinesisches Neujahr!
Frohe Chinesisches Neujahr! Wir grüßen einander. Das Geld wird in den roten Tasche stecken. Wir geben die die Kinder und unverheiratete Erwachsene. Wir haben spezielle Speisen. Wir mochten speisen zu Hause mit Verwandten.
Die Wortliste:
Die Wortliste:
- die Speise = the dish / the food
- speisen = to dine / to supply / to recharge
- einspeisen = to feed / to inject
- das Einspeisen = feeding
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Die Demographie von Hong Kong
3 Jahre von Christ war die Zeit der Qin-Dynastie. Hong Kong lag in der sogenannten Baiyue Region. Das ist ein loser Begriff der verschiedene Völkern bezeichnet, die im südlichen China und Nordvietnam wohnten. Die Armee von 500 Tausend Soldaten aus dem nördlichen China angegriffen Baiyue. Sie lebten dort. Die sinifizierung beginnt.
Die starke Migration aus dem nördlichen China passiert etwa 1279 das Ende der südlichen Song-Dynastie. Sung Wong Toi in der Qing-Dynastie erbaut glaubte, um ein Denkmal für den letzten zwei Jungen Kaiser der südlichen Song-Dynastie, die sich vorübergehend in Hong Kong gelebt hat.
Von 1661 bis 1669 wurde das Gebiet von der Großen Clearance betroffen, in der der Kaiser Qing Kangxi, die die Evakuierung der Küstengebiete Guangdong veranlasste. Es ist überliefert, dass etwa 16.000 Personen aus Xin'an County im Landesinneren und 1.648 von denen, die ursprünglich vertrieben wurden, zurückkamen, als die Evakuierung im Jahre 1669 aufgehoben wurde.
Während dieser Zeit gab es zwei Haupttypen von Ureinwohner. Die kantonesische Bevölkerung und ein Volk das aus Fujian stammte.
Im Jahr 1841 gab es 7.450 Personen in Hong Kong. Es war der Anfang der Britischen Kolonialzeit. Zunächst war nur Hong Kong Island unter Britischer Herrschaft. Von 1851 bis 1864 erhöhte sich die Bevölkerung von 33.000 auf 121.498, auf Grund des Taiping-Aufstands. Seit dem Jahr 1898 kontrolliert en die Briten die neuen Territorien und Kowloon außer der ummauerten Stadt in Kowloon.
Im Norden der Queens Road brach 1851 ein Feuer aus, bei dem mehr als 400 Häuser zerstört wurden. Der Gouverneur Bonham befahl die Arbeiter den Schutt ins Meer zu schieben. Dies war der erste formale Reklamation in Hong Kong. So entstand der Bonham Strand. Im Jahr 1894 brach die Pest in der Tai Ping Shan Straße aus und verursachte massive Todesfälle.
Während der japanischen Okkupation fällt die Bevölkerung von 1,6 Millionen auf 0,5 Millionen.
Der Bürgerkrieg und der Gründung der Volksrepublik China passiert. Die Bevölkerung erhöht bis 2,2 M. Die meisten Flüchtlinge kamen aus Shanghai und Fujian. Sie bildeten klein Shanghai und klein Fujian in North Point.
Im Jahr 1953 zerstörte ein Großbrand in Shek Kip Mei die provisorischen Häuser von Flüchtlingen. 53.000 Menschen wurden obdachlos. Im Jahr 1972 startete Gouverneur Alexander Grantham das öffentlichen Wohnungsbau-Programm. Das Ziel wat zu 1,8 Mio Personen bis Ende des Jahr 1982 ein zu Hause zu bieten. Im Jahr 1978 wurde das Eigenheim System gestartet.
1981 stieg die Bevölkerung von Hong Kongs auf 5 Millionen. Viele berühmte Schriftsteller kamen zu Hong Kong. Beispiele, der Schriftsteller des Kong Fu Fiktionen: Louis Cha Leung Yung, Liang Yusheng, Gu Long.
Die ummauerte Stadt in Kowloon war 0,03 km2 groß. Im Zweiten Weltkrieg gab es dort nur ein paar hundert Einwohner. Die Bevölkerung der Stadt stieg auf 10.000 im 1971 und 33.000 im 1987.
Heute ist dieser Stadtteil ein Park.
Die “Family Planning Association of Hong Kong” wurde im Jahr 1950 gegründet. “Zwei reicht"-Kampagne startet im Jahr 1970. Die Bevölkerung stieg auf 6 Millionen im Jahr 1996. Die Geburtenrate sank von 20 auf 10 pro 1000 Einwohner.
Hierunter ist die Verteilung der ethnischen Gruppen im Jahr 2011. Die meisten von uns sind Chinesen. Die meisten Indonesier und Filipinos sind als Haushaltshilfen angestellt. Einige Indianer und Pakistaner sind im frühen Alter die Nachkommen von Hong Kong Polizisten.
Jetzt ist die Gesellschaft eine Fusion des britischen System und der chinesischen Kultur mit einer Vielfalt an Religionen und Speisen.
Anmekungen:
- Kowloon Walled City. (2012, November 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kowloon_Walled_City&oldid=524440002
- Qin's campaign against the southern tribes. (2012, June 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qin%27s_campaign_against_the_southern_tribes&oldid=499719526
- Demographics of Hong Kong. (2012, August 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_Hong_Kong&oldid=505946837
- Bonham Strand. http://resources.edb.gov.hk/arts/eng/bb/sw/mh/mh_te_th_te.htm
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Niemand hat die Absicht
Niemand hat die Absicht, einen Flughafen zu errichten.
Literally translated to "Nobody has the intention, an airport to build."
Properly translated to "Nobody has the intention to build an airport."
'einen' is used for the accusative case, which is marked for direct object.
Flug in Flughafen means flight in English. Hafen means haven or port in English. Therefore, Flughafen means airport.
The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen, København in Danish. It's original name was Køpmannæhafn, meaning "merchants' harbour". The English cognate would be Chapman's haven. Here Chapman was originated from Kaufmann in German. You may know that kaufen is buying. Kaufmann is a common surname in Germany and it also means merchant.
There are lots of ways to refer merchants such as der Händler and der Handelsmann (general terms for merchants), der Einzelhändler (the retailer), der Großkaufmann and der Ladungsbeteiligte (the wholesalers), der Musskaufmann (merchants dealing with necessities).
Wie ist das Wetter heute? Es ist windig. Es ist bewölkt. Der Sturm kommt.
Friday, December 07, 2012
Hong Kong war in der Region
3 Jahre von Christ war die Zeit der Qin-Dynastie.
Hong Kong lag in der sogenannten Baiyue Region.
Das ist ein loser Begriff der verschiedene Völkern bezeichnet, die im südlichen China und Nordvietnam wohnten.
Die Armee von 500 Tausend Soldaten aus dem nördlichen China angegriffen Baiyue.
Sie lebten dort.
Die sinifizierung beginnt.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
The verb that changes so much!
Can you guess which verb changes so much in various situation in English?
Yes it is 'verb to be'!
In present tense, I (am), You (are), He/She/It (is), We/They (are).
In past tense, I (was), You (were), He/She/It (was), We/They (were).
In future tense, I (shall be), You (will be), He/She/It (will be), We/They (shall be).
In German, similar things happen to 'sein'.
In present tense, Ich (bin), You (bist), He/She/It (ist), We/They (sind).
In past tense, I (war), You (warst), He/She/It (war), We/They (waren).
In future tense, I (wurde sein), You (wirst sein), He/She/It (wird sein), We/They (werden sein).
Yes it is 'verb to be'!
In present tense, I (am), You (are), He/She/It (is), We/They (are).
In past tense, I (was), You (were), He/She/It (was), We/They (were).
In future tense, I (shall be), You (will be), He/She/It (will be), We/They (shall be).
In German, similar things happen to 'sein'.
In present tense, Ich (bin), You (bist), He/She/It (ist), We/They (sind).
In past tense, I (war), You (warst), He/She/It (war), We/They (waren).
In future tense, I (wurde sein), You (wirst sein), He/She/It (wird sein), We/They (werden sein).
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Why 'sparen' is not for 'save'?
If we would like to say 'save my life' in German, we cannot say 'sparen mein Leben'. But what is the reason?
Firstly, we can trace the origin of 'save' in English. In the early 13th century, 'save' typically meant 'to deliver (soul) from sin or its own consequence'. It came from Old French 'sauver' which was originated from Late Latin 'salvare'. It meant to make safe or secure.
Secondly, 'sparen' in German was imported in Middle English in 9th century. It becomes 'spare' in Modern English today. Though it means 'to save from embarrassment', it also means 'to refrain from employing'. Thus it means 'to conserve money' (Geld sparen).
We should say 'Retten mein Leben!' in German for 'Save my life!'.
How about 'retten'? Does it become 'rescue' in English? I guess no. 'rescue' came from 'rescourre' in Old French.
Firstly, we can trace the origin of 'save' in English. In the early 13th century, 'save' typically meant 'to deliver (soul) from sin or its own consequence'. It came from Old French 'sauver' which was originated from Late Latin 'salvare'. It meant to make safe or secure.
Secondly, 'sparen' in German was imported in Middle English in 9th century. It becomes 'spare' in Modern English today. Though it means 'to save from embarrassment', it also means 'to refrain from employing'. Thus it means 'to conserve money' (Geld sparen).
We should say 'Retten mein Leben!' in German for 'Save my life!'.
How about 'retten'? Does it become 'rescue' in English? I guess no. 'rescue' came from 'rescourre' in Old French.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
die Wortschätze
Ab jetzt auf Deutsch! : From now on German!
-e Landschaft : landscape
-e Natur: nature
-e Fläche, -n : area
-e Gegend : region
-r Wanderer : hiker
-r Strand / die Strände : strand
-s Belieben: pleasure
-s Wandern : hiking
-r Anfang: beginning
-s Schleifen: polish ( mainly refer to the bow on gift box)
tauchen gehen : go diving
umfassen : involve
davon: of it
in der Nähe : near / nearby
auf den Peak : on the peak
dort: there
-e Landschaft : landscape
-e Natur: nature
-e Fläche, -n : area
-e Gegend : region
-r Wanderer : hiker
-r Strand / die Strände : strand
-s Belieben: pleasure
-s Wandern : hiking
-r Anfang: beginning
-s Schleifen: polish ( mainly refer to the bow on gift box)
-r Gipfel: submitt
-r Schnee: snow
-s Wetter: weather
tauchen gehen : go diving
umfassen : involve
unterlassene Hilfeleistung : given assistance
größter : biggest
höchster: highest
bester: best
natur belassen : natural
davon: of it
in der Nähe : near / nearby
auf den Peak : on the peak
dort: there
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Dialog zum Oktoberfest
Dialog
Wendy: Hallo!
Brian: Brian hier. Hallo! Hast du nächsten Freitag Abend Zeit?
Wendy: Nächsten Freitag Abend? Nein, das geht nicht. Ich treffe Angela, da sie Bier mag.
Brian: Wirklich? Wohin geht ihr?
Wendy: Wir gehen ins Marco Polo Hotel zum Oktoberfest. Wir können zusammen gehen.
Brian: Mit Vergnügen. Um wie viel Uhr fängt das an?
Wendy: Um halb acht.
Brian: Das geht. Und bis wann geht das?
Wendy: Bis halb eins.
Brian: Das ist gut. Übrigens, wo ist das?
Wendy: Das ist in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Brian: Wir treffen uns um siben Uhr in der Lobby. Geht das?
Wendy: Ja, gut. Dann bis nächten Freitag Abend. Tshüss!
Brian: Tshüss und bis dann!
Friday, October 05, 2012
The Origin of Da Silva
Da Silva is a common surname of Portuguese. It is derived from Latin silva meaning the forest. It was heard that the surname is originated from Valença, a city at the north border of Portugal. Please be reminded that silva is also the name of a parish in both Barcelos and the municipality of Miranda do Douro. Forests are quite common in Portugal. It could be very hard to trace back the origin.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Separable Verbs 1
In German, there are some funny separable verbs. The prefixes work like a preposition. For examples:
brechen = break
einbrechen = break in
fallen = fall
einfallen = to become sunken / occur to someone
führen = lead
einführen = introduce a topic
kaufen = buy
einkaufen = shopping
leben = live
einleben = get used to
nehmen = take
einnehmen = earn
richten = judge
einrichten = furnish (apartment), arrange (furniture)
schätzen = estimate
brechen = break
einbrechen = break in
fallen = fall
einfallen = to become sunken / occur to someone
führen = lead
einführen = introduce a topic
kaufen = buy
einkaufen = shopping
leben = live
einleben = get used to
nehmen = take
einnehmen = earn
richten = judge
einrichten = furnish (apartment), arrange (furniture)
einschätzen = evaluate
schlafen = sleep
einschlafen = fall asleep
schüchtern = (adj) timid
einschüchtern = intimidate
ziehen = draw
einziehen = move in
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
break out
German: Vor vier Jahren brach die weltweite Finanzkrise aus.
English: Four years ago, the global financial crisis broke out.
Vor can mean 'forward', 'ago', 'ahead'.
vier means 'four'.
Jahren means 'year'.
'brach .... aus' means 'broke out'.
ausbrechen is 'break out'
break = brecan (O.E.) = brechen (German)
English: Four years ago, the global financial crisis broke out.
Vor can mean 'forward', 'ago', 'ahead'.
vier means 'four'.
Jahren means 'year'.
'brach .... aus' means 'broke out'.
ausbrechen is 'break out'
break = brecan (O.E.) = brechen (German)
Friday, September 07, 2012
Review of National Education in Hong Kong
There are lots of discussion about national education in Hong Kong recently. We have to clarify the concept of nation, national, education, nation education and the implementation of national education in Hong Kong in order to get a whole picture of it.
What is the crucial factor of a nation? Historical factor only? If yes, why are there some break-ups? Ethnic relation only? If yes, why was USA separated from UK? Why was Mongolia separated from inner Mongolia? Simply territorial factor? Why did not North Vietnam unite with mainland China? How about Belgium and France? How about Lichtenstein and Austria? Cultural relationship only? Why cannot Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan form a united country? Therefore, we can see that there are lots of factors to form a nation.
Let's take a look at Hong Kong. From historical point of view, Hong Kong is separated from Qing Dynasty of China. ROC terminated Qing Dynasty. PRC was established on the soil of ROC. Hong Kong should be closely related to ROC after the death of Qing Dynasty. However, Hong Kong soil is next to PRC. In fact, the traditional culture in Hong Kong is closer to the culture in ROC after Culture Revolution in PRC. For examples, Cantonese, one of languages in East Asia older than Putonghua, is widely spoken in Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese characters in Hong Kong vs Simplified Chinese characters in PRC. Chinese marriage tradition, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism is kept in Hong Kong but not well in PRC.
In my opinion, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to PRC because of the choice of UK and the expectation of PRC. At that moment, ROC is not a UN member and PRC is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
National is an interesting concept in China because it was imported n late 19th century. The people ruled by Qing Dynasty was only called Baixing, literally A Hundred of Surnames. Sometimes they were treated as subjects if there was an open-minded emperor. National means a group of people with common history, custom, culture, language and ethnic living together. They share lots of similarities. If we follow this concept, there are 56 ethnic groups. For each of large five groups, it has its own custom, culture, language and ethnic. The idea of Chinese was invented by Dr Sun Yat Sen in order to team up all the 56 ethnic groups without a good foundation on the values. Nowadays, neither Confucianism, religion, Western values nor Marxism can provide the binding. The absence of values can be observed especially after the economic reform starts. Globalization does not only challenge the idea of national but also brings us the idea of global citizenship. The western countries rely on the idea of social contract, human rights, rule of law, civic society. Everything is in black and white. It is analogue to company model. The society can function if most of members follow the rules. The focus of modern countries shifts to citizenship from nationality. The sense of nationality cannot be well established in Hong Kong.
Education, of course, is very important to the society. It has to deliver knowledge and also foster good character of people. It has to help develop good values with reasoning. It is suitable to deliver knowledge in the format of courses and foster team spirit and sense of belonging in the community activities.
Understanding its own country is the first step of civic and national education. It has to be based on facts and evidences.
It is reasonable to foster sense of belonging in national education. Unfortunately, students are required to understand their own country through emotion according to the national education of Hong Kong. Their rationality may be blinded by emotion. CPC believes of meta-history which authors or authority determines the meaning of history. The materials from PRC could mislead students. For examples, CPC is the successor of Dr Sun Yat Sen, May Fourth Movement was introduced by CPC. CPC was the main force against the Japanese invasion during WWII. CPC was forced to wipe out the Chinese tradition.
On the other hand, sense of belonging is a two-way street. Hong Kong and Canton have the same Lingnan culture. The people in these two areas mainly speak Cantonese. However, Cantonese language is suppressed in mainland and the trias politica principle in Hong Kong was disdained by mainland officials. Thus the sense of belonging and safety is reduced. Recognition of identity is an internal psychological process which is not appropriate to be involved in formal class instead of the common constructive life experience.
In fact, the materials of national education have been gone into other subjects like Chinese, Art, Physical Exercises, Common Knowledge, technology education. The students are trapped in the context of country and their global vision is diminished. The identity of Hong Kong people will not be clear and then the one country two system is undermined.
National education should target nationals. However, from legal perspective, there are only Hong Kong residences. Though about 90% have claimed Chinese, national education should not be applied on the non-Chinese Hong Kong residences. Selective execution of such policy would marginalize the non-Chinese minority.
From educators' point of view, assessment in primary schools is not very professional because the peer-assessment on sense of belonging is involved. Such assessment will rely on external emotional behavior which will be manipulated by students.
Under one country two system, Hong Kong residences do have multiple roles. We should understand country with facts. Chinese History and Hong Kong History should be compulsory. We should study more on the public administration, politics and economy of PRC and Hong Kong. Let students participate more in society to develop the sense of belonging.
What is the crucial factor of a nation? Historical factor only? If yes, why are there some break-ups? Ethnic relation only? If yes, why was USA separated from UK? Why was Mongolia separated from inner Mongolia? Simply territorial factor? Why did not North Vietnam unite with mainland China? How about Belgium and France? How about Lichtenstein and Austria? Cultural relationship only? Why cannot Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan form a united country? Therefore, we can see that there are lots of factors to form a nation.
Let's take a look at Hong Kong. From historical point of view, Hong Kong is separated from Qing Dynasty of China. ROC terminated Qing Dynasty. PRC was established on the soil of ROC. Hong Kong should be closely related to ROC after the death of Qing Dynasty. However, Hong Kong soil is next to PRC. In fact, the traditional culture in Hong Kong is closer to the culture in ROC after Culture Revolution in PRC. For examples, Cantonese, one of languages in East Asia older than Putonghua, is widely spoken in Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese characters in Hong Kong vs Simplified Chinese characters in PRC. Chinese marriage tradition, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism is kept in Hong Kong but not well in PRC.
In my opinion, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to PRC because of the choice of UK and the expectation of PRC. At that moment, ROC is not a UN member and PRC is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
National is an interesting concept in China because it was imported n late 19th century. The people ruled by Qing Dynasty was only called Baixing, literally A Hundred of Surnames. Sometimes they were treated as subjects if there was an open-minded emperor. National means a group of people with common history, custom, culture, language and ethnic living together. They share lots of similarities. If we follow this concept, there are 56 ethnic groups. For each of large five groups, it has its own custom, culture, language and ethnic. The idea of Chinese was invented by Dr Sun Yat Sen in order to team up all the 56 ethnic groups without a good foundation on the values. Nowadays, neither Confucianism, religion, Western values nor Marxism can provide the binding. The absence of values can be observed especially after the economic reform starts. Globalization does not only challenge the idea of national but also brings us the idea of global citizenship. The western countries rely on the idea of social contract, human rights, rule of law, civic society. Everything is in black and white. It is analogue to company model. The society can function if most of members follow the rules. The focus of modern countries shifts to citizenship from nationality. The sense of nationality cannot be well established in Hong Kong.
Education, of course, is very important to the society. It has to deliver knowledge and also foster good character of people. It has to help develop good values with reasoning. It is suitable to deliver knowledge in the format of courses and foster team spirit and sense of belonging in the community activities.
Understanding its own country is the first step of civic and national education. It has to be based on facts and evidences.
It is reasonable to foster sense of belonging in national education. Unfortunately, students are required to understand their own country through emotion according to the national education of Hong Kong. Their rationality may be blinded by emotion. CPC believes of meta-history which authors or authority determines the meaning of history. The materials from PRC could mislead students. For examples, CPC is the successor of Dr Sun Yat Sen, May Fourth Movement was introduced by CPC. CPC was the main force against the Japanese invasion during WWII. CPC was forced to wipe out the Chinese tradition.
On the other hand, sense of belonging is a two-way street. Hong Kong and Canton have the same Lingnan culture. The people in these two areas mainly speak Cantonese. However, Cantonese language is suppressed in mainland and the trias politica principle in Hong Kong was disdained by mainland officials. Thus the sense of belonging and safety is reduced. Recognition of identity is an internal psychological process which is not appropriate to be involved in formal class instead of the common constructive life experience.
In fact, the materials of national education have been gone into other subjects like Chinese, Art, Physical Exercises, Common Knowledge, technology education. The students are trapped in the context of country and their global vision is diminished. The identity of Hong Kong people will not be clear and then the one country two system is undermined.
National education should target nationals. However, from legal perspective, there are only Hong Kong residences. Though about 90% have claimed Chinese, national education should not be applied on the non-Chinese Hong Kong residences. Selective execution of such policy would marginalize the non-Chinese minority.
From educators' point of view, assessment in primary schools is not very professional because the peer-assessment on sense of belonging is involved. Such assessment will rely on external emotional behavior which will be manipulated by students.
Under one country two system, Hong Kong residences do have multiple roles. We should understand country with facts. Chinese History and Hong Kong History should be compulsory. We should study more on the public administration, politics and economy of PRC and Hong Kong. Let students participate more in society to develop the sense of belonging.
Monday, August 06, 2012
The Rise of Citizenship in Hong Kong
The plastic disaster has started after the six containers of plastic pellets had fallen in the sea during the typhoon. We, the Hong Kong citizens, have noticed it 11 days after the typhoon. The importance of this disaster is well recognized and expression of opinions is not enough. Action should be taken. It is because it is our Hong Kong. These are our beaches. We are living here. Hong Kong citizens should do something for the public goods of our society. Good citizenship should be like that.
2700 citizens responded to the calling for action and worked very hard to clean up the beaches in the last weekend. It is a long way to go because it is a huge amount of plastic pellets fallen in the sea and the beaches. We need to work hard.
Some would complain why we need to work like this after paying so much tax to the government. We may think in another way. Paying effort and paying tax is our contribution to the society. However, only paying money may not be enough to deal with disasters. Action should be done by citizens not by the money. Of course, in the long run, we can ask the government to adjust budget on cleaning and monitoring the beaches and the seashore.
2700 citizens responded to the calling for action and worked very hard to clean up the beaches in the last weekend. It is a long way to go because it is a huge amount of plastic pellets fallen in the sea and the beaches. We need to work hard.
Some would complain why we need to work like this after paying so much tax to the government. We may think in another way. Paying effort and paying tax is our contribution to the society. However, only paying money may not be enough to deal with disasters. Action should be done by citizens not by the money. Of course, in the long run, we can ask the government to adjust budget on cleaning and monitoring the beaches and the seashore.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Civic Commons
It is a good idea to share something that can boost the technologies and provide solutions for the public good. There are a few fundamental assumptions that education can explore the potential of human resources in societies and openness of government information is ensured. Hence, every citizen can get access to the information, develop knowledge with the assistance of open sourced tools and share the knowledge with others. Data openness helps monitor government and fight against corruption. The regulation on government archive helps ensure data quality. Education encourages citizens thinking critically and collaborate democratically. The good quality of public services will be ensured and everyone can benefit from the.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Don't panic.
Don't panic when you find the world is cruel.
The trade and the politics
across the countries
across the oceans
is always complicated.
Don't panic.
The material world is not guaranteed.
Only change itself persists.
Focus on our life, our family and our friends
because they are our treasure.
Everyone has basic needs.
Everyone has humble jobs.
Money is not the only one that we measure.
Don't let soul to be corrupted.
If you live with the glowing spirit,
you will live in peace.
The trade and the politics
across the countries
across the oceans
is always complicated.
Don't panic.
The material world is not guaranteed.
Only change itself persists.
Focus on our life, our family and our friends
because they are our treasure.
Everyone has basic needs.
Everyone has humble jobs.
Money is not the only one that we measure.
Don't let soul to be corrupted.
If you live with the glowing spirit,
you will live in peace.
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