Editor's note: The HKSAR Government has revealed that it aims to pass the Improving the Electoral System (Comprehensive Amendment) Bill 2021 by the end of May in order to carry out the preparatory work for the election. This also means that Hong Kong has gone further towards fully implementing the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong". From now on, Nandu and N Video launched a special report on "Star Language Hong Kong" to listen to how Hong Kong celebrities send a message to Hong Kong's tomorrow.
"I have been criticized in Hong Kong for not getting involved in too many political issues. But in my opinion, expressing patriotism is a natural outpouring of my emotions as a Chinese. Recently, Hong Kong actor Leung Jing-hui, who played the role of "wood lice" in the Hong Kong drama "Apostle Walker", was interviewed by the Southern Metropolis Daily and N video reporters. When talking about the frequent unwarranted attacks by "Hong Kong independence" elements because of their patriotic feelings, he said.
Liang Jinghui, formerly known as Liang Liewei, was originally a TVB actor. As early as 1999, at the age of 20, he made his debut in "Juvenile Offenders in prison", and has since participated in many TVB hit film and television dramas. In 2014, he became popular with his roles in Hong Kong dramas such as "Flying Tiger" and "Apostle Walker". Soon after, he was wantonly rumored and slandered by "Hong Kong independence" elements for sending a microblog that "pays tribute to veterans", and was tragically "hidden in the snow".
In recent years, Liang Jinghui has chosen to develop in the mainland, and in an online movie launched this year, he played a soldier for the first time as a leading role. He said bluntly that living in the mainland made him feel truly free, "no longer have to worry about being smeared and hostile." ”
Actor Liang Jinghui (formerly known as Liang Liewei). Courtesy of respondents
【Nandu Interview with Liang Jinghui】
Talking about "Snow Hiding": I am a person who does not tell lies, and I am not vague in patriotism
Nandu: During the "Amendment Storm" in 2019, what did you see happened in Hong Kong?
Leung: That year, because of the "storm over the amendment of the law", Hong Kong experienced the most difficult moment in many years. I saw black rioters lighting flames of anger in the streets and online, many being attacked and retaliated against for making different voices, and for a time everyone was silent in this atmosphere of terror.
The occurrence of the "storm over the revision of the law" seems to be sudden, but in fact it has accumulated drawbacks for a long time. In the past few decades, a generation of Hong Kong people have grown up under the influence of a part of the biased media, and the news they have seen about the mainland has been mainly negative and slanderous, and many people have gradually believed it and developed resistance to the motherland.
However, after the "storm over the amendment of the law", we also finally realized that although it had been more than 20 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, there were still many problems that had yet to be solved, such as the lack of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the shortcomings of hong Kong's electoral system. Now, finally waiting for the central government to promulgate the Hong Kong National Security Law, emphasizing the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong", the Hong Kong SAR government can finally pass local legislation on this basis and gradually return Hong Kong to the right track.
Nandu: For many years, you have insisted on making patriotic and Hong Kong remarks.
Leung: I have been criticized in Hong Kong for not getting involved in too many political issues. But I would like to say that expressing patriotism is a natural outpouring of my emotions as a Chinese. Moreover, I think that as an artist, my voice may be easier to hear than others, so I am more responsible, express my true thoughts out loud, and tell more people about the motherland I know.
I am well aware that some Hong Kong people are prejudiced against the mainland because they know very little about the real development of the mainland.
I have been developing in the Mainland for a long time and have witnessed great changes in mainland cities over the years. I often tell my friends around me that if we talk about people's living standards and infrastructure construction, there may be no country that can compare with the motherland. I really want to show the development situation of the mainland of the motherland to Hong Kong and even the whole world.
Nandu: Have you ever been "hidden" for these remarks, and have you ever regretted it?
Liang Jinghui: When the "Occupy Central" incident broke out, some "Hong Kong independence" elements found out the patriotic remarks I had previously made and attacked me, and the products I endorsed and the TV dramas I starred in were also boycotted one after another, and even my family became the target of their threats and insults. At that time, my career was just beginning to take off, and such a blow was almost fatal to me. At the hardest times, all my job offers were canceled, I stayed at home every day and did not dare to go out, nor did I dare to participate in social activities, so helpless that I even thought about changing careers.
At that time, to a certain extent, I felt quite lonely. But I've also asked myself many times, if I do it again, will I still make my voice heard? The answer is yes. I am a person who does not tell lies, and I am not ambiguous on the issue of patriotism. Perhaps the only difference is that I will express my views with a more peaceful mind.
Talk about feelings: My father said that no matter where you go, you must remember that you are Chinese
Nandu: Is your patriotism related to your upbringing?
Liang Jinghui: My feelings for the motherland are largely influenced by my father. He told me from an early age, "No matter where you go or where you are, remember that you are Chinese." "When I was a child, I didn't quite understand the meaning of this sentence, but I already had a seed in my heart.
When I first entered the industry, I used to be like some young people in Hong Kong, very eager for Western countries, but when I was really in a foreign country, and I experienced the discrimination against Asians in some Western countries and the smear on China, I felt angry and more eager to understand the full picture of history that I did not learn in the textbooks during the British colonial period.
I am a very stubborn person, and the more others say that my motherland is not good, the more I have to find evidence from history to prove what the facts are. In my opinion, the so-called "democracy" of the Western style is more of a slogan, and the real "democracy" is to first "take the people's life as the center", which is the practical action I have seen in the interior.
Nandu: As a father of two, how do you see the current educational environment in Hong Kong?
Leung: I think Hong Kong's education system still needs time to improve. Today, some young people in Hong Kong have a very weak sense of the state, and some people even make money the only goal they are chasing, which I think is incredible.
I feel that I, as a parent, should educate my children myself. Once, on National Day, my youngest daughter was at home watching the National Day military parade, and I told her that whenever the national anthem is played, you should stand up and show respect. She remembered it in her heart and would learn to do parade footwork. I was so happy to see her trying to imitate in front of the TV. In the future, I will also consider sending my daughter to the mainland to study.
In 2015, Leung Washik was smeared by Hong Kong rioters for posting photos of "salutes to anti-Japanese veterans" on social media, causing damage to his career.
Talk about the future: return to calm and rationality as soon as possible, and return to that humane Hong Kong
Nandu: Why have you chosen to shift your focus to the mainland in recent years?
Leung: To be honest, I never wanted to leave Hong Kong at the beginning, after all, Hong Kong is the city where I was born and raised, and it is the hometown I am most familiar with. But then a series of things happened that made me more and more tired, and I had to choose to leave.
After coming to the mainland, I found that life here was more comfortable than I thought. After a short transition period, I have fully adapted to life in the mainland. Now I basically don't have to carry a bag with me when I go out, because a mobile phone can do everything and scan the code wherever I go. On social media, I can also express my true thoughts as I please, without fear of being smeared and hostile. I felt real freedom here.
I have also seen that the mainland government's way of governing has become more and more approachable to the people and kept pace with the times, with almost every department having official accounts on major social platforms, and often using the favorite ways of young people to explain more dull and jerky policies and laws. This is very different from the Western media and the mainland in the coverage of Hong Kong's "drug media".
Nandu: After you went to the mainland to develop, you participated in many film and television dramas.
Leung: When I was in Hong Kong, I often felt that my role choices were framed in a narrow stereotype, and the producers gave me the role back and forth in those types, so my own development fell into a bottleneck. When I came to the mainland, the vast market gave me a lot of opportunities to try new roles, and I also found more possibilities from it.
For me, every time I play a role, I'm going through a different life. In a film that I just finished shooting, I played a soldier, which is one of the characters that impressed me the most at the moment. The scenes and costumes of that film are as restored to history as possible, so that every time I walk into the studio, I can feel the harsh environment of the war years and respect the ancestors.
Nandu: What are your expectations for Hong Kong's tomorrow?
Leung: I don't know when some Hong Kong people began to use "political stance" as the criterion for judging everything, and sometimes even the trivial matters of life such as choosing a restaurant to eat must first distinguish whether the store is "their own person", which I think is really hard.
I hope that Hong Kong, with the help of the central authorities, can return to calm and rationality as soon as possible, and return to the Hong Kong that I am familiar with and full of humanity.
Special report on "Star Language Hong Kong"
Chief planner: Rong Mingchang
Executive Planner: Wang Jia
Coordinator: Nandu reporter Xiang Xueni
Chief Writer: Nandu reporter Yu Yijing
Written by: Nandu reporter Yu Yijing Intern Weng Anqi