A WORD OF LAMENT by Harbour Chan

I wrote about myself in the Dragon Post of the University of Wateloo. The message was: "I feel proud of being Chinese, but I also feel ashamed for the same reason."

From the May 4 Uprising to the June 4 Massacre, the Chinese people have suffered many natural disasters.

Not long ago, I heard one of the Chinese people proudly saying to his Canadian friend, "China has a long civilization- its architecture and science has contributed to many modern development of nowadays." What a typical Chinese! He only remembers those successes, but said nothing about those other things. Rather he buries those shameful incidents well under the ground.

Besides, when you look back into the brilliant past age of China, and compare it with the present one, how do you feel about nowadays? China at present is considered a developing country. Is this the fact that makes us feel proud of ourselves? It is time for us, Chinese, to face the reality. Wake Up!

The character of arrogance and haughtiness found in these Chinese people best explains why China is one of the weakest and poorest countries in the world. This is most evident in the Chinese history when the emporers or the politicians ignored their people's well-being, and saught their own satisfactions.

As Hong Kong will become part of China after 1997, its people are so scared that they try every means to leave. Those same people had once been overwhelmed by the fact that they were born in Hong Kong, but now .... I think that we should not leave our country when it encounters difficulty, or else how can we strengthen it?

Come On ! Do not let others look down on us as a slump of sand. Let us co-operate and be strong, hand in hand, heart with heart, to construct and prepare for our future. It is in our hands. So please give up the arrogance and haughtiness, and wake up from your dream!

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 3 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.