Post by hongkong on Sept 4, 2010 1:12:13 GMT -5
(((My Reflection)))
Nation: Hong Kong
Name: Chris Wong
Gender: Male
Appearance Age: 18
Hair Color: Dark brown (or black)
Eye Color: Light brown
Height: 170cm (or 5"7)
Weight: 60kg (or 132lbs)
Appearance:
Chris is an embodiment of a small city with a slim figure that stands out among his Asian siblings, who are trained militarily. Lack of military training neither make him out of shape, nor does eating frequently make him gain weight. He is also known as the Asian with a poker face, or in other words, emotionless; his thin lips are usually closed, with his eyes darting around frequently to keep aware of the surroundings.
As a former British colony, he learnt and inherited many British values and traditions from Arthur Kirkland that, for some scientifically unexplainable reason, caused his thin eyebrows to grow to resemble the Englishman's thick ones from time to time. His choppy fringe is at eyebrow length, and the rest of his hair comes down to the jawline.
Although Chris is an avid fan of Bruce Lee and other Kung Fu fighters, he is also a very westernised teenager, who is not fond of wearing traditional Chinese clothing everyday. Most of the clothes in his wardrobe are in western styles. A T-shirt, shorts or jeans, a pair of nice converse shoes, and some stylish accessories are his favourite daily attire. Any colours are fine to him as long as the clothing looks fashionable. When traditional Chinese clothing is necessary, he will pull out his burgundy duangua with black trim and oversized sleeves, and a pair of brown trousers with bandages wrapping around his legs.
Surprisingly, he cares about his own physical appearance to a great extent that he was going to get his eyebrows done, but for some reason, he froze before stepping into the saloon.
(((Know Thyself )))
Personality:
...Quite elusive. As an individual raised by two completely different sets of cultures, Chris acquired some personalities that are rather unique among the Asians. Judging by his appearance, he is reserved and reticent, a brain-over-brawn person. Very few people know that the business-minded Chris can be talkative too, especially if his favourite topics are being discussed; he keeps a myriad of opinions to himself and will expresses them if necessary.
Aforementioned, Chris is a business-minded, and realistic person. He does everything with a purpose; if not, he will find a reason. A perfect example would be his undergoing from rags to riches, He believes that diligence, flexibility and innovation are the factors that lead to success. He enjoys taking challenges and solves them to the best of his ability, keeping himself competitive. He is active in building up his social network to bring him commercial opportunities, but at the same time, he prefers to keep a distance from everyone, unless they develop a relationship that is extraordinary enough for him to break the exception.
He seldom shows his affection towards others, and when he does, it is usually performed in an implicit way. There are special cases when things go out of his control, that makes him want to burst out his feelings and demands towards his guardians, China or the United Kingdom. His love towards the certain Commonwealth nations are very evident. England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and America (although not a commonwealth nation) are the top countries he and his people would emigrate to. Politically under Yao's rule, Chris strives to be as independent as possible, yet he has to admit that, his ties with Yao and his sister are getting inevitably closer and closer. After all, he is not a machine but a human being.
Likes:
★MONEY
★
★Films, TV dramas
★
★England and his culture (except most of his food)
★Traveling (it's a small city after all)
★Milk tea, mixing drinks together
★Cha chaan teng, Yum Cha, delicious food in general
★Shopping
★Japan, and Taiwan, and, and...Korea
★...China.
Dislikes:
✖Ill-mannered people
✖Arrogant competitors
✖Slackers
✖Communism
✖Nasty food and beverages
✖Air quality getting worse
✖Deficiencies
✖
✖Traffic congestion
✖Fare rise in public transportation
✖Very recently, the Filipino polices (referring to the hostage crisis)
Fears:
☣Losing competitiveness
☣bankruptcy
☣His freedom being taken away
☣Isolation
☣Warfare
☣Disharmony
☣Loss of prosperity
☣Betrayal
Secrets:
♦His first impression of Arthur was a jerk who was incredibly bad- and it didn't get any better until Arthur started to pay attention to him in the later stage of his life. He started to like England more and more to a point that he was too embarrassed to confess it himself.
♦His impression of Yao after the transfer of sovereignty wasn't any good, either (but he never say it out loud).
♦In terms of relationships, he is always a "whatever-I-can-get" person, as long as that relationship doesn't affect his career.
♦He writes English in the British spelling but speaks it with an accent that changes constantly. At the beginning the accent sounded completely British, but as America invaded the whole world with Hollywood movies, he started to imitate the actors' accent. In the 80's due to the mass migration to Canada and other English-speaking countries, he acquired Canadian accent naturally. He feels sorry for Arthur's efforts but he couldn't help it.
♦Technically not a secret #1: His pet phrase is "...kind of" to make his words more ambiguous and less harmful.
♦Technically not a secret #2: He is indeed a money-lover, but is not that type of person who always lives in luxury and technologies, such as having a swimming pool in his mansion or driving an expensive car or getting a supercomputer... He dines in Cha chaan teng frequently, has nostalgia when passing the old buildings, shops at bargain markets, waiting in the line to get on the damn bus (whichever transportation it is)-- anything a typical Hongkonger does in daily life.
Strengths:
To maintain himself constantly on the Global Financial Centre Index top 5, Chris is an assiduous worker who is able to manage the present and foresee the bright future. He is still young and fresh, intelligent in math and science. As a small city, he excels in finding alternatives to meet requirements and serve people's needs. He also has an iron-willed heart to struggle through countless of difficulties in the future. When he sets a target or a goal, he is determined to accomplish it without a second delay. Although he appreciates the great elements from other cultures, he takes pride in himself, carefully preserving his unique cultural identity. After World War II, he started learning kungfu, which contributes to his later cinematic arts development. Fluency in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin (although it sounds horrible) makes him a trilingual individual. Fortunately unlike Arthur, he is a great cook. His pride in his film production was as much as Alfred's dedication to his Hollywood.
Weaknesses:
Growing up in a power-struggle environment, Chris was cynical in nature. Unfortunately, his military experience is approximately equal to zero (because his guardians will do all the fighting for him), making himself quite a defenceless person in appearance, untrained in firearms (kungfu is useless in battlefields, after all). In a certain perspective, he is supercilious and self-centered sometimes, looking down on people and countries whose conditions are less fortunate than himself. He is very judgmental and weighs a lot on physical appearance. He can be very narrow-minded; some nations do not exist as far as he is concerned. Since he is not very out-spoken, people tend to find him difficult to understand. Raised by two nations who believe in supernatural beings makes him superstitious and agnostic. To this utilitarian, it is not ridiculous to worship Gods from three to four fundamentally different religions -- Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism, etc -- as long as he gets all the benefits.
(((The Pages of History )))
History:
**I did use wikipedia as my guideline to write the page of history, but I also pull off my previous knowledge and outside sources.
Qin to Song Dynasty
Many non-native roleplayers tend to make the history of Hong Kong start at the date around Opium War, which is completely incorrect. Some of them choose to disregard the pre-colonial history because the English wikipedia clearly did not acknowledge how great the ancient history affects Hong Kong as a whole. In this timeline, I am going to include some pre-colonial history and annotate their significances to supplement the explanation of Chris Wong's development.
Many might ask, Hong Kong always appears to be the younger one; if he was born in 214 BC, isn't he older than England and other European nations? Technically yes, but please bear in mind that, due to mainland China's long negligence, Hong Kong grew up in an extremely slow rate until Ming/Qing dynasty. Theoretically, he was a toddler for over a millennium. I am going to blur Chris's memory, not remembering his life from 214BC to 736CE.
214BC -- HK was incorporated into China. As one of the most southern territories in China, he wasn't being taken care of decently -- southern regions were considered a region habituated by barbarians.
736CE -- The emperor decided to develop the trade along the Guangzhou area, so HK was benefited from this royal decision. Tuen Mun was developed as a fortified town and a port in order to protect the oversea trade.
901CE -- The Five Clans of the New Territories emigrated from the mainland to settle in HK.
963CE -- Tai Po was developed into a major pearl hunting harbour, providing pearls to the mainland market.
971CE -- Salt production became a prominent business in Kowloon Bay. The imperial government sent officers to supervise the production and the sale.
Late South Song dynasty -- According to legends (partly true), two young emperors was being chased after by the Yuan armies, and they escaped to HK to take a break. The villagers welcomed the rare guests and prepared them a gigantic meal in a pot.
Ming Dynasty (about 5-6 years old)
Aforementioned, the oversea trade along the Guangzhou area stimulated HK's development and its population growth. It became a stragetic naval base to counterattack the pirates on the South China sea, and the invaders from Portugal and the Netherlands.
At the same time, HK became a major exporter of sandalwood. Allegedly, the name of Hong Kong (literally "the scented harbour") was originated from this sandalwood production and export. It was also the dynasty that HK started to serve as China's portal to interact with the western nations.
1514 -- the Portuguese sent troops to occupy HK's Tuen Mun for longer than 7 years
1516 -- Portuguese diplomat Fernão Perez de Andrade made the first official contact with the Ming China in 1516.
1521 -- (after 7 years of occupation) A small battle took place in HK between Ming China and Portugal. China won the battle and retook HK's control.
Mid-Qing Dynasty (about 7-8 years old)
Oversea trade made the fertile Southern China a more prosperous region. In this period, China had more contacts with the Western Europeans, and Guangzhou soon became one of the most important trade centre in China. HK continued to serve as a port for the foreign merchant ships, so it was fortified with stronger defence.
1839 -- An English soldier was drunk in Tsim Sha Tsui village and accidentally killed a villager called Lin Weixi. Chinese government demanded the Chief Superintendent of British Trade (in China) to hand over the soldier, but Sir Elliot refused. This accident was known as the trigger of Opium War. At the same year, China and England were engaged in the Battle of Kwun Chung, which was fought in HK.
1841 -- Convention of Chuenpee was drafted by the British, one of the first attempts to settle the First Opium War disputes. The terms included "the cession of the island and harbour of Hongkong to the British crown". Both parties did not ratify the convention due to disagreements.
1842 -- Qing China was officially defeated in the First Opium War, and the Treaty of Nanking was signed. According to the terms, Hong Kong Island was officially ceded to the British crown.
1860 -- Qing China was defeated again in the Second Opium War, and the Treaty of Peking was signed. Kowloon Peninsula was ceded to the British crown.
1898 -- The Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory was signed. The New Territories were leased to the British crown for 99 nears, until 1997. Cession of Hong Kong was completed.
Colonial Era (8 years old-)
1842 -- HK was declared a free port, attracting western merchants to settle and develop HK as one of the important free markets in the East (Japan was still confining himself at home).
1851 -- Due to the Taiping Rebellion, more people from the mainland sought refuge in HK. It replaced Guangzhou as an important entrepot in the South China Sea.
Early 20th century -- HK was steadily developing its population size. Transition to an industrialised society set the foundation of future development.
1911 -- Qing Dynasty was overturned, and the Republic of China was founded. The new government didn't seem putting an effort to nullify the unequal treaties and retake HK back from the UK.
1912 -- University of Hong Kong was founded to contribute more intellectuals to the society.
1930s -- When Manchuria was occupied by the Empire of Japan, British government was considering fortifying HK's defence. The Great Depression affected HK's market to a certain extend.
1941 -- Battle of HK: HK was invaded by Japanese force in 8th December. The British, Canadians, Indians, and HK Volunteer Defence Forces failed to halt Japanese advance, and the governor of HK decided to surrender to Japan at "Black Christmas", 25th of December.
Japanese occupation era
1941-1945: The period '3 years and 8 months'. Food rationing and hyper-inflation was common in daily life. Economy and trade plunged and almost halted. People were forced to speak Japanese but not English. The population size also decreased dramatically.
Modern Hong Kong under British rule
1949 and the 1950s-- Communism government officially took over mainland China. The constant warfares in mainland plus the communist movement, such as the Great Leap Forward, brought another waves of refugees to settle in Hong Kong. Among the new immigrants, many of them are unskilled labours that would help developing HK's manufacturing industry. Film production (in Mandarin) was also flourishing.
1956 -- A riot by pro-Communist and pro-Nationalist group. Communist hysteria emerged.
1957 -- The first subscription TV station, Rediffusion Television, was founded.
1960s -- Manufacturing industry, especially the textile industry, continued to prosper in the 1960's, employing the unskilled immigrants and local population. Due to its high growth rates and rapid industrialization, HK was included in the Four Asian Tigers.
1966 -- HK 1966 Riots: The important link between Kowloon and HK Island, Star Ferry, decided to rise its fare.
1967 -- The Leftist Riots, which were influenced by China's cultural revolution, halted the economy and destroyed the cities. More HK people became disappointed at communist China. The riot was not pacified until the boss of China announced publicly that China did not have intention yet to retake Hong Kong back.
1968 -- the "Hong Kong flu"
1970s -- 30 years before returning half of HK back to China made the government started thinking about the future of HK. Governor MacLehose introduced Small House Policy and Home Ownership Scheme to improve the overall living condition (especially in the rural area), funded and subsidised public and post-secondary education, provided inexpensive health care, and set up ICAC to fix corruption. It was also the era when kungfu and Cantonese films became extremely popular.
1971 -- 6-year free Primary education funded
1978 -- 9-year free Primary education funded
1979 -- China's economic reform attracted the manufacturing industries in HK to move northward for cheap labour, transforming HK into a city of commerce.
1980's -- the UK and China started arguing about HK's sovereignty. (I am not going to explain this entire event because of its complexity. Wiki explains better than I do.)
1983 -- Black Saturday -- Due to the political talks between UK and China about HK's sovereignty that contributed to a pessimistic attitude about HK's future under communist rule, the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate was at an all-time low. The linked exchange rate system with USD was adopted to stabilise the economy.
1984 -- Sino-British Joint Declaration and the proposal of One country, two systems: A declaration that stated communism would not be practised in HK, and guaranteed HK autonomy in every aspect except in foreign diplomacy and defence.
1987 -- Black Monday: HK began the crash of stock markets around the world.
1989 -- Tiananmen Square protests: HK organised demonstrations and concert to raise fund for the Beijing students. The military action in 4th of June severely affected HK's perceptions of the mainland. Some people hoped that the chaos on the mainland would destabilize the Beijing Government and thus avert its reunification with the rest of mainland China. This further fuels the mass migration waves out of HK.
At the same year, the Airport Core Programme was introduced.
1990's -- The decade that HK people had to face two choices: participating in the mass migration waves (to English-speaking countries), or accepting the fate to be ruled under PRC government.
1990 -- Basic Law proclaimed; it was the mini-constitution of HK after the handover.
1992- Chris Patten was appointed as the last British Governor of HK, and introduced democratic reforms that increased the number of elected members in the Legislative Council, straining the relationship with the Chinese government.
1997 -- Official transferred to the People's Republic of China, first Special Administrative Region government formed. At the same year, the Bird Flu crisis began the mass poultry disposal.
HK as a SAR
1997 -- Asian Financial Crisis: HK Monetary authorities spent more than US$1 billion to defend the local currency. Economic decline started.
1998 -- Hong Kong International Airport was built to replace Kai Tak International Airport.
1999 -- Standing Committee of the National People's Congress interpreted the Right of Abode in HK
2000 -- Dismissal of Urban Council and Regional Council
2001 -- PRC China joining WTO and 911 in New York both affected HK's economy.
2002 -- Principal Officials Accountability System was introduced
2003 -- SARS broke out in HK claiming over 300 lives. Proposals for the anti-subversion law, Article 23. Protests against the bill resulted in a massive demonstrations on 1 July 2003..
2004 -- The Standing Committee denied universal suffrage 07/08 in HK
2005 -- WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference
2007 -- HK Island by-election
2008 -- Held 2008 Olympics/Paralympics Equestrian event
2009 -- 20th anniversary Tiananmen square incident march and flu pandemic (also known as the swine flu)
2010 -- Five Constituencies Referendum: Organized by the Democrats, attempting to prove to the PRC government that universal suffrage is a must to ensure HK's autonomy not being affected.
Allies and Enemies:
Generally, most of the trading partners are his allies, and those who block free-trade are his enemies. Politically...
Prehistorical - 1842: depends on China's diplomatic relationship with others
1842 - 1997: depends on the United Kingdom's diplomatic relationship with others
1997 - present: generally depends on China's diplomatic relationship with others
Strained relation:
1949 - present : China (The relationship should be getting better...supposedly)
Sample Post:
**Cha Chaan Teng -- a type of Chinese tea restaurant commonly found in Hong Kong, known for its eclectic and affordable menus which include many dishes from Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Western cuisine.
4th June, 1989
"奶茶加菠蘿油呀唔該(Milk tea and buttered pineapple bun, please)"
Chris entered the Cha Chaan Teng he frequently dined in and plopped on a random seat, as if the restaurant itself was part of his home. It was seven thirty in the morning, the time when newspaper vendors should finish setting up their newspaper stands for parents of the schoolchildren to purchase their daily reading material. The persistent morning fog surrounding Hong Kong Island added a feeling of uncertainty to the atmosphere.
"收到！(gotcha!)" A loud and husky voice from a stout man in his forties replied energetically, and within 10 seconds, he walked over to serve him the bun and examine the tired-looking young man closely. "Kiddo, don't tell me you stayed up all night to watch the live broadcast. That's not for kids."
"...None of your business." Chris's voice and his half-squinted eyes revealed how tired he was. He devoured the bun sleepily, and was not aware of the unnatural silence in the Cha Chaan Teng -- A typical morning in the Cha Chaan Teng was like a noisy gathering, diners hid their faces behind newspaper and chatted fervently about politics, economy, and their families. None of these common scenes occurred today. The sound of utensils clattering against ceramic plates dominated the place.
The stout man, who was a waiter, shook his head with a sigh and served Chris a cup of milk tea. "Well, everyone in here watched that too, you're not the only one."[/color] He returned to work in the small kitchen with an annoyed expression. Chris stared at the waiter blankly while adding sugar into his tea. "Ugh, it's too moody, I could stand it no more! Can't someone start a conversation, please?" The waiter complained.
Rubbing his eyes, he took a small sip of tea. Ouch. The tea was way too sweet, and it tasted like the first cup of milk tea Arthur made him to drink. Maybe that was his last cup of oversweetened milk tea, his last decade to drink anything western...his last decade to walk around freely.
Yesterday night, He had his TV turned on all night to watch the tanks from PRC government advance into Tiananmen square, where over ten thousands of Chinese university students camped for two months, demanding for freedom of speech and academic freedom through hunger strikes and other peaceful methods. The tanks shot at innocent and irrelevant people, and ruined the buildings on the way. Many vehicles were set on fire in the streets with the drivers still inside. As the tanks and the army forces reached Tiananmen Square, the soldiers began to shoot at the unarmed students and citizens. Some students who sought refuge by taking buses were caught by the soldiers. The whole thing just sounded like firecrackers -- guns shooting every second, Molotov cocktails exploding, along with people screaming and wailing.
That was the reason why Chris wasn't able to sleep last night. He had seen too much bloodshed in a single night, and it was scarier and more realistic than any war films he and Alfred had ever produced. The waiter was right -- the live broadcast was not appropriate for kids. His teenage-heart kept beating all night. He couldn't close his eyes, and had to turn on all lights in his apartment to make him feel secure. How horrible darkness is... If his freedom was taken away after the Hand-over and he sought to get it back, would the gun be pointing at----
"I'm migrating to Canada two months later." A housewife sitting at the leftmost corner broke the silence and caught everyone's attention.
"Hmph, rich people." A man snorted. "It's all right for you rich people, you guys can go anywhere, but I have to stay, and I am worried. I am afraid for my family, I don't know what will happen, the Chinese will not be like the British."
"Handing us back to a repressive, puritanical regime..." A high school student commented.
"I'm leaving, too. To wherever allows me to stay," said the waiter.
More and more diners joined the conversation about their future plans or their concerns, and many of them expressed their interest to migrate to somewhere else. Chris frowned, observed everyone's expression, and empathised with their anxiety and ominousness.
"The check, please." He placed a $20 bill on the table and left the Cha Chaan Teng. On the way returning to his apartment, a Union Jack flapping on a tall pole at the police station caught his eye. Soon after, a red van sped by, on its side the British crest and the gold letters Royal Mail.
As soon as he got back home, he picked up the phone and checked the local time before making a long-distance call. "Good evening, may I speak to Matthew please? This is Chris..."
Similar to everyone else, he drew the conclusion that, escape for consolation was the best thing he could do now.
Did you read the rules and Dark Reflections Canon?
Mr. Vargas, are you interested in opening another Italian Pasta store in my Soho district?
Random fun fact about yourself:
I spent 14 years living in Hong Kong, so I'm technically a Hongkonger ; D Since I am bilingual in writing (and quadrilingual in speaking), I roleplay in both English and Chinese Hetalia communities. Hong Kong is probably the easiest character for me to roleplay in a historical forum, and I love him so much. Isn't he a cool guy?
