Wing: Like-whore: Rookie Councillor Grieves Loss of Night Market

Like-whore: Rookie Councillor Grieves Loss of Night Market

Translated by Chen-t'ang 鎮棠, Edited by Karen L. ,  Written by 翼雙飛 (Wing Wing)

Original: http://www.passiontimes.hk/article/02-04-2014/8395 

"Gone are the days when I was seeking warmth with her in night market. She's still here with me, yet gone are the hawkers. Special snack stalls are replaced by chain food stores. I felt the [Hawkers Control Team of] FEHD enforces the law ruthlessly without discretion. I wonder how many people will support retaining the taste of grassroots?"

Such sentimental status can no doubt win the staunch support from HKers, with some thousands of likes in just a while. But what kind of insight can Mr. Kwong Chun-yu (a district councillor and an author with tens of thousands of fans) provide to your readers? It reminds me of CY Leung being severely criticised after he wrote about buying fish in a wet market last August.

If a commoner controls his sentiments appropriately, it is not a big deal. But as a politician, Mr Kwong shall comprehend what public policy is. Instead, he just wrote on behalf of his own perception. He said he misses the days when he could "eat along the street" (掃街), but suddenly he accused the ruthlessness of FEHD, and then "supported the taste of grassroots". I felt that his writing is nothing but naive, and moreover I felt he failed to live up his profession. Do you write merely for baiting for 'likes'?  Shouldn't you, as a person with social status and influence, write more didactic articles? At least you should widen your readers' horizons and inspire them?

I am not so erudite in the field of public policy. But is it all about reminiscing the days of eating fishballs when we mention Kwei Lin Night Market? You don't even need to be professionals to spot out clues if you go there in person!

First of all, there were lots of hawkers whose fingers are all thumbs. Probably due to hype of the media, the unexperienced hawkers want to be vendors. Without coordination, there were far too many vendors, causing a crowded eating environment. Conflicts can easily spark off. Charcoal stoves were placed in the middle of the crowd, and pedestrians might easily be burned. If there were accidents, would there be enough space for ambulance access? If charcoal stoves became on fire, could firetruck gain access? Diners are not vigilant against pickpockets, who came to seek "job opportunities". Diners left tonnes of rubbish, but hawkers did not care to even put a few bins around their stalls. As a result, the "ruthless" FEHD will be responsible for cleaning up them? Enforcing law is "ruthless", what an insinuation! But after people feed themselves happily and "non-ruthless-ly", FEHD has to clean up for the hawkers and the customers. Won't you be too ignorant to notice that as a politician?

(From Ada Wong)

Merely writing from your personal emotions without seeing anything undesirable, you neglect food hawkers can actually be an influential issue. You are "like-whoring" by saying 'I love eating along the street!'. What is more unbearable is saying "If the thought of this status is widely supported, I will suggest holding night market(s) to the district council!" Wow! Isn't it your responsibility to advocate certain policies! You even pass the buck to the netizens! Do you know whether they are from the community of suggested night market(s)! Isn't it a joke when a serious policy is treated as a trifling matter? Come on, Mr Kwong. Can you just don't be so egoistic and fooling the public as a district councillor?

[P.S. 1 Such kind of night market is temporary in nature, since during Lunar New Year holiday, law enforcement agencies will usually turn a blind eye, but recent trend shows that the situation is different. In night market, one can usually buy ox offals (牛雜), egg puffs/waffles (雞蛋仔/格仔餅), fishballs, shiu-mais, cheongfans (rice rolls 腸粉), imitation shark fin soups (commonly known as wun-chai-chi 碗仔翅) and so on.]
[P.S. 2 A Chinese article of Kursk is attached in the Chinese version of this article, and I'm not going to translate it, so, sorry.]