Coming Back to Base

By the time I returned base, we would have been away for a full three weeks – I said I because Su would stay in Whistler for two more days; it’s a long story and I would spare you the details – only to return to the mountains again in about ten days, if the travel situations between countries and cities haven’t changed.  Such is the present socio-politico-environmental and health protocol we have all found ourselves in; and for which nobody has any control. As I said last time, this virus knows no boundary. On the last gondola download from the top, we were joined by a lady who introduced herself as having a short vacation from Seattle. Her mother is 87 living by herself, but she debated within on whether it would be prudent to visit her under the current situation. It reminded Su of her own situation when a week before we left, her family cancelled a birthday party for her Dad to avoid exposure for Mum and Dad in public restaurants where there is no control whatsoever on who would be sitting in the next table, not to mention the obvious exposure involved in transport for the meal.

The lady on the gondola also talked about Trump’s plans or the lack of it in dealing with the current corona virus spread and did not have anything complimentary to say. The mind boggles on how the people of the arguably but generally acknowledged most influential country in the world can allow such a person to represent them and rule over time for so long. He can say anything he likes without fact check or evidence or any shred of proof, and can is always allowed to get away with it. Trump is obviously a very clever man and is using everything to his advantage so that at the end of the day, even if the country goes broke, he would remain richer than ever.  He has just declared in his Rose garden a national emergency to spend US$50 billion in aid to hospitals and doctors to handle the situation, which commentators immediately said is a tacit admission of failure, not just by the White House, but also by the US government over multiple administrations. I hope my children in the States would stay healthy and keep safe.

As far as the situation in Hong Kong is concerned, it has been generally acknowledged that the corona virus would eventually blow away. It’s only a question of time. Indeed, it appears that Hong Kong and the government has been handling the situation rather well – despite what the pan democrats would have you believe – certainly compared with Trump’s administrations. The deep seated worry in many quarters is that Hong Kong may not be able to come back the way it did in 2003 after SARS, for the fundamental reason that the black shirts and rioters have caused irremediable and irreparable damages and have taken away any chances of recovery for Hong Kong in the next ten if not 20 years. This is indeed sad and bad news, but is not an unrealistic view, and is something that reasonable people should think about it in real and serious terms. Informed sources have said China is well aware of the scenario and has allowed Hong Kong to bleed to death before she would contemplate a long term and gradual blood transfusion. For all intent and purposes, the generations between 18 and 40 can be discounted wholesale, almost lock stock and barrel. We would need to dilute the workforce with people from China in those age groups and create a new economy based on what would be left of our perceived and real advantages. The black shirts and the rioters will continue to be the scum of the earth, and not even Taiwan would accept them. They can continue to wave the Union Jack or the Stars and Stripes, but their days are numbered and they will have no future, unless they can see the light and change their colour in real terms as opposed to changing their shirts. Over the last few months, such changes did occur and have been reported, but we need more and in greater numbers. Attitude changes have never been easy, and we would have to leave it in God’s hands.

Before our fireplace and with temperature at the peak at -15⁰C, we drank to each other, to all those dear and near to us, and to our absent friends.