The day before yesterday (10th) was the first day of the Lunar New Year. In Oxford, England, a local group held a New Year celebration event. They set up dozens of handicraft and game stalls and provided Hong Kong special snacks. They also invited local people to hold short greetings for the attendees. The lecture introduced various systems in the UK and attracted more than 1,000 participants. Former Hong Kong Governor Lord Chris Patten and his wife were also present. They arrived at about 2 pm and were enthusiastically surrounded by Hong Kong people and played games with the people.
“Chasing News” special reporter Reagan
There were game booths at the event, and former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten also enjoyed it when he visited and successfully dropped a badminton into a cup.
Lavender Thornton Patten, the wife of former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten, was also present and was also welcomed by Hong Kong people when she left.
Volunteers made and prepared local Hong Kong snacks for participants to enjoy, including curry fish balls, egg tarts, egg waffles, etc.
When former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten and his wife left, they were enthusiastically surrounded by the participants.
Patten first visited the teaching and performance of Chinese knotting, writing Hui Chun and other handicrafts, shook hands with the volunteers and said hello. He became more playful when he passed a game stall where he had to drop a badminton into a cup. He succeeded on the first try. There was a cheer. He was also the keynote speaker at the event. In his speech, he mentioned that “Hong Kong was the happiest time in my life and that of my family.” He also thanked Hong Kong immigrants for their contribution to British society and hoped that one day the British Prime Minister would be held by someone with a Hong Kong background. . Regarding the Hong Kong government’s launch of a public consultation on the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, he responded to a reporter’s question and said that he was surprised by the Hong Kong government’s determination to legislate, and questioned “What is it that the Hong Kong government is pursuing in addition?”
The four-hour event titled “The Eight Blessings and the Soaring Dragon to Celebrate the New Year” was hosted by Oxford Community Church and co-organized by other Oxford Hong Kong organizations. Church member George Taylor now teaches academic English at the Language Center of Oxford University and is the person in charge of the event. He said that the event aimed to help Hong Kong people participate in the community. With more than a thousand people attending, it was more successful than he had imagined. But from inviting university president Chris Patten to attend, to having an event inspired by and sponsored by one of his own students, an honorary consul who was assisting immigrants in Mexico, it all turned out to be serendipity.
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The event was sponsored by the Honorary Consul
George said that the church never thought of holding a New Year celebration at the beginning. It was originally just an idea to invite Patten to have a dialogue with Hong Kong people, but it fell through because there was no suitable time in 2023. It was not until early November that he remembered that January 2024 was the Lunar New Year. He proposed to hold an event and Patten agreed to attend, so he started planning the event. He also personally selected and invited short speaker guests, including doctors from the British National Health Service, city councilors and charity organizations. Representative, “make sure that participants understand the British system.” He laughed and pointed out that sometimes life has to be crazy and bold: “I was actually a little presumptuous. I walked to the university office and directly asked to meet the secretary of the university supervisor. She came down and we sat on the sofa to discuss it and agreed in principle to the whole plan. “
As for the funds for hiring security guards, setting up mobile toilets and other activities, in addition to the small amount of funding provided by the Oxfordshire County Council to the Hong Kong people in Oxfordshire, George said that one of his students is the honorary consul of Honduras in Mexico. He is very kind and charitable and will assist local immigrants. Knowing that they difficulties, so when he learned that this event was related to Hong Kong immigrants to the UK, the student took the initiative to ask if he needed any funding, and sponsored part of the expenses of this event out of his own pocket. George explained that it was partly because of this student that he realized that the world was facing immigration problems. Politicians blamed social problems on immigrants, but “instead of putting immigrants on planes (as the British government proposed) Rwanda”, it is better to “embrace” and help them.
Through this event, he hopes that Hong Kong people will feel more at home in the UK and understand that they have not lost their cultural identity and that the local community is accepting them. He hopes that more Oxford locals will participate in future events, explaining that “the church is of course a safe place, but this event is not intended to be a space only for Hong Kong people, but to integrate everyone into the community.”
Councilor: Voter registration is part of participating in British society
Susanna Pressel, Member of Oxfordshire County Council and City Council, was one of the guests invited to give a short speech, introducing the different levels and systems of regional government in the UK to the attendees. In an interview, she said that Oxford and even the UK are very welcoming to Hong Kong immigrants and look forward to the Hong Kong community participating in British society, which includes registering as voters and voting in local elections and this year’s parliamentary election: “Your opinions are different from others. People are equally important and valuable, and because Hong Kong people are immigrants, they may have a more objective view of British affairs.”
More importantly, she said, reading local newspapers is the fastest way to understand local affairs in the UK. She also suggested that Hong Kong people visit the websites of councils at all levels to understand their functions and latest developments.
Preparing Egg Tarts for Patten
Snacks were also prepared for the event for more than 1,000 participants. Patten’s love for egg tarts is well-known on the street. Behind every tin foil box of egg tarts, egg waffles and pastries, it is natural that the hard work and thought of more than ten volunteers are inseparable. Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Lu are both in their 40s. They were two of them, and both of them also attended with their children.
Mrs. Lu is in charge of pork rinds, radish and fish dandruff. She said that many volunteers have been preparing pastries and local Hong Kong snacks for several days of the event, just to let the participants feel the atmosphere of the New Year and “even the taste of hometown.” She also mentioned that she was very happy with the active participation of the participants, and that her children learned to serve others and benefited a lot from their growth. The day before the event, Mrs. Chan held a smile at home for six hours starting from 8pm. She explained that Hong Kong people encountered many difficulties in immigrating to the UK, and she hoped to use the smile to wish Hong Kong people “smile always.” ,happy”.
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2024-02-12 14:02:17
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