Tag: defection

I have a particular fondness for these people as they rather comical approached me in early 1999 – when I was stood outside a shop in Kowloon that was so “small” I could not fit in it. Two armed Police Constables – in perfect English – asked me what I was doing in a “Chinese” area. It was a good question and I have to admit I was stumped to furnish a convincing answer on the spot – until a Chinese relative appeared and explained in Cantonese that my “ugly” Western appearance “was too big” for the “properly designed and shaped Chinese shops” (I am 6′ 2″ and weigh around 20 stone – so you can see their point). My relative also told me-off for not “bowing my head” out of respect and keeping my eyes looking humbly at the ground – where they belong. One Constable then answered in Cantonese – saying to my relative that “Hong Kong is no longer a British colony and the English should not be allowed to walk around like they own it.” We were let-off with a “Warning” – which I very much appreciated at the time as it was my first offense – and I believe I taught gongfu to one of the sons of the Constables! It was a little bit nerve-whacking, as the Constables authoritatively “fingered” their truncheons during the entire encounter.