Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 379

The Evergreens
Dulwich College Beijing, Teo, Mattias - 12
The transition period is over. And I am very unhappy about it.
The protests for the extradition bill turned into a whole protest about getting Hong Kong’s independence and
democracy. After fierce fighting from both sides for four years (2019 – 2023), the protestors were brought to a
halt. The Chinese army had come to intervene and the protestors could not stand up against them.
In 2025, the Greater Bay Area Project (GBAP) was released. The plan included greater financial benefits for the
area but also enforced tougher restrictions on HK and the area as well. For example, people who negatively
spoke about the government was reported and taken back to China. No one knew what happened to those
people.
The transition period to the rules is over. That was 5 months ago and now it is a new era for HK. Our law has
been abolished for the Chinese judicial system and our government feels like a puppet.
And I am very unhappy about it.
I am Fiona. I am 13 and recently quit school. Half of HKSS staff, teachers and students and others quit school to
join the movement. Or as we like to call it, the revolution.
I am going to the subway, not the MTR as it used to be called. I am taking a train to Hong Kong Island with
my buddy Falkland…
“Mum?”
“Where are you, Fiona? I called your school and they said you weren’t there for the last week.”
“I just went to get lunch with my friends…”
“Lunch! It is only 10.30.”
“Yeah, I know mum, I just…”
I hung up the phone. It was too tiring to hear my mum talking for too long. My buddy Falkland handed me
my bubble tea as I gazed into the sky.
“Your mum again?”
“Yeh. She’s so annoying…”
I saw a small tear roll out of his eyes, I saw his nose turning red and his body curling up into a ball. I forgot that
Falkland’s mum was in a car accident a few years ago.
“Look, we’ve been over this, now let’s get a move on!”
The lights in the subway station were flickering and the puddles of water are left on the floor. We hurried down
the escalator, bumping into people a few times.