Forty-six years ago, Yan Chungou, a Red Guard member who graduated from middle school, fled to Hong Kong with his family. He was 30 years old then, a clean and honest man. For 40 years, this aspiring young man fulfilled his literary dreams in Hong Kong and achieved success beyond his expectations. He is grateful for what Hong Kong has done for him. This is the reason why he will never forgive the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for trampling all over Hong Kong and is saddened by the misfortune that has befallen his home.

Yan Chungou shares inspirational gems about his life and his literary output

In the last week of February 2024, at the “Freedom to Read” event in Canada co-organized by the Civic Association and the Richmond Public Library, reporter Yang Xinwen was fortunate enough to meet with and interview renowned writer Mr. Yan Chungou. As one of the keynote speakers, Mr. Yan shared his new book My Love and Pain in Hong Kong, which records reflections on the history of Hong Kong’s “anti-extradition to China ” movement. Mr. Yan gladly accepted the interview invitation and shared insights about his life and literary creations. Notably, the book can not be released in Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong has become a perilous place

Yan Chungou spent the first 30 years of his life in the troubled mainland of China. He had the foresight to immigrate to Hong Kong after the Cultural Revolution. From 1978 to 2018, he lived an extraordinary life in Hong Kong. Fearing the transfer of power in 1997, many people in Hong Kong were forced to leave Hong Kong and emigrate overseas. Yan Chungou and his family chose Canada. Having lived in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, if you ask Yan Chungou where he is from, he will answer without hesitation that he is from Hong Kong.

With the failure of the ‘anti-extradition movement’ in 2019, Hong Kong became such a dreadful place that Chongou may never be able to return there for the rest of his life. In his book My Love and Pain in Hong Kong, he writes affectionately: “Almost every day, I think of my Hong Kong, the mountains and rivers there, the outline of the city, the relatives and friends there, all lingering in my heart. In this life, I hope to have the opportunity to go back to Hong Kong to relive my old dreams; if not, let my soul linger, looking out from the top of Victoria Peak, and pray for my Hong Kong”. 

Fond memories, deep gratitude, and affection

This gratitude and deep affection for Hong Kong may only be felt more intensely by those who emigrated from the mainland or fled to Hong Kong during the waves of people fleeing persecution. Yan Chungou said: “I think many people from the mainland feel the same way because we are the generation of intellectual youth who were targeted and severely struck down in mainland China. Our future was completely uncertain, and we had no idea what our future would be like”. Yan Chungou graduated from middle school and went straight to work. He recalled: “I was working as a ‘wireman’ on the mainland, installing electrical cables; the jobs were tough and dangerous.”

In 1978, the 30-year-old Yan Chungou arrived in Hong Kong. Five years later, his wife and son could join him there. Their daughter was born later in Hong Kong. He said: “After I came to Hong Kong, and given my interest in literature, a fellow villager introduced me to a newspaper office looking for a proofreader.  From there, I did my proofreading and, at the same time, read books”.

“Hong Kong was free at that time; you could read anything, and no one would censure you from thinking freely, so you could use your potential. It also provided everyone with equal opportunity, and there was lots of social support for you to fulfill your potential. Because of this, I could live in Hong Kong, and I can say that I achieved my ideals. My children were educated in Hong Kong, and although the education system in Hong Kong was average, they grew up freely. So, it should be said that Hong Kong has changed my destiny. If I remained in mainland China, I don’t know my situation now.”

Rising from feelings of poor self-worth to high self-esteem

Yan Chungou’s hometown is Fujian, which is in mainland China. When asked about the differences between his feelings for his hometown and his feelings for Hong Kong, he said: “Of course, I have feelings for my hometown because I grew up there. After leaving my hometown and going to the mountains and countryside to work, I returned there for ten or twenty days a year, so I have a deep affection for my hometown. 

“Of course, I have the most affection for Hong Kong, because in Hong Kong, I have slowly changed from a non-Hong Kong person to a Hong Kong person and from a person with a very poor sense of self-worth to a person with a better sense of self-worth, and this process is quite unforgettable.” Yan Chungou knows this deeply: “Without Hong Kong, there would be no life for me, so I will always be grateful to Hong Kong.”

Hong Kong people programmed to explore the world

He believes that Hong Kong people have an abnormal genetic endowment for exploration. In his new book, Yan Chungou argues: “Hong Kong people are Chinese people with an abnormal genetic endowment.” He believes that “Hong Kong people are significantly different from mainlanders and Taiwanese” and that “Hong Kong people have the gene for fleeing and the impulse to emigrate” in their blood.

He continued: “Besides the local indigenous people, the main composition of Hong Kong people is three different waves of people.” 

“The first wave was the Kuomintang veterans, some literati of the Kuomintang, and some political refugees who came out when the Kuomintang retreated after the mainland was seized by the Chinese Communists in 1949.

 “The second wave was many refugees smuggled in during the three-year famine in mainland China in the 1950s because they were too hungry to hold on. At that time, the Hong Kong government opened up again and approved many refugees. My mother came out then because my father was in the Philippines, and she could apply to Hong Kong.

“Then, there is the third wave, our wave. There are many people in our group, and it is estimated that a few hundred people from my middle school have come to Hong Kong. There are two factors for this. One factor is that there are many children of Hong Kong and overseas Chinese, and the other factor is that there are several people who returned to the mainland during the anti-Chinese era in Indonesia and the Philippines in the 1960s. After the Cultural Revolution, they returned to Hong Kong in droves.”

The courage to die, take risks, and put up a fight for life

Yan Chungou believes: “These three waves of people are actually political and economic refugees, and this group is relatively educated and highly educated in mainland China. Their genes are that they have seen the world and are more knowledgeable. For example, Jimmy Lai, CEO of the Apple Daily newspaper, who is the son of a landowner, has that adventurous spirit, and he will go for it.

“When people are in a desperate situation, they dare to die, take risks, and put up a fight in life. Such people are more courageous, brave, and resolute than ordinary individuals. This adventurous spirit is a characteristic of Hong Kong people and constitutes a common characteristic of our people. This spirit is very conducive to the economic and cultural development of Hong Kong itself.”

Fleeing from the mainland to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Canada or another non-communist country, Yan Chungou and his family took the same immigration path as thousands of Hong Kong families. They were trying to escape the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They left their homeland again to seek freedom elsewhere.

Escape from mainland China

Yan Chungou explained: “Actually, at that time, my wife’s family endured enormous persecution by the CCP. Her family was overseas Chinese in Indonesia. Her two uncles and an aunt are all Indonesian Chinese. When the ‘liberation’ in mainland China was approaching in 1949, relatives in Indonesia sent money back. They wanted to buy land and build a house in the countryside, but once they bought the land, the Communist Party confiscated it.

“When the CCP work team saw that you had land, it didn’t matter whether you wanted to build a house or rent it to people for farming. In short, you would be classified as a ‘landlord and overseas Chinese industrialist and merchant,’ which, at that time, was considered the blackest family component. The landlord is regarded as the worst person, and the CCP will watch you closely; you will be treated worse than any other person.

“My wife’s grandmother is in her eighties, and she is often arrested and persecuted. My wife’s father, a Kuomintang member, studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts before the ‘liberation,’ and he carved a statue of Chiang Kai-shek with a famous sculptor. Whenever there is any political movement, all these people will be punished by the CCP. During the Cultural Revolution, my wife’s father was arrested. She and her mother took all the famous paintings and calligraphy collected by her father and burned them.

“My wife has a subconscious fear of the Communist Party, so as soon as China opened up after the Cultural Revolution, she wanted to escape the mainland.”

Danger looming in Hong Kong

Yan Chungou continued: “Hong Kong has probably been considering its ‘reunification’ with mainland China since 1995, and my wife has always said she wants to leave. My family is Chinese overseas, but has not suffered as much as my in-laws. My wife has always wanted to leave. She always felt that the Communist Party was coming, and she wanted to run as far as she could, but she did not want to leave her children behind and be ruined by the Communist Party.

“I wanted to go to Taiwan, so I took my family there. However, after a trip, I saw that Taiwan was still relatively chaotic at that time, and my wife and children did not like it. As a result, Dai Tian, a celebrity in the Hong Kong literary circle who knew me, had dinner with me and suggested that he immigrate to Canada.”

Yan Chungou, who “had neither relatives nor money,” followed Dai Tian’s suggestion, sold his house, and immigrated to Canada with his family before the “1997” handover.

Starting a new life in Canada

As a newcomer, you have to start from scratch. Yan Chungou remembers: “I came to Vancouver in 1996 and lived in Richmond, but I couldn’t find a suitable job, so I returned to Hong Kong while my wife and our two children stayed in Canada.

“It wasn’t until my two children went out to study that I said to my wife: ‘You might as well come back to Hong Kong,’ so she also came back to Hong Kong. We returned to Vancouver after I retired.”

After moving twice, Yan Chungou finally found a home in Canada. He said: “The most important thing in Canada is freedom, and the second is our sense of security. It is important to feel secure. If you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, it will be a hard time in life. For example, when I came to Canada, Jimmy Lai asked me to write an editorial, so I went ahead and wrote it. I didn’t have to worry about going to jail in the future. These are the things you can’t buy with money.

“In addition, Canada and Vancouver are good places to retire. There are also some friends here. Although it is not as lively as Hong Kong, life is very stable and peaceful, and you can do what you like at home.”

Hong Kong is no longer that city on the hill — everything we knew is gone

The subject of Yan Chungou’s new book is about Hong Kong. “Following Hong Kong’s extradition bill, not only was the National Security Law enacted, but Article 23 of the Basic Law has also been enacted. How does it feel to be a Hong Konger?

“Most Hong Kong people feel the same way because Hong Kong is gone! We don’t have the same impression of Hong Kong anymore. The most important thing for us in Hong Kong is freedom. With the National Security Law and Article 23 of the Basic Law, there is no freedom. Without freedom, it is no longer the Hong Kong that we all knew.

“Also, the current rule of justice is disappearing. Without the rule of law, we cannot protect our freedom or human rights. Democracy is gone now, so basically everything that the Hong Kong Basic Law promised us is gone. Not only one person, one vote, everything is gone, and nothing is left from the old Hong Kong.”

The outlook for Hong Kong remains optimistic 

When asked about Hong Kong’s prospects, Yan Chungou replied: “Of course, I am optimistic about Hong Kong in the long run. If you are optimistic about the mainland in the long run, you should be optimistic about Hong Kong.” Yan believes that if the Communist Party falls, the mainland will have a chance to have a new life, although no one knows how long that new life will take, and that process may be painful.

In contrast, Hong Kong was free and governed by the rule of law before the transfer of sovereignty. Hong Kong’s society will be very stable after the fall of the CCP. So Yan Chungou feels: “I am relatively optimistic about this matter, and the only thing is to wait for the Communist Party to fall.”

Translated by Chua BC

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