Me and the WTO... a letter I couldn't stop writing

Wesley,

I couldn't help but to stop myself from dwelling into the notes and start writing an email to you. It has been some time since the phone call when I told you that I can no longer stand simple slogans and straight forward black-and-white reasons for going to, or organizing, protests. Well, the problem simply lingers on.

I’ve tried my best to pull up myself and seize some of the opportunities in the WTO week to learn more. I’m glad the learning experience was great. The world becomes a lot bigger then I’ve ever imagined. I realized how stupid I am – thinking this little Hong Kong is the centre of the whole world. Problem as small as an ant had been an elephant in my eyes. Perhaps I should admit, it has become more and more difficult for me to yell “No” to something, especially after the WTO week.

I wonder where the hack truth is. Everybody talk about love, faith, justice and all that. I used to think I’m no where wrong if I go with FES and the big international NGOs. Now I realize just how big the NGO world is. People have different stances and different opinions based on different perspectives, priorities, and interests. They collaborate and dissemble strategically guided mostly by common interests. The thought of “these interactions are necessary to generate the common good”, “adding these all up will give you the final positive picture” has been comforting for some months, but now no longer.

I couldn’t stop myself from having some kind of weird feeling towards the WTO protests. (I do understand their importance and their reason to be here.) I’ve noticed a certain kind of discordance between the insides and outsides of the Convention Centre. It’s like people are talking in completely different languages. Yelling “No” outside the Centre means nothing to the technical and political negotiations inside. To get a protesting farmer into the Centre is not going to yield anything productive. These people are indeed useful outside, but someone must go into the centre to deal with the complicated scenario so that protestors’ dream (-sssssss?) may come true.

Let me reiterate, I realize, to some extent, how unfair and nasty the situation is now (don’t think I can ever realize all). I stand fully to the support of fairness and equality, and personally, the Western Goddess of Justice (remember the sculptures in Victoria Park during the WTO week?) has already become a part of my heart. However I don’t think yelling is enough. Yelling is merely the first step to the whole matter. It will not be nice if our understanding remains so one-sided, so black-and-white, and so simple.

To add a bit, I think it is quite foolish to dwell in the discussion of “police performance and misbehaviors” as one of the most important WTO discussion topics. I realize the arrests, but the police cannot help but to become WTO-watchdogs once the HK Government is responsible for the conference. Perhaps the more proper question is why the government wants to held this conference, and the arguments go back to “building up the image of Hong Kong” and all that.

This letter shows quite an extensive bit of relativism that I did not hold onto before. I admit that I’m in a break-down process – breaking down those built up in FES for the past 3 years. I’m beginning to see Christianity in complete new eyes – maybe the most ordinary pair of eyes one can get from anyone else in the street – but this is significant for me.

So this is the only (and very much belated) Christmas present I present to you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Siuman