2023年11月1日

Safety and security are two completely different concepts, but they can be mutually inclusive, and/or affect each other. They share the same Chinese characters. Not too long ago, our school operated on a 4-day per week pattern. Not that we wanted to, but typhoons and heavy rain came one after another, plus different school functions and public holidays, which aided the pattern that many yearn for. In early October, typhoon Koinu came and lingered for a few days before it decided to become a Mastiff and bit suddenly. I have to be honest, the city was relatively calm, apart from some damages here and there. But the airport and a few MTR stops paralysed travellers.

 

Although typhoon signal number 8 was hoisted, planes kept arriving and departing. Travellers who arrived faced transportation problems for vehicles began to stop running. Once the signal became nine, the over ground sections of the MTR also stopped, stranding passengers at some stops connecting to the ground lines. Suddenly, all public transportation systems ceased, and passengers had to fend for themselves. Some took taxis which charged five times the regular fare; others decided to check in into the neighbouring hotel. Our vehicle resources were paralysed by our own rules and regulations. Nonetheless, we heard about some Samaritans giving others a ride for free, and a coach company ran some free services of their own accord.

 

This is perhaps a wake-up call to all of us:  what if resources were imported and controlled by other countries? Have we been eating well with the pre-packed food, and all the beautiful and juicy fruits? The matter goes beyond food. Remember the time when we could not obtain surgical masks and the city became a frantic mess?

 

Among all security issues of a city, when we talk about protection and prevention, we always mean careful planning. Security is something we plan for the worst, perhaps in a form of attacks with a plot to take over, but we never want the worst to come. Safety may imply the same danger, but it does not start with an ill-intention. Obviously, we did not plan well on the city resources for the puppy typhoon.

 

We wanted all King Ling members to leave school before 6pm for safety reasons, for it becomes dark and quiet around the bus terminus in the evening, lest the boars appear. It becomes a security concern when gangsters spot that the same small group of students always leave school after dark on their own, say every Wednesday.

 

Anson Yang