Charmcharmchu calls song for the 20th anniversary of the handover a disgrace

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By staff writer, with additional reporting by Sebastien Raybaud
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HK band calls track a ‘pure disgrace’ while teenage student says it shows another side of Hong Kong

By staff writer, with additional reporting by Sebastien Raybaud |
Published: 
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Miriam Yeung was among the vocalists.

A new song marking the 20th anniversary of the handover has caused heated debate among music lovers. The song is part of this year’s handover celebrations being organised by the government under the theme “Together, Progress, Opportunity”. It has been slammed ahead of the July 1 anniversary.

Hong Kong Our Home is one minute long and reportedly cost HK$190,000 to create. The song’s music video features clips of the singers recording the track in a studio, and things like the Hong Kong skyline, trail runners, harbour swimmers and dragon boat teams.

The music was composed by Terrence Ma (T-Ma) and The Voice’s Jay Fung, with vocals from popular Canto-pop artists Hacken Lee, Miriam Yeung, Pakho Chau, Jason Chan, Joyce Cheng, Agatha Kong (AGA), Ken Hung, Alfred Hui and Mag Lam.

The lyrics, written by Jolland Chan, include the lines: “Our beautiful Hong Kong shining ever brighter ... Our beautiful Hong Kong up on the world stage ... Step-by-step, we will carry on astounding the world as we always have.”

After its release on YouTube, Cantonese heavy metal band Charmcharmchu called the track a “pure disgrace”. “The title Hong Kong, Our Home is not representative; it only shows the fake, good side of the scene here, like other promotional videos by the Hong Kong government,” a spokesman said.

Samanwita Sen, 16, from King George V School was full of praise for the video. “I think this video does a good job showing why Hong Kong is so good. The video portrays certain aspects of Hong Kong, such as it being a technological hub and a city that never sleeps.” But, she added, “There are certain parts of the city that are equally as important but were missed, such as Hong Kong’s diversity. Focusing on how diverse the community is would definitely be an improvement as I think that’s a more accurate picture of what it’s like to live here.”

Sacred Heart Canossian College student Eugenia Fong King-hin, agreed and was fond of how the video shows another side to Hong Kong. “The first moments intrigue me enough make me want to watch it. The day-to-night scenes are really good, and make me think of Hong Kong as something special. Politically, I don’t really like the city right now,” Eugenia, 13 said, “But this video showed me another side of Hong Kong. It made me feel like everyone is welcome here.” She went on to add that the video represents Hong Kong well because it was sung by local stars in Cantonese, and that the video also shows the strength of the people’s spirits. “The only thing that would make the video better is if it were longer. I really wanted to watch more.”

Oscar Fung Man-joy, 15, from Evangel College disagreed, and said he felt this video didn’t represent Hong Kong properly. “This is what the government wants people to think about the city. There are shots of the scenery, dragon boat racing, cycling in the countryside, fireworks along the Harbour ... it feels more like a travel ad, not a song for 20th anniversary of the handover.”

Edited by Ginny Wong

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