Lord, what can I learn?
Dear teachers, students and fellows,
Peace in Christ. It is not a pleasantry when I say “Peace” after going through 2019 which is followed by 2020. I believe all Hongkongers have a unique understanding of the word, “Peace”.
The early termination of the Fall Term in mid-November is exactly out of our planning. Who knows the Spring Term has just begun but encountered with an unexpected epidemic? All students should have experienced with many insecurities and uncertainties over this year of learning…… Frankly speaking as a teacher, we are facing unprecedented challenges and confusion like what all of you have been experiencing.
Teachers and administrative colleagues of Divinity School and our SU representatives had an emergency meeting this morning while few colleagues and student representatives who could not returned to campus still connected to us via online meeting. Although home-office arrangement is currently implemented by CUHK, some of our colleagues are residing in campus and all were wearing surgical masks during the 3.5-hour meeting. We have discussed how to do better infection prevention controls in Divinity School and Theology Building and all the preparation in response to the online teaching as stipulated by CUHK since February 17.
We guess online teaching may be carried out for a certain period of time in view of the current viral epidemic but both teachers and students need time to adapt how to better use the tools and skills. Perhaps all of you still miss the interaction and exchange of views during class but online teaching is inevitably the last resort after maintaining the balance of epidemic prevention and learning. We will provide technical support to all full-time and part-time teachers for online teaching in order to secure the platform being run smoothly and effectively. Perhaps some difficulties may be encountered in the early stage, but we wish everyone can understand it so that online teaching can provide the best results to teaching and learning.
We urge all students to make sure you can receive the information disseminated by the University and Divinity School and please be reminded of checking through your CU-link mailbox while taking more initiatives to stay tuned to the important news released on the websites of CUHK and Divinity School. If you need special attention or have inquiry, please contact your Programme Director and me.
Health of Hong Kong citizen is the most important. In consideration of this, our School activities in February and March will be cancelled or postponed and we are terribly sorry for the inconvenience caused. More details of the events will be updated online.
Perhaps we will not be able to meet in classroom and school activities for a certain period, but we believe all of us will keep each other in prayers. We request earnestly everyone to pray for Hong Kong so that all parties in the society can support each other in order to overcome this hardship. Please also pray for our Divinity School that all of our teaching and administrative staff and students can never forget our mission in spite of the various challenges.
Time flies, I have devoted myself in theological education for 27 years in 2020 when I have been sincerely looking forward to the end of my term of service as the School Director and counting down towards July 31. Who knows the academic year of 2019-2020 has been full of challenges and what we are now facing are indeed even more severe than SARS in 2003? I can’t help asking “God, what do you want me to learn in this context?”
I recalled Professor Chung Sheung-chee Sydney who was the Dean of CUHK Faculty of Medicine during the SARS period announced SARS has already become an outbreak in the beginning of March 2003 when the-then Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Bureau was still claiming there were not enough evidences showing the infection of novel pneumonia in Hong Kong. Professor Chung spoke at the “Hong Kong Letter” broadcast on Radio Television Hong Kong when the epidemic of SARS was controlled, “This Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes has been a great shock to us in many areas. I believe a lot of things in the world would be different from the past after this battle against virus. Many of my colleagues and patients who are under my clinical consultation or being consulted by other doctors told me there was a big change to their philosophy of life. If we could live like the rebirth of phoenix and realised there are some other substances which are more important, invaluable and more worth to preserve instead of fame, interests, power, material life and leisure, what misfortune we faced in this case is a blessing in disguise!”
Professor Chung Sheung-chee Sydney resigned from his teaching duties in 2004 when he went to Papua New Guinea for contributing voluntary medical service. He said, “only entering into the community with people in needed, directly serving and living with them, we can genuinely care for them.” The experience of SARS has changed Professor Chung and his philosophy of life a lot. However, the awakening of the Hong Kong society only lasted for a short while and all the values changed by the epidemic would soon be forgotten by the realistic Hong Kong people. Profit-making and earning big money again becomes their core values. The only enduring change after SARS was that more people use public chopsticks in the restaurants, more facilities like automatic sensor water taps and soap dispensers have been installed inside the public toilets and more people are used to wearing surgical masks. Then the experience of SARS was soon forgotten as if it was archived in the Museum of History. The unpredictable outbreak of this Wuhan pneumonia taught us well no matter the government or the citizen who have not learnt from the lesson of SARS.
Epidemic is fatal. This recalled me about a Danish theologian, Søren Aabye Kierkegaard who wrote in his book, The Sickness Unto Death and explored the concept of despair which is the only fatal sickness. So what is our hope when we live in Hong Kong at this moment? What can we long for?
I remembered there was one sentence which touched me the most when I witnessed the sharing of TSAI Ing-wen who was re-elected as the Taiwan President in January. She spoke to all young people in Taiwan, “the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is you.” At this moment, I was thinking if our Holy Father saw there are so many brave Christians who persist in calling and practising the Kingdom values on earth, I believe He would also say, “You are the most beautiful scenery in Kingdom on earth.”
One day the epidemic would be over. At that time, we can take off our masks and assemble in the campus of Chung Chi College. We can listen to your stories and all beautiful scenery……
YING Fuk Tsang
Divinity School of Chung Chi College
February 3, 2020