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CNY Fireworks Cancelled

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    Speaking to my Chinese friends, most seem to be of the view that it is political grandstanding. Only one mentioned the 7 days thing. Fireworks at CNY have a deep cultural significance too.

    Something I am finding interesting is people on other forums telling people to be 'culturally sensitive' about the '7 days thing' while dismissing the significance of CNY fireworks! Is there a little book with hierarchy of traditions?

    Then, some people who are rebuking 'foreigners' for having an opinion are the same people who would call locals in their own country bigots if they didn't elevate the views of foreigners to at least equal volume...
    Not really sure how it is relevant what the chinese think about the fireworks being cancelled considering that the fireworks in question are in Hong Kong.

    I have not discussed this with any hongkongese since I am not in HK now, but I would expect most to not really care they were cancelled.
    SpeakCantonese likes this.

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by henkka:
    Not really sure how it is relevant what the chinese think about the fireworks being cancelled considering that the fireworks in question are in Hong Kong.

    I have not discussed this with any hongkongese since I am not in HK now, but I would expect most to not really care they were cancelled.
    Eh? I am in Hong Kong. Hong Kong natives are mostly Chinese, ethnically...it's not a political comment.
    shri likes this.

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    Nitpicking...but the bus crash happened at 6:15pm...the fireworks weren't due to start until 8pm...technically, 7 days would have passed.
    Firefighters spent several hours cutting people out of the bus afaik.

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    Speaking to my Chinese friends, most seem to be of the view that it is political grandstanding. Only one mentioned the 7 days thing. Fireworks at CNY have a deep cultural significance too.

    Something I am finding interesting is people on other forums telling people to be 'culturally sensitive' about the '7 days thing' while dismissing the significance of CNY fireworks! Is there a little book with hierarchy of traditions?

    Then, some people who are rebuking 'foreigners' for having an opinion are the same people who would call locals in their own country bigots if they didn't elevate the views of foreigners to at least equal volume...
    I'm Chinese and I thought that was an overblown reaction to a tragedy, but I was never one for traditional holidays and too Canadian to speak for all Chinese. I talked to my friends and they don't understand it either.

    Just doing some armchair psychology, one thing that always struck me about the difference between Asian and western funeral tradition is that, at least in the ones I've been to, western funeral tends to be about a celebration of person's life and accomplishment, friends and family come over and reminisce in fond memories, share amusing anecdotes and so on. Whereas in Asia, it tends to be more sombre affair, sometimes with people crying uncontrollably.

    Don't know if people still do it, but in countrysides funerals people used to hire themselves out as professional criers. The old Chinese belief was that the more people bawling themselves on the ground for you at the funeral, the more loved you were in life.

  5. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by henkka:
    I would expect most to not really care they were cancelled.
    No, just the bunnies that flew across the world to be here for the CNY fireworks are going to be a bit disappointed. Lol

    No biggie
    SpeakCantonese and shri like this.

  6. #36

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    I don't want to sound insensitive, but how is this different to other accidents where people die? Try telling their relatives that just because this was a larger number, that it means more to HK that CNY fireworks are cancelled.

    There have been several road accidents usually with minibuses that killed passengers and pedestrians in the last couple of years. Did the government cancel any festivities? Announce any remembrance events? Why are they less important?

    HK_Katherine and mrgoodkat like this.

  7. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by sinespe:
    I'm Chinese and I thought that was an overblown reaction to a tragedy, but I was never one for traditional holidays and too Canadian to speak for all Chinese. I talked to my friends and they don't understand it either.

    Just doing some armchair psychology, one thing that always struck me about the difference between Asian and western funeral tradition is that, at least in the ones I've been to, western funeral tends to be about a celebration of person's life and accomplishment, friends and family come over and reminisce in fond memories, share amusing anecdotes and so on. Whereas in Asia, it tends to be more sombre affair, sometimes with people crying uncontrollably.

    Don't know if people still do it, but in countrysides funerals people used to hire themselves out as professional criers. The old Chinese belief was that the more people bawling themselves on the ground for you at the funeral, the more loved you were in life.
    There must be several thousand different funeral practices in the West and Asia so that is a generalization way too far

  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    Eh? I am in Hong Kong. Hong Kong natives are mostly Chinese, ethnically...it's not a political comment.
    My comment was not political either, in my experience when people in kong hong speak of the Chinese they mean mainland Chinese and that would not include locals, hence I misunderstood your comment.
    SpeakCantonese likes this.

  9. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by henkka:
    My comment was not political either, in my experience when people in kong hong speak of the Chinese they mean mainland Chinese and that would not include locals, hence I misunderstood your comment.
    Really? My experience is that locals refer to Mainland Chinese as "mainlanders" or "mainland chinese" and still refer to themselves as chinese.

  10. #40

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    Really? My experience is that locals refer to Mainland Chinese as "mainlanders" or "mainland chinese" and still refer to themselves as chinese.
    http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/p...ould-help-more

    When do hongkongers ever refer to themselves as chinese ? I guess you could use local, hongkonger, hongkongese, etc. But never would you use chinese in the context when you merely mean people who live in Hong Kong and not "chinese" in general.

    I guess for mainlanders you could use a lot of terms, chinese of which is one as is mainlander, mainland chinese, locusts and many more.