$1 Wage
FADE IN:
INT. ROAD - DAY
Road decorated with flags, banners and floral wreaths. Sounds of drums and gongs from a distance. PETER drives a blue Mercedes, seeing a road is blocked.
PETER (V.O.)
Alright, today must be
the Tin Hau festival.
Some parades will
be happening nearby.
FLASHBACK
EXT. FIELDS - DAY (1964)
A green and red kite flies steadily in different directions in the sky. Peter (9) controls it from the ground.
PETER (V.O.)
I wish I could have more such
quality and beautiful kites.
A FRIEND (12) joins Peter.
FRIEND
I've heard that if we join
the Tin Hau procession
of the Daan Kwai village
as flag bearers, we can earn $1 each. There're
fire crackers to play.
And we can watch the
adults fighting for the
the "paus" (cannons)!
PETER
Wow, we must join!
EXT. ROAD - DAY
A cool, rainy, windy day. Wearing an oversized vest with the words "Daan Kwai) on it, Peter and his friend take turns to hold a flag in the midst of a procession.
PETER
Wow, the flag is so
heavy. I don't have
a hand to play fire
crackers.
His friend gives him a hand.
Later, they see a MAN (30s) checking the parade and giving each participant a $1 coin. When Peter and his friend see the $1 coin in their hands, their eyes beam.
EXT. GROUND BY THE SEA - DAY
Muddy and slippery. The procession arrives as the sky pours. Soaked all over, Peter and his friend take shelter underneath the scaffolding platform of a temporary theatre.
PETER
(Shivering)
It's... so... cold. And I
don't see any paus or
cannons here.
FRIEND
I believe those paper
flower wreaths are
paus.
PETER
(Unbelieving)
Is... that... right?
Later, as SOMEONE begins shooting fire crackers in the sky, dozens of COMBATANTS fight to get the debris falling down.
PETER (V.O.)
Wow, that's barbarous!
The ONES who beat others and finally get the debris look elated.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I thought they'd play
war games, like the
British garrison, using
cannons...Anyway, I've
got my $1 wage. That's
most important.
Later, following other PARTICIPANTS, Peter and his friend get on board the cargo hold of truck with the flags and banners, drums and gongs.
PETER (V.O.)
Despite the hardship in
this 6-hour ordeal, we've
succeeded in earning
our $1 wage!
RETURN TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
In those days, I could
buy 3 quality kites or 3
small bowls of wun tun
noodles.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
It was one of the happiest
moments of my life. It has never left me.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Looking back, that's my
first experience of folklore and traditional cultural
expression in Hong Kong.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
In the 2000s, I followed
very closely the WIPO
process regarding the
protection of traditional
knowledge and traditional
cultural expressions.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
During the showdown
round of Hong Kong's
bilateral free trade
negotiations with the
European Free Trade
Association (EFTA), I deployed the traditional
issues as a bargaining
chip to trade off EFTA's
demand for supplementary
patent protection for
pharmaceuticals. I
succeeded and saved
lots of money for the
Hong Kong public!
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Yes, continue to celebrate
Hong Kong's traditional
cultural expression in
modern times!
As he makes a turn and stops the car before a red traffic light, a traffic police signals to Peter to move on.
FADE OUT. The End