Mr. LAM Shu-wing (1971 Alumnus)

Recollections from a Train Lover

To the handful of new students who lived in Kowloon, Wong Shiu Chi Middle School was in a remote area, accessible only by train. The train in the late seventies and early eighties was steam-powered. When we went to school in the early morning, the train was crowded with people bringing all kinds of supplies and necessities for relatives in Mainland China. Very often, the compartments were filled with fidgeting people and bulky luggage, and we would be lucky to find some corner in which to stand untroubled by the ‘madding crowd’. My classmates and I used to stand on the landing outside. Sometimes, we could even have the landing all to ourselves because the other passengers were afraid of the blackening soot. However, it would mean disaster for our white shirts and beardless faces if we did not get inside quickly before the train began to enter the tunnel.

Occasionally, we would be joined by some students from Chung Chi College. Some had early lectures and others returned to the hostel after staying away overnight. Anyway, we did not pay much attention to them because they went to a Chinese university and we were following a two-year course preparing us for admission to Hong Kong University. On the other hand, the university students might also consider us a strange lot. Perhaps, in their opinion, no self-respecting and aspiring students in Kowloon would choose to go to an NT secondary school.

Perhaps they did not realize that Wong Shiu Chi was among the first batch of secondary schools in the NT to operate HKU matriculation classes in 1969. Luckily, we knew it and we got admitted. As the course was new and the teachers did not have any prior experience teaching at this level, they gave us quite a lot of freedom and flexibility in learning. In a way, we felt we were partners in a joint venture to explore the new institution of learning together.

As for my group of friends, we travelled by train every day. We practically had the whole train compartment to ourselves on the way home as very few people travelled in the direction of Kowloon in the afternoon so we could talk and joke a lot. But, most of all, we enjoyed talking and arguing about current topics in Chinese and European history. That was how we used to while away a full hour of otherwise dull and monotonous rumbling train journey. At that time, we did not realize that our circumstances actually helped us to form a regular study group of some sort. And surprisingly it worked beautifully. A keen debater and I later managed to get very good results in the matriculation examination and gain admission to HKU. My honorable opponent continued to read History and I chose to study English and Chinese Translation. These were the subjects I taught when I returned to WSC as a new teacher appointee in 1975.

My classmates came from different schools and frankly speaking we were a mixed lot. The NT natives were proactive and full of energy; they were also good at organizing outings and bicycle trips. They organized physical events and challenged us city kids to roam free in the countryside and get to know the NT from a native’s perspectives. I would always cherish this down-to-earth experience deep in my heart, especially as the old NT is now fast disappearing.

To sum up, Wong Shiu Chi had not only given me the opportunity to study at university, and provided me a teaching position for six years, but it was also the place where I first met my wife for nearly 30 years. After being given so much, I felt it was only a small token from a blessed couple when I pledge to donate $100,000 to the school for a scholarship.