FADE IN.
INT. EXCHANGE SQUARE - DAY
PETER walks with a FRIEND (50).
PETER
Thanks for your IP
updates. Since retirement,
I've done something else.
FRIEND
So what do you do?
PETER
(Excited)
For the past couple of
weeks, I have been an
Internet public opinion
warrior.
FRIEND
(Curious)
Won't you worry about...
Peter shakes his head sideways affirmatively.
PETER
I've nothing to lose.
EXT. STAR FERRY PIER - NIGHT
Having taped his Octopus Card on the turnstile reader, Peter looks shocked.
PETER (V.O.)
Oh, no charge! Oh yes,
I'm already a senior
citizen.
EXT. STAR FERRY - NIGHT
Walking around in the lower deck, Peter takes photos of Hong Kong as if he is a tourist.
PETER (V.O.)
I need a lot of Hong
Kong photos as inserts
to my Quora answers.
The international audience
has been over-exposed
with negative images.
EXT. MTR - NIGHT
Standing, Peter checks his phone.
PETER (V.O.)
Here is a Quora questioner
who requested my answer:
What has made you so
quiet about Hong Kong
protest?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I've broken my silence
and published my opinions
internationally on a daily
basis.
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
Waking up, Peter grabs his phone and taps Calendar.
PETER (V.O.)
Oh, I've a meeting at
10.00 am. I got so
focused on political
issues these days.
INT. SCHOOL FOYER - DAY
Peter and two PROFESSORS (50s) are enjoying the harbour view.
PROFESSOR#1
Peter, do you know what
the vacant space by the
harbour is for?
PETER
When it became available,
I meant to hold a Hong
Kong Woodstock there.
But my idea was not
supported. It is still left
vacant for occasional
open-air exhibitions.
PETER (V.O.)
No one comes now. Hong
Kong is really lovely apart
from the recent protests...
Professors are nodding.
PETER (Cont'd)
I've been using Quora
to make my voice
heard internationally.
A beat.
Coming out from a conference room, Peter sits at a bar table and reads a draft answer in Quora. We see the question in bold type:
What has made you so quiet about the Hong Kong protest?
Then, we see a colourful photo of the Victoria Harbour at night entitled: So Quiet.
And the answer:
Blog. Although I published daily blog posts in screenplay format on my websites and Facebook, I did not publish much on politics before June 2019.
Politics. As a week is too long for politics, I believe political incidents do not have any lasting value. I prefer writing docudramas and sharing my inner-self.
Protests. Since the Hong Kong protests in June 2019, I have been analysing the phenomenon, commenting and remarking on what is happening in my blog posts.
Root. I was raised in Yuen Long (the incident where the whites fighting the blacks), the attack of Yuen Long became more real to me and to my family.
Quora. While researching, I bumped into Quora and joined it on July 20, 2019. The second question I answered was: Why was Yuen Long attacked?
Self-hypnotised. Since then, I have been hypnotising myself (like Hong Kong protesters) in answering questions including those on Hong Kong protests.
Views. I have shared the different perspectives as to what is actually happening in Hong Kong so that viewers anywhere can form well-informed opinions.
Warrior. When members of the silent majority asked me what I had been up to these days, I said proudly that I had been an internet public opinion warrior.
Worry. When they asked me if I was afraid of retaliations, I said I had nothing to lose. (NB: I was a public figure and had internet battles with copycats).
Vocal. My wife used to keep herself to herself. As protests escalated, she broke her social-media silence. It is high time we told right from wrong, vocally!
Peter taps: Submit.
INT. STUDY - DAY
Peter sees a news feed at Facebook. We see photos in a kindergarten setting, including a young TEACHER teaching KIDS by holding a picture depicting someone sprays something at a sea of umbrellas and masked kids holding hate slogans against the Police.
PETER (V.O.)
The teacher is brainwashing
the kids now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Oh, the revealing stuff
is posted by my wife.
She used to hide herself
behind the social media.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Times have changed.
We can't afford to be
so quiet in letting idiots
wronging the right!
FADE OUT.
THE END