A Barrister's Ballads
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Feb 21
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 05:15
The sun bearly peeks over the horizon. PETER stirs awake, rubbing his eyes.
PETER (V.O.): Memories of yesterday flood back.
FLASHBACK
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM, HK CLUB BUILDING - 18:00 (Yesterday)
Sitting next to the CHAIR and having an acoustic guitar by his side, Peter makes an opening remark.
PETER: The trilingual ballad I'm going to sing is called "HKUST".
Pausing.
The English lyrics are just "HKUST", the Putongha lyrics are just " 啊－ 啊－ 啊"（ Ah-ah-ah). The Cantonese lyrics are difficult, I'll sing them all.
As he is about to perform, the Committee CHAIR and MEMBERS#1,2 &3 have their smartphone cameras directing at Peter.
PETER (V.O): Wow... all the CEOs...
Act 2
PETER (Singing): 啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊 （ ah-ah-ah-ah）,
H-K-U-S-T, H-K-U-S-T,
香港嘅科技大学, 點解係價値中心,
知識轉移好又快, 料技創新,
仲與別不同, 係佢嘅創業精神,
紅鳥都可以行空, 願景都會成真!
啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊 （ ah-ah-ah-ah）,
H-K-U-S-T, H-K-U-S-T,
啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊 （ ah-ah-ah-ah)...
PETER: Thank you all!
A big round of joyful applause.
MEMBER#4: I'm so glad I'm here to witness that!
CHAIR: Apart from singing the song, Peter is hosting dinner for us too!
MEMBER#1 (Humming): HKUST, HKUST...
PETER: Yes, let's go now.
MEMBER#2: Peter, I've just sent you the video clip of your performance.
EXT. STREET - LATER
Six-seater cars are waiting. Peter gets on board one.
MEMBER#3: Peter, let me join you!
PETER (V.O): I believe he resonates with my lyrics "係佢嘅創業精神, 紅鳥都可以行空, 願景都會成真!" He's a HKUST alumni and donor.
INT. AMMO, ADMIRALTY - 11:00
A long table set for a dozen people.
PETER: Free sitting...
Peter takes a seat in the middle. The Chair sits opposite him while he is chatting with MEMBER#5 sitting to his right.
PETER:.. I crossed path with your Dad when he was a LegCo Councillor....
Later, noticing MEMBER#4 sitting to his left, Peter chats and shares MVs on YouTube with her.
PETER (V.O): Many HKUST buildings bear her father's name...
Later, Peter shares his family story with the Chair.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): A HKUST lab bears the name of her father-in-law. It has never occured to me that I'd work with her...she's young and smart...
Peter drinks water as others enjoy their wine.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'm just a former humble civil servant and a barrister working very little in retirement.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I love my "HKUST" ballad. It highlights what makes HKUST different.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Its structure is simple. It opens and closes with a catchy line: Ah-ah-ah（ 啊－ 啊－ 啊）and just one verse in spoken Cantonese.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I exercised intellectual effort to make the verse rhyme. I don't know if the audience would notice that.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): My "HKUST" song can be sung and played by anyone ie If I can do it, so can you.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And I hope those who can't speak Cantonese might learn some via my song.
Act 3.
INT. BEDROOM - 21:30
Peter inserts an AI drawing titled: "A Barrister's Ballads..." to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O): My ballads explore cultural themes, celebrating love, festivals and institutions like HKUST.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Each ballad serves as a testament, a story woven with the threads of truth and deep emotion.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): A barrister's ballads bridge the gap between law and life, revealing the human spirit.
FADE OUT
THE END
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