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Bin Cheng

Writer's picture: Peter K F Cheung SBSPeter K F Cheung SBS
  1. FADE IN.


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY


  4. Still dark. PETER wakes up.


  5. PETER (V.O.): I dreamt of talking to Professor Bin Cheng in Cantonese, commenting on how he was respected in the legal circles of International Law, particularly in the specialist field of Air & Space. I've never dreamt of him before.


  6. Pausing.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The last time I thought about him was in October 2019, when I was about to visit my Air & Space Law classmate in Victoria, Canada. We studied the subject passionately in London 1986-1987.


  8. Remembering.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was last year or so that another Air & Space diploma classmate told me that Bin died years ago. I surfed the web and found reports of his recent activities. I recognized an image of a very old professor.


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I also surfed on Wikipedia, there wasn't anything about the professor.


  12. Reflecting.


  13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why I had such a long dream lag? What were the recent stimuli?


  14. Peter is still pondering in bed.


  15. Act 2


  16. FLASHBACK


  17. INT. HKU LAW LIBRARY - DAY (1985)


  18. Few souls. Just Peter (31).


  19. PETER (V.O.): Who would come to the Law Library immediately after the last PCLL exam? I need to borrow books and prepare for my LLM exams next year.


  20. END FLASHBACK


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I chose to study International Law from 1985 as a London U external LLM student as I had learned the law of the Land. In order to learn the learning skill, I took a subject called Methods & Sources of International Law.


  22. Reflecting.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The label sounds boring, but I was persuaded by the Study Guide that it was about Jurisprudence at the international level.


  24. Pausing.


  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I noted many of the reading materials were written by Professor Bin Cheng, including the "instant-custom" theory.


  26. Remembering.


  27. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1986, I won a UK Foreign Office scholarship and was placed to read an LLM at University College London. Since I wanted to specialize in the law of spaces, I took Sea Law, Air Law & Space Law.


  28. FLASHBACK


  29. INT. INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES, LONDON - DAY (1986)


  30. RICHARD GARDINER, a lecturer in his 30s, is speaking to about a dozen international STUDENTS including Peter (32).


  31. RICHARD GARDINER: Professor Bin Cheng will be teaching an evening diploma course for the Institute of Air & Space Law at Bentham House...


  32. INT. BENTHAM HOUSE - NIGHT


  33. Professor BIN CHENG (65) is lecturing. Peter is among the international STUDENTS. A Chinese STUDENT (20s) comes in late and sits next to Peter. Peter passes him a dictaphone.


  34. END FLASHBACK


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He had to work and asked me to record what he had missed for him. We thought it great to have the opportunity to learn from a master of laws of the Chinese race.


  36. Remembering.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Once in a week, I would get off at Holborn underground to go to Peter Martin's firm to attend a tutorial. He edited Shawcross and Beaumont's Air Law. He said in one tutorial that he was very attached to Bin.


  38. Reflecting.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I asked the professor to write a reference for me so that I could attend an international law conference in Manchester in Winter 1986.


  40. Grabbing his phone, Peter types Bin Cheng on the screen. He sees images of an old man in robes or in a suit, and after a short description, Born: January 21, 1921 (age 99 years).


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh yes, that's Bin Cheng.


  42. Scrolling down the screen, Peter sees Bin Cheng - Wikipedia. He taps on the tag and reads.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, 1921-16 October 2019...his time stopped at the age of 98...Where was I on October 16 last year?


  44. Peter taps his diary on the phone to check.


  45. FLASHBACK


  46. EXT. VICTORIA HARBOUR - DAY


  47. On a nostalgic boat, Peter takes shots of the harbour view.


  48. EXT. STANLEY MARKET - DAY


  49. Peter pays for some items inside a gift shop.


  50. END FLASHBACK


  51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I went to Stanley to buy more gifts for my Canadian Air Law & Space Law classmate.


  52. Pondering.


  53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Well, another day-time nightmare! Let me pass my discovery to my diploma classmate who was always late for the classes.


  54. Act 3


  55. INT. STUDY - DAY


  56. Checking a WhatsApp message, Peter reads: 98 years of age is very good.


  57. PETER (V'.O.): That's how my diploma classmate observed.


  58. Pausing.


  59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I came to know the professor when he was 65. He was retiring while my legal career was just starting...And now, I'm 65...


  60. Pausing.


  61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We last met when he was invited to speak at HKU years after I got my 2nd LLM from London. I was then attempting to write a thesis on Air Law.


  62. Thinking.


  63. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Wikipedia, he is categorized as a British Chinese author...I had better work harder and smarter still to deserve anything near to that.


  64. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - NIGHT


  65. In bed, Peter is listening to nostalgic music.


  66. PETER (V.O.): Don't know what I might dream about tonight. But it's inevitable that some characters relevant to me only live in my dreams.


  67. Pausing.


  68. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Anyway, I'll continue to make life happen, as good and as long as I can.


  69. FADE OUT.


  70. END.


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