Dear Judge
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Oct 29, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. MTR TRAIN - DAY
Crowded. PETER in suit is checking phone notifications.
PETER: (V.O.): Having spent a whole day before a judge, now is time to entertain some of my Quora fans.
Peter reads an answer request: "If a lady says 'thanks dear', does it actually show more affection when she just says "thanks"?
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): Chinese just say "thanks" or "many thanks". They mean what they say.
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): If they don't mean what they say, they don't say it...
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): But some in the grassroot service sector may address every potential customer as a "handsome man" or a "pretty woman".
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): But they won't say "thanks dear" though.
Act 2
EXT. MTR TRAIN - CONTINUOUS
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): Some sales ladies in the English-speaking world did say "thanks dear" to me. Did they show more affection?
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, for a second, knowing full well it's just a standard customer relationship gimmick.
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): The practice is not unlike the standard formula in English letter writing.
PETER (V.O.): We address "Dear Sir/Madam" to someone we don't even know.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How can an unknown person be dear to someone?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Thus, I hate the untruthful salutation. I use "Hi", unless the letter is a formal one.
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me find a photo of a letter and use it as a feature photo in my reply.
Peter searches "letter" in his phone App. Several letter images appear. He checks them.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, I've taken a photo of my handwritten letter to a judge.
We see on the screen: Dear Judge...Peter continues to read it.
FLASHBACK
INT. HOME, N.T. - DAY (JUL 1992)
Peter (38) is reading a letter.
PETER (V.O.): Judge Nazareth is so kind, supporting me while my wife and I are having the most difficult time. I've to thank him.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That triggered my reply to the Judge's letter.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I saluted "Dear Judge", I meant it.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I worked with the Judge from 1988 to 1991. That was the time when I'd dare use the Judges' lift to visit his chambers.
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was the joint secretary to the Copyright Law Reform Committee and he was the Chair.
Pausing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): He helped draft the Sino-British Joint Declaration. He retired as a Non-permanent Judge of Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.
Sighing.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): He passed away in 2018 at the age of 86.
Sighing again.
PETER: (V.O.) (Cont'd): He was born in the same year as my late Dad, who passed away in 2011.
Act 3
EXT. MTR TRAIN - CONTINUOUS
Having typed his reply on the phone, Peter is in thoughts again.
PETER (V.O.): I've to do an appeal hearing soon. "May it please the court" is an obligatory phrase at the outset of an oral argument.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's just another formalism. Although it's quite pointless, it's still a good way to start.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There isn't any formal complimentary close though.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Again, in letter writing, we end a letter to an unknown person with "Yours faithfully". How can one be faithful to someone unknown?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): "Thanks dear" is just another formula, not really affectionate at all.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Dear me! A pointless answer request would trigger my feelings to people who were really dear to me.
Peter looks lost in the crowd.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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