FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
PETER is watching a TV story. A WOMAN (20s), holding a black flag in a mall, is being interviewed. We hear: I think the five demands aren't enough...
PETER (V.O.): OMG, it seems that by waiving her flag and screaming her slogans in public in Hong Kong, she will get everything she wants.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What has she learned in educational institutions, from her peers and from her experience?
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She thinks and acts like a spoiled ungrateful child in a Hong Kong family - never learn how to be self-controlled.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): She reminds me of my matriculation days when I studied "The Great Learning" of the Book of Rites in Chinese Literature.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY (1971)
A TEACHER (30s) is teaching three dozen STUDENTS including Peter (17).
TEACHER: The concept of Great Learning is structured upon three pillars: to practise morality, to do good to people, and to be virtuous.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.): How to capture and deliver all these institutional values?
The teacher continues.
TEACHER: For those who want to make the world better, they should know how to govern their countries. Before they acquire the governance capacity, they need to achieve family harmony. And before they do well in family units, they've to discipline themselves well.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sounds reasonable. If people can't even discipline themselves, how can they handle the more complicated social and political relationships at the country and world levels.
TEACHER: So, to change the world, the Chinese wisdom as explained in the Great Learning, is a graduated approach, beginning from the individual unit.
Peter nods.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Okay, I've to equip myself first. That alone isn't easy. There're so many things to learn, in great depths but within a short time.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When will I've my own family? I'll be duty-bound to provide for it.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As a bachelor, I'm striving to make ends meet by working part-time after school...
The lesson ends.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To raise a family is hard, particularly to own an apartment in Hong Kong.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was a civil servant, I did help govern Hong Kong... To strike a fair balance among competing interests wasn't easy.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I did work in the WTO and helped settle two international trade-related disputes... But I don't think I changed the world in any way.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But that woman preaches something much more challenging...
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I studied Philosophy with the attempt to acquire wisdom, my peers thought I wasn't realistic.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While there's no explicit market for Philosophy, I can at least think logically, distinguish right from wrong, endeavour to do good and be virtuous.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've an open-mind. I am rational and won't think I'm always right and am always better than others.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As there're some who would never learn, that's why law has to intervene to enforce what is good for Hong Kong as a whole, now and in the future.
Peter takes a deep breath.
Act 3
EXT. ROAD - NIGHT
Peter drives his SON in a SMART car.
PETER (V.O.): In the latter half of 2019, it was rather risky to drive on Sunday nights. Now, there's better peace and order.
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since my learning of the Great Learning in my teens, I've been developing myself in that direction relentlessly.
Pondering.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To be a virtuous person, living a fulfilling life has been my my life-long pursuit. Family is a partnership matter and I've never been solely in charge.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For governmental and worldly affairs, they've become remote to me now - there 're always people wanting and competing for power and glory.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me do more on the creative front, as individuals have underutilized the potential power and glory in them.
THE END
FADE OUT.
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