Stay Relevant

1. FADE IN.

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - NIGHT

6. 
   

7. Before going to bed, PETER checks new Quora notifications.

9. PETER (V.O.): Here's an answer request.

10. 
    

11. We see on his phone screen the request: Is it true that people who would have succeeded in life in the past are now basically useless due to technology and society changes?

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the mid-1980s, I heard an expatriate Counsel lamenting in the office that he'd never learn to use the computer.

14. 
    

15. Recalling.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although he had worked in Hong Kong for a number of years, he didn't speak any Cantonese.

18. 
    

19. Recalling.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the British colony of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Chinese had to adapt to learn English.

22. 
    

23. Pausing.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Information technology was a new trend then. I don't know if that expatriate Counsel ever uses any computer again.

26. 
    

27. Art 2

28. 
    

29. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

30. 
    

31. Recalling.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While working part-time as a waiter in the early 1970s, I saved my wages and bought a typewriter. Typing was a skill, although there weren't male typists.

34. 
    

35. Recalling.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Working as a Land Executive in 1980, I drafted and asked typists to type my minutes. I was amazed that they could read most of my handwriting.

38. 
    

39. Recalling.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Working as a Crown Counsel in the late 1980s, my personal secretaries could type for me. But I had my own computer and typed myself, achieving effectiveness and efficiency.

42. 
    

43. Recalling.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My personal secretaries only needed to fix my appointments and prepare my slides. I always asked my PowerPoint slides be stored in a spare USB so that I'd bring along to the speaking venue, just in case.

46. 
    

47. Recalling.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I acted as a Department head, I had a chaffeur-driven car to use.

50. 
    

51. Recalling.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Upon retirement, I've become my wife's chaffeur. I didn't have any secretarial support and have to do everything myself.

54. 
    

55. Recalling.

56. 
    

57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've learned to prepare PowerPoint slides. When I found out a USB port was also a charging port, I felt like an idiot!

58. 
    

59. Recalling.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To fill and sign email attachments continued to pose a tremendous challenge to me. I just downloaded and printed them, filled and signed them by hand before scanning them and emailing them back.

62. 
    

63. Recalling.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, I know how to fill and sign even on my mobile. All these sound easy, as I keep educating myself.

66. 
    

67. Recalling.

68. 
    

69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What surprised myself was that I was even able to create my own websites. I've been able to store and publish my copyright works since 2017.

70. 
    

71. Recalling.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's how I've adapted to the technological change. As to societal change, I knew all along that Hong Kong's future was sealed under the Sino-British Joint Declaration 1984 and the UK Hong Kong Act 1985.

74. 
    

75. Recalling.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the early 1990s, apart from designing and building Hong Kong's intellectual property system, I also began picking up Mandarin.

78. 
    

79. Recalling.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've no problem with the One Country, Two Systems solution in Hong Kong, China, at least until 2047.

82. 
    

83. Pausing.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I lived in London before and was not particularly fond of living overseas.

86. 
    

87. Pausing.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As a Hong Kong Chinese, I find there's nowhere else like home.

90. 
    

91. Recalling.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're others who longed to live in US or in its ally countries. The other man's grass is always greener; or they simply can't adapt to the change.

94. 
    

95. Thinking.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Or they've a problem for any solution. Anyway, it's good that they would stay away from us who can keep evolving.

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But they'll loose their edge in terms of capacity and support. They can't be truly successful, in fact, not even relevant.

102. 
     

103. Pausing.

104. 
     

105. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've relatives and friends who immigrated a long time ago just to return here to start all over again.

106. 
     

107. Act 3.

108. 
     

109. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

112. 
     

113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me quickly entertain the answer request.

114. 
     

115. Peter types on the phone: Success in life. Truly successful people practice lifelong learning and can adapt to any technological and societal changes.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, that's my insight. I practise lifelong learning.

118. 
     

119. Having hit the Submit icon, Peter goes to bed.

120. 
     

121. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - MORNING

122. 
     

123. Waking up, Peter checks the Quora app.

124. 
     

125. PETER (V.O.):Wow, while I was dreaming, there're 1.6K views and some upvotes of my answer.

126. 
     

127. Pausing.

128. 
     

129. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Successful or not is a matter of interpretation. To practice lifelong learning is crucial. The world is never like a fixed moment in a photo.

130. 
     

131. Pausing.

132. 
     

133. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe whatever that's capable of knowing should be learned in order to stay relevant.

134. 
     

135. FADE OUT.

136. 
     

137. THE END