Taking the Risk

1. FADE IN.

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. EXT. SHEK O - MORNING

6. 
   

7. Public car park. Peter arrives in his silver coupe.

9. PETER (V.O.): See if I can find a vacant parking lot this time.

10. 
    

11. Seeing one, Peter has no hesitation to park his car inside.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There has been a few showers. Few people would take the risk to come swimming.

14. 
    

15. Pausing.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But if I don't take the risk, I'll lose the chance to park here and to enjoy the rest of my morning here.

18. 
    

19. Taking a few bags, Peter walks towards the beach. He sees a sunny and cloudy sky.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Without black, no colour has any depth. I'd better seize the window of opportunity.

22. 
    

23. Putting his stuff on the sand, Peter begins to swim along the orange buoy boom line.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me see how far out I can swim.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. EXT. SHEK O - CONTINUOUS

30. 
    

31. Peter swims towards the outer limit of the swimming area.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): The water's cool and isn't rough yet.

34. 
    

35. Swimming.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.): I'm taking the risk now, although lifeguards are on duty.

38. 
    

39. Recalling.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was a kid and heard about life insurance, I thought if one paid good money, one might not die.

42. 
    

43. Recalling.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Soon, I found out that money was just the compensation. I thought money couldn't be compared with life.

46. 
    

47. Thinking.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm afraid of what could go wrong. I want to play as safe as possible.

50. 
    

51. Recalling.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Professor Bin Cheng who taught me Air Law lived till the age of 98.

54. 
    

55. FLASHBACK

56. 
    

57. INT. BENTHAM HOUSE - NIGHT (1986)

58. 
    

59. Peter (32) was among 2 dozen STUDENTS, following PROFESSOR BIN CHENG's lecture.

60. 
    

61. PROFESSOR BIN CHENG: On jurisdiction, a distinction should be drawn between the right of a State to extend its laws to certain places, objects or persons and the right of a State to actually apply those laws.

62. 
    

63. Pausing.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.): He coined the former as "Jurisfaction" and the latter "Jurisaction". But, other academics don't use his nomenclature except their own interpretation of Professor's "instant custom".

66. 
    

67. RETURN TO PRESENT

68. 
    

69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I studied many of his works while doing my external LLM paper on "Methods and Sources of International Law".

70. 
    

71. Peter checks that he is still within the swimming area.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hijacking is about acts done on board of an aircraft, jeopardizing the safety of people and property on board, or good order or discipline on board.

74. 
    

75. Pausing

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the 1963 Tokyo Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed On Board Aircraft only applies when such acts are done while the aircraft is in flight or on the surface of the high seas, or outside the jurisdiction of any State.

78. 
    

79. Peter continues swimming breaststrokes.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Air sovereignty is a fundamental right of a State to enforce its laws via the use of fighter aircraft in extreme cases.

82. 
    

83. Pausing.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, the western mainstream media are providing a biased interpretation of the recent incident.

86. 
    

87. Pausing.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If a wanted person takes the risk to enter the jurisdictional airspace of a State wanting him/her, s/he has to accept the consequence.

90. 
    

91. We hear a broadcast from the shore.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't get it. Probably a thunderstorm warning.

94. 
    

95. Peter turns around and swims free style back to the shore. As he picks up his stuff, it begins to rain.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'd better bathe and change, rather than sitting out dangerously under the thunderstorms.

98. 
    

99. Act 3

100. 
     

101. EXT/INT. SHEK O - LATER

102. 
     

103. Cats and dogs. Non-stop thundering. Inside a restaurant, Peter is having some Thai food.

104. 
     

105. PETER (V.O.): This's something that I've always wanted to do. But I couldn't make it until on a day with weather like this.

106. 
     

107. Sipping soup.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I couldn't find a vacant parking lot here, I'll go to the Big Wave Bay instead.

110. 
     

111. Tasting noodles.

112. 
     

113. 'PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So today, I've got my chance. I don't mind the bad weather and I feel happy.

114. 
     

115. Sipping ice coffee.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I don't take risks for risk's sake. I've led a pretty colourful life.

118. 
     

119. Picking a tooth pick.

120. 
     

121. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):Live long and prosper can't be bad.

122. 
     

123. FADE OUT.

124. 
     

125. THE END