'Keep faith in love': Hong Kong mother tells her child in letter

"You are the proud child of a policeman," a Hong Kong police officer's wife told her child to be strong and always have faith in love, at a time when police and their families in the city have been the target of abuse and bullying amid the recent turmoil caused by violent protests in Hong Kong.

In a letter to her child, the mother expressed understanding and support of policemen like her husband, who have faced great physical strain working day and night and tremendous mental stress, but still do their utmost to maintain public order and protect Hong Kong residents.

The letter was read in front of hundreds of thousands of local residents who participated in a rally Saturday afternoon to support the police and call for an end to violence. 

The following is the full content of the letter.

A letter to my child

給孩子的一封信

Dear child

親愛的孩子:

In these tumultuous times in Hong Kong, only your innocent laughter can give me a brief moment of calm and peace.

最近香港紛紛擾擾，只有聽到你天真的笑聲，才得到片刻開懷，夜里看著你甜甜熟睡的臉，才能有片刻安寧。

That afternoon, when you called me, crying in fear because you saw from the apartment window protesters in black passing by in the street down below, I remember telling you not to be afraid because you would be safe inside the house. What I did not tell you then was that your father's colleagues who lived in the same disciplinary forces living quarters with their families had experienced worse moments of terror. The other night, when they were on duty, the windows of their apartments were smashed and the elderly people and young children who were at home at that time huddled together and cried throughout the night. As a matter of fact, my child, many people in Hong Kong have been crying because they were afraid or sad. As I have been teaching you all along, never indulge in self-pity. Of course, there is nothing wrong to cry occasionally. But you always have to pick yourself up quickly, wipe you tears dry and live your life.

那天下午，你打電話給我，驚慌痛哭，原來是在家中窗口見到街上黑衣示威者經過大廈門口，我說不用怕，留在家中還是很安全的。我其實沒有告訴你，你爸爸住在紀律部隊宿舍的同事，晚上出外執勤時，家中只留下老人家和小朋友，他們家的窗也被擲破了，只得互相抱著哭，在恐慌中渡過黑夜。孩子，其實香港最近很多人都在流淚，但就如我平日教你一樣，不要顧著自憐自憫，哭過后，擦擦眼淚，便得站起來。

Soon it will be time to go back to school. You may or may not know there have been many hateful messages on social media lately, threatening police officers' families with harm and even death. Yes, you know your father is a police officer and that’s a fact that won’t change. Faced with curses, threats and violence, the last thing you need is fear, because being afraid isn’t going to help. No one knows for sure whether we will be harmed or you will be bullied at school. But your father and I will always protect you as best as we can. After reading you bed time stories recently, I always added a few words of my own and I knew you understood what I meant, more or less. I said, when we are faced with difficulties, we must be stronger than usual, so that we know how to protect ourselves from the bullies who are targeting us. More important, always keep in mind that we have done nothing wrong.

很快就開學了，你可能不知道，最近網上有很多仇恨的言論，要傷害警察的家人。是的，你的爸爸是警察，這是不變的事實。面對詛咒、恐嚇和暴力，別害怕，怕也沒有用。我們會否受到傷害，你會否在學校受到欺凌，沒人說得準，但爸爸媽媽會盡一切努力保護你。最近和你講完Bed Time story后，我都加插了一番話，我知道你或多或少聽得明白。我說，我們在面對困難時，自己要堅強一點，別人欺負我們，要懂得保護自己，同時要記住，我們沒有做錯。

If you ask me whether it is possible for your father to quit his police job, my answer is maybe. But he loves this job and we must never ask him to quit the job he loves. He has been working flat out day and night recently. Physically he is able to handle the strain. The toughest challenge is the tremendous mental stress he has to bear. I know your dad has not forgotten the reason why he chose to be a policeman. That reason is to maintain public order and protect Hong Kong citizens. Right now the Hong Kong Police Force needs able hands more than ever and we must support him as best as we can, because your father will never leave the HKPF, as we will never turn our backs on him.

你若問我爸爸可不可以不做警察，我會答你不是不可以，但這份工作是爸爸所愛的工作，我們不應要求他離開自己的崗位。最近他日以繼夜的上班，身體上的辛苦還可以捱過去，最辛苦的其實是面對巨大的精神壓力。我知道爸爸并沒有忘記到他當警察的初衷，就是維持治安、保護巿民。現在警隊正是最需要人手之際，我們只能支持他，因為爸爸不會離棄警隊，我們不會離棄爸爸。

If you ask me whether I can leave Hong Kong, my answer is again maybe. That’s because Hong Kong is the city we love and we hate leaving our home behind. My hope is to stay in Hong Kong with my family and fellow Hong Kong citizens to do our best for Hong Kong in overcoming the challenges for as long as needed. While living our own lives to the best of our abilities we should always think about what we can do to help our community no matter how insignificant our efforts may be. At least we can say that we have tried our utmost.

你若問我可不可以離開香港，我會答你不是不可以，但香港是我們所愛的城巿，我們不想離開自己的家。媽媽希望留在香港，和家人、和香港人共度難關，為香港努力，直至到最后一刻。我們要好好過自己的生活，想想自己可以為時局做一點什么，無論是如何卑微，至少我們嘗試過。

My child, you have a long journey ahead of you and I hope you will always have faith in love. People may say it is crazy to talk about love when unwarranted hatred rages. But our world would become extremely dangerous if we forget love and let ourselves be blinded by hate instead. We would lose our common sense and the ability to seek unity in diversity if we did. Once love is forgotten it won't be long before happiness is, too.

孩子，在你日后長長的旅途，我希望你要始終相信愛。或者在這個敵我分明的時勢還說愛，有人會覺得很荒謬，但如果我們忘記了愛，讓仇恨蒙蔽了眼睛，再沒有同理心去明白事物的多樣性，我們的世界將會變得非常危險。忘記了愛，很快連快樂也再記不起。

Don't believe for a minute the journey ahead will be easy. When you read this letter again some years later you will understand it better. Whenever you feel depressed, remember you are not just the proud child of a policeman, you also need to work hard to be an upright person. Your dad and I will always be there to safeguard you and Hong Kong.

未來的路，一點都不容易。若干年后，你再看這封信定必看得更明白。遇上難過的時刻，請記住，你不單要做好警察的孩子，你還要努力做好一個人。爸爸媽媽會一直守護你，守護香港。

Love,

Mom

愛你的媽媽上