Young warriors at university

Courtesy of Chris Lo & Christoper Fung

Chris Lo (left) and Ah Keung (right) do not regret demonstrations held last year.

By Irene Lam

Before graduation, they already had become social warriors on the frontier in their 20s.

Chris Lo and Christopher Fung, whose nickname is Ah Keung, are now the president and vice-president of the Hong Kong Federation of Students.

The zealots both believe that there is a responsibility to fight for students’ rights. A series of demonstrations displayed their eagerness to uphold justice.

Criticised as being irrational, they do not agree.

Chris said, “I think people are prejudiced. We did have a series of conferences beforehand (before the demonstrations). If I got a second chance, I would still do it.”

Ah Keung said, “We knew the consequence and thus this is not irrational. We were not pursuing our goal blindly.”

Coincidently, they were past presidents of United College Student Union at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Chris, aged 25, is currently a Year 2 student at Lingnan University.

He originally entered the Chinese University after Form 6. He first joined the student union because there were not enough people.

“However, as I knew more, I gradually thought it was worthwhile,” said Chris.

He could not graduate due to his poor examination results and was admitted into Lingnan University after two years. He took up the post of president of its student union.

Ah Keung, 22, is a Year 3 student at the Chinese University. Last year, he was courageous enough to be the vice-president of the Chinese University Student Union.

“I was arrested last year, but I did not feel special. I was not the first one and the arrest was somehow expected,” said Ah Keung.

Ah Keung only spends 20 percent of his time on studies.

“I skipped about half of my lessons to work for the union,” Ah Keung said.

“However, I can apply theories learnt in class to student union activities.

“My grades weren’t good, but I won’t measure my academic achievement by grades,” Ah Keung said. “Back in secondary school, my grades were good, but my life wasn’t meaningful.”

Chris only spends 10 percent of his time on studies.

“I learn outside the classroom,” said Chris. “Last year, I met with my Lingnan fellows in the morning and worked for the Hong Kong Federation of Students at night.”

Not much time was left for families.

Said Ah Keung: “Last year, I spent only a few hours per week with my family.”

Said Chris: “My parents used to scold me. Once, I did not go home for half a year.

“After my sister entered university, she explained for me and it’s better for now.

Despite sacrifices, they still engage in student union activities almost every year.

“Our influence may be limited, but this is not the point. I just want to fight for others and make the school a better place.

“The sacrifice is not proportional to the outcome. But I guess our motivation for joining the union is not about the outcome,” Ah Keung said.

Chris said, “I don’t care if the outcome is limited. I just tried my best and good results are a bonus.”

Talking about university, Chris said it is only a place for a transition.

“Students can think what they should do before entering the labour force,” he said.

Ah Keung said, “In my first year, I thought university was just another stage of education and a step before employment.

“But now, I think it is a place for realising one’s own direction of life.”

Ah Keung said students who do not organise activities are not worse.

“The most important thing is that they know why they do so,” said he.

Regarding their future, Chris is interested in doing cultural studies research. In fact, both of them aspire to working in non-governmental organisations.

Ah Keung said, “I want to work with other people with different backgrounds, who have the same goal of serving Hong Kong society.”