Winston and Julia

溫斯頓和茱莉亞, 2017

for Mixed Chorus


performed by The Greeners’ Sound


他在看著你
那電幕無處不在
監控著你的言行

W-A-R-I-S-P-E-A-C-E
F-R-E-E-D-O-M-I-S-S-L-A-V-E-R-Y
I-G-N-O-R-A-N-C-E-I-S-S-T-R-E-N-G-T-H
渴望自由的人被送往101室

三十、廿九、廿八、廿七、廿六、廿五、廿四、廿三、廿二、廿一、二十、十九、十八、十七、十六、十五、十四、十三、十二、十一、十、九、八、七、六、五、四、三、二、一、零

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
(起初納粹追殺共產主義者)
habe ich geschwiegen; (我不說話)
ich war ja kein Kommunist. (因為我不是共產主義者)
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperren, (接著他們追殺社會民主主義者)
habe ich geschwiegen; (我不說話)
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. (因為我不是社會民主主義者)
Als sie die Gewerkschaer holten, (後來他們追殺工會成員)
habe ich nicht protestiert;
(我不說話)
ich war ja kein Gewerkschaer. (因為我不是工會成員)
Als sie die Juden holten, (之後他們追殺猶太人)
habe ich geschwiegen; (我還是不說話)
ich war ja kein Jude. (因為我不是猶太人)
Als sie mich holten, (最後他們要追殺我)
gab es keinen mehr, (但再也沒有人)
der protestieren konnte. (站起來為我說話了)

Hong Kong is not a place of freedom to vegetarians. I once was a vegetarian for two years, or rather a person who merely avoided eating meat. Normally, restaurants could provide only a handful of vegetarian dishes, therefore I always have few choices. After a while, I began to think: why is it so difficult to practice vegetarianism? Is it because vegetarianism is too strange? Is there no need for vegetarian outlets? Would I have more alternatives if I had more time and money?  What are the factors shaping my vegetarian lifestyle? Is there any authority that is restraining our freedom?

In the book 1984, people's freedom is deprived of in any case. When Julia writes the slip "I love you" and hands it secretly to Winston, the action is already a revolution, as the freedom of love is not allowed by the government. The world in 1984 may be simpler than ours today, where all barriers against freedom can be attributed to the totalitarian rule. Today, when we are discussing freedoms of election, speech, and press, are there other inconspicuous freedoms that are being controlled by complex authorities? 

對素食者來說,香港不是一個自由的地方。我曾有兩年的素食經驗,與其說素食,不如說只是勉強地不吃肉。街上的素食選擇並不多,一般餐廳只能提供寥寥可數的素食菜式。一段時間後,我在想為何素食會難以執行? 是因為素食太另類? 是因為素食餐廳沒有市場?如果我有多點時間和金錢,會否有多點選擇?有什麼控制了我的素食生活方式? 是什麼權力控制了我們的自由?

在《一九八四》中,人們的自由是被徹底剝奪的。當茱莉亞把寫上「我愛你」的字條偷偷地交溫斯頓,已經是一場革命,因為戀愛的自由是不被黨政府允許的。《一九八四》的世界也許比現今的世界簡單多了,一切的不自由都來自極權統治。今天,當我們在討論選舉、言論、新聞的自由時,還有什麼更隠蔽的自由是被更複雜的權力控制的?



//[Score preview]
Mark