口罩：香港文化的一部分

紀文思

	Masks and SARS: Hong Kong’s Collective Health Anxiety “Remember to wear your mask properly.” You may have heard this quotation from Betty Tung, ex-Hong Kongese First Lady in some video clips during the outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong. Having learnt that the lesson from the SARS outbreak, so many Hong Kong people wear masks in order to stop the spreading of diseases or other more serious viruses. In such a densely populated city, needless to say, diseases tend to spread speedily. Moreover, that Hong Kong could have rapidly improved from a cramped, dirty, and messy fishing village to a hygienic cosmopolitan was all accounted for the public awareness of the hygiene. This is a sense of cultural identity which has been engraved in my heart. Especially when I was 5 years old, wearing a face mask was a must, and people kept you an arm’s length if you did not wear a mask. I recollect when I was travelling on the MTR with my father, surprisingly, the train was uncrowded and quiet, and only had a few passengers. Suddenly, I heard “Achoo!” I knew someone sneezed. People feared he would spread out SARS when he sneezed during that critical moment, so everyone, including myself, ran immediately. Clearly, if you did not wear a mask at that period, people would see you as a vampire. Due to the serious lesson learnt from the SARS outbreak, face masks become more and more prevalent in public. Take myself as an example: when I was a primary student, a civic lesson taught me that we have to wear a face mask when we feel uncomfortable. That is the reason why I will wear a surgical mask when I feel sick, even just with a little bit sore throat, headache or cough. I always believe that wearing a face mask can prevent expanding diseases. What is more, people will point the finger at those who do not wear a mask when they are suffering from a runny nose or a cough. Hence, face masks have been widely used nowadays: schools will distribute masks to students not feeling well; hospitals will deliver masks to both patients and visitors. In 2016, that Hong Kong’s members of public widely criticised South Koreans for not using face masks during the exposure of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome can be another piece of evidence for this sense of cultural identity. You can buy a face mask in convenience stores such as 7-eleven and Circle K easily. It has shown that wearing face masks has been a part of Hong Kong people’s life. The phenomenon of wearing a face mask is partly because Hong Kong people suffered from hypochondriac after 2003, I do believe that maintain a high standard of personal hygiene is also essential to preventing the spread of diseases. Enhance the level of hygienic condition of Hong Kong. When you come to Hong Kong, please do not feel weird when you see so many people wearing masks, please understand our phobia. Doctor Tse, Hong Kong's heroine. Volunteered to work with SARS patients and died at Tuen Mun Hospital. Residents of Amoy Gardens were evacuated to holiday camps in Lei Yu Mun and Sai Kung. Mrs Tung paid a visit to Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate and wore a quasi-ICU doctor uniform. How about you? What is your cultural identity? How would you define yourself? Please leave your comments below and let me know what you think

青山杏仁

	一切拜中國所賜

古德里安

紀文思

	睇翻真係覺得諷刺