Govt errand during COVID shows HK people’s deep can-do spirit
Time to renew the car license. Ugh. It’s actually past time to renew the car license. More ugh. Have to renew the car license during COVID. Triple ugh and three dislikes.
This was my thought process when I finally faced the reality that I could no longer put off a routine task of the type that triggers a couple of my stronger character weaknesses: procrastination and an abhorrence of paperwork.
But the moment always comes when you just have to bite the bullet and get it done.
So I bit. And then, instead of the painful lance of a pre-anesthesia era spinal tap I expected, the Hong Kong Transport Department treated me to such ease of process, such professionalism and good cheer under challenging anti-pandemic logistics, that the experience was a salve on my heart and a boost to my spirit after having witnessed my adopted home fall victim to chaos and destruction for months and then be kicked when it was down by the virus.
The online appointment process was so straightforward that even I navigated it with ease. The renewal application form was easy to fill out. On the appointed day, I showed up earlier than scheduled — an hour and 45 minutes earlier. The person at the door confirmed I was in the right place, and politely guided me to where I should queue up until they started processing the renewals. (There was already one person in front of me, so clearly I wasn’t that early.)
And then the magic show started. Way before my appointment time, the man at the door said to what by now were about 50 people in the line, “You can go in now.” My Cantonese is embarrassingly bad for the number of years I’ve lived here, but I knew what he said.
As we filed in, an amazing puzzle of separated spaces for different services and queues to get to them came into view. It looked to me like Relativity, the famous lithograph by Dutch artist M.C. Escher that shows people walking up and down the same stairway side by side while facing in the same direction. No way I was going to be able to navigate that maze. But the Transport officers inside knew the paths and guided all of us in the right direction.
The first stop was the temperature check and hand sanitizer station. “Hello, good morning,” the temp-check person said. Next stop, appointment confirmation check. “Jou sahn, neih hou,” the appointment checker said as he stapled a confirmation number to my sheet. Then, as smooth as silk, I slipped into the stream that took us into the maze.
My fellow maze people and I were abiding by the established socialdistancing instructions, which were clearly posted in Chinese and English all over the place. Guides helped the confused find the right place to stand. All of this was done with mutual cooperation and smiles (the crinkly-eye smiles that are the signature of friendly acknowledgment in this time of mouth and nose covering face masks), as if we were celebrating a happy occasion together — at the Transport Department!
The Transport professionals who processed our applications at the counters did their jobs so quickly and efficiently that I was standing in front of a window before I had time to get bored. The person on the other side was friendly, fast and — seems strange, I’ll admit — appeared happy to see me. “Good morning,” he said while flipping through my documents with the speed of a banknote counting machine. “One-year renewal?” Check. “Did you drive the car during the unlicensed period?” (No.) Check. “Sign here, and go to Counter 12 to pay. Have a nice day.”
I paid at Counter 12, which was yet another pleasant 30 seconds of human interaction. And with that, 15 minutes before my appointment was even scheduled to start, I was finished, out the door and eyeballing a nearby dai pai dong for some breakfast.
It was a short visit, but it told the long story of Chinese resilience, an ability to endure hardship and push ahead no matter what, to make the best of any situation and find a reason to smile, and to do so with the vision of creating an even better future for following generations.
Hong Kong has been battered mercilessly through no fault of its own. Yet its people stand strong, holding to their values and supporting each other through extreme challenges. I am honored and humbled to have been accepted into this community.
The message at the Transport Department that day was clear: Together we will get through this, and soon it will be better — we will make it better.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.