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My Hong Kong | As proud Hong Kong cheers its Olympic champions, remember we need to stick together in hard times, too

  • It was inspiring and emotional to see Hongkongers uniting to cheer our Olympic heroes this week
  • It’s a reminder that our resilient citizens need to stand together to lift the city in tough times, too

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Hongkongers had reason to feel proud as Cheung Ka-long won the fencing Olympic gold. Photo: EPA-EFE/Kiyoshi Ota

It was definitely a proud – and undoubtedly historic – moment for all Hongkongers when Cheung Ka-long won the gold medal for men’s individual fencing this week.

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I was almost brought to tears seeing television news footage showing a local shopping centre packed with people cheering for Cheung as he won the first Olympic gold for the city since windsurfer Lee Lai-shan won in 1996.

When Lee took Hong Kong’s first ever Olympic gold medal, Cheung wasn’t even alive; he was born mere weeks before the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

If you think about it, it seems like we have been waiting an entire generation for this moment.

Hongkongers watch the live coverage of fencer Cheung Ka-long beating Daniele Garozzo of Italy on a huge television screen in APM shopping centre in Kwun Tong. Photo: Winson Wong
Hongkongers watch the live coverage of fencer Cheung Ka-long beating Daniele Garozzo of Italy on a huge television screen in APM shopping centre in Kwun Tong. Photo: Winson Wong

And you can bet your bottom dollar that many local residents were just as emotional as I was, seeing Hongkongers finally sharing such a precious moment to cheer for and support one common goal and in such perfect unison.

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