Bulletin No. 1, 2019

Academically, the meaning of life is what Ho-chuen likes to fathom. He naturally takes to existentialism, Nietzsche and Zhuangzi. For popular philosophy subjects, he would pick those closest to life to jolt conventional thinking: ‘Is abiding by the law always a sine qua non? Is homosexuality a sin? Does love transcend gender norms?’ Philosophy is often an exercise in abstraction. Ho-chuen and his fellow students in philosophy are no strangers to opacity and obfuscation. ‘My redemption comes in the form of “Corrupt the Youth”. It gives me back the meaning of studying philosophy,’ recalled Ho-chuen. ‘Corrupt the Youth’ is an online platform for popularizing philosophy founded by Ho-chuen and his fellow philosophy students in 2016. Unlike other online platforms which set out to promote philosophy but to uneven effects, ‘Corrupt the Youth’ discusses philosophical issues in easily accessible ways and often in equal measures of seriousness and humour. The platform has been a hit from its launch. Ho-chuen was immensely encouraged: ‘We got thanks from many people for launching the platform that provides answers to life’s questions. You would not believe how many people in Hong Kong care about philosophy. There are simply too few outlets and platforms.’ The platform has made him realize that while treading the path of philosophy may be solitary it is never lonely. ‘The road to knowledge is bound to be solitary. One has to walk it alone, ask one’s questions, read, digest and understand by oneself. But it’s never lonely, because many others are taking the same path and would appreciate you sharing what you have found.’ The sportive and easygoing Monica does not conjure up the commonly held image of a Chinese medicine practitioner. In her conversations, however, she makes no secret of her admiration and appreciation for her parents and mentors, a quality leaning more to the old school. She was a student of S. H. Ho College and greatly inspired by its former Master Prof. Samuel Sun and his wife who put their hearts and hands to whatever they were doing. Her present mentor, Prof. Liu Maocai , a Chinese medicine expert in neural disease, is coaching her to become a physician both skilled and compassionate. ‘Professor Liu is a patient listener in diagnosis. He respects tradition but is not bound by it. He is knowledgeable in both Chinese and western medicine and always puts patients’ interests first. He is able to draw from such a rich resource to find cures for his patients.’ Monica now works part-time at a private clinic, and travels to the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from Tuesday to Thursday to study under Professor Liu. To acquaint herself with western medicine’s treatments of neural diseases such as stroke, epilepsy and dementia, Monica takes relevant courses at CUHK. Last year, she became an executive board member of the alumni association of the CUHK School of Chinese Medicine. Attending to alumni and industry affairs makes her crammed schedules even more crammed. Does she feel exhausted? ‘Very. The trip to Guangzhou is taxing. And I stay in the youth hostel there. But I’d like to learn as much as possible in these few years, while I am young and have energy.’ What has she learned in the year since graduation? Monica said, ‘Curing diseases is not the end. To arrive at a larger understanding of the world and the people is. The relationship between doctors and patients, or between teachers and students, is mutual. A good doctor has to communicate well and win trust. Then the patient can make all necessary life changes and get well and grow.’ Monica Tang b. 1994 student in the Master of Science Programme in Stroke and Clinical Neurosciences, 2018 graduate of Chinese Medicine S.H. Ho College The Golden Jubilee. The Millennials. 13