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I refer to the insightful letter, "Suicide in Hong Kong: don't pit wellness measures against medical treatment" ( March 26 ), advocating for more holistic strategies to address youth mental health challenges in Hong Kong.
While the biopsychosocial model offers a valuable framework for understanding these complex issues, my experience navigating mental health challenges for more than a decade suggests that incorporating a spiritual dimension - resulting in a biopsychosocial-spiritual model - provides a more complete perspective essential for fostering genuine resilience and recovery among our youth.
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Drawing upon this experience, I wish to highlight two factors crucial for implementing such a truly comprehensive approach.
First, when young people feel isolated by academic pressures and social anxieties, authentic peer relationships provide an invaluable source of non-judgmental understanding and validation from others navigating similar life stages.
This form of support, distinct from formal interventions, constitutes an essential component of one's personal safety net, fostering belonging within their own community. Creating school and community environments conducive to such supportive peer connections is key to building resilience among our youth.
Second, cultivating spirituality - not necessarily through a religious lens but rather defined as a search for and connection with hope and purpose - is just as vital as developing their identity.
When grappling with academic expectations or career anxieties, spirituality provides crucial perspective, fortitude and a foundation for hope independent of immediate achievements or setbacks. It fosters resilience by helping young people anchor their emerging sense of self-worth more deeply than what external metrics allow for. This is precisely what the biopsychosocial-spiritual model acknowledges as vital for holistic youth development.
Ultimately, it is often said that humans are social creatures; meaningful connection is fundamental to our nature. Treating relationships and friendships with sincerity - where even a simple, authentic smile can be profoundly affirming to a young person - contributes significantly to weaving the fabric of support and belonging. These seemingly small acts of genuine connection are vital components in building the truly resilient and hopeful community Hong Kong needs for its youth.
Ronald Ng, Fo Tan
The Last Dance's extended cut is another triumph
The Last Dance , the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong, was back on the silver screen . Aside from a few scenes that added subtle humour to the movie, this extended version touched my heart again with its emotional roller-coaster moments.
The dynamic trio of the three leads - Dayo Wong, Michael Hui and Michelle Wai - help tell the story of The Last Dance with exemplary acting. The many plot points that touch multiple characters discuss the intricacies and fragility of human relationships.
The passing of a loved one leads to heartbreak but conflicts among living often result in "living hell", a recurring theme in the movie. It made me ask myself: when will we realise life is short and that all conflicts become immaterial after we're gone?
Some may criticise the movie for romanticising death and making a song and dance about a religious ritual at a funeral parlour but I beg to differ. The film imparts salient life lessons such as the importance of optimism, living life to the fullest, expressing deeply-buried positive feelings for loved ones, apologising for mistakes, forgiveness and letting go. Only by embracing these values can everyone break hell's gate.
The Last Dance manages to put the story behind a Taoist funeral ritual front and centre, enlightening both locals and audiences around the world on an important aspect of Chinese cultural heritage.
If more Hong Kong films which preserve, promote and protect local culture are made, the industry will certainly look promising. Such deep, meaningful movies have commercial appeal and will appeal to international viewers.
Jason Tang, Tin Shui Wai
A courtesy campaign could work wonders
In 1972, the government launched a campaign to help clean up Hong Kong. The mascot for the "Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign", the litterbug Lap Sap Chung, created by Arthur Hacker, became a Hong Kong icon.
Today, Hong Kong is probably one of the cleanest cities in the world. Our recent focus on attracting tourists appears to zoom in on mega-events but the cost of these programmes could put pressure on our financial well-being. I am not saying these events don't help increase visitors - they do - but these are short-lived benefits.
How cost-effective will this approach be in the long run? I have argued we should put more effort behind permanent features such as developing the wholesale fish market in Aberdeen into an attractive "fisherman's wharf", cleaning up and upgrading some of our beaches, and publicising our unique features such as the Star Ferry and Victoria Harbour, as well as our hiking trails.
I mentioned the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign because I feel we should consider launching a courtesy campaign. People who encounter visitors - taxi drivers, public transport workers, retail shopkeepers and restaurant servers - should be encouraged to be polite, helpful and generally pleasant to make outsiders feel welcome.
If there is a ranking for friendly cities, we should be in the top three. This approach is not only cost-effective but may be more effective in the long term than the "Hello Hong Kong" effort .
Paul M.F. Cheng, Mid-Levels
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