When looking closely a lot of problems and conflicts in our Hong Kong community on many issues recently, there often exist a lack of observation by differentiation, inabilities to recognize the source of problems, misallocation or misassignment of responsibilities for the parties involved, addition of lies to alter the real picture and therefore problems seemed unsolvable. Let's look further:
1) Use of identification (by making everything in the incident the same value with each other to have no difference at all) method as a simple problem solving solution : For example, we assume the identification of all cases presented by “Lehman Brothers mini-bond investors” as all misled by high pressure selling methods by all related banks in Hong Kong so we have legitimate cases that we could assign 100% responsibilities to the banks, HKMA, HKSEC including their failure in regulating the business of the banks in Hong Kong; and the affected investors are totally irresponsible including the neglect of their own right and responsibilities to do inspection and regulating function on any of their actions.
It looked like a simple solution by making all other people totally responsible and the affected investor can be fully compensated for the loss from the banks as agents of the investment products.
Unfortunately this is how the minds of many people work to think in terms of identification as a solution method in life. For example, a woman who failed in her marriage and came to the conclusion that “every man is no good” when experiencing all these painful emotion. From there on, she would not try to differentiate and observe each man but by using this simple solution of “every man is no good” to avoid the previous painful emotion. However, she at the same time had lost the ability to look, no longer able to observe every man she met correctly and gave up her own chance or right to find the right man. If we look closely everything in our universe, no two things are exactly the same. Take two apples in front of you, examine it closely and you know they are not the same exactly in all aspects. So you can see the disadvantage of "identification thinking" in reducing our abilities to observe. Only when one can improve his ability to observe and differentiate, one can really enjoy any experience in life. When one can observe correctly, he or she can decide and act correctly.
Followed with this seemingly simple solution method for the case of "Lehman Brother bond investors in Hong Kong", then one may ask who had failed to regulate the HKMA and HKSEC in the first place? If we cannot find the ultimate source which had created the problem by failed regulation and supervision in the first place, one cannot really solve the problem. So one can ask and track it further down the parties including the legislative council, every Hong Kong public, Lehman Brothers, Investment Rating companies, US government, IMF, World Bank, etc and possibly one may even ask why God does not regulate us to cause so much problems? But don't you think the truth of the matter is when you examine the history of man that God only help those who help themselves.
Responsibility includes effort one put on himself and others to get thing done correctly. Misallocation or misassignment of responsibilities will therefore create problems with confusion and things get messier.
If anyone of us fails to take his or her own responsibility, it simply adds the lies to the picture and will further reduce the abilities and effectiveness of the community concerned. Don’t you think our community will only do well if everyone takes his own responsibility? And hopefully you can see why the workable solution of the “Lehman Brother Mini-Bond investor” case is the proper assignment of responsibilities which should be the purpose of any needed investigation.
2) “You are right by being the opponent with opposing voices all the time” unless....
It is true that for any opinion or viewpoint that we believe is true or helpful, we will insist on it and make sure it's heard and even to be implemented.
Do you notice that it is easier to communicate with anyone to tell you how right they are rather than how wrong they could be in many things? Ask yourself or anyone around you and I am sure you'll find a lot of examples. Even when they could admit they're wrong but they will still defend their being right to be wrong with a lot of reasons why they are doing so.
So you see that it is no use to debate with anyone whether he or she is right or not...but rather ask them to look whether the action is based on the greatest good to the greatest number of people involved (which could include self, family, group, race, mankind, earth). The true leaders of the community can assume all the viewpoints from all parties involved and make the decision based on the greatest good to the greatest number of people concerned or the least harm to the greatest number of the people concerned.
It's therefore less valuable to put oneself (like some political parties and their members) always into the position of being the opponent to the government or any real or imagined enemies when expressing one's opinion; or simply acting on behalf of a small niche of the community for some other reasons. One cannot achieve the goal of really helping the community with a more sustainable survival value in this manner by being the "opposing party" alone all the time; without offering solution to create value to the most people concerned.
What we need today is the true leaders who can recognize the source of problems, decide and take action according to the greatest good to the greatest number of people concerned.
What leadership can we depend on for the future of Hong Kong? Can we work together for a better Hong Kong for ourselves and our next generation? It is time for each of us to examine our own responsibilities and do something about it.
1) Use of identification (by making everything in the incident the same value with each other to have no difference at all) method as a simple problem solving solution : For example, we assume the identification of all cases presented by “Lehman Brothers mini-bond investors” as all misled by high pressure selling methods by all related banks in Hong Kong so we have legitimate cases that we could assign 100% responsibilities to the banks, HKMA, HKSEC including their failure in regulating the business of the banks in Hong Kong; and the affected investors are totally irresponsible including the neglect of their own right and responsibilities to do inspection and regulating function on any of their actions.
It looked like a simple solution by making all other people totally responsible and the affected investor can be fully compensated for the loss from the banks as agents of the investment products.
Unfortunately this is how the minds of many people work to think in terms of identification as a solution method in life. For example, a woman who failed in her marriage and came to the conclusion that “every man is no good” when experiencing all these painful emotion. From there on, she would not try to differentiate and observe each man but by using this simple solution of “every man is no good” to avoid the previous painful emotion. However, she at the same time had lost the ability to look, no longer able to observe every man she met correctly and gave up her own chance or right to find the right man. If we look closely everything in our universe, no two things are exactly the same. Take two apples in front of you, examine it closely and you know they are not the same exactly in all aspects. So you can see the disadvantage of "identification thinking" in reducing our abilities to observe. Only when one can improve his ability to observe and differentiate, one can really enjoy any experience in life. When one can observe correctly, he or she can decide and act correctly.
Followed with this seemingly simple solution method for the case of "Lehman Brother bond investors in Hong Kong", then one may ask who had failed to regulate the HKMA and HKSEC in the first place? If we cannot find the ultimate source which had created the problem by failed regulation and supervision in the first place, one cannot really solve the problem. So one can ask and track it further down the parties including the legislative council, every Hong Kong public, Lehman Brothers, Investment Rating companies, US government, IMF, World Bank, etc and possibly one may even ask why God does not regulate us to cause so much problems? But don't you think the truth of the matter is when you examine the history of man that God only help those who help themselves.
Responsibility includes effort one put on himself and others to get thing done correctly. Misallocation or misassignment of responsibilities will therefore create problems with confusion and things get messier.
If anyone of us fails to take his or her own responsibility, it simply adds the lies to the picture and will further reduce the abilities and effectiveness of the community concerned. Don’t you think our community will only do well if everyone takes his own responsibility? And hopefully you can see why the workable solution of the “Lehman Brother Mini-Bond investor” case is the proper assignment of responsibilities which should be the purpose of any needed investigation.
2) “You are right by being the opponent with opposing voices all the time” unless....
It is true that for any opinion or viewpoint that we believe is true or helpful, we will insist on it and make sure it's heard and even to be implemented.
Do you notice that it is easier to communicate with anyone to tell you how right they are rather than how wrong they could be in many things? Ask yourself or anyone around you and I am sure you'll find a lot of examples. Even when they could admit they're wrong but they will still defend their being right to be wrong with a lot of reasons why they are doing so.
So you see that it is no use to debate with anyone whether he or she is right or not...but rather ask them to look whether the action is based on the greatest good to the greatest number of people involved (which could include self, family, group, race, mankind, earth). The true leaders of the community can assume all the viewpoints from all parties involved and make the decision based on the greatest good to the greatest number of people concerned or the least harm to the greatest number of the people concerned.
It's therefore less valuable to put oneself (like some political parties and their members) always into the position of being the opponent to the government or any real or imagined enemies when expressing one's opinion; or simply acting on behalf of a small niche of the community for some other reasons. One cannot achieve the goal of really helping the community with a more sustainable survival value in this manner by being the "opposing party" alone all the time; without offering solution to create value to the most people concerned.
What we need today is the true leaders who can recognize the source of problems, decide and take action according to the greatest good to the greatest number of people concerned.
What leadership can we depend on for the future of Hong Kong? Can we work together for a better Hong Kong for ourselves and our next generation? It is time for each of us to examine our own responsibilities and do something about it.
