Unconventional Wisdom (Part II)

This is the concluding part of a two-part profile of Steven Liew, a Singaporean lawyer now based in Shanghai. Steven’s story is told by Rajan Chettiar by way of a letter from Steven to a dear departed friend. Part I was published in the September issue.

He asked me to rush to Beijing if I wanted to see you for the last time. I could not get a flight to Beijing till Monday morning. It was the longest night of my life.

But I was too late ...

I reached Beijing only to find out that you were gone. I demanded to see you. But, I could not enter the mortuary because I was not family. I tried my damn best. Do I have to be related to you to be your family? To me, we are family. The next day, I saw you at the crematorium. You were lying in a paper coffin. Even now, I can recall your feet sticking out from the paper coffin. I guess funeral shops in China don’t normally cater to customers as tall as you were. Sigh ...

I returned to Hong Kong crying my eyes out. I was crying for you, for myself and for Devin. I cried for all the time I had spent in the office or on the road instead of being with Devin.

The flight from Beijing to Hong Kong was not a long one. But, during those couple of hours, I felt the last 30 years of my pathetic life flashing before my eyes. I recalled how I ended up in Hong Kong back in 1994. I have known Devin since we were 18. Whilst I was serving my pupillage in the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Singapore and dreaming about a nice cushy legal service career, Devin decided to head to Hong Kong for some ‘excitement’. I guess she was just bored silly working in Singapore Airlines. We missed each other terribly. I begged her to marry me - and she finally did after three months’ of long distance proposing. I then waited out in the AG’s Chambers until I got admitted to the Singapore Bar. Once that was out of the way, I left for Hong Kong.

Although Devin and I were born and bred in Singapore, our affinity to Singapore stops there. Both of us rebelled against convention, rules and social expectations. Being conventional is so boring and leads to complacency. What do you gain from being conventional? Devin, a first class honours student, gave up a cushy teaching offer at her alma mater. I chose to run off to Hong Kong instead of living out my mum’s dream of being a well-respected Deputy Public Prosecutor in Singapore. My parents probably have not forgiven me for that yet. But we always enjoyed being unconventional, which is fun.  

It was scary working in Baker where our colleagues were tri-lingual, multiple PhD holders, graduated summa cum laude, law review editors and so forth.And there I was, a 26-year-old, inexperienced law graduate who wanted to work and live in Hong Kong just so I could be with my wife. Seeing how competitive the place was, I was seriously concerned about my marriage and my sanity.

Hong Kong then was on a roll. We never had to find work. Work found us. I was pulling 16 hours a day or even longer. Devin would disappear for days when she had to audit factories, warehouses and even the then-new Chek Lap Kok Airport. When a client complained about my billing rates, I told him that Baker is like a Rolls Royce dealership. People who buy Rolls Royce cars do not complain about

the prices!

Hong Kongers work hard and play hard. Young people also tend to move out of their parents’ homes once they find a job or a live-in lover. Or both. Our social life in Hong Kong was very happening. We were hanging out with people from all age groups and social backgrounds. We had homosexual and lesbian friends who were fairly open about their inclinations. There was less social pressure to conform to any particular lifestyle in Hong Kong. We also had friends who were struggling actors who did not appear to have any real source of income. Yet, they could party with us every weekend!

But when you left us in 1997, I just did not find it fun anymore. I felt changed. I felt that we were lost in our endless pursuit for more money. So finally, I asked Devin to give up her well-paying job and return to Singapore with me. In true lawyer style, I made a contract with her. I asked her to stop working and be my full-time wife. In return, I promised to take good care of her for the rest of our lives. She, a highly intelligent career woman who I always felt married down, agreed. I was very touched to discover the depth of her love

for me.

Every morning, I thank God for being alive. Being alive is more important than anything else in the world. Who cares if you are partner at 30, drive a BMW or have a posh home if you don’t have the health, the loved one and life to enjoy? Life is too important to be spent toiling away at a job. What’s the point of being rich but single or lonely or sick? Will the career or all the money in the world bring us back together now?

You will be proud to know that China is still in the headlines every day. It is the centre of the universe. I am lucky to have been in China since 1994. China was already so well developed then with good air and land transport. It even had good mobile phone coverage. China today is frightening. There are more cars and mobile phones sold in this country than anywhere else in the world. People are so rich here that by July, the  Bentley dealer had already sold out the entire year’s quota. We are more wired up than anywhere in the world - Japan and Finland included. I get free broadband connection even in three star hotels in a second tier city like Dongguan.

Devin and I are now living in Shanghai. We love Shanghai! We would not want to live anywhere else in the world. I now work for Louis Vuitton Malletier (‘LV’). It is a lot more fun being in the company of beautiful bags, clothes

and girls.

We live in a 1920s villa, which was built by one of China’s richest rubber barons. After the Communists took over China, the Government converted the then vacated villa into a hospital. In the early 80’s, it became home to the Socialism Research Institute. I think for a while it was even a pub or restaurant. But finally, a property company leased the whole villa from the institute and refurbished it. Now, we are living in this wonderful old house. It is so cool to be living in a house with such a colourful past.

I think my lifestyle is really boring these days. I am an action-junkie trapped in a three-piece suit. I have been painting for 12 years. I read widely especially on Chinese history and culture. I collect old items like old leather trunks and Buddha figurines. I work out in the gym. My biggest hobby is my wife!

China is the place to be in now, my friend. And I really wish I could enjoy it with you. Many of my friends from New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong are now in Shanghai. Shanghai is the coolest place to be seen in. Shanghai is like Hong Kong 10 to 20 years ago. It is booming and everyone is working and playing very hard. My hair cut costs more than it does in Singapore. My gym has twice as much equipment as any of the fitness clubs in Singapore, with three times the floor space. We are opening LV’s biggest store in Shanghai. Evian Spa’s first outlet outside France is here. Ferrari is here, F1 is here and the list goes on. There is an intoxicating buzz to the place. Just give Shanghai five more years to recapture her glorious heyday of the past.

I think Shanghai has a much brighter future than Singapore because of its rich hinterland. The hinterland has better political stability than any other country in the South East Asian region. The Central Government is keen to do everything possible for Shanghai to regain its past glory. But, back home, we have to worry about what’s going on with our neighbours. Singapore alone cannot present too much of an attractive business proposition. We are too

small as a standalone market. We don’t have the right kind of labour mix other than a bunch of technocrats and middle managers. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong really has his work cut out for him.

But Shanghai is paying its price too — the environment is suffering. Like Singapore, people are being crammed into smaller apartments and losing a lot of greenery to new property developments. Roads are getting more congested like in Bangkok and there is a looming energy crisis. Just in July, the Shanghai Government decreed that we have to keep air-conditioners in public places at a ridiculous warm 26ºC. They are mad! Shanghai has to sort out her environmental issues quickly or she will crash and burn.

Devin and I are fairly open-minded people who will give everything a try. At the same time, we are also paranoid about food and going out. Here, we can only drink bottled water, avoid street-side hawker food and take taxis everywhere. Till today, I cannot accept the Chinese low level of personal hygiene and safety. They don’t take enough showers. They don’t know what deodorant is. They spit too much and litter everywhere. They drive like Juan-Pablo Montoya high on Ecstasy. They think that they can stop cars with their bare hands. Amazing but true!

I am intrigued and annoyed with the Chinese at the same time. I wish I was as flexible, creative, tenacious and possess a never-say-die attitude as you guys. However, I would not want to be as mercenary, unethical and obnoxious. In China, what I want gets done. The pragmatic side of me likes this. I often find myself in a moral dilemma when the unscrupulous methods that they may have adopted eat into me. I wish fair play was the order of the day and ‘guan xi’ becomes a bad word some day.

I was surprised to learn that China has more than 5,000 years of culinary history with more than eight main cuisines in China. I like them all. I find it interesting that a cuisine can tell a region’s geography, culture and history.

For example, Cantonese cooking is all about the freshness of its ingredients. A lot of their best dishes are seafood because of their coastline. Most of the food is steamed or garnished with the barest of spices and herbs. Like the food, the Cantonese are straightforward people. You get what you see.

Shanghainese food is all about showiness. The dishes are oily, salty, strong coloured and very, very sweet. It has a bit of everything because Shanghai is such a cultural melting pot. Shanghai, as a city, is cosmopolitan, loud, exciting  and caters to every taste.

Speaking of food, do you remember the time we were in Shunde city of Guangdong to raid a counterfeit food seasoning factory? I can still remember that one of the ingredients of that steamboat meal was rooster’s testicles. It was like a cross between fish balls and sweet, round glutinous rice balls, ‘Tang Yuan’. It was weird! And you were going at them like they were the best-tasting food on earth. Yucks!

I still like Sichuanese the most! These chefs must be the most talented chefs in

the world for coming up with ‘Yu Xiang’ sauce. And there is no fish in it at all! Sichuanese cuisine is not just spicy. It has a mouth numbing effect. According to the experts, the best Sichuanese cuisine can have up to nine different flavours in just one dish. I think I need 10 more years to figure out cuisines such as Hunan, Yunnan, Dongbei and Zhejiang. By the way, I still have not learnt to cook. I don’t like the feel of raw meat. I only eat and wash the dishes. Thankfully, Devin is very understanding and is a great cook.

I travel to Singapore occasionally. There is a lot of talk about doing business in China and the role Singapore can play in China now. I have learnt one lesson after 10 years of working and living in China. Singaporeans have nothing to ‘teach’ the Chinese. We really should just forget about all the talk of ‘transferring our software’, ‘sharing our experience of competing in the global market’ and ‘serving as a bridge for China and the western world’. Really! China has a much longer history trading and dealing with the western world. What do we, Singaporeans know in just 39 years?

I totally disapprove of my Chinese-Singaporean friends and relatives whose kids can only speak English. It is their fault for not teaching Mandarin and their own dialects to their kids. Don’t blame the government and our language policy. I have not met any French who cannot speak French or a Japanese who can only speak English. I cannot understand this bizarre situation where Singaporean Chinese take pride in saying they do not know Mandarin. I feel sad and sorry for them. I don’t think my Malay or Indian friends have this kind of problem.

I read with amusement about the government’s attempt to create a new Chinese-elite. They cannot mandate something like this. It has to come from the heart. There is a large group of people in Singapore between the age of 30 to 50 who do not speak Mandarin and may in fact dislike Chinese language, culture and history. It is their kids the government wants to groom to become the new Chinese-elite! I just wonder how we can do that? Unless we have

another major economic crisis with more jobs flowing out of Singapore to China, Chinese Singaporeans will not change their attitude.

I think more Singaporeans should come and work in Shanghai. They should come with a change in mindset - be humble, realistic and flexible. At the same time, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve something. They must be prepared to listen and learn from the Chinese. They must not expect expatriate perks and be prepared to compete with everyone. Singaporeans do not have any advantage over anyone else here. Younger Chinese have several degrees and speak several languages. In fact, we have a bunch of MBAs working in our LV stores in China. And they speak not just Mandarin, their native dialects but English, French and  Japanese. And my Singaporean friends actually had the cheek to ask if we will give them expat packages for working in our China stores. Hello! Wake up and smell the roses, will ya??

I am 36 now. When I tell my friends that I don’t have any unaccomplished dreams, they think that I am bragging. But this is true. Since 29, I have had only one dream - to live the remainder of my life happily with Devin. I am living that dream! I have attained Happiness. I wonder if the Dalai Lama would approve of me? Must go and say hi to His Holiness someday ...

Oh, one other thing, I have decided that my planned retirement date will be 8th June 2013. That’s another 10 years or so from now. I will move to Phuket. Buy a house. Start a café-cum-pub by a beach with Devin. Ogle at beautiful semi-naked women. Raise a dozen kids. Keep dogs. Learn to dive. Race go-karts - my idea of a simple life!

What can be imagined can be achieved.

Wei, I think I am who I am today because of you. It is so sad that it took such a dramatic turn of events like your death for me to learn the best and most valuable lesson in my life.

If only I had you next to me to share my joys now ... thank you for changing my life.

Yours forever,

Steve