The Bus Uncle
Encyclopedia
The Bus Uncle is a Cantonese YouTube viral video
clip of a quarrel between two men aboard a bus in Hong Kong on 27 April 2006. While the older man, who came to be nicknamed the Bus Uncle, scolded the man seated behind him, a nearby passenger used his camera phone to record the entire incident. The resulting six-minute video was uploaded to the Hong Kong Golden Forum, YouTube
, and Google Videos. The clip became YouTube's most viewed video in May 2006, attracting viewers with its rhetorical outbursts and copious use of profanity
by the older man, receiving 1.7 million hits in the first 3 weeks of that month.
The video became a cultural sensation in Hong Kong, inspiring vigorous debate and discussion on lifestyle, etiquette
, civic awareness and media ethics
within the city, eventually attracting the attention of the media around the world.
The video depicts the incident that took place on the upper deck of a double decker
Kowloon Motor Bus, Route no. 68X en route to Yuen Long
, Hong Kong at approximately 11:00 pm on 27 April 2006. It began when a young bespectacled male passenger tapped the shoulder of a middle-aged man in front of him who was chatting on his mobile phone, asking the man to lower his voice. The older man later claimed that when he was tapped on the shoulder, he was under stress from an argument with his girlfriend and was calling the Samaritans
. However, the younger man said that he was in fact merely chatting with friends. The older man turned around and started a monologue, ranting about being unnecessarily provoked under stress. The younger man, who seldom talked back, expressed a desire to end the discussion. However, the middle-aged man insisted that the matter was not settled and requested an apology from him. The younger man apologised, reluctantly shook hands, and also warned the older man regarding the use of mother insults. This last warning resulted in more profanities from the older man. The video ends with the older man receiving a phone call.
The "Bus Uncle" title for the video was coined by members of an Internet forum in reference to the older man in the video. In Hong Kong, it is common to refer to an older man as "Uncle"
(阿叔), hence the English translation "The Bus Uncle". Lam's name appears as part of the title of the original video. Contrary to reports in Western media, the word "Uncle" (阿叔) was not used.
On 28 May 2006, this incident was mentioned on the main evening news on TVB, as well as Cable TV
news. News of the video clip has penetrated Western media and has been widely syndicated, and reported in prominent international journals in late May 2006, such as Channel NewsAsia, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal
.
. On 23 May 2006, 23-year-old property agent Elvis Ho Yui Hei called a talk show on Commercial Radio Hong Kong
claiming to be the young man involved in the argument.
for interviews.
Sing Tao Daily
reported that Chan visited Ho's office on 31 May 2006 in Mong Kok
to apologise for the dispute and to initiate a business proposal for the duo to hold a "Bus Uncle Rave Party". Chan was quickly rejected and expelled by Ho, who expressed outrage towards the journalists who arranged the meeting and threatened legal action against the press.
Ming Pao
opined that the use of profanity by the "Bus Uncle" and threatening behaviour theoretically contravened the general code of conduct of bus passengers, and that he had violated two public order laws – Section 46(1)(a), (n)(ii) and 57(1) of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, and Section 17B(2) of the Public Order Ordinance – which potentially carried financial penalties and imprisonment.
Next Magazine
journalists interviewed Chan at his home in Yuen Long
, and his interview became the magazine's cover story on 1 June 2006. On 7 June 2006, Chan, who had been hired as a Public Relations officer in the Steak Expert restaurant chain, was physically assaulted while on duty in front of witnesses by three unidentified masked men who then fled the scene. He sustained severe injuries to his eyes and face and was admitted to the emergency department for treatment. The restaurant owner, Mr. Lee, then faced pressure from his wife and daughter to fire Chan due to magazine allegations of Chan's exploits in a Shenzhen
karaoke hostess bar
. Chan resigned after the owner's wife took a drug overdose ostensibly to force the issue.
Some of Chan's phrases are now frequently used, mimicked, and parodied in Hong Kong, particularly by teenagers. 「你有壓力，我有壓力」 (You have pressure, I have pressure), 「未解決！」 (It's not settled!) have become catchphrases on Internet forums, posters, and radio programmes. Various music videos have been created using the catchphrases, including pop, karaoke, rap, dance
and disco
remix
es. There have also been parodies of an apology, "re-enactments" of the incident with video game characters, composite pictures, movie posters, and versions involving Darth Vader
and Adagio for Strings
. Merchandise such as cartoon T-shirts and mobile phone ringtones have also been produced and sold on the Internet.
In June 2006, TVB television made a parody of the Bus Uncle video in promoting its coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, featuring its sports commentator Lam Sheung Yee (林尚義), whose voice resembles Chan's, on a bus playing the role of the Bus Uncle. In the advertisement, a passenger sitting behind Lam Sheung Yee (played by Lam Man Chung) questions whether Lam Sheung Yee feels pressured for his responsibilities in the upcoming World Cup, which would be his last TV appearance before retirement. Turning around, Lam replies that there is no pressure and emphasises the issue (i.e. the viewers' demand for World Cup coverage) has been resolved. The passenger then offers to shake hands with Lam Sheung Yee, calling for a truce.
In addition, sitcoms of ATV
and TVB imitated the video in argument scenes. In episode 67 of the TVB sitcom Welcome to the House
(高朋滿座), the young bespectacled main character tried to stop a man from talking too loudly on the mobile phone in the cinema. As a result, he was harshly rebuked by the man. Once his family knew about the incident from a video uploaded on the Internet, they taught the character to be more assertive and not to allow himself to be bullied. In the end, he was able to stand up to the same man when they met again in the cinema and remove him from the premises.
, warned that Hong Kong's high-stress working environments are spawning a city-full of "Bus Uncles". Lee estimated that one of every 50 Hongkongers suffers from intermittent explosive disorder
, turning one into a "ticking time bomb" of rage and violence.
Journalism professor and Internet expert Anthony Fung Ying-him also attributed the popularity of the low-resolution video of a "trivial event" to the emotional climate of the city. While other viral videos are favoured by specific demographics
, this one spread widely due to its universal expression of "the true feelings of ordinary people."
On the other hand, Ho Kwok Leung, an applied social science lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
, held that attention surrounding the video reflected the boring lives of Hong Kong people. With few interesting topics to discuss, they savour the pleasure of spreading information to a vast audience and the creation of Internet meme
s. Furthermore, the banning of the use of some video catchphrases in certain schools made the incident more appealing. This lifestyle, according to Leung, is fertile ground for the cultivation of a "video clip culture".
Ah Nong (阿濃), a popular literary figure
and artist in Hong Kong, believed that the incident highlighted the apathy
of the common Hong Kong people. He emphasised that during the heated exchange between Chan and Ho, not a single bystander
came to Ho's aid. He recalled an incident a few years back where he confronted a man smoking on the lower deck of a bus and was scolded for the rest of the journey. He said it was useless to complain to the bus driver who would not bother to waste his time, let alone the other passengers. Ah Nong argued that in such a society, a person can be accused of wrongdoing despite good intentions.
There was support for Ho's desire for a lower volume as well as sympathy for the stress felt by the "Bus Uncle." Others maintained that Chan's actions were atypical of etiquette in Hong Kong. Apple Tse Ho Yi, minister of the Hong Kong Christian Service, carried out a survey of 506 students over the age of 12 following the incident. Of the respondents who claim they regularly encountered people speaking loudly on the phone on buses, only 47% said they would intervene by talking to the phone user or alerting the driver. Reasons for inaction include fear, apathy and inability to solve the problem. On civic awareness, the majority of the respondents did not consider chatting loudly on the phone to be wrong. Tse concluded that the current generation of Hong Kong young people have poor civic awareness, and it is natural that disputes often occur due to inconsideration. Speaking about the incident on Commercial Radio, Journalist Chip Tsao described Chan's behaviour as "noise raping" and said that the incident was a manifestation of underlying social tension as well as the mindset of a "common Hongkonger". He criticised Ho as being a stereotype
of present-day Hong Kong youth – speechless and too weak.
The fact that Chan was runner-up "Person of the Year" announced by Radio Television Hong Kong
indicated that it might have struck a chord with the general population. Ng Fung Sheung, a social science lecturer of the City University of Hong Kong
, explained that Hong Kong people tend to chat loudly in public places. She attributed this phenomenon to the television screens found in many vehicles and trains, which broadcast programmes at high volumes. She suggested that the government should provide better civic education for the public to make them more considerate of others. When it comes to schools which banned the usage of catch phrases like "I'm stressed!" Ng stated that teachers must be able to distinguish whether the students really face pressure or are simply following the trend, and provide guidance if necessary.
Some denied that any social insight could be gleaned from the video clip, arguing that the frenzy was artificially created by sensationalist newspapers in order to boost circulation and profits. Clement So York-kee, Director of the School of Journalism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
, warned that methods to uncover the incident between Chan and Ho "did not seem to ... [involve the] traditional practice of news reporting." For example, several media outlets offered rewards on unmasking Bus Uncle's identity. In late May 2006, a group of journalists and photographers initiated and followed Chan's second meeting with Ho. After Ho's refusal, they brought Bus Uncle to a dinner and karaoke session. Although the session was widely reported, many believed it was artificially created news and unworthy of front-page attention.
Ta Kung Pao stated that the Bus Uncle incident tested the professionalism of the Hong Kong mass media, its editorial noting that Chan sought remuneration for interviews and made many extraordinary claims about himself which were published without verification. The editorial concluded by advising journalists not to fabricate news, but instead to emphasise the verifiability of stories and consider carefully whether an incident is newsworthy.
Others held that the frenzy was not the product of a media conspiracy, but rather a reflection of the public's curiosity and Hong Kong's competitive consumer-driven media market. The situation also allowed camera phone marketers to highlight the potential comedic value and draw attention away from privacy concerns.
In the aftermath, other such videos appeared including a woman at Hong Kong's airport who was driven into a hysterical panic after missing her flight. That video was viewed 750,000 times in five days.
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
clip of a quarrel between two men aboard a bus in Hong Kong on 27 April 2006. While the older man, who came to be nicknamed the Bus Uncle, scolded the man seated behind him, a nearby passenger used his camera phone to record the entire incident. The resulting six-minute video was uploaded to the Hong Kong Golden Forum, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and Google Videos. The clip became YouTube's most viewed video in May 2006, attracting viewers with its rhetorical outbursts and copious use of profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
by the older man, receiving 1.7 million hits in the first 3 weeks of that month.
The video became a cultural sensation in Hong Kong, inspiring vigorous debate and discussion on lifestyle, etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
, civic awareness and media ethics
Media ethics
Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the internet...
within the city, eventually attracting the attention of the media around the world.
Incident
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
Kowloon Motor Bus, Route no. 68X en route to Yuen Long
Yuen Long
Yuen Long , formerly Un Long, is an area and town located in the northwest of Hong Kong, on the Yuen Long Plain. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin, and to the north Nam Sang Wai.-Name:The Cantonese name Yuen Long 元朗...
, Hong Kong at approximately 11:00 pm on 27 April 2006. It began when a young bespectacled male passenger tapped the shoulder of a middle-aged man in front of him who was chatting on his mobile phone, asking the man to lower his voice. The older man later claimed that when he was tapped on the shoulder, he was under stress from an argument with his girlfriend and was calling the Samaritans
Samaritans (charity)
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline. The name comes from the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, though the organisation...
. However, the younger man said that he was in fact merely chatting with friends. The older man turned around and started a monologue, ranting about being unnecessarily provoked under stress. The younger man, who seldom talked back, expressed a desire to end the discussion. However, the middle-aged man insisted that the matter was not settled and requested an apology from him. The younger man apologised, reluctantly shook hands, and also warned the older man regarding the use of mother insults. This last warning resulted in more profanities from the older man. The video ends with the older man receiving a phone call.
Video
The video was shot by a 21-year-old accountant and part-time psychology student identified as Jon Fong Wing Hang . In a radio station phone-in on 25 May 2006, Fong said he recorded the incident on a mobile phone in case the abusive man became violent. He claimed there was a second video yet to be posted online in which the younger man fought back by making fun of "Bus Uncle" with a friend on the phone. However, Fong "told reporters that he often takes videos as a hobby, and had just planned to share this one with friends." The video clip has English subtitles which, while erroneous in parts, never stray far from the general tenor of the Cantonese version.The "Bus Uncle" title for the video was coined by members of an Internet forum in reference to the older man in the video. In Hong Kong, it is common to refer to an older man as "Uncle"
Fictive kinship
Fictive kinship is a term used by anthropologists and ethnographers to distinguish between forms of kinship or social ties that are based on neither consanguinal nor affinal ties...
(阿叔), hence the English translation "The Bus Uncle". Lam's name appears as part of the title of the original video. Contrary to reports in Western media, the word "Uncle" (阿叔) was not used.
On 28 May 2006, this incident was mentioned on the main evening news on TVB, as well as Cable TV
Cable TV Hong Kong
Cable TV Hong Kong , previously known as Wharf Cable before October 1998, is owned and operated by i-CABLE Communications Limited...
news. News of the video clip has penetrated Western media and has been widely syndicated, and reported in prominent international journals in late May 2006, such as Channel NewsAsia, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
Characters
As the video became well-known, reporters located the "Bus Uncle" near the end of the 68X bus route. He was found to be Roger Chan Yuet Tung , a 51-year-old restaurant worker who resides in Yuen LongYuen Long
Yuen Long , formerly Un Long, is an area and town located in the northwest of Hong Kong, on the Yuen Long Plain. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin, and to the north Nam Sang Wai.-Name:The Cantonese name Yuen Long 元朗...
. On 23 May 2006, 23-year-old property agent Elvis Ho Yui Hei called a talk show on Commercial Radio Hong Kong
Commercial Radio Hong Kong
Commercial Radio Hong Kong , aka Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited is one of only two commercial radio broadcasting companies in Hong Kong along with Metro Radio Hong Kong. It contains a balanced array of entertainment including informative, educational, arts and cultural programmes...
claiming to be the young man involved in the argument.
Roger Chan
Chan lives by himself, with rare contact with his family, though he has a girlfriend in Mong Kok. He has been unemployed for more than ten years (how could this be true if in the above paragraph it says he was a restaurant worker ?), living off welfare payments. After his identity was revealed, Chan was criticised for reportedly demanding remunerationRemuneration
Remuneration is the total compensation that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Typically, this consists of monetary rewards, also referred to as wage or salary...
for interviews.
Elvis Ho
Ho often takes long bus rides home, frequently asking passengers to lower their voices so he could nap. Despite being threatened, Ho said he forgave "Bus Uncle" and sympathised with whatever stress the older man was suffering. He said his patience throughout the ordeal was inspired by t'ai chi ch'uan.Aftermath
Sing Tao Daily
The Sing Tao Daily is Hong Kong's second largest Chinese language newspaper. It is owned by Sing Tao News Corporation Limited, of which Charles Ho Tsu Kwok is the chairman. Its English language sister paper is The Standard...
reported that Chan visited Ho's office on 31 May 2006 in Mong Kok
Mong Kok
Mong Kok , less often known as Argyle , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong...
to apologise for the dispute and to initiate a business proposal for the duo to hold a "Bus Uncle Rave Party". Chan was quickly rejected and expelled by Ho, who expressed outrage towards the journalists who arranged the meeting and threatened legal action against the press.
Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
opined that the use of profanity by the "Bus Uncle" and threatening behaviour theoretically contravened the general code of conduct of bus passengers, and that he had violated two public order laws – Section 46(1)(a), (n)(ii) and 57(1) of the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, and Section 17B(2) of the Public Order Ordinance – which potentially carried financial penalties and imprisonment.
Next Magazine
Next Magazine
Next Magazine is a Chinese weekly magazine, published in Hong Kong and Taiwan with different versions. Owned by Jimmy Lai , both magazines are the number one news magazines in both markets in terms of audited circulation and AC Nielsen reports...
journalists interviewed Chan at his home in Yuen Long
Yuen Long
Yuen Long , formerly Un Long, is an area and town located in the northwest of Hong Kong, on the Yuen Long Plain. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin, and to the north Nam Sang Wai.-Name:The Cantonese name Yuen Long 元朗...
, and his interview became the magazine's cover story on 1 June 2006. On 7 June 2006, Chan, who had been hired as a Public Relations officer in the Steak Expert restaurant chain, was physically assaulted while on duty in front of witnesses by three unidentified masked men who then fled the scene. He sustained severe injuries to his eyes and face and was admitted to the emergency department for treatment. The restaurant owner, Mr. Lee, then faced pressure from his wife and daughter to fire Chan due to magazine allegations of Chan's exploits in a Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
karaoke hostess bar
Hostess bar
Hostess clubs are a common feature in the night-time entertainment industry of Japan, east Asian countries and other areas with a high east Asian population. They employ primarily female staff and cater to males seeking drinks and attentive conversation. The more recent host clubs are similar...
. Chan resigned after the owner's wife took a drug overdose ostensibly to force the issue.
Effects on popular culture
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es. There have also been parodies of an apology, "re-enactments" of the incident with video game characters, composite pictures, movie posters, and versions involving Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
and Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
. Merchandise such as cartoon T-shirts and mobile phone ringtones have also been produced and sold on the Internet.
In June 2006, TVB television made a parody of the Bus Uncle video in promoting its coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, featuring its sports commentator Lam Sheung Yee (林尚義), whose voice resembles Chan's, on a bus playing the role of the Bus Uncle. In the advertisement, a passenger sitting behind Lam Sheung Yee (played by Lam Man Chung) questions whether Lam Sheung Yee feels pressured for his responsibilities in the upcoming World Cup, which would be his last TV appearance before retirement. Turning around, Lam replies that there is no pressure and emphasises the issue (i.e. the viewers' demand for World Cup coverage) has been resolved. The passenger then offers to shake hands with Lam Sheung Yee, calling for a truce.
In addition, sitcoms of ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
and TVB imitated the video in argument scenes. In episode 67 of the TVB sitcom Welcome to the House
Welcome to the House
Welcome to the House is a TVB modern sitcom series broadcast from April 2006 to March 2007.The series surrounded the day-to-day lives of the Ko family.In one episodes Sharon Chan lost her limited edition All Star Converse, she give it to a ladies for her high heel.Once the filming was over she...
(高朋滿座), the young bespectacled main character tried to stop a man from talking too loudly on the mobile phone in the cinema. As a result, he was harshly rebuked by the man. Once his family knew about the incident from a video uploaded on the Internet, they taught the character to be more assertive and not to allow himself to be bullied. In the end, he was able to stand up to the same man when they met again in the cinema and remove him from the premises.
Stress in Hong Kong
Although many found the video humorous and entertaining, others warned that it hinted at a more alarming and sinister prognosis of life in stress-filled Hong Kong, particularly inside buses, nicknamed "flying cars of death" and other overcrowded areas. Lee Sing, director of the Hong Kong Mood Disorders Centre at the Chinese University of Hong KongChinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
, warned that Hong Kong's high-stress working environments are spawning a city-full of "Bus Uncles". Lee estimated that one of every 50 Hongkongers suffers from intermittent explosive disorder
Intermittent explosive disorder
Intermittent explosive disorder is a behavioral disorder characterized by extreme expressions of anger, often to the point of violence, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. It is currently categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an impulse...
, turning one into a "ticking time bomb" of rage and violence.
Journalism professor and Internet expert Anthony Fung Ying-him also attributed the popularity of the low-resolution video of a "trivial event" to the emotional climate of the city. While other viral videos are favoured by specific demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
, this one spread widely due to its universal expression of "the true feelings of ordinary people."
On the other hand, Ho Kwok Leung, an applied social science lecturer at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
, held that attention surrounding the video reflected the boring lives of Hong Kong people. With few interesting topics to discuss, they savour the pleasure of spreading information to a vast audience and the creation of Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
s. Furthermore, the banning of the use of some video catchphrases in certain schools made the incident more appealing. This lifestyle, according to Leung, is fertile ground for the cultivation of a "video clip culture".
Civic awareness concerns
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and artist in Hong Kong, believed that the incident highlighted the apathy
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
of the common Hong Kong people. He emphasised that during the heated exchange between Chan and Ho, not a single bystander
Bystander
A bystander a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator.*Bystander effect, a social psychological phenomenon wherein individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present...
came to Ho's aid. He recalled an incident a few years back where he confronted a man smoking on the lower deck of a bus and was scolded for the rest of the journey. He said it was useless to complain to the bus driver who would not bother to waste his time, let alone the other passengers. Ah Nong argued that in such a society, a person can be accused of wrongdoing despite good intentions.
There was support for Ho's desire for a lower volume as well as sympathy for the stress felt by the "Bus Uncle." Others maintained that Chan's actions were atypical of etiquette in Hong Kong. Apple Tse Ho Yi, minister of the Hong Kong Christian Service, carried out a survey of 506 students over the age of 12 following the incident. Of the respondents who claim they regularly encountered people speaking loudly on the phone on buses, only 47% said they would intervene by talking to the phone user or alerting the driver. Reasons for inaction include fear, apathy and inability to solve the problem. On civic awareness, the majority of the respondents did not consider chatting loudly on the phone to be wrong. Tse concluded that the current generation of Hong Kong young people have poor civic awareness, and it is natural that disputes often occur due to inconsideration. Speaking about the incident on Commercial Radio, Journalist Chip Tsao described Chan's behaviour as "noise raping" and said that the incident was a manifestation of underlying social tension as well as the mindset of a "common Hongkonger". He criticised Ho as being a stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of present-day Hong Kong youth – speechless and too weak.
The fact that Chan was runner-up "Person of the Year" announced by Radio Television Hong Kong
Radio Television Hong Kong
Radio Television Hong Kong is a public broadcasting organisation in Hong Kong that is operated as an independent department in the government under the Broadcasting Authority. RTHK operates seven radio channels, and produces television programmes that are then broadcast through local television...
indicated that it might have struck a chord with the general population. Ng Fung Sheung, a social science lecturer of the City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...
, explained that Hong Kong people tend to chat loudly in public places. She attributed this phenomenon to the television screens found in many vehicles and trains, which broadcast programmes at high volumes. She suggested that the government should provide better civic education for the public to make them more considerate of others. When it comes to schools which banned the usage of catch phrases like "I'm stressed!" Ng stated that teachers must be able to distinguish whether the students really face pressure or are simply following the trend, and provide guidance if necessary.
Criticism of media ethics
Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...
, warned that methods to uncover the incident between Chan and Ho "did not seem to ... [involve the] traditional practice of news reporting." For example, several media outlets offered rewards on unmasking Bus Uncle's identity. In late May 2006, a group of journalists and photographers initiated and followed Chan's second meeting with Ho. After Ho's refusal, they brought Bus Uncle to a dinner and karaoke session. Although the session was widely reported, many believed it was artificially created news and unworthy of front-page attention.
Ta Kung Pao stated that the Bus Uncle incident tested the professionalism of the Hong Kong mass media, its editorial noting that Chan sought remuneration for interviews and made many extraordinary claims about himself which were published without verification. The editorial concluded by advising journalists not to fabricate news, but instead to emphasise the verifiability of stories and consider carefully whether an incident is newsworthy.
Others held that the frenzy was not the product of a media conspiracy, but rather a reflection of the public's curiosity and Hong Kong's competitive consumer-driven media market. The situation also allowed camera phone marketers to highlight the potential comedic value and draw attention away from privacy concerns.
In the aftermath, other such videos appeared including a woman at Hong Kong's airport who was driven into a hysterical panic after missing her flight. That video was viewed 750,000 times in five days.