SCMP’s week in quotes: 10 voices from the news this week

Things are changing “I’m not going to let high desire hijack my life, like buying a house, car, or starting a family. “After getting up, I open the door and go for a walk, buy a bun, and then walk back. During the day, everyone chats and drinks coffee, and at night, we sing together, and then rest and sleep. Although I may not be that rich financially, the overall gain may be more for my life.” - Pluto Mo, a Beijing native in her 20s living for brief spurts this year in various cities A growing number of younger people in China are resenting the idea of struggling against economic problems, instead opting to join the so-called lying flat movement. Millions are also leaning more towards the life side of a work-life balance in the US. In China, it’s lying flat. The US, gap years. Either way, things are changing ‘Impossible to get everyone’s approval’ “Why must we see this as a taboo? We are all people, we all need to make love. Why should we think this is something we should be ashamed of?” - Hong Kong porn actress Erena So The model and aspiring actress wants to change the city’s attitudes to sex, but experts say taboos are tough to break. ‘Why is it a taboo?’: Hong Kong model turned porn actress on city’s conservatism Singapore’s leaders “We think some degree of training is generally useful, some degree of experience is useful, before you become a minister or prime minister.” - Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, the influential minister offered his views on the Greater Bay Area surrounding Hong Kong, Singapore’s tough anti-drug stance and the fourth-generation or “4G” leadership of the People’s Action Party. ‘Be prepared to debate’: Shanmugam on the drug war and alternative viewpoints A temporary retreat “With all the uncertainties, many are choosing to hold onto secure and stable jobs. But there’s also some who are like me in wanting to pause and rethink what I truly want in life.” - Lu Zi, a young graduate who left a job with an e-commerce giant to live at a Buddhist temple Anxious and stressed about their careers, young Chinese are flocking to temples. Some seek an escape from pressure and pray for good fortune, while others soak up “temple life” as volunteers for months. Young Chinese seek to escape from career pressure and pray for good fortune Now she’s thriving “It was a nightmare; it didn’t feel real because I hadn’t heard the crash, I didn’t feel pain. How could I have gone from being on the beach to being paralysed?” - Rabi Yim A date changed Yim’s life forever – the man who had just professed his love for her crashed his car, leaving Yim in a wheelchair. She threw herself into rehab, learned how to drive and spent years working for wheelchair accessibility in Hong Kong. Now she wants to do “some fun things”. A ‘nightmare’ first date left her in a wheelchair – but now she’s thriving Struggling to survive “At least a prisoner is guaranteed three meals a day, has a TV to watch and a bigger, nicer space to live in.” - Franki Wong Jobless and ailing, Wong has thought many times that being in prison would be better than life in his tiny “coffin home”. Life for the city’s poor has become more difficult with a host of hikes in everything from food prices to electricity rates and looming increases in transport fares too. ‘Life’s better in prison’: rising cost of living hits Hong Kong’s poor hard A gifted comedian “One cannot overstate his contributions to the local film industry and he will be missed forever.” - Eric Tsang, actor and general manager of the free-to-air TV station TVB Tributes poured in after the death of veteran actor Richard Ng Yiu-hon at the age of 83. He starred in some of the city’s most popular comedies throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and featured in more than 100 films. Actor Richard Ng, who rose to fame in 1970s Hong Kong comedies, dies at age 83 Cantonese food enticing tourists “We also have roasted meat on the mainland, but the taste I had here in Hong Kong is the best and original, which you won’t find elsewhere.” - Linco Chen, a clerk from Shanghai visiting Hong Kong with her husband Hong Kong is losing its global reputation as a shopping paradise, but its Cantonese food still gives the city a distinct advantage over rivals in the crowded Asian tourism market, visitors from mainland China and overseas have said. Can Hong Kong’s Cantonese food save its tourism as shopping takes back seat? A step forward “Tonight would be another sleepless night [for celebration].” - Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences China’s “artificial sun” set a world record by generating and maintaining extremely hot, highly confined plasma for 403 seconds, breaking its previous record of 101 seconds in 2017 and marking another key step towards building high-efficiency, low-cost thermonuclear fusion reactors. China’s ‘artificial sun’ breaks record in milestone for fusion reactors Same pool of fish “Everyone is fighting for the same pool of fish in the same pond.” - Jerry Chang, managing director of executive search firm Barons & Company Amid a brain drain, recruitment firms say their Hong Kong tech clients are increasingly open to the idea of hiring candidates from Southeast Asia. Hong Kong tech firms turn to Southeast Asia to recruit talent amid brain drain

SCMP’s week in quotes: 10 voices from the news this week

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}From a woman whose life was changed forever by a date, to work-life balance shifting in China, here are some highlights from our recent reporting

Things are changing

‘Impossible to get everyone’s approval’

From a woman whose life was changed forever by a date, to work-life balance shifting in China, here are some highlights from our recent reporting