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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Emails, Events & Echoes


  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. STUDY - 10:30


  4. Finishing his daily Duolingo language exercises, PETER opens his emails on mobile.


  5. PETER (V.O): Ah, the HKUST Knowledge Transfer Committee Secretariat acknowledges receipt of my signed letters and will follow up.


  6. Peter reads another email.


  7. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): It's an event invitation. The Secretariat is inviting me to join its Industry Engagement Day +Transformation to Edge AI 2.0. I'm participating.


  8. Peter reads an email from the Bar Secretariat.


  9. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Mainland and Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR Intellectual Property Symposium 2024?


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O): I used to run it. I even wrote a song to celebrate its 10th anniversary.


  12. Reading the details.


  13. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Ms Chan will be here?


  14. Act 2

  15. FLASHBACK


  16. INT. RESTAURANT, MACAU - NIGHT (Early 2010s)


  17. Over dinner with GUESTS, Peter chats with Ms CHAN.


  18. PETER: Thank you for hosting the Symposium's Welcoming Dinner.


  19. MS CHAN: It's Macau's turn.


  20. PETER: By the way, how hard it is to become a senior civil servant in Macau?


  21. MS. CHAN: I speak Portuguese too.


  22. PETER (V.O): Wow, Hong Kong is bilingual, but Macau is trilingual.


  23. END FLASHBACK


  24. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): The conversation echoed in my mind when I chose to learn Portuguese via the Duolingo app over 45 days ago.


  25. Pausing.


  26. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since my retirement from civil service over 10 years ago, I haven't met up with Ms Chan.


  27. Thinking.


  28. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Let me register with the Symposium then.


  29. Pausing.


  30. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'm expecting an email from Prof Lee about a Roundtable on AI and Copyright.


  31. Pausing.


  32. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I've to send my bio but I haven't mined it from my computer yet...


  33. Later, Peter sees Prof Lee's email. He studies it.


  34. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Oh, so customer-friendly, he has mined my 2021 bio...any update on the content and photo?

  35. Pausing.


  36. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Recently, I've become the Chair of HKUST's Knowledge Transfer Committee...and a classmate of my wife in a Korean class...


  37. Pausing.


  38. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): As to the photo, I prefer looking young!


  39. Peter replies by typing: ...they still look good.


  40. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Great, I've more time to manage my files in my computers and handheld devices. Meanwhile, let me go swimming in the sea.


  41. INT. LIVING ROOM - 16:00


  42. Returning, Peter sees and hears his WIFE reciting Korean terms to her mobile.


  43. PETER (V.O): We usually do that just hours before attending class.


  44. Pausing.


  45. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Could her ranking first in the recent quiz be a motivator?


  46. Sitting next to his wife and opening his school bag, Peter seeks his wife's support.


  47. PETER: What is the audio homework that we've to submit?


  48. As Peter opens a Korean textbook, his wife points to some Korean terms.


  49. PETER (Cont'd): I've got to practise before submitting mine. Have you done your corrections in the dictation exercise last week?


  50. WIFE: I've made no mistakes. You can copy mine as the authentic ones.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. STUDY - 22:30


  53. Peter inserts an AI drawing entitled "Emails, Events & Echoes" to a draft.


  54. PETER (V.O): Emails represent my engagement with technology and professional activities.


  55. Thinking.


  56. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Events captures my continued involvement in Symposiums and classes.


  57. Reflecting.


  58. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And echoes of my ever-evolving life and relationships still resonate deeply.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END


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