The video became a , inspiring vigorous debate and discussion on lifestyle, etiquette, civic awareness and media ethics within the city, eventually attracting the attention of the around the world.
Video
Incident
The video depicts the incident that took place on the upper deck of a double decker It began when a young bespectacled male passenger tapped the shoulder of a middle-aged man in front of him, asking the man to lower his voice while on his mobile phone. The man in front turned around and reacted strongly the word "Uncle" was not used.
People involved
Bus Uncle
As the video became well-known, reporters looked for the "Bus Uncle" near the end of the 68X bus route. Eventually, they found the 51-year-old As of June 2006, after his identity was revealed, Chan was criticised for reportedly demanding remuneration for interviews.
Young man
The young man scolded in the video is Elvis Ho Yui Hei called a talk show on Commercial Radio Hong Kong claiming to be the young man involved in the argument. In a later interview with the ''South China Morning Post'', Ho said he often takes long bus rides home and frequently asked 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. However, he "told reporters that he often takes videos as a hobby, and had just planned to share this one with friends." ''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. No charges were pressed against Chan himself, although ''Ming Pao'' opined that his behaviour theoretically contravened the general code of conduct of bus passengers.
The video clip has English subtitles which, while erroneous in parts, never stray far from the general tenor of the Cantonese version. 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''.
Next Magazine journalists went to Chan's home in Yuen Long where they interviewed him, and on 1 June 2006, Chan was on the front page of Next Magazine.
Social impact
Effects on popular culture
The famous quotes of Chan are now frequently used, mimicked, and parodied in Hong Kong, particularly by teenagers. A radio talk show host of Commercial Radio Hong Kong mentioned an incident involving his friend, a teacher, and his students at the end of an examination. When the time was up, a student yelled, "It's not settled! It's not settled!" , refusing to stop writing. Only when another teacher replied, "You may be stressed, but so am I," did the student agree to stop. Merchandise such as cartoon T-shirts and mobile phone ringtones have also been produced and sold on the Internet.
In addition, sitcoms of and TVB imitated the video in argument scenes. In episode 67 of the TVB sitcom ''Welcome to the House '', 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.
Closer look at life 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" There was support for Ho's desire for a lower volume as well as sympathy for the stress felt by the "Bus Uncle."
Lee Sing, director of the Hong Kong Mood Disorders Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, warned that Hong Kong's high-stress working environments are spawning a city-full of "Bus Uncles." Lee estimated that one of every 50 grumpy Hongkongers suffers from intermittent explosive disorder,
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.
Civic awareness concerns
Ah Nong , a popular 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.
Apple Tse Ho Yi, minister of the Hong Kong Christian Service, carried out a survey of 506 students over the age of 12 about the Bus Uncle incident and civic awareness in general. Of the respondents who claim they regularly encountered people speaking loudly on the phone on buses, only 47 percent 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.
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. 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.
''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.
