The putrid stench that permeated an apartment building in Hong Kong led the police to a bathroom, where they were appalled to find the decomposing body of an old woman who had died many days before.

　　The dead woman was later found to be linked to a renowned Hong Kong actress, who confessed to notshavingsrung her mother up for quite a long time - she admitted to telephoning her every two or three months.

　　We might have assumed that the mother of a celebrity wouldn't have had to worry about material needs or the lack of someone to look after her, much less the likelihood of being left to decay after passing away.

　　Of course, the actress may have a thousand reasons to explain away her neglect of duty, but being a Chinese, she must have known the ancient Chinese saying that of all virtues, filial piety comes first and foremost.

　　Seeking fame and fortune and keeping pace with a hectic social life cannot excuse one from dereliction of filial piety.

　　In contrast to my conviction that the environment wherein one is raised might have an impact on the formation of one's outlook on life, I am confronted with yet another Hong Kong woman, who followed a track totally different from the one followed by the actress.

　　Born in a city where making a quick buck seems to be a top priority for the locals, Xie Wanwen, a doctor little known in medical circles, had a low opinion of herself, her ambition being to lead an ordinary life. She would feel immensely satisfied if she were able to deliver a patient from the torture of a disease he/she had been subjected to.

　　Her allegiance to love was borne out by the initiative she took to marry her boyfriend who had been diagnosed as a leukemia victim, indicating that she didn't attach any weight to the worldly notion of matrimonial unions marked by wealth, social status and family backgrounds, etc.

　　When the city was rocked by SARS, she volunteered to fight against it in the forefront. But, as luck would have it, she was struck by it, and eventually, died a heroic death.

　　The purpose of juxtaposing the profiles of the two Hong Kong women is to show the unsavory result that while one has disappeared, living only in people's memory, the other is still alive and kicking, perhaps bathed in a plethora of luxuries.

　　Some may remonstrate with Heaven for the injustice done to us but I suspect it's just the pattern of life. Isn't it common knowledge that thoseshavingsa heart of stone and tending to be self-centred are often blessed with a better life than those given to compassion and compliance with the morality and ethics?

　　This is the paradox facing us all. Either we have to jump on the bandwagon of egoists and be comfortably off or dedicate ourselves to the benefit of others without complaining about the iniquity of material rewards. It's up to us to make a choice between the two before it is too late.