The slogan “We really f***ing love Hong Kong” went viral after protesters marched with a giant banner of the patriotic declaration on the streets just hours after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city. While Gary Brightman refused to verbalize his love for the city, the Englishman demonstrates in action his deep devotion and belongingness to the place he calls home for almost two decades.

Brightman knows Golden Computer Arcade, a humble labyrinth-like shopping mall full of electronic goodies in Sham Shui Po, like the palm of his hand. The black backpack he carries was redeemed with trading stamps by a supermarket chain. The name “Gary” written on the bag makes him look like a local primary school student, but is useful as many others are carrying the same bag. “I told you I’m a Hongkonger!” The 59-year-old says with a proud grin. Not to mention his love for Cantonese cuisine such as dim sum and deep-fried baby pigeon.

Now a permanent resident of Hong Kong, Brightman first fell in love with the former colony on his first trip with a few friends in the summer of 1986. When the flight was landing at Kai Tak Airport at sunset hours, he saw through the plane window that locals were doing their washing up in their kitchen. Thrilled and curious, he thought to himself, “Oh that’s Asia!” He still remembers the first people they saw at the airport were some wearing t-shirts that said “I survived the Air Canada disaster.”

As an information technologist, his first sightseeing spot was Golden Computer Arcade, where he brought two boxes of DVDs back to London. “You don’t know how much more expensive they would be in Britain,” he recalls. He visited all the popular tourist destinations including Jumbo Floating Restaurant, the Peak and the Haw Par Mansion. “It was a pity that the Haw Par Mansion was shut. I would love to visit again.”

Since then, Brightman flew to Hong Kong from Britain whenever he found time to. A trip along Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po was a must and the DVDs from Golden Computer Arcade were his souvenirs. “It was amazing that some of the owners began to recognize me and recommend me their selections.” One time he revisited a DVD shop after several years, the owner gave him a warm welcome and said, “You haven’t been here for a few years!”

Indeed, it was the warmth of Hong Kong people that has kept him coming back and eventually propelled him to move here. “When you first go to another country, the immediate thing is everybody’s out to rip me off. They see me as a ‘gweilo’ [a common Cantonese slang for Westerners] with a big dollar sign on my head walking along,” he continues. “To me, two to three trips into Hong Kong, I realized they weren’t there to rip me off. It made me fall in love with Hongkongers and see the honesty in people.”

He kept looking for job opportunities in Hong Kong while still working for an international bank in London, but didn’t have much luck. “My wife said to me, we were never going to get work in Hong Kong by applying for jobs in England. Let’s just go there. Let’s move there and see how it goes.” So the couple leased their flat in London and came to look for jobs in Hong Kong on a six-month tourist visa. Fortunately, Brightman found a banking job in Central as well as an apartment in Mui Wo.

Set against beautiful mountains and waters, the beach in Mui Wo is part of Brightman’s favorite walking trail. He still goes to Lan Kwai Fong for drinks every week upon retirement. “But no one can stay there all the time. Just too much madness,” he laughs. As an urban dweller in England, he thought of living in Kowloon, but eventually decided on Mui Wo as his brother was also living there.

“I wouldn’t live in Discovery Bay as it is for gweilos. I am much more down-to-earth.” Brightman enjoys being called “gweilo” and does not feel discriminated against. “Hongkongers are very direct. They would say, you are fat, you are bald. A Westerner may feel shocked to hear that. Especially those from Britain, where we are very polite. We think more than we say.” But he understands that Hongkongers call him “fat guy” as an affectionate joke, citing the nickname of the last colonial governor. “That was why you guys called Chris Patten ‘Fat Pang’. This is your sense of humor.”

The Englishman used to make films when he was young. Eight years ago, he decided to go into early retirement, then went on to complete a one-year film production diploma and started making documentaries at the age of 54. Intrigued by the cultures and happenings in the city, he has filmed the Umbrella Movement in 2014 and local indie band GDJYB.

Also in 2014, he interviewed and documented people who had to be evacuated due to the redevelopment of Graham Street market in Central. “I thought they would be very angry but they were very accepting, because they knew they could not change it.” It was his first time feeling the cultural differences. As an Englishman who is well acquainted with fighting for justice, he finds it deeply sad that Hongkongers cannot even fight for their home.

In face of increasing crackdown, many Hong Kong people plan to emigrate, to which Brightman understands but nonetheless feels disheartened. “I feel really sad. How much effort the older generation has put in to make Hong Kong such a great city. But I understand their hopeless feeling.”

Some local friends are envious that he can return to the U.K. anytime he wants with his British passport, but Brightman reiterates that “it’s not my thinking.” “It upsets me to see and think many Hongkongers will leave Hong Kong.” He took over the ViBE Book and Music Shop next to the Mui Wo pier in 2018. His shop hosts gigs and book launches, sells Hong Kong studies books as well as Chinese titles and Cantonese CDs. “I don’t want my bookshop to just be a gweilo shop. I want it to appeal to everybody.”

“I identify with you guys. This is my place of home and this will probably be the place where I die. I would be proud to be a Hongkonger for the rest of my life,” says Brightman.

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