Mirror — A Reflection

Canadian Dancer Moses Li and his relationship with Mirror.

Written by Maggie Sonto Lo

With edits by Fête Chinoise editorial team

Image of Moses Li Kai-Yin with his family, from instagram.

H

as it only been 12 days since the accident that halted the highly anticipated and sold out concert series of Mirror, Hong Kong’s top boy band group? It definitely feels like it just happened yesterday, and fans are still holding tickets that would have been a fabulous night of music at the famed Coliseum. But at the same time, it has been too long of a nightmare for the family of the injured, for the members of the band who are their friends, and for loyal followers of the group. I speak from a first person perspective that this incident has had a larger emotional impact on me than I could ever imagine.

fan made poster, to pray for the injured dancers. image from instagram, @sw_mirrorweare.

A Canadian dancer, Moses Li Kai-Yin, known Ah Mo, was severely injured and still in intensive care after a series of operations after being hit by a giant 4m x 4m video screen that crashed down from the ceiling of the concert hall, mid-performance. Videos and news went viral that night, and I regret watching the first and only clip of it. The TV screen fell down during the song Elevator, landed on Ah Mo and knocked him flat on the ground, seemingly crushing him. My mind went blank and my hands started shaking. The image of the whole occurrence kept flashing in my head and for the first time in my life, I wish I had never seen anything like this, and I can only imagine how it must have felt for him, and the shock for fans sitting in the live audience to watch the horror and have to leave the building stunned. Without exaggeration, the past week has been miserable for me, as I have never experienced so many episodes of anxiety, sadness and fear before. I wake up every morning with flashbacks and I would pick up my phone in hope to come across updates on Moses. I haven’t listened to any of the Mirror songs since the accident and I tried to avoid seeing any kinds of pictures and videos of their concerts. I avoid any types of news, music, social media about Mirror. Could you imagine how much damage it has on the audience members who were at the scene? I suddenly feel slightly grateful that I was unable to get their concert ticket, the one thing I wanted most this year. People ‘lined up’ online for over 12 hours for a slim chance to get one ticket. I used seven devices to queue online but had no luck, yet I was ready to book that expensive flight and go through the hotel quarantine requirement to see my favourite boy band perform. Now I can’t imagine how damaged I would have been if I was one of the first hand witnesses.

Moses Li Kai-Yin and his friends from dance studio, image for instagram.

Why does this matter to a Canadian living in Toronto anyway? For this matter to make it past news channels and onto a platform about culture and identity?

Let me share my personal perspective which I believe represents a collective one that is shared amongst many Chinese immigrants with roots in Hong Kong, across all generations.

I am a ‘Sonto’ and I truly admire Anson Lo – one of the twelve talented musicians and performers of boy band sensation MIRROR from Hong Kong. Boy bands have a lot of power when it comes to making an impression, especially for young audiences no matter what nationality (America’s N’Sync and Backstreet Boys from the 2000’s, Korea’s BTS which is now so influential that the White House invites them to do campaigns, or British boy band One Direction). But Mirror is extra special because they come from a place where boy bands had not yet become international sensations and a place, my home, which needed the uniting force of a boy band to represent its culture after years of political shake ups, Covid restrictions and the need for pop culture revival.

Moses Li Kai-Yin on stage dancing, image from instagram.

I have not paid much attention to Cantopop for more than a decade and I’m a late Mirror follower as I didn’t discover their existence until 2021, yet my devotion —or some may call it a crazy addiction—never stopped since. To be frank, I still don’t believe sometimes that I am capable of falling in love with a group of Hong Kong local boys in their 20s or early 30s, at least my husband aka ‘ex-husband’ (an endearing title for husbands of Mirror fans) still is in denial. But how could you not love them? We witness them trying extremely hard all the time and giving their 120% to their passion for performance – singing, songwriting, dancing, acting… They might not be perfect and still have a lot to work on as budding talents, yet they have stayed true to themselves and delivered an authentic and needed energy to fans globally. They have never given up despite the challenges which are well documented on social media and and have been holding on to their belief and passion despite the skepticism that bars any Chinese boy band from being successful and cool — this is a stereotype that has limited the community for as long as we can remember. These boys are not merely some fling or just pretty faces, but they represent something far greater: Cantonese culture, identity and hope in recent years of dismal spirit. A lot of Hong Kongers have identified that it is time to restore our faith for the genre through this new arise boy band. It has been a while since Hong Kongers felt unity, being pulled apart by the years of protest, politics, hardships, and economy challenges of the pandemic.

It’s not too far fetched to say that every Hong Konger should at least consider taking pride no matter where you are now. Do you live in Hong Kong, Toronto, Vancouver, London, New York, Los Angeles? The list goes on as to where the diaspora has scattered those who identity with the city as their home. But no matter where you live, Mirror is worth a read of an article and worth your attention because they have done their work in part for you. They were not afraid to show vulnerability and reveal their weaknesses via reality shows such as Be A Better Mirror and they have shown their commitment in areas to improve. They are not just a pop culture phenomenon, but they have used their influence to encourage audiences and fans to be true to themselves, to keep going and pushing. They send positive energy to many who need that affirmation from the personalities, role models and celebrities in media that they consume.

This incident might be a stumble in their journey, as the tragedy has harmed not only the dancers who were injured but also every one of the band members psychologically. It has also impacted fans and concert goers in different ways. What this moment can show us is how to be respectful (especially on social media), supportive of the dancers and all performers and celebrate the small milestones these artists have achieved. You do not need to be attracted to them but you can be inspired by their desire to strike for the best – that’s the spirit of Hong Kongers. Let them be who we may have feared to become and allow them to fly as high as they can so that they can do more good. They lifted the spirits of many households in the past few years and that momentum is something we want to keep alive.

Image of Moses Li Kai-Yin with the mirror band, image from instagram.

Canadian Dancer Moses Li and his relationship with Mirror.

There were two injured dancers during performance and one of them in serious condition: Ah Mo (Moses) is one of the dancers whom I followed on social media and he is a Torontonian. Ah Mo is a close friend of Anson Lo, one of the lead members of Mirror. They met in their university orientation back in 2013. It was during these formative years that they decided to dance together by joining the university dance club. Both of them then participated in ‘King Maker,” a competition and reality television show. Ah Mo was known for his talent in dancing and violin, but ultimately didn’t get chosen to be a part of the boy band. However, even though Ah Mo didn’t end up being selected as an official member, he has been the key dancer in all of Anson Lo’s and other Mirror members’ music videos.

Moses Li Kai-Yin and Anson Lo on stage, Image from instagram.

Ah Mo is the youngest in his family, with one sister and brother. He has a great relationship with his family and Ah Mo is known to be an individual with perseverance and courage raised by his father. Recently due to the accident, I learned that his dad Reverend Dr. Derek Li (李盛林主任牧師) is serving at a large and widely known church in the Scarborough community in Toronto, which brings this story to a whole new level of relevance. His situation hits home in many ways. As a Chinese-Canadian, I admire his courage to pursue his dreams in Hong Kong, a very competitive and fast-paced environment thousands of miles away from the comforts of his family and home in Toronto.

His parents flew back to Hong Kong immediately after the incident, and they have asked for our prayers. Many of my friends who aren’t Mirror admirers are troubled by the event too. The coming days of Moses' journey to healing will be tough, which will undoubtedly impact the members of the band who care deeply for their friend. There are a lot of uncertainties ahead, which reminds me of the lyrics from one of their songs —

One and All

‘Walk with me in the ups and downs, being challenged and tested; 
(沿途高低伴我走過, 同考驗與消磨)

if I am in misery, you can see through to my heart more than I am able; (
假使我 難受過, 你看透我竟比我多)

you feel weary on your journey, but you will be stronger. 
(如不安 伴你經過 便能硬朗)

We are one and all, We are one and all.’

I am proud to declare myself a dedicated ‘Sonto,’ a ‘MIRO’ and a Hong Konger at heart. My hope is that this incident can be made into some good, whereby more music lovers of any ethnicity and young people looking for role models can be made aware of Mirror if they had not heard of them before. Or perhaps like me, a fellow Hong Kong immigrant living around the world, many of you may have tuned out Cantopop as a genre for a while, holding onto only Jacky Cheung or Eason Chan’s music from the days of CD’s and VCD’s and looking for some upbeat 廣東歌. I invite you to look in the Mirror and find something that re-ignites your heart for your identity!

‘Add oil’ to all my men and let’s stay together! - Alton Wong Chi-tak, Anson Kong Ip-sang, Anson Lo Hon-ting, Edan Lui Cheuk-on, Frankie Chan Sui-fai, Ian Chan Cheuk-yin, Jeremy Lau Ying-ting, Jeremy Lee Chun-kit, Keung To, Lokman Yeung, Stanley Yau Sze-chun and Tiger Yau Ngo-yin.

About Maggie Sonto Lo

I was born in a very small town in Ontario, Canada and moved back to Hong Kong when I was little. Our family came back when I was 11 and I decided to move back and work in Hong Kong for a couple of years. I’ve recently returned again and became a Sonto since February 2021, as well as MIRO since they formed.

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