West meets East for Aussie expat
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Before his first tour to Hong Kong back in 1995, Daniel Szuc had not planned to revisit the place. A couple of years later, however, he not only came back but also got married and settled down in this Asian metropolis more than 7,000 kilometers from his hometown in Australia.
Living in Hong Kong for 22 years, Szuc has found his element in a life of cultural infusion and aims to use his unique advantages to connect people from the East and West.
鈥淢y first impression of Hong Kong was like electricity, energy and a sparkle ... and high possibility,鈥 Szuc said, recalling his Hong Kong trip. He immediately realized that the place could be a perfect arena for young people like him to stretch their wings.
Hong Kong offers a precious opportunity to do business, meet people of different cultures and understand more about the Chinese mainland, he said. 鈥淭hat diversity and opportunity just wasn鈥檛 always as equal or available in Australia.鈥
In 1999, Szuc decided to move to Hong Kong and has worked and lived here since then.
Over the past two decades, he set up a consulting and training platform Make Meaningful Work as a co-founder, married a Hong Kong woman, who was his college classmate in Melbourne.
Having already seen Hong Kong as his home, Szuc was saddened by the rampant destruction during the social unrest in 2019 and was glad to see that the national security law had restored peace and order in the city.
鈥淵ou could almost feel on the day it (the law) was implemented that there was a sense of calm and restoration brought back to the city ... and it has become more peaceful,鈥 he said.
Szuc said it was a huge relief for him to know that 鈥減eople can get on and enjoy their lives again in Hong Kong.鈥
Szuc鈥檚 wife played a vital role in helping him blend into the life of Hong Kong and understand the Chinese traditions.
Although the couple has different cultural backgrounds, they have managed to avoid cultural friction and build a fantastic relationship. Szuc believes the secret lies in mutual respect.
鈥淲e have enormous respect for each other鈥檚 cultural heritage and we are both continuous learners open to improvement,鈥 he said.
Szuc still remembered the bitter taste of the Chinese herbal medicine when he tried it for the first time. 鈥淏ut I was well aware of the sustainable benefits in the short and longer term,鈥 he said. 鈥淭o understand another culture, you have to be willing and open to try things you鈥檝e never tried before.鈥
He has become accustomed to taking herbal broth and intrigued by the spirit of Chinese healing. 鈥淭he idea of the restoration of balance inside the body is amazing,鈥 Szuc said.
Over the years, Szuc鈥檚 wife has exposed him to various Chinese traditions. To help him learn more, she found a master to give him a Chinese name, Song Qifeng, which matches his personality of being fearless and courageous.
鈥淚鈥檝e lived almost half my life in China ... I almost feel in many respects more Chinese than Western,鈥 Szuc said.
Szuc and his wife traveled a lot on the Chinese mainland, from the metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai to some smaller cities.
鈥淓very time I went somewhere new, I was pleasantly surprised at the growth and the development of the cities. What鈥檚 beautiful is the interplay between the old and the new coming together,鈥 he said.
Szuc believes he and Hong Kong have many resemblances.
While Hong Kong serves as an integrator and bridge between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world, Szuc, in his years of living here, has also been striving to connect people of different cultures.
Born and raised in Australia, Szuc preferred to call himself a 鈥渃ultural guide鈥 who can offer both western and Chinese lenses.
鈥淭here cannot be (only) one model in the world. There cannot be one economic model, one cultural model, one language. The world is way more interesting than that and it鈥檚 more complex,鈥 he said, adding that is why people from different civilizations should learn from each other in the face of global challenges.
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