The Chicken

Just like M Night Shyamalan's movies that sometimes start with "The" (The Sixth Sense, The Village, The Happening), I'd like to start a movie about chicken in Hong Kong.

It's because on many occasions, chicken has been part of the headlines every now and then. Hong Kong was the scene of the first modern bird flu outbreak to cross the species barrier in 1997 when the disease infected 18 people, killing six.

Much more than just the Kentucky Fried Cruelty ploy, the mention about chicken is a seasonal trend that has always haunted Hong Kong everytime it strikes.

The latest scare prompted the government to order a territory-wide culling of chicken and involved a billion Hong Kong dollars in compensation to chicken traders. This means that if I eat chicken meat today, most probably it is frozen or chilled and not freshly killed. Of course, the latter tastes better and restaurants are expected to lower the price of their "not so delicious" chicken menu.

The $1 billion compensation though doesn't seem enough for the traders. It has been reported that chicken farmers may release live poultry into the streets of Hong Kong to protest against anti-bird flu measures that will shut down their businesses, a news report said Saturday.

Asked what the action would involve, Chicken Breeders Assocation chairman Wong Yee-chuen told the newspaper: '(We may) release our chickens in the streets.'

An outbreak of bird flu in markets in Hong Kong earlier this month led to the slaughter of thousands of chickens and the temporary closure of poultry markets.

That plan if materialized could spell disaster.

Which is why The Chicken is a certified horror movie. One of the gory scene will a hen and chicks watching a poor fellow chicken grilled in an oven.

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