We can’t quite figure out if this was a cruel prank or not, but the Hong Kong Fire Services Department dashed the hopes of thousands of fans of their mascot “Anyone” by announcing that the faceless blue do-gooder would be performing live.
A post on the service’s Facebook page published in the early hours of this morning tells fans to click the link below for more information about the “Just Shock It” tour.
https://www.facebook.com/hkfsd.gov.hk/photos/a.2399314113474117/2722929411112584/?type=3&theater
The link redirects users to a YouTube video featuring three men dressed as Anyone performing a song about how great Anyone is and how easy it is to use fire extinguishers and AEDs.
Then, after whipping viewers into a frenzy of excitement at the prospect of an Anyone tour, the video cruelly ends with the trio making the “finger heart” sign at the camera and saying, “Happy April Fool’s Day!”
The video is a nod to a scene from Stephen Chow’s 2001 kung fu comedy Shaolin Soccer, in which Chow — playing a monk on a mission to bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses — convinces his bar employee brother to perform a duet singing the praises of Shaolin kung fu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DGvblpXgE&frags=pl%2Cwn
The Fire Department wasn’t the only emergency service to get into the April Fool’s Day spirit — though they may have been the only ones to actually understand it.
Not to be outdone, the Police Force also put out an April Fool’s message, albeit one that was less of a prank and more of a PSA about not being scammed.
In the video, an unsuspecting victim receives an audio message from a man claiming to be Cantopop superstar and actor Leon Lai, who says he has been held against his will by a rich woman from the mainland who wants him to film a TV drama.
小編今朝收到段錄音，聲稱香港歌手黎明被內地富婆操控拍劇，急住叫大家幫手俾贖金，等佢可以返香港出席金像獎頒獎典禮！
有冇機會喺短片見到黎明? #愚人節快樂
“Leon Lai” is asking for my help? What should I do? Wait ! Let’s take a look at real Leon Lai’s advice first ! pic.twitter.com/cr81p46opB
— Hong Kong Police Force (@hkpoliceforce) April 1, 2019
In the audio message, “Lai” pleads for the victim to send ransom money so that he can return to the SAR in time to attend the Hong Kong Film Awards.
After receiving the money, the purported Lai — revealed in fact to be a pair of schlubby scammers — block the starstruck victim, and move on to their next: a man that “looks like Andy Lau.”
The man, of course, turns out to be the real Lai, who hangs up and says, “They’re pretending to be me to scam people,” before musing aloud, “When did I win an award?”
(For those of you who missed the joke, Lai has been nominated for best actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards three times, but has never won.)
