Although I now live in London, I was actually born in Hong Kong and raised there during the 1980s. My parents, who are both Chinese, were pretty strict with me – good behaviour and hard work at school were both expected without question.
Like so many other Asian children, the method for keeping me obedient was the cane. I can’t ever remember my parents ever using their hands to spank my bottom – even my earliest recollections of corporal punishment, at around four years old, are of the cane being used.