Words Hamish McKenzie

She has three popular radio shows, two new books and a successful blog. And she writes lyrics for Cantopop stars. But that’s not enough for Jessie You See Hand. She also wants to save your soul.

At two in the morning on Sundays, you can find Jessie You See Hand in a radio booth, speaking to people half a world away. On Ultimate 903 Commercial Radio it’s Psychedelic Sunday, and she’s the host. She asks listeners to interact on the station’s online message board over points of cultural difference, self-reflection, and other matters related to the heart. Of course, at that time of the day – or, as most would see it, night – there’s not going to be to an overwhelming number of local listeners, but through the Internet broadcast
she can reach Cantonese-speaking audiences in the UK, North America and further abroad, where the time slot is more palatable.

Encouraged by the debate the show generates, she finds it heartening that it attracts both adults and teenagers. “Maybe that’s not really a breakthrough, but I try to make better use of the media to help people’s minds and souls,” says the petite 29-year-old, who has a degree in journalism and communications with a minor in psychology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. That surname, You See Hand, is a phonetic translation of her Chinese pen-name, meaning ‘Wander, Think, Action’ – which she sees as three defining steps in life.

But let’s just call her Jessie. Jessie has two more early shows with similar themes – on Sundays from 6:30am to 9:30am, and Saturdays from 6am to 9am. And no, she has no trouble staying awake. She’s kept so busy, she doesn’t even have time for a toilet break.

However, her voice isn’t confined to the airwaves. She has a spin-off blog, Psyche Park, which attracts 600 visitors a day, and she recently launched two books – also aimed at soothing the soul. The first, The Depressed Little Prince, started its life on an educational website for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP). The animated tale tells of a young prince who can only see dark clouds that never part. But, after he seeks help and learns more about himself, light breaks through and he heads off merrily on the path to recovery. The project, for which Jessie was a major creative force, was a great success. “She did an excellent job,” says King-wa Fu, the project’s executive producer. The Depressed Little Prince won a number of awards, including a Silver at the 2005 Asian Innovation Awards, and the Most Creative Website Award from the Hong Kong government’s Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority. Fu says the awards’ panellists made special mention of the website’s creativity.

The Depressed Little Prince quickly attracted the attention of publishers, but a book deal had already been arranged through the CSRP. So when Ming Pao approached with an offer to publish, Jessie had to say no – but she was working on another project with an artist friend. And so was born Café Escape, a story about a man who escapes the stresses of his daily life by sharing his problems with the staff of a mysterious café. The short book of cute, quirky sketches comes with a CD on which Jessie tells the story over dreamy instrumentals. Sales haven’t exactly been hot, perhaps because of a lack of promotion, but she’s not too worried. “I think it could be enduring, so I’m not upset about the problems of promotion,” she says.

However, promotion hasn’t been a problem for the Cantopop songs she writes for artists such as Vincy Chan and Fiona Sit. She has built a solid reputation in the music industry, but it’s taken five years – about the same length of time she’s hosted the radio shows. Writing for Cantopop is a challenge, she says, because of the tonal nature of Cantonese, and because the songs have to be linked to new trends and ideas in society. Plus: “You have to use a lot of metaphors.”

Cantopop lyricist, author, radio host, and blogger – it’s an impressive effort for a girl from a modest background who says she was never happy in school. She wasn’t popular, preferring books to socialising: “I was the kind of girl who never talked.” Now that she’s found answers to why she was unhappy, she wants to talk a lot. “I try my best to let people understand the good things in this world,” she says. Two years ago, she converted to Christianity – she’s more interested in the tenets of faith, hope and love than the life of Jesus – but that’s not what drives her. “I don’t have any big aim or motivation behind me. I just live for today, in a sense. So when I see what I can do, I just do it.”