This is the place where random thoughts and observations are posted. Usually I don't have enough material to expand what are written here into articles. (In most cases, it is probably a good thing that I don't). Usually I make a post whenever some interesting notions hit my head.
Be warned! This may (and probably does) look like an on-line confessional and the things I post here may be even more confusing than my articles and can be quite depressing. So for the sake of your mental health, please set aside your faith in others and optimism before reading these posts.
Enjoy these "short" musings. Hopefully they won't make your head spin or drive you sleepless or confused.
October 4, 2024
The Convenor of the Executive Council, the Hong Kong government's top advisory body, made a post on social media stating that "Israel may be winning its battles against Hamas and Hezbollah, but losing its country." (It was the direct quote.) She then invited Israelis seeking safety to move to Hong Kong, where she claimed that they would "live well and be happy". Everyone knows officials in Hong Kong are desparate to attract talent, foreigners in particular, but would her post backfire? Israelis would wonder if Hong Kong government condones, or even agrees, with her statement. Worse, Israelis may wonder if Hong Kong officials are on the side of Hamas, Hezbollah et al. Westerners would be driven away from, rather than drawn to, the city if that perception holds.
September 28, 2024
The Hong Kong government has announced a series of special deals to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the People's Republic of China. The deals include half-priced movie tickets, free or discounted rides public transport, free use of government sports facilities and museums. A number of restaurants and shops have also rolled out discounts to mark the occassion. Would these giveaways and discounts persuade Hong Kongers to spend their holiday within the city instead of travelling to Shenzhen? (Do officials dare to say spending the day in Hong Kong instead of Shenzhen makes one less patriotic? After all, they frequently encourage Hong Kongers to go the Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area for work and leisure.) Most of the shops offer a 25% discount (or 75% of the original price) for the day. Does that mean the shops would set the price to 76% of the original price (to mark the 76th anniversary) next year? Would there be no discount in 2049 and a price hike of 1% in 2050? Why don't the business owners offer a 75% discount instead? That way the discount would increase each year.
September 17, 2024
Hong Kong's largest journalist organization recently annoucned that journalists, their family and landlords as well as the family's employers have received letters and phone calls, some of which made by individuals claiming to be national security police, "demanding" them to halt their work (for the journalists) or (for others) dissociate themselves from the journalists. Otherwise they risk violating the national security law for the association with the journalists. Some even received death threats (in the form of letters containing knives and crosshairs). How did the letters' senders find the information of the journalists' family, employers and landlords with such ease — in one case, a journalist received threats within hours after returning to the city, with details of one's return. Isn't doxing a criminal act? If the police fails to find and apprenhend those who sent the threats, one may wonder if the infomation was supplied by someone from the government.
September 13, 2024
China failed to score in the first 2 matches in the current round of World Cup qualification tournament. (The team's only goal scored so far was an own goal by a Saudi Arabian player.) Chinese football fans are calling for firing of the team's head coach. The question is, would the coach who follows him do any better? A Hong Kong entertainer has volunteered to become coach and proclaimed that, under his helm, the Chinese team would not just qualify the tournament but reach the last 8. Ignoring the fact that he has no coaching qualifications, he would make matches involving the Chinese national team a must-watch if he is hired — fans would be eager to see how he motivates his players, deflects blame when things go wrong, gets into verbal (and perhaps physical) confrontations with match officials, staff, opposing (or even his own) players, fans and (perhaps) stewards as well as physios. He may even try to subtitute himself into a match. (The only thing preventing that happening is that he has to register himself as a player first.)
September 1, 2024
Recently an ethnic Chinese real estate agent was murdered in Toronto. 3 were arrested for their alledged involvement in the murder, while a 4th suspect has left Canada. Where did the suspect travel to? Hong Kong. One may wonder if this suspect has travelled to mainland China or, like the suspect of another murder case, gone into hiding deep in the woods. Since there is no longer an extradiction agreement between Canada and Hong Kong, the chance of him return is basically zero. If he is arrested in Hong Kong (or turns himself in), chances are that he won't be extradicted back to Canada, as the Hong Kong government would probably demand Canadian authorities to hand over Agnes Chow, an pro-democracy activist currently studying (and effectively exiled) in Canada, in return.
August 30, 2024
6 of 7 defendants were found not guilty in an attempted bomb plot to murder police officers during the 2019 democracy protests by a jury. After the verdict was handed down a senior legal advisor to the government claimed that the defendants should have been tried by a judge alone, instead of having their case heard in a jury trial. Perhaps he (and the government) are seething at the fact that, in jury trials, the case cannot be appealed under the same charge. He claimed that jurors, unlike judges, are not knowledgible of the law and may not be capable of separating personal feelings towards a case and the evidence presented. On the same day, a judge found 2 editors of a new-defunct online media outlet guilty of sedition for posting articles (he claimed) provoking hatred toward local and Chinese authorities. His personal feelings can be found all over the sentence. (Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, as he lauded the defendant of a stabbing case which occurred during the 2019 protests for having "noble qualities".) Sure, it was only one judge, but we have a counterexample to the legal advisor's claims on the same day he made the remark.
August 21, 2024
An open-top bus parade was held this morning to honour the athletes who took part in the Paris Olympics and to celebrate those who medalled. Thousands (10,000 if we are generous) gathered along to route to watch the parade, during which the buses travelled at near-normal speed. Why did officials held the parade on a Wednesday morning, when most people are at work, instead of early evening (or even the weekend), when more people would can see the athletes on person? Why didn't the authorities close the parade route so the buses can travel more slowly so that the atheletes and spectators along the route can see each other better, creating a better atmosphere? Perhaps the authorities are still worried that someone and/or something undesirable (or threats to "national security" or remnants of "black thugs") would emerge if roads are closed for public events（especially on weekends).
August 11, 2024
The much-anticipated (by me, at least) Marathon pour Tous was completed this morning. It was fun to run past so many landmarks (Louvre, Palais Royale, Tour d'Eiffel, les Grand et Petit Palais, Esplanade des Invalides and, of course, the hot air ballon that doubles as the Olympic flame cauldron) at night (with thousands of bystanders cheering on) and run the same course run by the real Olympic marathoners. (I took a few pictures during my run but let's just say my capabilities in running is much superior to that in photography, selfies in particular.) Even if future Olympics try to host such an event, it would not be such impactful or attractive — how can any other city pack so many landmarks into a course? It shows that a large-scale running event can be held in a major city at night — one of my suggestion to improve the Hong Kong marathon is to change it to a night race — without much interuption to others. My only complaint is that the organizers could have provided more directions on how to get to the nearest transportation post-event.
August 1, 2024
The Paris Olympics is not yet half over and Hong Kong already match the gold medal haul from the Tokyo Olympics, with Cheung Ka-Long becoming the first Hong Konger to win multiple Olympic gold. Meanwhile Siobhán Haughey became the first Hong Konger to win multiple medals in two separate Olympic games. It is perhaps a little suprising that no (prominent) government and pro-Beijing figure, who often attach themselves to sucessful athelete like leeches, has associated the recent Olympic success (3 golds, 2 silvers and 5 bronzes in Tokyo and Paris) with the implementation of the national security law and "improvements" to the legislative and district council election (Hong Kong has won a grand total of 3 medals — 1 of each colour — before Tokyo 2020/2021) — "See? Now that the troublemakers are safely in prison or have fled in fear, the athletes are free to perform better. Now that is a benefit of 'from order to prosperity'."
July 27, 2024
Almost 2 weeks ago Argentina won the Copa America. The Argentina Football Fan Club (Hong Kong) had planned to hold a open-top bus parade. However, the plan was scrapped after the club concluded that it would be very difficult to obtain a Notice of No Objecton, without which a public event cannot be legally held, from the police. During a meeting between the club and the police, officers expressed concerns of "the turnout, the attendees' identity and true motive". The fact that such a club would hold such a high-profile is strange enough — why would someone from one country form a fan club for the national team for another? But the police's response is even more difficult to understand. (This should have been a completely apolitical event.) Perhaps the police officers reviewing the application concluded that the event might be "hijacked" by those with "ulterior motives", such as
July 19, 2024
Earlier this week the Consumer Council published a test report on bottled water. Bottled water produced by Nongfu Springs, a prominent Chinese brand, received 4.5 stars in spite of exceeding EU standard in bromate. An executive of Nongfu Springs went to the Consumer Council's office with a legal letter threatening legal action for tarnishing the company's image. The letter accused the Consumer Council of using the inappropriate standard. The company claimed that its product should be considered "natural drinking water" instead of "natural mineral water" (the Consumer Council's original classification) or "purified drinking water", which follow a more stringent standard. Yesterday the Consumer Conucil issued an apology to Nongfu Springs and regraded the company's product to 5 stars. Thanks to this, the Consumer Council's credibility would be wiped out. Would the Consumer Council give 5 stars to every product it tests from now on? Otherwise executives of product manufactureres with less-than-perfect grade would swarm the Consumer Council with lawsuit threats and perhaps even demands for compensation.
July 7, 2024
First a giant inflatable heart was hoisted, then inflatable eggs were "laid" on land and in the sea, and now inflatable world wonders (the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pyramid of Giza, Arc de Triomphe, Stonehenge, statues of Easter Island) are blown up in central Hong Kong. All 3 exhibits are considered mega events aimed to attract tourists to the city. Perhaps I am jaded, but holding 3 different inflatable exhibits within 6 months is a case of too much, too soon — people may get excited by the first exhibit, but one would have a feeling of "What? Again?" during the third exhibit. One may also ask if the organizers should recreate the miniature parks, full of inflatable world wonders, popular in my youth — since you Hong Kongers love the 1980's that much, I'll bring you something from that era.