Chinese Art Collector Shot Dead

Guy and Myriam Ullens at the opening of UCCA in 2007

The art world is in shock following the death of Myriam Ullens, who was allegedly shot fatally by her step-son, Nicolas Ullens. Myriam Ullens was the wife of Guy Ullens, and the couple were well known for their massive collection of contemporary Chinese art. Myriam was 70.

The couple were in their car outside their home in the village of Ohain, south of Brussels when her step-son allegedly fired at her and she died at the scene; Guy Ullens survived the shooting. 

Nicolas and Myriam were apparently in a protracted dispute regarding the issue of inheritance.

Xu Bing's A Book from the Sky at UCCA

The Ullens' made a huge splash in the art scene in Beijing when they opened the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art in 2007, and I attended the opening with colleagues when I worked at China Daily. 

We interviewed the couple and took in the extensive collection of art shown all over a renovated factory space in the 798 Art District.

Most memorable was Xu Bing's A Book from the Sky, featuring long scrolls suspended in the air, and numerous "ancient" books opened up to reveal a made up of 4,000 invented characters. They cannot be decoded, which raises fundamental questions about the Chinese identity and its relationship to the written word. 

The exhibition was fantastical with paintings, sculptures, installations, videos. One involved visitors going on a slide and seeing psychedelic colours along the way.

It was all quite a surprise to see this Belgian couple just open a museum in China, and not surprisingly it went through a lot of financial problems. Ten years later they sold the museum to a group of investors. They could have just sold the artwork at auction, but perhaps felt it best to keep the museum going if possible.

The museum is in a former Beijing factory space

Philip Tinari, the UCCA director released a statement on Thursday:

"The vision and passion of Myriam Ullens -- her love for art, belief in cultural exchange and commitment to helping others -- are at the core of UCCA's history and values. We are shocked and saddened by her death, and will remember her strength, style, creativity and generosity as we carry forward the work of the institution that she and Guy so generously founded and nurtured through its first decade."

She was born in Cologne, Germany, and worked in the food industry before marrying Guy in 1999, a Belgian businessman and baron. She had a fashion brand and had philanthropic interests.

Nicolas Ullens was apparently a former Belgian state security agent and is one of Guy Ullens' four children.

Mainland Tourists Flooding Back to HK

Tourists visit West Kowloon, but not M+ and Palace Museum

Back in 2013 there were a growing chorus of complaints from Hongkongers when the city was flooded with mainland tourists dining in residential areas like Hung Hom and Tokwawan, tour buses clogging the streets and pharmacies had to limit the amount of milk powder they sold to each customer.

Ten years later it's deja-vu with the mainland visitors back and doing the same things. Many are retirees who haven't been to Hong Kong before and want to see what's so great about this former British colony.

Why are tourists eating rice boxes on the street

Perhaps what's most shocking is how cheap their tour packages are.

When interviewed by a reporter, one said their trip was HK$3,288 including accommodation for two days in Hong Kong, a day trip to Macau, and a day each in Shenzhen and Guangzhou..

Another said their tour cost HK$1,888 for a five-day trip, including accommodation for two days in Hong Kong, two in Macau, and tickets to Ocean Park.

For a seven-day trip with two days each in Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, the package costs HK$2,588 each.

You can eat a dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong for that cost!

Many of these tours stop in restaurants in Hung Hom and Tokwawan for lunch. There were complaints by residents that some tourists standing as they ate rice boxes on the street, cigarette butts were all over the sidewalks, and tour buses caused traffic jams.

How is having tourists eating rice boxes on the street hospitable? Yes it cuts costs, but how does that give a decent impression of the city? It's downright deplorable. There's cheap and then there's unsightly.

A photo with the Golden Bauhinia is a must

Meanwhile other residents were relieved to finally see tourists coming to the city to inject some money into the economy.

Nevertheless because these tour packages are so cheap, it's no wonder they didn't have tickets to go to M+ and the Palace Museum, two new landmarks within a stone's throw of each other on West Kowloon that opened up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps these tourists are not the kind of visitors these museums would appreciate? Funny, as they are both government run... one would have thought they would warmly welcome these mainlanders in to see real quality art?

The bottom line is -- are these the kinds of tourists Hong Kong wants to have? Are they really going to jump-start the tourism sector? 

Review: Navalny

Opening scene of Navalny, following the politician's career

On Monday I went to watch the matinee screening of Navalny, which recently won Best Documentary in the Academy Awards. Most of the audience were seniors and at one point I thought I was the youngest in the room, and then some people in their 20s walked in.

Alexi Navalny is? was? the official opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He is a charismatic lawyer and politician, tall, handsome, has a wry sense of humour and loves his wife Yulia, as well as their two children.

The film starts with director Daniel Roher asking, so if you die, what message would you like to leave for the people? Navalny says we're not going to make a movie about my death. It's going to be a thriller.

Roher felt a duty to film as much as possible

Roher says in interviews the film was set up to be a thriller from the get-go -- he wanted to do it when he followed the news of Navalny's poisoning in Siberia and was recovering in Germany.

That's where the Canadian director started filming Navalny, tracing his career as a politician, offering a viable alternative to Putin and inspiring millions of Russians to stand up to the authoritarian regime.

Roher has said he was very aware of filming a politician who knows how to use social media and make videos, which is why Navalny the documentary is a well rounded portrait of the man, showing a wide range of emotions and situations from him convulsing on a plane to joking with his daughter.

As a result Roher asks provoking questions, particularly about Navalny associating with far right groups with Nazi leanings. Navalny answers them in a way that makes viewers squeamish about him standing together with these people, but at the same time understanding his need to reach out to all stakeholders regardless of their political views.

Viewers get to know Navalny's team who do investigative stories on Putin, and meet an outsider, Christo Grozev, chief investigator for Bellingcat, an online investigative journalism group.

The moment Navalny gets shocking intelligence

Grozev is Bulgarian but has worked in the media in Russia, speaks Russian and admits he is a computer nerd. He investigates Navalny's poisoning and through analysing phone logs and flight passenger lists, is able to name the people who tried to kill Navalny.

The most dramatic scene is a tense 15 minutes watching Navalny call up some of these people trying to get them to tell him why they did this to him and how. Two or three recognise his voice; Navalny changes tack and pretends to be the deputy of a commander and needs to know the details of the botched assassination attempt to write up for a report.

A man who is a specialist in making chemical weapons is sick at home with Covid-19 and not in the right frame of mind begins to tell Navalny how it all transpired...

There is also palpable tension watching Navalny when he takes a flight home to Moscow, journalists filming him through the whole flight. The constant barrage of cameras is vital to witness how he is whisked away at passport control. Did he know that would be the last time he would hug and kiss his wife? Did he think he would be let off easily? Or was he prepared for this all along?

Grozev is on Russia's most wanted list

Meanwhile protesters at the airport waiting for Navalny are roughed up and arrested by the police -- it is a terrifying reminder of how protesters were treated in Hong Kong in 2019, and how repressive these two regimes are. One Russian protester taken away demands to know what she has done wrong and none of the officers reply. Others have their arms twisted and broken as they are taken away.

Today Navalny is in solitary confinement in a gulag in Siberia, with hardly any contact with his family for months now. He is allowed two books to read and once a day can write with a pencil and paper for half an hour. There is no sign of when his sentence will end, nor if he can even have civilian doctors treat him for his back pains. He had flu symptoms before and has lost a lot of weight. 

His lawyer managed to tell him that he had won an Oscar.

American-educated daughter Daria has told CNN's Anderson Cooper that the government is slowly killing her father.

Meanwhile Putin has put Grozev on Russia's most wanted list, making it very stressful for him to travel and do his work, but he is undeterred in continuing to cover more injustices. 

Yulia gives a message to her husband at Oscars

At the Oscars, Yulia, who is considered the unofficial first lady of Russia, wore red -- her signature colour, meant to invoke Russia. 

"My husband is in prison just for defending democracy," she said before addressing her husband directly: "Alexi, I am dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love. Thank you."

Navalny

Directed by Daniel Roher

98 minutes

Kissa Tanto's Creative Dishes

Beautifully plated octopus salad, pickled radish at Kissa Tanto

A friend of mine who enjoys dining out managed to snag a reservation at the Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto, which features an eclectic mix of Japanese-French ingredients and cooking styles. Our reservation was for 6pm and when I arrived at the address, which is in Chinatown, there were two other women wanting to go into the restaurant, but two homeless people were sitting on the doorstep.

"Oh sorry, excuse me," one of them said politely and removed her things from the step. They were gone after I had climbed the long stairway and looked back at the door. Not surprising the restaurant needs to put a gate on the door during the day...

Charcoal udon with crab, prawns and squid

Upstairs it's a quaint slightly old school, slightly hipster space with a bar at the front, and dining room to the back that faces Pender Street. The first round was already underway when we sat down and perused the menu. 

The staff suggest sharing everything and for two people, two to three appetisers and two mains, but we went for two appetisers and three mains (after two mains I was just full, the third was definitely filling).

For starters the carne cruda (CA$25) is beef tartare using Snake River Farms wagyu mixed with nashi pear, and tons of finely shaved Parmesan on top -- so much so that it covers the entire beef tartare like a mound of cream-coloured snow. 

A bit excessive for a dish that's supposed to focus on the beef.

However, the octopus salad (CA$25) was memorable. Beautifully plated like a colourful wreath, it featured bits of crispy octopus -- pan fried with lots of pickled radish slices in a parsley and chilli puree. Very refreshing and different textures.

Sablefish with marinated currants, pine nuts

Our plates were cleared before the mains arrived. The sablefish (CA$47) was another lovely presentation but my only complaint was the portion was so small! A tiny portion of the gorgeous fish that was perfectly cooked and paired with oyster mushrooms, a slight kick of chilli and pine nuts for another texture.

We also had the charcoal udon (CA$49), the thick noodle made with spelt so that it can have an al dente texture and coloured black, with bits of Dungeness crab, prawns and squid. 

After we finished these mains, I was just full, but my friend was hungry for more and ordered the spaghettoni (CA$35). It's basically a Japanese-Italian pasta with wagyu and pork ragu sauce mixed with Japanese curry. Again this dish was completely covered in shaved Parmesan, but in the case of this pasta dish it was warranted. Mixing the cheese in made it much more creamier and richer.

Now I was full, and the waiter told us we only had 15 minutes left before we had to return the table, even though there were two or three empty tables around us that were soon filled.

Spaghettoni with wagyu, pork and Japanese curry

So we called it a night, with drinks it came to about CA$120 each plus tips. It was a hefty amount, but creative dishes. Still thinking about the octopus salad.

Kissa Tanto

263 East Pender Street

Vancouver, BC

778 379 8078

Coopting Leslie and Anita, 20 Years Later

What do fans think of this government tribute, 20 years later?

Hard to believe but 20 years ago on April 1, Hong Kong lost one of its brightest stars, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, a talented Cantopop singer and actor. Later that year in December, Anita Mui Yim-fong passed away from cancer. 

I was not in Hong Kong at the time -- a friend was so distraught he sent me copies of the Chinese newspapers covering Cheung's suicide at the Mandarin Oriental in Central in 2003. 

Fans used to remember Cheung every April 1

Since then every April 1, fans have bouquets of flowers sent to the outside of the hotel where a makeshift memorial is set up every year.

Fans come to take pictures of the flowers that have messages telling "Gor Gor" how much they miss him.

However last year with the national security law in place, the police made it very difficult for fans to even gather. Plainclothes police shooed people away, and they could only take a quick picture of themselves holding their flowers by the hotel and then leave.

This year it seems the government wants to take advantage of the two-decade anniversary with the first annual "Pop Culture Festival" with the slogan "Let's Pop"... 

Let's pop???!!!

What does "Let's Pop" mean?

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has organised the extravaganza to celebrate the glory days of Cantopop in the 1980s and 1990s. There will also be a "Miss You Much Leslie Cheung Exhibition" at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to remember the much-loved star, while a concert will be held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Cheung and Mui will also be celebrated in a show called "When Leslie and Anita Meet Hei & Gin", featuring some of the two performers' greatest hits at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.

It is rather macabre for the government to resurrect these two stars from the dead in the hopes of reviving Hong Kong's fortunes. Fans should be given the opportunity to remember them the way they want to commemorate their favourite performers. Were fan groups notified about these massive initiatives? 

Also -- why is Hong Kong looking to the past when it should be looking to the future? The authorities seem to be politicising these two performers, using their names and reputations to earn street cred.

When a "Pop Culture Festival" says, "Let's Pop", it's just popping pathetic...

Protest Art Censored in HK

No Rioters was shown on the massive outdoor screen at Sogo

Art Basel is wrapping up today in Hong Kong after what seems like a pretty successful comeback with 177 galleries and 86,000 visitors, but it wasn't without controversies.

One of them involved a digital art installation on the giant outdoor screen of Sogo department store in Causeway Bay that was taken down apparently because of censorship.

The work was called No Rioters by American Patrick Amadon. Shouldn't the title have given a hint of what it was about? And who at Sogo was the one who allowed the piece to be shown there?

The work shows a surveillance camera filming

Or perhaps Amadon shouldn't have said anything?

That's because he revealed in the mostly red and black digital art display, there are flashes of computer coding that reveal the names, ages and jail terms of Hongkongers who were convicted for their participation in the 2019 protests.

The art installation, which mainly shows a surveillance camera swivelling around, was one of several shown on the massive outdoor screen.

No Rioters refers to the protesters who demanded the authorities drop their characterisation of the demonstrators as "rioters".

Amadon told a Hong Kong media outlet that he wanted to express solidarity with Hongkongers who were "doomed to fail against the resources of the government, yet so many protest[ed] and fought back anyway."

"Don't want the sacrifices, principles and people who participated to be forgotten. The world has moved onto art this week. Think this is a good opportunity to remind everyone of what Hong Kong has become and the tragedy so many are ignoring," he said, adding that the flashes of computer code represented protesters as a "glitch in the government matrix."

Flashes of code show names and ages of convicted protesters

The Los Angeles-based artist was not concerned about his safety because he was not in Hong Kong, but five days after the installation was put up, No Rioters was taken down.

It was unclear if the government was involved in the decision to remove the art work, but surely Sogo senior executives must have been terrified.

Nevertheless it gave Amadon an opportunity to show that Hong Kong had lost its freedom of expression and artistic freedom.

"This objectively shows that they are no longer here in the same way that they once were," he said. "From a narrative standpoint, I mean, it did have to get censored and taken down, I feel like, to be a completed piece."

He's made his point loud and clear artistically and politically...

Wear Dog Collar, Can Protest in HK

Police stipulate no masks and wear numbered tags to protest

To hold a protest in Hong Kong in a post-national security law environment is getting harder and more outrageous.

A group of homeowners in Tseung Kwan O want to hold a rally protesting the proposed reclamation for building "obnoxious facilities", such as garbage collection stations.

While the group did get the green light from the police to hold the protest, they need to meet some requirements -- not to wear masks, but wear tags around their necks to "prevent criminals from mixing".

The days of mass protests are over in Hong Kong

Bad elements are going to hijacks a protest about refuse collection stations?

First the authorities think this protest is going to get out of hand and wants to be able to identify everyone for filming purposes;

Not only that, the protesters need to wear number tags around their necks like animals to certify they are legitimate rabble rousers. 

Oh and don't violate the national security law -- even though it's not clearly spelled out.

If the protest goes ahead on Sunday it will be the first since the government lifted all Covid-19 restrictions including social distancing and the mask mandate.

About 100 people are expected at the upcoming protest, with the stipulation that no one can join half way through. The unusual restrictions are particularly stringent for organiser Cyrus Chan Chin-chun.

"If you ask me whether or not I like those terms, the answer must be negative," Chan said. "There is nothing else I can do but fulfil such requests."

Police claim bad elements will join protests...

Earlier this month the Hong Kong Women Workers' Association had permission to hold a march to mark International Women's Day, but it was suddenly cancelled and the rights group didn't explain why.

After the march was called off, the police said they had intelligence that many people, including violent gangs would attend the march.

In addition, League of Social Democrats said four of its members who were going to join the rally were warned by national security police not to go, a day before the organisers cancelled the protest march.

If Sunday's protest does go ahead it could become the template for future marches... where the brave willing to stick out their necks with dog collars will shout a few slogans, hoping they don't violate national security and then go home hoping for the best.

Imagine trying to enforce these protest rules on people in France or Israel, the United Kingdom or the United States?

But this is sadly Hong Kong's new reality. 

Hearing Chris Patten's Thoughts on HK

Patten (left) and Vines have a good chat over dim sum

Green Bean Media was started by former Hong Kong journalists who have migrated to the UK and want to keep reporting on news about their hometown.

They have followed people making the big move to the UK as well as developments in the 47 defendants charged in allegedly subverting the state for organising primaries, and Cantonese food.

Their latest video has garnered a lot of attention because it's an interview with Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong. One might assume members of Green Bean Media were terrified of interviewing him themselves so they rounded up fellow exile journalist Steve Vines to do it.

The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoA8iMymy8c&t=561s

And they aptly arranged to have the video interview in a cha chaan teng in London. The small cafe pulled out all the stops, giving "Fat Pang" the opportunity to eat some HK-style food, including his favourite egg tarts.

Patten's book on HK

Personally doing food interviews, it seems rude to eat while someone is asking me questions, but Patten seems very happy to dig into the dishes even as Vines is asking him something! 

The 29-minute video focuses on Patten's thoughts about Hong Kong in his book called The Hong Kong Diaries, from his personal diaries he kept when he was governor from 1992 to 1997.

In it he says foreign secretary and ambassador to Beijing Percy Cradock believed Patten should not have caused so much trouble trying to fight for democracy for Hong Kong, that he should have just done his five years as governor and then left quietly.

"He wrote the Chinese leaders may be thuggish dictators, but they're men of their word," recalls Patten. "We know that they were thuggish dictators, but one thing we know for certain is that they weren't men of their word."

Patten remembers speaking to British and Hong Kong businessmen who believed the average person was not interested in democracy, only in making money, and yet these elites had foreign passports tucked in their back pockets. 

"It was always interesting when I looked at some of my critics just to think through what they would do if things went wrong," he says.

Cradock believed Chinese would keep their word

He adds some of them have since passed, but did not reveal any of their names in the interview, which he should have done for the record.

Meanwhile Vines shares a conversation he had with a friend back in Hong Kong, as they previously believed through crises like SARS and the economic downturn that the city would bounce back, but this time they didn't have this optimism anymore.

"I think the reason why he and you are more pessimistic now is what the Chinese Communist Party wants is Hong Kong without Hongkongers," Patten says. "Maybe you have a city but you don't have a thriving city, you don't have a city with any heart."

He talks about how young people from Hong Kong come up to him and ask if they should go back and Patten says he has no answer. While he has seen from history authoritarian states have disappeared at the snap of fingers, he doesn't know when that will happen in China. 

Vines mentions the BNO scheme, that has allowed over 140,000 Hongkongers to migrate to the UK with the possibility of settling there permanently.

Patten believes it is successful because people understand the plight of Hongkongers, and that they will be a boon to the UK economy.

Patten in Hong Kong on June 30, 1997 

The former governor cites the example of meeting one man in his late 20s who had just qualified to become a doctor and was on his way to a job interview with the local health authority in Oxford. 

"People from Hong Kong will make this a more successful country," he says. "They will be strong members of civil society."

He adds sardonically that perhaps the UK should thank the Chinese for giving them all these Hongkongers.

Vines' plight is also worth highlighting. He was a well known correspondent in Hong Kong, was the founding editor of the Eastern Express newspaper and Spike magazine, a commentator and interviewer on RTHK and author.

But after the national security law was implemented in July 2020, Vines began feeling the pressure of watching what he was saying and doing, even though he had written a book about the 2019 protests.

While he says in the video he found it unhealthy to be constantly watching his back, Vines did receive calls hinting it would be best if he left Hong Kong.

Within months he sold his food business and his flat in Sai Kung, packed up 34 years' worth of possessions and moved back to the UK in July 2021. 

Vines was well known commentator on RTHK

He is active in the Hong Kong community in the UK and says there isn't a day where he isn't talking to someone from the city or writing about it.

What comes through most in the interview is Patten's genuine love of Hong Kong and its people, and how he has carried the burden of wondering if he had done enough for them since 1997.

Which is why he is constantly advocating and doing whatever he can from his privileged perch, from writing to the Prime Minister about Jimmy Lai, to greeting migrants settling in their new home.

But once the interview is over, that good food can't go to waste, and Patten reaches over to pick up a slice of pork belly with his fingers.

Chinese Billionaires Drop Off Rich List

Zhong of Nongfu Spring is China's wealthiest man

China's Covid-19 restrictions which severely slowed down the economy, and the depreciation of the yuan led to 229 people losing their billionaire status, according to a new rich list compiled by Hurun Report.

They accounted for more than half of the 445 people worldwide who lost their status as US-dollar billionaires, and as a result dropped off the Hurun Global Rich List. This is the biggest decline in Chinese billionaires since the list was first published in 2013.

However at the same time, China added the largest number of new billionaires at 69, based on their net worth as of January 16 this year.

Tencent's Ma has a net worth of US$39 billion

Topping the list is Zhong Shanshan, 69, founder of water bottle brand Nongfu Spring with US$69 billion, down 4 percent year on year. He is also the world's 15th richest person.

Next is Pony Ma, 52, of Tencent with US$39 billion, up two spots from last year despite losing 25 percent of his net worth. Ma is followed closely by TikTok parent company Bytedance's Zhang Yiming, 40, whose wealth shrank by 31 percent to US$37 billion. 

Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun dropped from fifth to ninth place, as his net worth fell 32 percent to US$25 billion, and makes him the 52nd wealthiest person in the world.

Li Ka-shing continues to be Hong Kong's wealthiest person and 39th richest in the world at US$31 billion, a drop of 6 percent from a year ago.

Zhang still US$37B rich despite TikTok bans

"Interest rate hikes, the appreciation of the US dollar, the popping of a Covid-19-driven tech bubble and the continued impact of the Russia-Ukraine war have all combined to hurt stock markets," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, a consultancy.

Nevertheless, China's economy expanded 3 percent in 2022, one of its slowest rates of growth in decades because of the severe zero-Covid-19 strategy that caused multiple city lockdowns and manufacturing suspensions that have resulted in multinational companies looking elsewhere to ease supply chain issues.

However, Hoogewerf seems to think Chinese entrepreneurs will look abroad for expansion. "Chinese entrepreneurs will actively look to expand abroad from this year as they have a global perspective," he says. "The reopening gives them opportunities to copy their growth model [in China] to other countries."

Really?

Hoogewerf says China businesses will go abroad

China limits how much money people and presumably companies can take out of the country, and the central government has a more isolationist focus than wanting to go overseas. Those expansion days of snapping up foreign brands are over.

To think they can replicate their success at home to other countries is naive thinking, as business and labour regulations are very different.

Other countries' governments may not want Chinese companies coming to their shores either, with TikTok being the most recent example of being banned from civil servants' devices.

HK Tunnel Tolls to Change

Will there still be a lot of traffic in this tunnel after August 2?

It's going to cost HK$10 more for commuters to go through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Tunnel, but HK$15 less for the Western Harbour Tunnel from August 2.

The franchise agreement for the Western Harbour Tunnel ends on August 1 and returned to the government, thus finally allowing the authorities to regulate the tolls at all three tunnels.

Then towards the end of the year, the next step would be regulating the toll price according to the time of day.

Western Tunnel mostly empty, very expensive

Currently the Cross Harbour Tunnel is HK$20, and Eastern Tunnel is HK$25, but both will increase to HK$30 from August 2, while the Western Harbour Tunnel will drop to HK$60 from HK$75.

Then by the end of the year there will be a pricing system to discourage going through the tunnel at peak times:

7.30am-10.15am Peak toll charges

10.15am-4.30pm HK$30 at all tunnels

4.30pm-7pm Peak toll charges

7.01pm-7.30am HK$20 at all tunnels

Cross-Harbour cheapest of three tunnels

In a bid to prevent everyone flooding the tunnels just before the peak toll charges kick in, fees will progressively increase by HK$2 every two minutes from the peak-hour slot up to the maximum amount. The opposite arrangement will happen for off-peak periods.

It will be very intriguing to see how the public reacts to this new arrangement, and how it will be implemented.

But really, if you are a car owner in Hong Kong, paying more or less for the tunnel toll makes no difference. Because if you have to penny pinch, then you wouldn't own a car in the first place...

Review: Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso saves the day with his ace flying skills

This afternoon I returned to the Vancouver International Film Festival theatre to catch the ongoing Studio Ghibli Forever! festival, for the screening of Porco Rosso.

The 1992 animation by Hayao Miyazaki seems like an adult show at first, but really it's suitable for kids. Even the English dubbed version has witty dialogue that kids around 7 years old can appreciate.

Not many people watched this screening compared to My Neighbor Totoro last week, but it's too bad they were missing out.

Porco Rosso sizes up his rival, American Curtis 

Porco Rosso is a World War I flying ace who left the air force and kept busy as a bounty hunter. He has gained a reputation for not only his piloting skills, but also his pig-headed face, caused by some kind of curse that isn't really explained. He also seems to smoke a lot!

But his cynical attitude and one-liners quickly make him endearing to the audience, not to mention his ability to fly circles around his rivals, a rag-tag bunch of dim-witted air pirates.

These pirates team up with an American pilot called Donald Curtis, who also immediately reminds us of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast -- so full of himself and in love with any woman who walks his way.

In the skies Curtis sneaks up on Porco Rosso and believes he has downed the porcine pilot, but instead has severely damaged his beloved plane.

Fio holds her own against the air pirates...

Porco Rosso brings his wing-less into Milan to have it fixed by his mechanic, who happens to have a smart aviation engineer granddaughter named Fio.

She makes his plane even better (and costs even more), but Porco Rosso needs to get out of Italy to evade the Fascists who know he's in the country. His famous line is: "I'd rather be a big than a Fascist."

There's also a love interest -- Gina -- who is uber rich from selling drinks at her bar to those air pirates. All her previous husbands were pilots and she cares deeply for Porco Rosso, but he selfishly -- our out of self preservation -- cares only for himself.

Fio and Gina are strong women characters who reveal Miyazaki's feminist side, and these two balance out the male chauvinism very well. Gina and especially Fio are precursors to Disney's Belle in Beauty and the Beast and the red headed Princess Merida in Brave.

... and so does Gina with the air pirates in her bar

The 96-minute film has lots of action and comedy, as well as touching scenes that the time seems to fly by.  There's more to the plot with a lot of backstory which make the characters more rounded and complex.

The English version is voiced by Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso and Cary Elwes as Curtis. Brad Garrett is the Boss, the leader of the air pirates.

Porco Rosso

Hayao Miyazaki

96 minutes

Young People Want to Leave Hong Kong

Young Hongkongers want to leave

Looking at the calendar it's not April 1, but this is quite a striking headline coming from Oriental Daily.

The top headline says: "Half of all Hongkongers want to leave", and below that, "Willing to leave even if their English is poor".

The survey was conducted by the Hong Kong Association for Academic and Teaching Exchange on 503 people, most of whom were high school students.

Students feel they have no future in Hong Kong

The article says Hong Kong's poor governance and draconian anti-epidemic measures in the past three years have made people's livelihoods miserable, the economy tanking. The story adds professionals and highly-educated elites have already left the city.

Seventy-one percent of those surveyed have thought about going abroad to study, and 38 percent intended to work overseas.

While 95 percent think it's important to have good English to go abroad to work or study, 36 percent think their English is poor, 49 percent think it's average, while only 15 percent think their English is excellent.

The most common reason for wanting to leave is life pressure at 57.5 percent, followed by the political environment at 51.9 percent, the economic downturn at 31.4 percent, and lack of job opportunities at 31.2 percent.

The article quotes social sciences lecturer Chan Wai-keung of Hong Kong Polytechnic University who says with property prices so high, it affects young people's thinking about their futures. 

They are willing to leave even if English is poor

If those with good jobs need to spend a good chunk of their salary on mortgages, then those with lesser prospects feel their chances of social mobility are very slim and would rather want to try their luck elsewhere. 

This has been a common refrain for decades, but with opportunities shrinking, young people feel that even if they did work to the bone, they still wouldn't be able to own a flat... so what's the point?

The issue is particularly acute in Hong Kong, but also in many other places around the world, including Vancouver.

So while these young people hope to get a new start elsewhere, they might be shocked to find out housing prices are out of reach globally...

Will Michelle Yeoh be a HKTB Ambassador?

Yeoh credited Hong Kong for her helping her get to Hollywood

Hot on the heels of Michelle Yeoh winning the Oscar for Best Actress in Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Hong Kong Tourism Board is trying to lure her to become an ambassador for the city.

During her acceptance speech, Yeoh thanked Hong Kong for helping her get a leg-up in her film career, and the HKTB hopes to capitalise on that, as well as other celebrities to become the city's ambassadors.

HKTB wants people to come back to the city

The tourism board plans to spend an extra HK$800 million (US$102 million) on promoting meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), along with its giveaway of 500,000 plane tickets, discounted train tickets, and dining coupons.

So far 1.46 million visitors arrived last month, the first time the monthly figure broke the 1 million mark since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

HKTB estimates there will be 25.8 million tourists coming to Hong Kong this year -- 46 percent of the 55.9 million visitors who arrived in 2019. A record 65.1 million visitors came in 2018.

Yeoh is a fan... of Mandarin Oriental

Will Yeoh bite and sign on as an HKTB ambassador? She's already a Mandarin Oriental fan...

 

Picture of the Day: Fish Ball Noodles at New Town Bakery

The fish ball with rice noodles in soup looked promising -- not

Went back to Chinatown again a few days ago and had a bite to eat at New Town Bakery and Restaurant.

I had just eaten a pork and vegetable bun and some radish cake at Wai Kee Dim Sum, but was only half full and needed a bit more sustenance.

So at New Town Bakery -- which was completely full -- I sat by the counter and ordered fish balls with rice noodles in soup.

When it arrived, it looked promising, a few slices of fish cakes with some round fish balls, preserved vegetables and the rice noodles.

However, it was disappointing -- the fish cakes and especially the fishballs had no bounciness in the texture -- they were quite dense and flat in flavour. 

It immediately made me pine for the packaged fish balls I used to buy in the supermarket in Hong Kong.

So I quickly ate them up and saved the rice noodles for last which were the bowl's saving grace. 

Impressive to see the place full for lunch, but also the line for the bakery was out the door on a weekday! Some came by to try their luck, others had pre-ordered and came to pick up, including a Filipino who seemed to be a regular.

One Caucasian man asked the owner if any of the buns had gluten in them... she had to tell him it was impossible for them to make non-gluten items...

So far the pickled vegetables with sliced pork and vermicelli in soup is a winner, the fish ball noodles is sadly a definite miss...

Beijing Exerts More Control over HK, Macau

HKMAO will report directly to the CCP's Central Committee

Changes are afoot at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, as it will directly report to the party's Central Committee instead of the State Council, allowing senior leadership more direct control over both special administrative regions.

Xia Baolong, director of the current HKMAO will stay on as head of the new body during the transition period as the office restructures.

Xia will continue to helm the HKMAO

According to the latest "Party and State Institutional Reform Plan" published on Thursday, the new body "would commit to the duties of investigating, researching, coordinating and supervising the implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle, the comprehensive jurisdiction of the central government, and governance of Hong Kong and Macau in accordance with the law".

In addition the revamped office would "safeguard national security, guarantee people's livelihoods and well-being, as well as support Hong Kong and Macau to integrate into the national development plan".

The new body will be called the "Hong Kong and Macau Work Office of the Communist Party Central Committee", though it will still retain its original HKMAO name, perhaps for abbreviation.

Xi will have more control over HK, Macau

In separate statements, both the HKMAO and Beijing's liaison office in the city said the change reflects the importance Chinese leader Xi Jinping placed on implementing one country, two systems in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the strong determination and will of the party's Central Committee to uphold and improve the principle.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu hailed the restructuring, saying the central government worked for the good of Hong Kong and its people.

He pledged the local administration would effectively communicate with the restructured office so that the central government could better understand Hong Kong.

"[The Hong Kong government] will make good use of the distinctive advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, and more actively align with the national strategy to better integrate into the overall development of the country," he said.

Lee pledges more communication with HKMAO

Sources say the move underscores how Hong Kong affairs continue to be a key focus for the central government, while political commentators say the direct link with Beijing could secure the city from national security threats amid complicated geopolitical tensions.

This latest restructuring means that the ancient saying, "Heaven is high and the emperor is far away" no longer applies to Hong Kong. Xi will have more ears on the ground to avoid the embarrassing mistake of bad intelligence in the run-up to the 2019 district council elections where the pro-democracy camp swept 17 out of 18 districts. 

But with the national security law in place, many pro-democracy lawmakers, activists and media figures behind bars or in exile, civil society groups disbanded and media outlets shut down, surely Xi can be confident in exerting control over Hong Kong.

Apparently it's not enough with the revamp of the HKMAO office coming soon...