Night Vibes Become Quiet Vibes

Not much activity happening at the Wan Chai waterfront

The Hong Kong government's "Night Vibes" campaign, with evening bazaars in various parts of the city has already fizzled out, as Temple Street is seeing far less crowds than when it started back in January. 

Originally it was launched by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to entice visitors and locals alike to spend in the city, but the initial wave of interest has already faded and people aren't coming back.

It seems the government has very little idea of how to promote the city, let alone the logistics of putting these events together. If they don't know how much electricity is needed to power up food stalls and prepare for adverse weather conditions, then how will the authorities be able to handle mega events?

Chan launched the campaign last September

A local businessman who asked to be anonymous was frustrated at how the Wan Chai bazaar was organised last September when the power was cut and some stalls struggled to serve hot food, while others could not collect electronic payments. 

"That's the thing, they talk, talk, talk, but have no idea how to do it," he said.

"They should hire professional companies if they want to organise a great market for Hong Kong because, from the way they handled it, it doesn't even feel like they cared."

Indeed -- the authorities haven't even bother to measure how many visitors attended "Night Vibes" or recorded feedback; Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun dismissed the need to analyse attendance numbers, saying it was more important to look at the social impact.

Perhaps it's because they just wanted to tick Night Vibes off their "to-do list" and not be held accountable for how they spent taxpayer dollars?

Interest in the night bazaar has fizzled out

But lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was necessary to look at the numbers in order to learn from mistakes and improve the next time.

"These things are necessary so we can properly monitor, assess, learn from the experience and avoid repeating mistakes," she said. "If things don't work out, that's fine. It's not that we want to blame authorities for trying something new."

She added: "The problem now is that we never do any reviews, so we keep doing the wrong thing once, twice, and a third time."

Kong's other piece of advice was for the government to listen to the public.

"If you want to gain the trust of Hongkongers and increase their happiness, public engagement is very important," she said.

Unfortunately that's not what motivates government officials these days, but rather praise from Beijing. Yet another sign of how things operate in Hong Kong...