Hong Kong's Fortunes Fall Flat

People went to Che Kung Temple to have their fortunes read

Today Hong Kong's fortune for the Year of the Snake was chosen and it was a warning for the city's government to be prudent and spend wisely.

Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, knelt down on a cushion in the Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin and gently shook a round container filled with numbered bamboo sticks on an angle until one fell onto the floor.

It was No. 24, considered a "neutral" stick that had the corresponding poem: "Do not do anything wrong during your life or cause trouble because of your greed, unless you have a noble person helping you, you should not waste your efforts."

Lau gave his own interpretation: "This fortune means that everyone should do good things and everyone should do what is right. As long as you are not greedy, it will be OK. Things that are done should also be practical."

He was hinting his take on the prophecy was directed at Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who will deliver the budget on February 26.

"The financial secretary needs to make a decision amid the HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) deficit, I believe that everyone has very high expectations," Lau said.

"Besides spending within his means, I hope the financial secretary will look after the middle-class and low-income residents and not raise fees or taxes."

Lau also pointed out people should not do things just for money, alluding to the recent news of people trapped into scam farms in Cambodia and Myanmar.

However, fortune-teller Chan Tin-yan says the prophecy is a bad one for Hong Kong.

"The city's economy will be bad, it will be utterly terrible," he said. "Che Kung is telling the city government not to bother with so many frivolous things, he is not asking them to do these things."

Indeed.

But the problem is the government doesn't have many creative or innovative ideas to jumpstart the economy, only relying on the mainland which has now backfired, with more locals residents going up north instead in search of cheap shopping and dining sprees.

How about having some foresight and long-term planning that will benefit future generations? 

Wouldn't that be novel?

Hong Kong Struggles to Retain Mainland Visitors

Not many visitors come to celebrate Chinese New Year in HK

It's the second day of the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong, but despite the festivities, including the fireworks display, the tourism industry is finding it challenging. Hotels are reporting about 90 percent occupancy, which sounds promising, but visitors are having shorter visits, and mainland tourists aren't spending much money in the city.

Travel Industry Council chairman Tommy Tam Kwong-shun had said 1.45 million mainland tourists were expected to visit Hong Kong between January 28 and February 4, about 15 percent more than last year. 

But some skeptics pointed out many mainlanders are from just across the border, and the convenience of transportation networks have motivated them to make day trips than book hotels.

Mainlanders prefer to eat cheaply, no shopping

"Since the multiple-entry scheme serves only Shenzhen residents for now, visitors probably won't choose to stay overnight," said Jack Cheung Ki-tang, director of CTS HK Metropark Hotels Management.

He noted the average spending for those who stayed overnight in Hong Kong was around HK$1,300 (US$167) per night, with an average of two nights per trip, less than the three nights in previous years.

Cheung also noted mainland visitors preferred eating at cha chaan tengs or noodle shops, indicating they did not want to spend money at full-service restaurants or order room service.

According to Immigration Department numbers, 79,895 mainland visitor trips were made into Hong Kong on the first day of the Lunar New Year, while locals made 330,633 trips out of the city.

While many Hongkongers stay in the city to celebrate the new year with family, a lot of them prefer to use the several days' holiday to go abroad, either to the mainland to visit relatives, or travel regionally to places like Thailand, Vietnam, and of course, Japan.

Happy New Year of the Snake

Lion's head meatballs for Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's officially the Year of the Snake.

Last night we had a family dinner for New Year Eve and heard it was quite the ordeal to even secure all the ingredients for our dishes!

At T&T Supermarket in Chinatown, there was a long queue to buy a live fish -- an essential food to eat to ensure a good start and finish to the new year. Anyone who wanted fish, but did not want to wait could go into the line for fish that was previously frozen or already killed and on ice.

We also had a whole fish and roast meats

We also heard there was a two-hour lineup for roast meats in Richmond, probably the stall in Parker Place where there is always a queue regardless what day it is.

I made a contribution to the dinner with Shanghainese lion head meatballs (shizi tou), my second time making it. I basically used the recipe from America's Test Kitchen, and it's kind of funny seeing non-Chinese people research this dish and come up with a pretty much fool-proof way of making it.

The ingredients are: ground pork, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, sugar, chopped scallions, white pepper (black pepper will do), grated ginger, baking soda, water, and a beaten egg.

This time I added finely chopped water chestnuts to give the meatballs a slightly crunchy texture.

To make the meatballs soft in texture, put the mixture in a standup mixer with the paddle attachment and have it mix for a few minutes until you notice the meat is thoroughly mixed.

Next wet your hands before making the meatballs, about as big as the palm of your hand. They won't be perfect round balls, but it doesn't matter.

Then heat up a large pot with four cups of chicken stock, and when it boils, carefully add in the meatballs one by one. When it boils again, adjust the heat to low and let it simmer for about an hour.

In the meantime wash and chop up a whole napa cabbage into quarters and then chop the cabbage into two-inch pieces. After about an hour, scoop up the meatballs onto a plate and then place the cabbage into the pot and then place the meatballs on top of the cabbage and let it all cook down in another half hour.

It's basically done by then, or if there is a lot of liquid, add mung bean vermicelli or rice vermicelli to soak up the sauce.

This dish is a great one-pot meal and even the kids like to eat it! 

China's DeepSeek Shocks American AI Firms

DeepSeek rivals ChatGPT and Gemini in its AI capabilities

Today the biggest business news was Nvidia's stock going free fall because of a little known Chinese artificial intelligence start-up called DeepSeek.

Investors dumped Nvidia's stock when they found out DeepSeek had similar capabilities to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini -- but by using a fraction of the microchips, which means much cheaper and faster than US AI firms. Typically top companies train their supercomputers to use some 16,000 microchips or more; DeepSeek claims it only needed about 2,000.

Nvidia's stock plunged today on DeepSeek news

That sent alarm bells ringing. Loudly.

The Biden administration had limited the number of microchips China could buy in a bid to keep American companies in the lead when it comes to developing AI technology. But with its back against the wall, China's top programmers figured out a way to get more out of each microchip.

There are claims DeepSeek only spent about US$6 million on developing its AI technology, but skeptics think the amount is higher. 

Nevertheless, the inability of the Chinese to get their hands on more microchips is hindering its high tech development, as DeepSeek founder and entrepreneur, Liang Wenfeng told Chinese Premier Li Qiang last week that access to advanced chips was a bottleneck.

While US investors recover from their shock, rival programmers will be going through DeepSeek, as all of its work is open sourced, which means its coding is available for use, or to scrutinise as proof of what they have done.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng

In the meantime, US tech giants may be asking President Donald Trump for more controls on China. Today he said it was a "wake-up call" for the American tech industry.

Not only was DeepSeek on everyone's lips, but phones as well, as it was the most downloaded app in the last few days at over 1.6 million. 

Calls to End Japanese Seafood Bans in HK

When will Hong Kong finally lift Japanese seafood bans?

Since August 2023, Hong Kong and China have imposed restrictions on Japanese seafood after Tokyo decided to start releasing 1.34 million tonnes of treated waste water that was used to cool down the Fukushima nuclear power plant that was damaged in a 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

While China has a blanket ban, Hong Kong does not allow seafood from Tokyo, and the prefectures of Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama.

Daily testing has not found any abnormalities

Hong Kong is the second-largest market for Japanese seafood, behind China, which in 2022 imported US$558.9 million, and Hong Kong (US$484 million).

But despite testing seafood daily, the Hong Kong authorities have not found any abnormalities in the concentration of hazardous elements, such as tritium, caesium-137 and strontium-90.

The seafood bans and the weak yen prompted lots of sushi fans to fly from Hong Kong to Japan to eat their favourite fish -- even in the above mentioned places that were banned.

It also caused several Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong to shut down, unable to import authentic ingredients vital to their business.

Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said a review of the ban was long overdue. 

"People travel to Japan to eat seafood there. That makes a mockery of the import ban," he said.

Hongkongers have gone to Japan to eat seafood

He urged the government to review the ban and resume imports as early as the first quarter of this year.

But government food safety adviser Dr Vicki Fong Lai-ying remained cautious.

"It is fine to keep strict monitoring of safety for better protection of public health," she said.

"There is a high risk that the contaminated and polluted water could be passed to the ocean, which may in turn affect the food chain."

Lawmaker Steven Ho Chun-yin, who is deputy chairman of the Legislative Council's food safety and environmental hygiene panel, agreed, saying the government should not relax the ban until "there is reasonably sufficient reliable information made available that the seafood there is safe to consume".

How much more data is needed? Surely by now -- 14 years later -- there would be evidence of radiation affecting seafood by now. And besides, Japan's own Food Safety Commission has even more stringent radiation standards than Hong Kong.

What gives?

Year of the Snake Seems like a Tough Sell

It's a tough sell to get customers to buy flowers for CNY

Although Chinese New Year is only days away, in Hong Kong, vendors selling flowers and potted plants at the flower market in Victoria Park are reporting sluggish sales.

While there are a lot of people checking out the fair, which has 395 stalls this year, flower sellers like Lee Siu-ming, owner of Chun Shing Flowers Trading, which specialises in orchids, are reporting business is down by 30 percent.

"People aren't willing to spend," he said. "I am negotiating prices with them till my gums bleed, but some of them still aren't convinced."

There are 395 stalls at Victoria Park this year

Lee said the reasons were because of the slow local economy and people going to Shenzhen and other places in China to shop.

However, stalls selling snaked-themed products seemed to do well, like snakes on cushions and stuffed toys. 

One stall vendor observed that while many mainlanders came to the fair, they were more curious about what was available and hesitant to buy anything. 

"They're more interested in sightseeing and taking pictures," said Terrence Lo, who was selling books.

"The language barrier and concerns about customs regulations deter them from buying books."

In addition, local customers aren't buying as much either.

"The older generation who are often our most loyal customers, are becoming more selective," Lo said. "They're looking for bargains and are less likely to make impulsive purchases."

Sounds like the Year of the Snake is going to be a tough one, much like the Dragon before it...

Liberal Leadership Race is On

Carney, Freeland and Gould are the frontrunners in the race

There are seven people running to replace Justin Trudeau as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. They submitted their nominations with along with signatures of 300 card-carrying Liberals and C$50,000 deposit by Thursday 5pm EST.

Out in front is Mark Carney, a former Bank of Canada governor who has the support of several Liberal ministers like Melanie Joly and Francois-Philippe Champagne. Carney has no political experience, but knows how to handle the economy.

Close behind is former deputy leader and finance minister Chrystia Freeland who is trying to position herself as an outsider as she resigned abruptly last month, but she was under Trudeau for so long that people won't forget that.

An unfamiliar face is Karina Gould, the former House leader, but doesn't have much name recognition.

And then there are others who are outsiders:

Jaime Battiste is the first Indigenous candidate to run for the Liberal leadership. He is currently an MP representing a riding in Nova Scotia.

The others are Chandra Arya, Frank Baylis, and Ruby Dahlla, who is a former Liberal MP.

They don't have long to make a name for themselves, which makes it much easier for the frontrunners.

However the risk is that whoever becomes the leader will be the shortest sitting prime minister as the Conservatives and the New Democrats have promised a vote of no confidence in the Liberals, which would result in a general election... 

Trump Continues his Rant on Canada

Trump gave a virtual speech complaining about Canada

US President Donald Trump took his tirade against Canada to the international stage when he gave a virtual rambling speech at the Davos economic forum in Switzerland.

People in attendance audibly gasped as he continued to complain about his northern neighbour, saying there was a US$200-$250 billion trade deficit.

"We're not going to have that anymore. We can't do it," he said. "As you probably know, I say, 'You can always become a state, and if you're a state, we won't have a deficit. We won't have to tariff you," he said alluding to the 25 percent tax he is threatening on Canadian goods and services.

But according to the US government's Bureau of Economic Analysis, the trade deficit is more like US$40.6 billion, a massive exaggeration.

CNN explains the deficit is caused by the US importing large amounts of inexpensive Canadian crude oil, which the US then refines and helps keep its gas prices low. It has been pointed out that Trump picked a bad time to complain about oil prices during winter, when places like Texas and Louisiana are experiencing their worst winter storm in 120 years.

However, Trump claimed Canada was difficult to deal with and repeated his complaint about not needing the country's products: "We don't need them to make our cars, and they make a lot of them. We don't need their lumber because we have our own forests. We don't need their oil and gas."

Trump doesn't seem to be aware that the US imported 3.9 million barrels of crude oil from Canada per day in 2023, and is in high demand by refineries, particularly in the Midwest.

"If [hypothetically] Canadian oil were not available, many US refineries would struggle to find heavy crude elsewhere, and they might even stop operating in such a scenario. Historically, Venezuela had been a large producer of heavy crude, but Venezuela's oil industry is a shadow of its former self," said Pavel Molchanov, an energy expert who is an investment strategy analyst at Raymond James to CNN.

"So in fact, importing Canadian oil helps protect jobs in the US refining industry. Furthermore, US refining companies appreciate the fact that Canadian heavy crude is cheaper than the light sweet crude that is produced in Texas and Louisiana."

But Trump was not finished with Canada or the rest of the NATO countries. He is demanding they all increase their military spending to 5 percent of their GDP. The US is at 3.4 percent. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit back in Ottawa, saying Canada has almost tripled its defence budget and promised to get to NATO's current target of 2 percent, though it make take a few years to reach that.

Although Trump is taunting Canada about becoming the 51st state, polls in the US show this idea is very unpopular with Americans. In a recent Wall Street Journal survey, 58 percent of respondents strongly opposed it, while 11 percent were in favour. 

Being Mistaken as the Xiaohongshu CEO

Dani (left) and Jerry (right) saw their video go viral overnight

A "normal guy" in Vancouver was mistaken as the CEO of Xiaohongshu or RedNote after he posted a friendly video giving tips to "TikTok refugees" and new users on how to use the app.

Jerry L. explained Xiaohongshu is mostly used to recommend places to eat or to visit, as well as tips for shopping and makeup.

"The platform is mainly Chinese-speaking, but do feel free to speak English and post English content because I believe there are a lot more English speakers on this platform nowadays," he said in the one-minute video. "We need to build this community."

At the end of the video he said: "Let me know your thoughts. I speak both Chinese and English. Feel free to ask me any questions."

Overnight the video went viral, as influencers shared his video, and it was even featured on Fox News online. 

They had mistakenly thought Jerry was the CEO of RedNote when in fact it is Charlwin Mao, who started Xiaohongshu in 2013 with Miranda Qu.

Jerry felt compelled to set the record straight right away.

"Guys, I'm not the RedNote CEO, just to be clear," he said in a followup video. "I'm just another normal guy in Vancouver. But whatever I said in that original welcoming video stays true. I really hope that you guys can enjoy this platform."

In the past week RedNote gained some 3.4 million users, up from 300,000 the week prior, partly because of fears that the US government would force TikTok to shut down, which is has for the time being.

Meanwhile Jerry L is originally from Shanghai and moved to Canada 10 years ago, and settled in Vancouver two years ago. 

His girlfriend Dani H. said they were overwhelmed by the reaction but glad to bring people together.

"I'm just glad it brought a smile to people's faces," she said.

The pair have started a TikTok account with the handle @FakeCEORealGF where they plan to share videos of their experiences of being Chinese Canadian in Vancouver.

Think Twice about Traveling to the US, Eby Says

Trump threatening 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods Feb 1

With Donald Trump busy with a flurry of activity since he was sworn in, the Premier of British Columbia is terrified about the US President's threat of 25 percent tariffs that may come as early as February 1.

If it does go ahead, it could be disastrous not only for BC, but the whole of Canada economically and provincial and federal leaders are all scrambling to figure out a response that would get Trump to back down.

Premier David Eby is calling on British Columbians to think twice about going across the border for holidays.

Eby says people should rethink travel to the US

"We should really be thinking carefully about spending our money in that country," he said. "We will not spend money in a country that wants to do economic harm to Canadians."

Last weekend a relative did an overnight trip to Seattle, Washington, and said there was hardly any waits at the border -- probably the weak Canadian dollar has made people think twice about going to the US, not necessarily the impending Trump administration.

Others have suggested Canadian consumers should stop shopping at places like Walmart, Costco, and Amazon and buy local instead.

Meanwhile provincial and federal officials haven't diversified economies enough to do business with other countries -- the US is too tempting a market to resist with 10 times the population and its proximity to Canada.

But if Trump is going to continue punishing Canada on things like illegal immigration and fentanyl coming into the US, Canada will be forced to do business elsewhere, and being caught flat-footed isn't exactly a good position to be in.

Trump Gives TikTok an Extension in the US

Trump as signed the order to delay TikTok's divestment

Now that Donald Trump is the 47th President of the United States, what is he going to do?

He signed a flurry of executive orders, one of which was delaying the order that TikTok either divest or shut down. The delay gives the company 75 days to figure out a way to address the app's privacy concerns.

The day before on Sunday, TikTok did "go dark", but went back online a day later, much to the relief of American users and influencers who depend on the app either for making money or watching mindless videos.

Trump suggests TikTok be sold to the US

In the meantime Trump is making some strange statements about TikTok.

"I may not do the deal. I may do the deal. TikTok is worthless, worthless. If I don't approve it, it has to close. I learned that from the people that own it," Trump said Monday.

"With TikTok, I have the right to either sell it or close it, and we'll make that determination... We may have to get an approval from China too, I'm not sure, but I'm sure they'll approve it," he added.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, and it has said that the app is not for sale, and the Chinese government has also stated it is not for sale either.

Trump later suggested the US could by a 50 percent share of TikTok.

Which part of "not for sale" does he not understand?

Chew seated next to National Security Director

Then he pulled out the "T" word -- tariffs, saying in part: "if we wanted to make a deal with TikTok, and it was a good deal, and China wouldn't approve it, then I think ultimately they'd approve it because we'd put tariffs on China."

"Maybe, I'm not saying I would, but you certainly could do that. And if we said, well, 'you're not going to approve it', then that's a certain hostility, and we'll put tariffs of 25, 30, 40, 50 percent, even 100 percent."

The strongman threatening tariffs, which is curious considering when he was President in 2020, he raised the idea of banning TikTok if ByteDance didn't sell it and issued an executive order to that effect; it was later thrown out by a federal district court.

But Trump has had a change of heart. Why? Because one of his big Republican donors, billionaire Jeff Yass, is a leading investor in ByteDance. 

Is that how TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew got a seat at the inauguration -- right next to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard?

This is what the next four years will be -- full of contradictions and big talk. Everything's up for a deal.

Canada on Edge as Trump Becomes President

The cold weather forced the inauguration to move inside

In less than 12 hours, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the President of the United States in the Rotunda in Capitol Hill, and across the border Canadians are on edge, wondering if he will go ahead with his threat of imposing a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming into the US.

It doesn't help when the Canadian Prime Minister has resigned, leaving the Liberal Party in disarray. There are a few people who have thrown their hats into the ring -- former Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and former deputy PM Chrystia Freeland are the front runners, and tagging far behind is Government House Leader Karina Gold.

Trump is threatening tariffs on Canadian goods

Who is the best person to first of all, stand up to Trump, and then second, win the next federal election?

Meanwhile the premiers of Canada's provinces and territories are scrambling for a united response. They gathered in Ottawa to discuss this with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith refused to sign the joint statement on a plan to respond to Trump's tariff threats.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford was disappointed Smith was not taking the "Team Canada" approach of having a united response, and instead only concerned about her province.

"That is her choice. But I have a little different theory that when protecting jurisdiction, the country comes first. Canada is the priority... When the tariffs come, it's going to affect Albertans, it's going to affect people from BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, all the way down the road. No one's exempt from that," said Ford.

"[Donald Trump] is sitting there with a big smile on his face thinking, 'Wow, I'm going to divide and conquer.' Remember one thing: united we stand, divided we fall."

Indeed he is right. Trump probably is grinning and rubbing his hands together, pleased at how he has made his northern neighbour terrified and scrambling to come up with a plan, but not everyone is on board. He loves making people squirm.

We can only wait in the next few hours to see what Trump says in his inauguration speech. 

Brace yourselves for a wild four years with a convicted felon in the White House.

A Woman Claims She has No Friends

Ho is trying to make new friends in Vancouver

A woman in Vancouver starts her videos by saying, "I live in Vancouver and I have no friends."

Anna Ho is 23 years old and after graduating from university she finds it hard to meet people, making it sound like a chore.

"Meeting new people is very draining and it's very tiring because it's kind of like a job interview or you're going on dates," she told the CBC.

She is currently challenging herself to do 30 activities to make friends and to document it on social media. So far she's gone to an electronic music festival with people she didn't know, attended a painting class alone and tried to meet people through the app Bumble BFF.

Ho is trying to do these activities once a week but finds she is investing a lot of time and money into it.

But some experts say Ho shouldn't be trying different activities and instead stick to one so that she keeps seeing the same people regularly.

At the same time experts admit Vancouver's rainy weather also makes it harder to meet people because it takes more effort to get out. 

What's interesting is that Ho was born and raised in Vancouver but claims to not have friends... it is even harder for people who are new to the city. They say that people here have their own social circles so it's hard to break in.

Others say it's not too hard, saying they meet people wherever they go. 

The main thing is to be open to others and have casual conversations with people that could possibly lead to other get-togethers down the road. Many say taking classes to learn something increases chances of meeting others, or joining clubs where you have the same interests as others.

So far Ho is one-third of the way through her activities and says she has made one friend so far and feels her efforts aren't for nothing.

"I would hope this whole series that I'm doing just gives people a positive light and comfort," she says.

Helping Out a Friend in Need

The wildfires in Los Angeles are still not under control

The Los Angeles wildfires are still raging, with at least 27 people dead and damaged or destroyed over 12,000 structures and displacing over 100,000 residents.

My sister-in-law's family is safe, and another relative was offering their place as a respite for their friend who escaped the fires.

But this evening I found out someone I know has lost her home and only has her son and all her possessions in two carrier bags.

Gu tracked down Ngoy to make a documentary

I interviewed filmmaker Alice Gu in 2020 about her documentary, The Donut King, about the rise and fall of Cambodian refugee Ted Bun Tek Ngoy, who once owned 65 donut shops making him worth US$20 million.

However, once he visited Las Vegas for the first time, he soon became addicted to gambling...

Her film was outstanding, and was awarded Special Jury Recognition for Achievement in Documentary Storytelling at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Over the years Gu, a Taiwanese-American, and I kept in touch briefly on social media.

This evening on Instagram I saw her friend posted a video, pleading for viewers to donate to a GoFundMe page for Gu. He explained she was a friend for over 26 years, but that she had lost everything in the LA wildfires.

I felt bad making only a small donation, but every bit helps. 

She thanked me for the contribution, and admitted she reluctantly agreed to the GoFundMe page, but that expenses had been adding up.

While it's understandable that it's hard to accept help, I have found over the years that it really does take a village to help; just relying on a friend or relative is not enough financially, emotionally, practically. And as humans we all want to help our community.

I hope people like Gu will eventually get back on their feet bit by bit. And we can all help them do that.

TikTok Influencers Migrate to Xiaohongshu

Xiaohongshu seeing a surge in "TikTok refugees"

TikTok influencers who use the video platform to make short videos in the hopes of going viral are terrified the US government will force the social media app to shut down due to fears that it gives the Chinese government access to users' data.

That's because these influencers make money from their videos, and for some, that's their full-time gig.

However as a result of the impending January 19 deadline, TikTokers or content creators on TikTok are calling themselves #tiktokrefugees and "fleeing" to... another Chinese platform called Xiaohongshu.

There are fears TikTok will shut down Jan 19

Little do these influencers know that Xiaohongshu -- originally translated as "Little Red Book" -- in a satirical nod to Chairman Mao Zedong's book of quotations, is a Chinese company promoted as "RedNote" or "Red" in North America these days.

Xiaohongshu is like Instagram, where users can post pictures and videos. Initially it was called "Hong Kong Shopping Guide" to give tips to Chinese visitors to the city of where to eat, stay, and take pictures. For example they would give detailed instructions on where to have their "Instagram-worthy" shot with say a cup of Arabica coffee along the waterfront in Kennedy Town.

It was great for the cafe having lots of customers, but terrible for traffic in the area, as people blocked roads to get the perfect shot.

Started by Miranda Qu and Charlwin Mao in 2013, Xiaohongshu caught the attention of several Chinese tech giants, like Alibaba and Tencent, and last July the app was worth a staggering US$17 billion. The users are predominantly women, and as a result many beauty and cosmetic brands advertise on the app. Xiaohongshu does not have an e-commerce aspect so users need to turn to Taobao or TMall to purchase things.

Chew is invited to the inauguration

But now with so many TikTok influencers, especially those from the US trying to set up accounts on Xiaohongshu, Chinese cyber regulators may not be so keen on the flood of people, particularly those not from or in China.

Already Chinese officials have told the company it "needs to ensure China-based users cannot see posts from US users", which signals the government may see the influx of Americans to RedNote as a political security threat.

What's interesting is that already there are unfiltered interactions between Chinese and US users, sharing homework questions for example, or asking what life is like in China and getting real depictions instead of rosy pictures from government sources.

So how will Xiaohongshu get around this? Create a special area only US users can access? That might be too hard to manage, and not really beneficial to US influencers who might be providing content to a limited audience.

Or this is all moot after Donald Trump gets into office on January 20. He has already shown support for TikTok, even inviting CEO Shou Zi Chew to the inauguration on Monday. Maybe those TikTok "refugees" won't have to flee the video platform after all...

Biden Makes Last Minute Extension to Hongkongers

Biden giving his last address to the nation tonight

Counting down the days before he leaves office on January 20, US President Joe Biden has given some relief to Hongkongers in America by extending a program that allows those who want to, can stay another two years. The program was supposed to expire in a few weeks.

The extension of the Deferred Enforced Departure program allows certain Hongkongers who have stayed in the US since the program started in August 2021, to continue living and working in the country until February 5, 2027.

There are 19 activists on the wanted list

"The United States supports the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Hong Kong," Biden said on Wednesday.

"I am therefore, directing an extension and expansion of the deferral of removal of certain Hong Kong residents, regardless of country of birth, who are present in the United States."

However, this extension does not apply to those who voluntarily returned to Hong Kong or China, or have not continuously lived in the US since the program started in 2021, or when it was renewed again in January 2023.

Biden's declaration of the extension comes after the Hong Kong government announced last month the HK$1 million bounties for the arrests of six more activists who allegedly violated the national security law, and that the passports of seven others have been revoked, including Elmer Yuan Gong-yi, Frances Hui Wing-ting, and Joey Siu Nam, who have apparently settled in the US.

"The decision was made because of continued and repeated attacks by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities on the protected rights and freedoms cherished by people in the city," said Matthew Miller, a US Department of State spokesman.

Hui is an activist who allegedly violated NSL

He accused Beijing and Hong Kong authorities of targeting overseas democracy activists, citing the cancelling of their passports and the latest arrest warrants of others.

"These acts of transnational repression are a threat to US sovereignty and national security and show blatant disregard for democracy and human rights," he said.

Will Swift Perform in Shanghai?

Swift's team has had preliminary talks with Shanghai

The big question for 2025 is -- will Taylor Swift perform in China?

There are reports the Shanghai authorities are in talks with the superstar in a bid to kickstart the country's economy.

Deputy director of Shanghai's culture and tourism bureau Zhang Qi said local officials hosted her team for preliminary talks.

Swift has a massive fan base in China

"As for whether it will ultimately happen, it depends on the market and the attractiveness of our city. However, we are optimistic and think that there may be hope for this year," he said.

Swift is considered to be "walking GDP" because of her massive economic impact wherever she performs, and if she does come, there will be calls to relax restrictions on international performers.

Typically for international artists, there are numerous restrictions and stipulations, such as the song list must be approved before showtime, and the audience members must stay in their seats.

But the big question is, will she come? Swift just completed her show-stopping Eras Tour that made over US$2 billion... why do another show just for Shanghai? It seems like Chinese officials have missed the boat?

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this. Swift is a sharp businesswoman. Even though she has millions of fans in China, she also needs to justify going to a country that has a patriarchal society that represses women, isn't supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, cracks down on freedom of speech, and doesn't want its young people to be caught up in celebrities. 

Would going there endorse authoritarianism or draw Swifties' attention to try to knock down these issues with hugs and friendship bracelets?

One can only hope!

Will Former Expo Lands Finally be Developed?

Will the Plaza of Nations plot of land be finally developed?

Remember Expo 86? Way back when a part of Vancouver's False Creek area was the site of an exhibition featuring pavilions of countries around the world presenting their views of the future in transportation and communication?

We wandered around the various pavilions, traded pins, collected stamps and it was a fun carnival atmosphere for about five months.

After that an area called Plaza of Nations near BC Place was left dormant, save for a few dance parties I attended in the tall glass building in the 1990s. The site was the equivalent of four city blocks. And then nothing happened.

Leong's previous plans for Plaza of Nations

Last week there was a sudden spark of interest when developer Concord Pacific floated the idea of developing the empty land just east of Plaza of Nations to Science World, with a dozen condo towers as high as 65 stories together with various amenities. 

While it all sounds exciting, it may take a while for it to be realised, with the city having to do soil remediation before any construction begins on the site.

And then today it turns out the Plaza of Nations site has a new owner, after Singapore billionaire Oei Hong Leong sold the land to a developer called Northchild Group for an undisclosed amount, thought it is believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Leong had bought it from Li Ka-shing for C$40 million in 1989.

Plaza of Nations has been assessed to have a value of C$412 million, but if Northchild successfully develops it, the area could be worth well over C$1 billion.

However, not much is known about Northchild, except that it is owned by Yang Weichang, who had been a minority shareholder of Plaza of Nations since 2017. Yang's daughter, Yang Miao, is the director of Northchild Developments and Northchild Holdings.

Concord Pacific's ideas for land next to Northchild

Vancouverites are tired of seeing empty land being neglected, in part because of red tape at City Hall for permits, and also developers just biding their time so that the property value of their land increases.

City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Young hopes Concord, Northchild and the province, which owns BC Place, will work together to create an area that is liveable and viable for Vancouver.

It's been almost 40 years since Expo 86... surely it's time to do something with these massive tracts of land?

Quote of the Day: Mike Rowse on Hong Kong's Deficit

Rowse wants to see some major cuts to the Hong Kong budget

Hong Kong is all talk about the upcoming budget and how it needs to tackle the massive deficit, which is currently around HK$200 billion, according to Mike Rowse, who decades ago worked in the civil service dealing with public finances.

While he understands governments around the world need to borrow money in the form of issuing bonds, Rowse says these are still debts.

We love the way he describes in his column in the South China Morning Post how the current administration has spent taxpayer dollars these days: "Simply put, for the past few years, the Hong Kong government has been spending public money like drunken sailors on shore leave."

He suggests it's time to put everything on the table and make the necessary cuts to expenditures, including reducing the number of support staff that legislators have, the number of Economic and Trade Offices that have opened not only in China but also around the world, and asking all departments and policy bureaus to reduce spending.

Taxpayers want to see their money well spent, not like drunken sailors on shore leave...

Lam to Downsize Lavish Office Space

Lam needs to downsize her office... to the Immigration Tower

The Hong Kong government needs to tighten its belt with a nearly HK$100 million deficit, and one item that will be reduced is former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's office that cost HK$9.17 million in the 2023-24 financial year.

Her current office is located at One Pacific Place in Admiralty, a sprawling 2,874 sq ft space, but after the lease ends in mid-May she will be moving to... Immigration Tower in Wan Chai.

Her office is currently at One Pacific Place

Ironically it was her administration that announced plans to demolish the tower in 2017 along with two other government buildings and develop them into convention, hotel and commercial facilities.

Alas, Lam not only has to downsize, but also downgrade.

Her new office will be occupying the one used by the director of immigration.

All previous chief executives get the perk of having their own office, though the first three share office space at an office complex on Kennedy Road.

They apparently use these offices to promote Hong Kong, such as receiving visiting dignitaries and delegations, giving media interviews, attending functions and speaking engagements.

The first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa is 87 years old and supposedly declining in health; Donald Tsang Yam-kuen was convicted of misconduct in public office in 2015, so he keeps a low profile; and Leung Chun-ying is 70 years old and likes to criticise not only incumbents but also adversaries.

Immigration Tower was planned to be demolished

And then Lam who became world famous for her performance during the 2019 protests and the Covid-19 pandemic soon after.

So do these former leaders still need office space? Maybe they can make a deal with WeWork on renting co-working spaces? It would help ease the city's budget somewhat...

Kidnapped Actor Reveals Shady Scam Centres in Myanmar

Wang (right) was rescued from Myanmar on January 7

The disappearance and subsequent rescue of a Chinese actor has shone a spotlight on the shady scam centres that have proliferated along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Wang Xing, 22, went to Thailand on January 3 on the promise of film work, but was driven 500km to a scam centre in Mae Sot, where his head was shaved and was trained to make scam calls, also known as "pig-butchering scams" to persuade victims to part with a lot of their money through text messages.

After not hearing from him for days, Wang's girlfriend went online begging for help, and after it was reposted by some famous Chinese actors, the Chinese authorities stepped in, and Wang was rescued on January 7. He returned to China on January 10, but not before thanking the Chinese and Thai authorities, but said nothing about how he was rescued.

He was held in a scam centre like this one

His swift return is not like the thousands of other people who were also lured to Thailand with promises of work, but were then swiftly kidnapped and taken across the border to places like Myanmar and Cambodia where they have been forced to scam people around the world, around the clock. 

There have been stories from former "prisoners" that if they don't perform these scams they are physically beaten and given little food, and it's near impossible to escape these camps. Only a handful of people have managed to escape and lived to tell their horrific experiences.

When news broke of Wang's rescue and return, families of other Chinese nationals started a petition to have the authorities also rescue their loved ones. Initially there were 174 cases, and now there are more than 600.

"We are desperate to know if the remaining Chinese nationals [who were] with him have been rescued," wrote one commenter on Weibo. "Other people's lives are also lives."

Wang had said there were about 50 other people who were held together with him.

Wang thought he had film work in Thailand

However, Beijing has not said whether it will follow up on these other cases, while the Thai government is keen to reassure Chinese tourists that Thailand is safe, as it relies heavily on visitors from China.

Wang is extremely lucky to have a persistent girlfriend, and for the internet community to clamour for the Chinese authorities to do something. But what about the rest of these people from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore who are essentially imprisoned and forced to scam innocent victims? 

It is believed these scam centres that get victims' money from cryptocurrencies and money transfers are run by Chinese syndicates, so why doesn't Beijing want to crack down on them? Surely it wants to protect its own citizens, who believed a job overseas could bring in money when they couldn't find work in China?

There are more questions than answers, but in the meantime Wang's harrowing story serves not only as a warning to others, but also helps bring more attention to scam centres in Southeast Asia and how they trick people into handing over millions of dollars.

Remembering a Passionate Social Activist

Shiu was passionate about helping the community. He was 55.

It was sad to find out former opposition lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun died Friday morning Hong Kong time after battling stomach cancer. He was 55 years old. 

Last November he announced he was diagnosed with the disease and had emergency surgery to remove half of his stomach, and lost 15kg as a result. While in hospital he attended his graduation ceremony virtually for a masters degree in Christian Studies.

Although he was discharged 16 days after the procedure, he was admitted to hospital again in late December as his condition worsened.

Shiu virtually attended his graduation in hospital

Shiu was a social work lecturer at Baptist University and was one of the key figures in the 2014 Occupy Movement that called for universal suffrage. For his participation he was jailed for eight months in 2019.

In 2016 he won a seat in the Legislative Council representing the social work constituency, but could not seek re-election because of his conviction, while the university refused to renew his contract in 2020 without reason, and Shiu claimed it was "political persecution".

A year after the 2019 protests when scores of young people were jailed for taking part, Shiu set up Wall-fare, a non-profit prisoners' rights group that gave support to those behind bars, and helped their families navigate the system. The organisation also encouraged people to write letters to prisoners to help keep their spirits up.

But in September 2021, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung suggested that people in custody on national security charges were building new forms of resistance through help from outside groups, which led to Shiu shuttering Wall-fare. 

Cheung (left) paid tribute to Shiu (right)

Former legislator and fellow colleague Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, who has lived in Canada since 2022, said Shiu was his "best partner" in the social work field, and in social movements, having worked together on such issues as prisoners' rights and youth suicide among others.

"His concern for the underprivileged, his insistence on social justice, and his contribution to the work of prisoners' rights will live on forever," Cheung said on social media.

Los Angeles Wildfires Continue to Rage

Numerous homes have been engulfed by flames in Los Angeles

The shocking images of the fires ravaging Los Angeles are horrifying and tragic. At least five people have died, numerous homes completely destroyed, and over 100,000 people displaced. The biggest fire in Palisades has not been contained, thanks to bone-dry conditions and fast-moving winds.

The growing inferno has spared no one, with the rich and famous helpless as they watch fires engulf their mansions in the prestigious Hollywood area. Actors like James Woods and Mark Hamill were directly impacted, while Steve Gutenberg tried to help direct traffic. 

Video footage from someone inside their home shows raging fires surrounding them, and they don't know what to do; on social media it was reported they managed to escape, but there is no update.

Water bombers from Canada are fighting the fires

While fires are common in Los Angeles, it is not common to see the flames reaching Hollywood Boulevard, where stars plant their hands in slabs of cement on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Chinese Theater. It's crazy to have these fires so close to the city.

Meanwhile, the Getty Museum reported that although some trees and vegetation on the property were burned down, the museum itself was not affected, which is a relief to hear. It houses Getty's collection of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities in a beautiful setting overlooking the city.

If people have not already evacuated, they have been instructed to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice. What do you choose to bring with you if you have only minutes to think about it? It's a gut-wrenching situation to be in. Many may have lost their pets that may have run away in fear.

All this is happening while President-elect Donald Trump blames President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the wildfires... how is this helpful?

It is not helpful when the water is running out from the fire hydrants, though water bombers and helicopters -- from Quebec and British Columbia -- are trying their best to clamp down on the infernos from above.

So yes -- good neighbours help each other... not threaten to take them over...