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's Fortunes in Neutral Position

Lau holding fortune No. 15, a neutral one for the sixth year

Hong Kong's Year of the Dragon will not be a good one, according to the fortune Heung Yee Kuk Chairman Kenneth Lau Ip-keung picked out on Sunday, the second day of Chinese New Year.

The "neutral" No. 15 stick reads: "Holding an axe and entering a forest, looking for something not yet obtained. Wasting good material and losing one's strength, offering oneself and waiting for the arrival of spring."

Lau drew the stick at Che Kung Temple

In other words: "When you're in the forest with an axe, there are many trees to chop down. This is exactly what the government has to do, to choose appropriate policies," said Lau. "Spring will come but the government should not waste time and resources."

Or maybe it's time someone else shakes the cylinder full of bamboo fortune sticks and shakes a better one out? Lau has drawn "neutral" sticks in the past six years.

Another Neutral Year, but Listen to the People

Lau (right) holding the neutral fortune for number 11

On the second day of the Lunar New Year at Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin, a community leader gets the responsibility of drawing the fortune stick from a bamboo cylinder filled with sticks with numbers on them.

That jobs falls on Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, chairman of the powerful Heung Yee Kuk. He inherited the position from his late father, Lau Wong-fat, who was known as "King of the New Territories" for his influence over the area.

But why is it that Lau junior keeps picking the lamest sticks?!

Che Kung Temple was busy with visitors

He again picked a neutral stick, this time number 11. Last year it was number 38, and before that 45 in 2021 and 92 in 2020.

Each bamboo cylinder has 96 sticks, 35 bode well, 17 are ill omened, and 44 are neutral. Lau has to kneel and shake the cylinder at an angle until one stick falls out.

And he has now picked four neutral sticks in a row. Perhaps we should be relieved it wasn't a bad one?

Nevertheless, the stick's fortune reads: "Those powerful should not flaunt their power and prestige. They should work hard on listening to advice."

Lau interpreted this year's prophecy as the authorities should consult the public as they led Hong Kong towards normality after three years of "numerous obstacles" amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Feng shui master Chan Tin-yan said the prophecy meant "some people from the past" would play a crucial role in helping Hong Kong out of its predicament, especially its dwindling economy.

Wonder who Chan is referring to... 

Will Lee heed these words of advice this year?

"The one in power is not always right, they should let go of prejudice and let people from different backgrounds help them, to lift Hong Kong out of the economic downturn," he explained.

Does he mean John Lee Ka-chiu, or Xi Jinping?

"Hong Kong is still in a difficult condition, and top government officials from the past have done a good job in boosting the local economy. Why not ask for their help again?"

We wonder... which government officials did a good job in boosting the economy?!

Chan said the prophecy also warned against "wasting money on unimportant things" and urged the government to put the economy before everything else to lift people out of poverty.

Hmmm we wonder, what "unimportant things" is he referring to?

This soothsayer sounds like a man of the people!

We shall see if the government heeds these words of advice in the Year of the Rabbit...

And can someone else please pick the fortune next year? Lau isn't very good at it!