HK$700K on Panda Naming Competition

An An and Ke Ke are the newest attractions at Ocean Park

The pair of pandas that have created panda-monium at Ocean Park are keeping their original names despite the government spending HK$700,000 for a naming competition.

On July 1, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced Beijing would gift Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas to Ocean Park. They were named An An and Ke Ke.

But the authorities decided to get the public to "exercise creativity and suggest meaningful new names for the giant pandas that highlight their characteristics." 

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (up until recently under Kevin Yeung Yun-hung) spent the HK$700,000 on building a website for the competition, have advertisements posted in MTR stations and on the internet, and procure prizes for the winners.

Hong Kong residents submitted 22,600 names, but in the end the judges (who did this job on a voluntary basis), chose the winner, a man who suggested the pandas keep their original names.

Groan.

He told reporters that he was a "panda lover" and had read that it was difficult for pandas to get used to new names after the age of five. An An and Ke Ke are both five-years old.

The winner received prizes worth HK$47,320, including a tourbillon watch valued at HK$36,800, and membership and vouchers for Ocean Park.

Merit prizes were handed out to eight rejected names.

The newly appointed culture minister Rosanna Law Shuk-pui defended the naming contest when a reporter asked if it had been a waste of taxpayer money if the pandas were not renamed.

"When [the results] were announced... there was a round of applause," she said. "I think if we did not have this competition, we would not know that majority of the participants felt it was better to keep the names An An and Ke Ke."

Wait -- so does that mean the majority of the suggestions were to keep the original names? Then why did that man win a watch? Was this a vote or a naming competition? 

"An An" means a peaceful and stable future for Hong Kong, while "Ke Ke" suggests unlimited possibilities for the city.

John Lee Sacks 2 Ministers in Surprise Announcement

Chan (left) and Law (right) are Lee's new ministers

Looks like Hong Kong officials who don't perform actually get sacked.

This morning in a surprise move, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that "after a period of observation" he had removed his tourism and transport ministers, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung and Lam Sai-hung respectively.

However, he repeatedly evaded questions from the media as to why the two were given the sack.

Yeung could not lure big acts to Hong Kong

Director of housing Rosanna Law Shuk-pui replaces Yeung, while Mable Chan takes over the transport portfolio from her boss, Lam.

Lee said Law and Chan would deliver better results with their ability to communicate their policies, and that both had shown they were proactive as senior civil servants.

"I see the strengths of the two new appointed secretaries," Lee said in a press conference on Thursday.

"They will be assisting me more to realise my goal of ensuring results and also doing as much work as possible in the coming years."

He said he needed a team to help Hong Kong catch up after the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 protests, and believed both Chan and Law supported his policy direction and could take up more responsibilities.

Sounds like Lee is getting pressure from above to belatedly kick-start Hong Kong's economy and so far it's been quite the struggle. It's been really hard to lure tourists to the city when their governments are warning them not to go because of the national security law.

Lam failed to improve taxi services, regulate Uber

There's also the logistics of planning remote night markets in public spaces didn't go so well, superstar footballer Lionel Messi dissing the crowd and refusing to play in a friendly match, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board hasn't been able to lure big acts to the city, except for Coldplay, which will perform four nights at the new Kai Tak stadium.

The HKTB's goal of having 46 million visitors in 2024 is far from achievable with less than a month to go. Someone on Bluesky calculated they would need an average of 189,000 visitors per day to meet that number.

Meanwhile Lam was unable to rein in the taxi industry, and the idea of encouraging taxi drivers to learn Arabic to cater to passengers from the Middle East was far-fetched, and he still hadn't come up with a way to regular ride-hailing apps like Uber.

Now that Lee has actually sacked two ministers for poor performance, who's next? Some are speculating it could be Secretary for Environment Tse Chin-wan for his failure to implement the waste tax that was so convoluted that it was axed at the last minute.

HK Leader Asks Public How to get Tourists Back

Lee visited Tai Po to solicit ideas to get more tourists in HK

The Hong Kong government is looking for ideas on how to entice more tourists to come to the city, and even enlisted the help of the public for suggestions.

At a gathering in a primary school in Tai Po, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his ministers, including Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung sat in on the session attended by 120 residents.

The recommendations?

These colourful neon signs have disappeared

Have locals standing by in touristy areas like the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade to help visitors take selfies; turn Lam Tsuen River into something
similar to the Seine, and a new Hong Kong mascot, perhaps McDull and have his porcine face featured in fireworks displays are restaurants.

At the end of the sharing session, Lee observed: "Hong Kong people are smart, you have a lot of great ideas. Tell us about your projects, and we will do our best to support them."

Why are people thinking so small? 

One of the bigger issues is Hong Kong is not a city people are thinking of visiting because it's so expensive to get there compared to pre-Covid. Why is it so costly? Can the government find out and fix this problem? 

While the McDull idea is a start in terms of having a mascot, no one outside of Hong Kong knows what this pig is about. 

No one outside of HK knows who McDull is

In addition, many previous tourists remember the city for its neon signs and yet now the vast majority of these colourful lights are gone ironically for safety reasons. Nathan Road is hardly photogenic anymore.

And how about making taxis and the drivers more friendly and accessible? Cash is not something overseas tourists carry anymore -- it's credit cards or other digital payments. Taxis cannot be stuck in the past when customers are used to Uber and mobile payments. 

So many details that need to be improved on, but if prospective tourists think Hong Kong too expensive to get to, then these visitors won't be coming anytime soon...

HK's Economy Strugging in the Doldrums

Hong Kong's economy won't be recovering anytime soon

Hong Kong's economy isn't going to be bouncing back anytime soon with the latest numbers.

According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the statistics are as follows:

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there's even more Hongkongers leaving the city than five years earlier, and a 39 percent drop in mainlanders coming to Hong Kong.

These numbers are not a good sign, and when Beijing has announced that permanent residents who are not ethnically Chinese can now apply for a five-year visa to the mainland, there's going to be a greater exodus from Hong Kong.

What is the Hong Kong government going to do about it, besides chasing mega events as if they were women?

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism must be relieved that he just needs to focus on collecting two pandas from Sichuan to bring to the city within months. That will involve him leading a delegation to go there to discuss the logistics of transporting the pandas, quarantine and naming them.

Hong Kong Marks 27th Anniversary of Handover

Flag-raising ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention Centre

Hey it's July 1! The 27th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong back to the motherland!

Some 4,000 police officers were deployed across the city to ensure celebrations go ahead smoothly. Those wearing what is considered seditious clothing could be stopped and questioned by police, or worse, arrested.

Celebrating the 27th anniversary of the handover

At the flag-raising ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, top officials attended, but there was no room for the public to witness the proceedings. Former chief executives Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Leung Chun-ying, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Tung Chee-hwa were there along with Zheng Yanxiong, head of the liaison office.

In an article published on Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu wrote about the passing of Article 23 that has become part of Hong Kong's "glorious history".

He said the city's door was once "wide open to both thieves and friends", and now with Article 23 in place, it is a sophisticated security system that can identify "thieves" and protect its "friends".

"For an extremely small minority of those who jeopardise national security, this law is a sharp sword pointed at them; for the community at large and foreign investors, this law is a 'protector' of their rights, freedoms, property and investments," Lee wrote.

Two new pandas will come to Ocean Park

As part of the celebrations for the anniversary of the handover, Hong Kong will receive two giant pandas that will be cared for at Ocean Park. 

In a Facebook post, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung wrote: "A new pair of giant pandas will attract a massive amount of tourists and residents, injecting impetus into Hong Kong's tourism industry."

How massive is massive? 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality will be eligible for five-year permits to enter the mainland starting from July 10. Each stay can be no longer than 90 days. Yet more people will be coming to Shenzhen to shop...

 

Luxury Brand Dior Postpones Fashion Show in HK

Dior has postponed a mega fashion show in Hong Kong

Uh-oh. Hong Kong's plans of hosting numerous mega events continues to deflate with French brand Christian Dior postponing its highly anticipated fashion show that was originally scheduled for March 23.

A source familiar with the company said the luxury brand decided to postpone the show due to China's economic uncertainties.

The show was to be at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

The announcement was made on Friday, when invitations should have been sent out. Around 1,000 guests were expected to attend including VIPs from overseas, and the show was anticipated to cost about HK$100 million (US$12.8 million).

While the company claims the show is postponed indefinitely, Dior did not say when it would be rescheduled. 

Dior's artistic director Kim Jones was supposed to be in Hong Kong to present the men's autumn collection at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

While the show was not going to get any government funding like the Lionel Messi debacle, the postponed fashion show doesn't look good.

Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon was not impressed. "Why would there be a delay at such a critical moment?" she said of the last-minute delay.

"I hope the secretary of the [culture bureau] or Dior can give an explanation regarding the delay. The lack of an explanation is not good for Hong Kong. It's like Hong Kong is being fooled. This will generate a lot of speculation.

Dior's Kim Jones was to come to Hong Kong

"If Hong Kong wants to be a hub of mega events but they are all postponed or the stars don't make an appearance, who will visit Hong Kong for its events? It would be very uncertain for tourists," she said, referring to Messi's no-show on the football pitch.

Nevertheless, culture and tourism minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung is trying to downplay the postponement.

"Large-scale events are postponed from time to time, and we continue to welcome large-scale events to take place in Hong Kong," a spokesperson for Yeung's office said.

So... what's next?

Hong Kong's Footie Fiasco

Messi (in pink hoodie) didn't even bother to suit up for game

Hong Kong has a lot of egg on its face after superstar football player Lionel Messi didn't even bother to play in a friendly match of Inter Miami against Hong Kong XI. It was so bad that 40,000 fans who had paid a lot of money to see their idol were booing and jeering, and some demanding refunds.

The event was organised by Tatler Asia and in a contract with the government there was a stipulation that Messi would play for 45 minutes on the pitch. But 10 minutes before the game officials were told he was sidelined because of an injury.

However, he seemed to be fine walking on and off the field, which angered fans, some of whom flew in from China and around Asia for the chance to see Messi play. The event was supposed to be one of several mega events to entice visitors to Hong Kong.

The match was organised by Tatler Asia

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung claimed the government did not know about Messi's injury or that he would be benched for the game.

"We immediately requested them to explore other remedies, such as Messi appearing in the field to interact with his fans and receiving the trophy," he said. "Unfortunately, as you all see, this did not work out."

What makes the debacle even bigger is that the government gave it "M mark status", meaning it was considered a major sporting event that deserved more official funding and official backing.

Tatler Asia received HK$15 million (US$1.92 million) for the event and another HK$1 million venue subsidy. Well Yeung says the government hasn't paid Tatler Asia yet, so the authorities will be grilling the company about who knew what when.

Inter Miami even cancelled its tour of the Kai Tak Sports Park on Monday. 

Beckham's rep has plunged since the debacle

It looks like Inter Miami pulled the wool over Hong Kong's eyes, and while the government blames Tatler Asia, officials didn't escape scathing criticism, and neither did the football club's co-owner and president David Beckham, who was booed in the stadium. 

Him plugging The Venetian and egg tarts was bad enough, but his reputation won't recover after this public relations mess.

Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun described Sunday's incident as "outrageous" and that it hurt Hong Kong's reputation as a mega-events hub.

So... how's the pitch to Taylor Swift going?

HK Police Call for CCTV Cameras in Schools

Students and teachers will be surveilled daily at school

Hong Kong Police are becoming more active in the school system, calling for CCTV cameras to be installed in classrooms in a bid to ensure greater safety for students, but teachers fear it's a way to monitor what is said and taught in class.

Last week the HKPF launched a new website called Safe City Hong Kong and under "Security of premises" and "school" it suggests CCTV cameras be installed along with other security measures such as being aware of strangers in and around campus, drawing up contingency plans, setting up access control systems, and staying alert of incoming mail and deliveries.

Over police suggestions for school security

The HKPF is even calling for installing perimeter fencing of at least 2.8 metres in height, security guard booths, and infrared motion sensors, electric fencing and taut-wire tripping systems.

These suggestions make the schools sound like fortresses or top secret locations that need to keep intruders out rather than schools that are supposed to be welcoming places for learning.

Tech surveillance like facial recognition at the outdoor gates, canteens and classrooms have already been installed in many schools and universities in China since 2019 as a response to school shootings in the United States.

But some netizens have questioned the need to be so intrusive as to check up on students to see if they are dozing off in class or not.

Nevertheless, if the HKPF have it their way, similar "security" measures could be implemented in Hong Kong too. 

It's not a new idea -- pro-Beijing legislators had proposed the idea of installing CCTV cameras in classrooms in 2021 to monitor the content of classes and interactions between students and teachers. 

CCTV in schools has been proposed since 2021

But at that time then Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said schools wishing to install this surveillance technology would have to comply with government guidelines and privacy requirements as well as communicate with the parents and other stakeholders in advance.

If the cameras are being installed to prevent crime in schools and universities, then it makes no sense, as according to the police, crime committed by those between the ages of 10 and 20 fell by around 8 percent last year compared to the previous year.

When CCTV cameras are installed, going to school will be even more stressful than it needs to be...

The Blundering Continues

The screen-capped caption blunder on the TV screen...

You can't make this up.

Only days after the diplomatic kerfuffle in Incheon, South Korea when the 2019 protest song, Glory to Hong Kong was played instead of the Chinese anthem, March of the Volunteers, another mistake happened.

At the Rugby World Cup event in Dubai, March of the Volunteers was played, but the caption on the screen was "Glory to Hong Kong", and below that "National anthem of Hong Kong".

Secretary for Sports, Culture and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung was not amused.

"I can hardly believe that [mistakes] related to our national anthem were made at rugby matches consecutively within such a short period of time. It is hard to accept," he said, adding the authorities would handle the incident seriously.

The Hong Kong Rugby Union had no idea what was displayed on the screen, nor were they informed the name of the anthem would be displayed on television.

The union said World Rugby had apologised for the mix-up and said the mistake was made by a "graphics operator"...

Meanwhile some people may have fallen in love with rugby now...

Government Honours Loyalty

Lee given the highest award, the Grand Bauhinia Medal

The Hong Kong government has released its 2022 Hong Kong Honours List, and former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made sure she recognised those who stuck by her through thick and thin.

Most notable?

The Grand Bauhinia Medal is awarded to seven people, including current leader John Lee Ka-chiu. Even though he and Lam blundered in proposing the extradition bill in 2019 that led to massive street protests and stepping up violent police action against the protesters.

Chan bungled Covid response but still awarded

Instead he is recognised for his "dedicated and distinguished public service to the Government and the Hong Kong community over the past 44 years, particularly his sterling contributions during his tenure as the Secretary for Security and the Chief Secretary for Administration," the citation reads. 

"With his strong commitment to Hong Kong and outstanding ability and experience in public administration, he assisted the then Chief Executive in rising to the challenges and played an instrumental role in co-ordination in policy formulation and implementation, making significant contributions to Hong Kong."

Others who were rewarded for their loyalty include: former secretary for food and health Sophia Chan Siu-chee, pro-Beijing executive councillor Ronny Tong Ka-wah, former secretary for education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung (formally he has dropped "Chris"), former secretary for transport and housing Frank Chan Fan, and ICAC head Simon Peh Yun-lu.

Dover led police response to protests in 2019

Another notable person is assistant commissioner of police Rupert Dover, who lead the operations against the protesters in 2019, and Peter Lam Kin-ngok, owner of various restaurants including three Michelin starred 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo, former chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and now the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council.

On Twitter people were wondering how Lee will award himself his own medal...

Other notable honourees who deserve the recognition include Olympic cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze, radio DJ Reinaldo Maria Cordeiro otherwise known as Uncle Ray, Olympic swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey, and fencer Cheung Ka-long.

Cheung won gold in fencing in Tokyo Olympics

While no date has been set yet on when the actual awards will be handed out, we are still wondering... will Lee just pin the medal on himself?