Floral Display Flaunts Funeral Vibes

Originally the flowers were all white, with "funeral vibes"

Today is the last day of the Hong Kong Flower Show at Victoria Park, where visitors can check out beautiful floral displays big and small, but another one is being set up in East Kowloon that's gotten a lot of flak recently.

Originally thousands of live flowers were going to be displayed as a backdrop for photo-taking at East Kowloon Cultural Centre in Kowloon Bay, but then Kwun Tong district committee members switched to LED-lit flowers because the former "took too much effort in watering".

Criticism resulted in adding colours on flowers

But when the flowers were installed -- all white no less -- there was an uproar about spending HK$500,000 (US$64,000) on a display that had "funeral vibes", as white signifies death in Chinese culture. Others said it had a "toilet vibe", referencing toilet paper with embossed floral designs.

After the snarky comments about feeling like being in a "mourning hall", the flowers have now been injected with some colour -- pink and orangey-pink -- to brighten things up a bit during the day, and they will glow at night.

Kwun Tong district councillor Cheung Ki-tang said originally the colour and design of the flowers and the display were not discussed in meetings because these were "minor details".

Really? If the point is to create a floral background for people to take pictures, surely the colours of the flowers and how they are displayed are important?

"The new look is more colourful now. It's good that the government is receptive to public opinion," he acknowledged. "But the original design also looked good to me too."

Someone has to have the last word...

Hong Kong's Late Night Bang for Your Buck

Lots of smiley-face fireworks on October 1 this year

Post-Covid there's revenge traveling, revenge shopping and in Hong Kong, revenge fireworks.

It has been yonks since the city has had fireworks. They were cancelled in October 2019 because of the protests and then the Covid-19 pandemic happened soon after.

So the upcoming National Day holiday fireworks are going to be nothing short of a blast. 

Tai Hang Fire Dragon returns in late September

The 23-minute display will be fired off from an unprecedented nine Victoria Harbour launch points (three barges and six pontoons), and will cost HK$18 million (US$2.3 million). 

The fireworks show is part of the Hong Kong government's bid to revitalise the city's nightlife, with various activities and events to encourage people to go out in the evenings.

They include having museums like the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Science Museum and Hong Kong Space Museum open until 10pm; the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance for three days around the Mid-Autumn Festival; Lunar New Year fairs open until the early hours; shopping vouchers that can only be used in the evenings; and night bazaars held in the promenades at Wan Chai, Kennedy Town and Kwun Tong.

Even attractions like Ocean Park and Disneyland need to stay open later, free admission to the Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday nights, and late night movie tickets. Oh and to help you get around, you can have a free ride for every five rides taken after 10.30pm, and free parking in some shopping malls.

Hong Kong Museum of Art to open late

While we appreciate the effort to create things to do, looking at the offerings they are piecemeal and pretty pathetic. Who wants to go to the Museum of Art at 9pm? Wouldn't you rather go to M+? And the night bazaars don't sound appealing... what are they going to be selling? 

The effort to promote nightlife in Hong Kong may backfire, as overcrowding may discourage people from gathering... or I maybe totally proven wrong! 

Waving the Patriotic Flag

Flag fanatics decorated Kam Shek House in red flags

In the run up to the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover, someone in two housing estates in Kwun Tong decided to be very patriotic and decorated the entire Lam Shek House and Kam Shek House with alternating Chinese and Hong Kong flags hanging on every level of above the courtyard.

Some flags were found to be desecrated

Of course the Bauhinia flag is markedly smaller than the Chinese one...

Pictures of it went viral on social media and yesterday the police received a report that 12 of the national flags at Lam Shek House were desecrated, some with black stains on the big stars, while one flag at the housing estate and another at Kam Shek House were stolen.

Some uniformed police collected the desecrated flags, putting them in plastic bags for investigation and no one has been arrested yet.

Eventually all the flags were taken down probably as a precaution.

This exercise in extreme patriotism in Hong Kong is a touchy subject to say the least. While residents accept that the city is a part of China, it isn't quite ready for the show of nationalism that mainlanders expect. 

The push for patriotism is overwhelmingly red

And the government's efforts in trying to shove patriotism down residents' throats isn't helpful either, fuelling further frustration. The 2019 protests are still raw in people's minds, and they are still trying to process what has happened in the last three years, particularly after the implementation of the national security law.

Forcing people to celebrate an anniversary that seems bleaker by the day is hardly something worth rejoicing about. And the red flags seem to inflame people even more.

At least all the flags were removed and maybe the mastermind will have learned his/her lesson.

But wait -- the Hong Kong police are adopting the "goose-step" used in China from July 1.

"To promote patriotism and enhance the awareness of national identity, the Hong Kong Police Force will fully adopt Chinese foot drills from July 1," the HKPF said in a statement.

HKPF will debut its goose-stepping style July 1

Last year the People's Liberation Army trained Hong Kong police cadets the goose-step style where soldiers march without bending their knees.

Sounds painful... on the knees!

In the meantime it's been reported the two senior government officials who caught Covid-19 a few days ago have now tested negative.

Eric Chan Kwok-ki and Erick Tsang Kwok-wai have started to test negative, and if they have two more negative tests, then they could possibly attend Friday's ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

The government will have the final say if Chan and Tsang can attend in person. 

And still no word on Xi Jinping coming or not...