Paris - Artistic Impressions at Musee d'Orsay

Sculptures displayed at Musee d'Orsay

The Louvre is an intimidating place to visit as it's so large and filled with masterpieces that it's an overwhelming experience.

A more approachable art museum that focuses more on the Impressionists is Musee d'Orsay, in a former train station still retains its original ceiling mouldings, but also a contemporary look.

Monet's Poppies or The Promenade

We got timed tickets the night before and thankfully we did because the next morning when we arrived at 9.30am when it opened, there was a massive queue for those who didn't have tickets or timed tickets.

When I showed them our tickets, we were ushered into another entrance where we went through security and then were in.

The museum has expanded its gallery space to the fifth floor, the top floor where its Impressionist collection is. There's also a balcony area where we could go outside and across the Seine see the Louvre and the giant balloon (minus the fiery cauldron) parked in the Tuileries Gardens.

It's interesting to see the museum's collection of Impressionist works arranged by collectors who bequeathed their paintings to the French state.

The Starry Night by Van Gogh

There is a short introduction of the collector, how they got to know the artists and following their deaths, how their collections were donated to either the state or Musees Nationaux.

It's not often that we know about the collectors, and how they supported artists financially, and these short biographies give visitors a chance to get to know them, and appreciate the role they had in artists' careers.

We saw numerous works by Claude Monet, like Poppies, also known as The Promenade, with a woman and child walking through a field of red poppies, or Vincent Van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist, the Dutchman painting himself in a light blue suit with a wavy background, and his Bedroom in Arles.

But there were other paintings that caught my eye, like Van Gogh's The Starry Night -- not the one in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but the precursor to it that he painted in 1888. A few months later, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital, and that's where he painted the work we all know.

Caillebotte's The Floor Scrapers

There's also an artist by the name of Gustave Caillebotte, who had a knack for painting scenes of blue-collar workers, like The Floor Scrapers in 1875.

Three bare-chested men are on their knees on the floor of a Paris apartment where the are stripping away the wood on the floor. Some critics at the time felt the work was vulgar and how it focused on the working class.

However, that's what makes the painting so interesting for us today, seeing the work they did was back-breaking and very physical, working hard for the benefit of the rich.

Caillebotte has another interesting perspective of being in a rowboat sitting in front of a man in a top hat who has the oars. The angle is one we'd probably take today with our phone cameras, but at the time was considered "audacious immersive framing" according to the caption.

Polar Bear by Pompon

The ground floor of Musee d'Orsay is well known for its display of sculptures, and there was one of a polar bear by Francois Pompon from 1923 to 1933. Pompon worked with Rodin, but focused more on animals. His Polar Bear is so contemporary looking, it's surprising that it was made a century ago.

A pair of sculptures caught our eye -- Chinese Man and Chinese Woman by Charles Cordier in 1853, the busts of two real people, Chung Atai and his second wife, Yung Achoi. Perhaps the spelling should be Ah-tai and Ah-choi?

In any event, according to the caption, the couple were originally from Canton (now Guangzhou) and traveled to London for the 1851 Universal Exhibition before touring Europe.

The Chinese Man, Chung Atai

The busts are made of bronze and have a lot of detail, like Atai's long braid, the embroidery on his chest, and he holds an opium pipe, whereas Achoi has butterfly and floral hairpins in her hair, the intricate designs on her silk robes, and her long fingernails.

Remembering David Hockney

Hockney's Looking at the Flowers (Framed), 25th June, 2022

The English artist David Hockney died today at the age of 88 in London.

I was lucky to see an exhibition of his work two years ago at the Palm Springs Art Museum and was in awe of how much work he produced and what he thought was worthy of capturing -- which was everything.

Us in our own version of Hockney's installation

He made his own colourful interpretations of Yosemite Park, a series of photographs of his mother that are pieced together, a long, winding sketch of a country estate, and his famous series of swimming pool works, capturing the moment of a man diving into the water.

I enjoyed one whimsical installation where he painted himself looking at paintings of flowers that he has made and framed on the wall, and then on the other side is a physical representation of the painting, with two chairs, inviting visitors to pose like him.

He made me realise there is art in the everyday, and it can be fun, colourful, and doesn't have to be profound.

Review: Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones

A memoir about Kashmir and beyond

On Instagram there's an account called Brief But Spectacular, where a short video gives an opportunity for someone to talk about their life or life experience, and some are so profound, others informative or heartfelt.

One post featured Priyanka Mattoo, who talked about how she was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, and has vivid memories of growing up in the mountainous Himalayan area before a violent rebellion against India erupted in 1989.

Her family left for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which they thought would be temporary, but led to exile in London, then Michigan, and eventually Los Angeles.

Mattoo now lives in Los Angeles

Mattoo wrote a book called Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones and I was intrigued enough by her short video to borrow the memoir from the library.

The "chapters" are actually a series of essays that were published in the New York Times and The New Yorker mostly, and it would have been better to note this in the forward, and that while each essay was a part of her memoir, it was not in chronological order.

As a result, I was surprised to see the stories, times and places jumping around and it was hard to keep track. 

Nevertheless, she has fond memories of her grandparents, particularly her maternal grandfather, who instructed his daughters, nieces and Mattoo, his granddaughter to be strong-headed and independent. She also talks lovingly of her parents who adore each other, and how Mattoo hoped she too would find a nice Kashmiri boy and settle down like them.

Throughout the book Mattoo pines for Kashmir, while her parents have decided to make the best of each place they settle in. Is it because she felt her idyllic childhood was violently snatched from her? Or she is nostalgic at a young age?

Then as she grows up she is a bright student, but when it comes to university, she wants to please her parents and study law, and while she manages to complete her degree, it's not exactly what she wants to do. 

She ends up with another degree in Italian with a stint living in Rome. Eventually she wants to write and ends up in Hollywood, but the hustle is not fun. That said, she meets a nice Jewish boy at a networking event and ends up marrying him, both her career and love life turn out exactly not what she had envisioned when she was younger. But isn't that the case with most people?

It's her last chapter, Someone Else's Spiders that is the best essay summing up her reflections on her identity. Mattoo also talks about how ethnic groups are treated in Hollywood, reminding me of Christopher Cheung's Under the White Gaze, where in her case, she is frustrated that non-Indians come up with movie storylines, while her ideas of more compelling stories are rejected.

Mattoo's writing style is chatty and at times funny, particularly when it comes to her dating experiences, but it's her cultural explanations that are interesting to read.

However, we never do learn what bird milk and mosquito bones are about...

Remembering Live Aid 40 Years Later

Tens of thousands watched the Live Aid concerts in person

You know you're getting old when it's the 40th anniversary of the Live Aid concert.

40 years!

When I was a kid and I didn't want to finish the food on my plate, my mom would ask if we should take those leftovers and send them to the starving children in Africa.

Geldof organised the ambitious live concert

And several years later sadly the children were still starving in Africa, Ethiopia to be exact.

But Bob Geldof wanted to do something about it after seeing the news footage of children with bloated stomachs, too weak to swat the flies swarming them.

He and Midge Ure of Ultravox wrote Do They Know It's Christmas? and the song quickly became a hit. I went out and bought the single in a record store downtown. It was probably one of the first times I contributed to a fundraiser like that.

A few months later Geldof together with musicians to organise Live Aid, and not just have a massive concert at Wembley Stadium, but also at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on the same day. Phil Collins had the distinction of performing at both concerts -- he traveled via British Airways Concorde to New York and then via chopper to get to Philly.

Jagger and Tina Turner performed together

I remember being a teenager and watching bits of the concerts on TV in the living room in the summer heat, thrilled to see all these musicians like Madonna, Duran Duran, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and U2 performing together, mixing genres and styles. 

Not only was it a logistical challenge but technical too for TV networks to broadcast live from two different cities at the time using 13 military satellites. Apparently there was no plan B in case the live broadcast failed. Now live broadcasts in various cities are done all the time, but back then it was only for a few minutes for a news story.

Around 1.5 billion people watched over 70 artists and bands performed over 16 hours of live music from London and Philadelphia. 

In the end Live Aid raised US$127 million ($370 million in 2024) for famine relief. It demonstrated that individuals could indeed make a difference, even if us kids couldn't vote yet. 

Madonna on stage in Philadelphia

Ure was asked recently if he thought something like Live Aid could be done again today. He seemed to think people had too many distractions.

"Technically, you could organise it easier, but these days you have so many distractions. Forty years ago, music was the be all and end all. You didn't have smartphones. You didn't have the internet. You didn't have 24-hour anything at all.

"There were no distractions. You had no video games. You had none of that stuff. So, you could focus."

But isn't it cool we're still talking about it, 40 years later? 

The OG Birkin Bag Goes for $10M

A picture of Birkin and the original bag in HK

It turns out the OG Birkin bag, the first one co-designed by actress and singer Jane Birkin and Hermes CEO Jean-Louis Dumas in 1984 is worth US$10.1 million and was sold to a lucky collector in Japan at a Sotheby's auction the other day.

The price crushed the most paid for an Hermes bag, a Kelly bag made of white Himalaya Niloticus crocodile skin that was sold at auction in 2021 for $513,040.

Unlike most auctioned Hermes bags that are practically in pristine condition, this original Birkin bag is scuffed up, still has the outlines from political stickers that were placed on the bag for its owner, Birkin, to display her stances on issues, and has the initials J.B. stamped on the bag.

Dumas helped design the Birkin bag in the 1980s

The story of how the bag was created is practically legend, but true: In the 1980s she was on a Paris to London flight when Birkin, who was carrying a tattered woven wicker basket as her handbag, tried to stow it away, when items fell out and onto the floor.

She fortuitously sat next to Dumas, and Birkin asked him why Hermes didn't make bigger handbags. He proceeded to take an air sickness bag and sketch out a bag design for her. 

Their discussion of the bag continued well after the flight until he finally presented Birkin with the bag with the now signature clasps and handle and Dumas asked if the bag could be named after her.

Women today don't use their Birkin bag like she did -- to preserve its value and condition, most people only bring it out for show; after all they had to wait years to be able to purchase it!

Back in the 1990s I was fortunate enough to meet Dumas. He came to Hong Kong several times not only to visit the Hermes shops, but also meet up with his son, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, who was based in the city.

The original Birkin sold for over US$10 million

The elder Dumas was very charismatic, suave and had lots of stories to tell. He was the one who started the idea of setting a theme for every year and artisans at Hermes would create products and designs related to those themes. Basically a clever way to keep customers coming back to their boutiques.

When Dumas took over Hermes in 1978, the company's revenues were $50 million. By 1990 it was $460 million. The year before Dumas died in 2009 it was $2.5 billion.

Birkin kept the bag until 1994 when she donated it for an auction to raise money for an AIDS charity. It was auctioned again in 2000 until now, where it was estimated to be worth around $1 million.

The estimates were wrong by ten-fold.

The King and Queen are Here

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa today

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa today, and although their two-day visit is very short, it is loaded with significance.

When Prime Minister Mark Carney stopped in London in March before the federal elections, he paid a visit to the king, asking him if he would visit Canada and read the speech from the throne if Carney won.

It's a brilliant move by Carney to show US President Donald Trump that Canada is a distinctive country of its own with strong historical ties to Britain. 

The king held private talks with Carney

The pomp and circumstance these two days provide an opportunity for Canada to show itself off in a positive light globally, and signal the country is on track to stand its ground in the wake of threats of annexation.

King Charles has subtly shown his support for Canada in recent months by wearing Canadian medals and calling himself the king of Canada, and describes the flag as "a symbol that never fails to elicit a sense of pride and admiration."

The last time a monarch read the speech from the throne was back in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II; she also read it 20 years earlier. Almost 50 years later, her son will do the same.

It should be interesting to hear the contents of the speech, particularly the choice of diction and phrases.

However, not everyone will be listening. The Bloc Quebecois have decided to skip the speech, and in fact are trying to make the oath of allegiance to the king optional.

Nevertheless, it's an historic visit that Canadians in Ottawa turned out in droves to see the royal couple, proving once again how Trump's threats only make us want to embrace our ties to the King even more. 

VIFF Review: John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger

Sargent's portraits reveal character and fashion

Before watching the documentary John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger, I didn't know much about him, except that he painted portraits of wealthy people, mostly women, with their luxurious dresses, the folds captured with brushstrokes that had energy and flair.

The film directed by David Bickerstaff is from Seventh Art Productions, which focuses on artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and Edgar Degas to name a few. So you know this documentary will be one that fans of art and painting will appreciate. In this case there's the added dimension of fashion.

He went to Spain and was captivated by flamenco

Bickerstaff follows two exhibitions of Sargent's at the Tate in London and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and through several art experts as well as a fashion photographer, analyse the artist's work, give them context to explain how Sargent was one of the greatest artists of his time.

Sargent was born in Florence to American parents, his father an eye surgeon and his mother appreciated art and design. They quickly discovered their son had an artistic talent and encouraged him to study further in Munich, Florence and Paris. He was also fluent in several languages including French, English, and Italian. The family was relatively well-off after his mother inherited money from her family.

He followed artist Charles Auguste Emile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran; eventually the teacher saw his student surpassing him in his mastery, which in a way was his blessing that he could become a professional artist.

Portrait of Lady Sassoon

Carolus-Duran suggested Sargent study Velazquez and so he went to Spain and was captivated by flamenco dancing; he also did quick painting sketches of everyday life, which also enhanced his painting skills.

From there he began painting portraits of wealthy people, and the exhibition in Boston had Sargent's paintings next to the actual dresses his subjects wore to show the similarities and differences. The art experts pointed out how Sargent really paid attention to the fashion they were wearing and what image it portrayed, and at times took liberties with it. 

For example in his portrait of Lady Sassoon, she wore a black robe with a pink lining and if she wore it, one would not have been able to see the pink lining easily. But Sargent took liberties to make the pink lining show off, and create an S-shape from her shoulder down to her hip to make the eye travel down the painting. He was also doing black-on-black which can be difficult to pull off.

One of his famous paintings is called Madame X, who was actually Madame Pierre Gautreau. She was a young American socialite who married an older wealthy man in Paris. Sargent asked to paint her portrait and she wore a black dress with straps, not looking at the viewer.

Madame X

At first he painted one of the dress straps falling off and it caused such a stir that Gautreau and her mother begged Sargent to change it, but he refused. But in the end he changed it, but the scandal almost ended his painting career in Europe.

He later moved to England and then the United States, where he painted the portraits of nouveau riche.

One of the art experts in the documentary suggests that Sargent was gay, that he painted his male subjects with a slightly feminine air by the way their hands were posed and what they wore. Perhaps, as he never married...

Nevertheless, he inspired fashion photographer Tim Walker to create portraits in the style of Sargent, evoking a kind of fantasy with billowing fabric that he admitted were made of sheets of plastic. His portraits of Tilda Swinton are almost ethereal and hint sophistication.

Sargent was extremely passionate about creating art and he did it very well. Learned so much from this documentary!

John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger

Directed by David Bickerstaff

93 minutes

2024

Knocking Down Loneliness in Toronto

Some 8,000 giant blocks were set up around Toronto

If you enjoyed playing dominoes as a child, setting them up vertically and then knocking them down in a line or pattern, then you might have enjoyed the giant version that was recently held in Toronto.

This past weekend volunteers help set up 8,000 lightweight concrete blocks that went down a 2.5km path through Canada's largest city this past weekend. 

Some 200 people helped set up sections of blocks

Some 200 people volunteered and each person was responsible for setting up 30-40 blocks around the pre-determined route that started at the corner of Niagara and Wellington streets and wound its way to the shores of Lake Ontario near Ireland Park.

The giant dominoes has been done in more than 20 cities since 2009, like London, Copenhagen and Melbourne, and the aim is to bring people together, says Julian Maynard Smith, artistic director and co-founder of Station House Opera that organised this project to Toronto.

"[Dominoes] is always about connecting different parts of the city," he says. Cities are by nature, a jumble of diverse people and spaces. And as the dominoes fall, they purposefully wind through the rich, poor, and in-the-middle neighbourhoods of a city. They travel through public and private areas; towering buildings and patches of parkland. The idea was that wherever you went, we would try and find those relationships... and make a line that connected all those different kinds of communities."

And in Toronto it did just that, with people cheering and running along with the giant blocks as they fell, curious to see if it all worked out in the end.

The dominoes were placed in a designed path

"We are closer than we think," says Ilana Altman, co-executive director of The Bentway, a public space that is trying to do community building.

"This season, The Bentway has been reflecting on a lot of reports that we've been hearing across our city... about a growing phenomenon of loneliness and a lack of social connection," she says, pointing to the Toronto Foundation's 2023 Vital Signs Report that the city is one of the loneliest places in Canada.

"So all of our programming has been geared towards helping to foster greater connectivity amongst neighbours," Altman said.

Speaking of lonely... would Hong Kong be interested in hosting this event? Might be fun to have the dominoes falling along the harbour front? Too ambitious to have it going up Lion Rock? Or it's not mega enough of an event?

Dire Straits for Luxury Brands

Hong Kong's luxury malls are looking pretty empty these days

The projections are that big spenders from the mainland won't be splashing the cash in Hong Kong, Paris, Milan and London anytime soon, as China's economy continues on its downward spiral.

Analysts say this year is not good, and aren't even holding their breath for next year either and it's hurting luxury brands in their stock value.

Tiffany & Co's Shanghai shop to halve its space

Burberry Group had its market value plunge 70 percent from the past year, causing the brand to lose its inclusion in London's FTSE 100 stock list. 

Gucci and Hugo Boss have also been hit hard, both losing half their value over the past year. Gucci is owned by Kering, which owns Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, which was Europe's largest company by market cap a year ago, has fallen to second place.

To that end, Tiffany & Co owned by LVMH is looking to halve the size of its Shanghai flagship store, while high-end malls in Hong Kong are practically empty. 

Hermes is sitting pretty with Brunello Cucinelli

The only brands doing well are the ones catering to the uber rich -- Hermes International selling Kelly and Birkin bags, and Brunello Cucinelli with its cashmere sweaters. 

May they live long and prosper!

Chinatown Eats: New Town Bakery & Restaurant

Barbecue duck with thick rice noodles at New Town Bakery

Earlier this week we went to New Town Bakery & Restaurant in Vancouver's Chinatown for lunch and by the time we got there after 1pm, all the tables were occupied and we had to wait. Luckily it wasn't too long -- after a few minutes some customers left and we got a booth for four of us.

The fish cakes were better than the fish balls

One friend was from out of town in London and he was eager to try some barbecue duck because it's not something he can eat there. And just his luck it was available with thick rice noodles too.

We ordered two bowls and my friend and I had fish ball with ho fun or wide rice noodles in soup.

The bowl of fish balls arrived and I was surprised to find they were a bit small -- you can't tell from the picture but they were miniature. While they weren't that bouncy in texture -- like the ones I had in Singapore -- the thick fish cakes were actually quite good.

Meanwhile the two friends who ordered the barbecue duck were impressed by the serving and promptly dug into the bowl that also came with some boiled cabbage. While the meat was tender it was a bit on the chewy side, but it satisfied the craving.

Flaky egg tarts for dessert

There was enough room for dessert and we had a round of warm egg tarts with the flaky pastry crust that hit the spot.

New Town Bakery

148 East Pender Street

Vancouver, BC
604 689 7835

Man Charged with Spying in UK Found Dead

Trickett was found dead on Sunday in a park

It was shocking news that one of the three men involved in allegedly spying for Hong Kong was found dead in a park on Sunday.

The body of Matthew Trickett, 37, was found in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and the Thames Valley Police are treating the death as "unexplained".

Trickett was out on bail last week, along with Peter Wai Chi-leung, 38, and Bill Yuen Chung-biu, 63, pending their next court appearance which was scheduled for Friday.

The trio were charged with assisting an overseas intelligence service and foreign interference, which violates the National Security Act 2023.

Yuen is of particular interest because he is an employee at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.

As Trickett's family has asked for privacy, his solicitor, Julian Hayes said the defence team was "naturally shocked" at the news and was supporting the family "as best we can".

His death is being investigated and an autopsy will be performed  in "due course".

This only leaves more questions than answers, and the immediate one is if the court hearing will still go ahead on Friday...

Three Men Charged in the UK under National Security Act

Three men have been charged under the National Security Act

Three men have been charged under Britain's National Security Act for allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service according to the London Metropolitan Police on Monday.

The trio are Peter Wai Chi-leung, 38, Matthew Trickett, 37, and Bill Yuen Chung-biu, 63. Yuen is of particular interest because the Hong Kong government confirmed he is an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in London.

Yuen is the office manager at the London HKETO

They are alleged to have carried out surveillance, gathered information, and forced entry into a residential address in the United Kindom.

Yuen is believed to be a former police officer, while Wai is understood to be a city of London Police special constable and the director of D5 Security Limited, and has over 20 years' experience in the British military, police and private security sector.

Finally Trickett was an immigration enforcement officer, and also a director of MTR Consultancy, a security, surveillance and private investigation firm.

With these charges, particularly on Yuen, some countries may review the roles of HKETOs on their soil; in the meantime this latest development could further sour relations between the UK and China.

Nevertheless, pro-China experts were quick to be on the defensive. 

Lau Siu-kai of the semi-official Beijing think tank, the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said: "It is indeed reasonable for the Hong Kong authorities to look into the anti-China activists," he said.

Wai has police and military experience

"Britain might want to demonstrate their responsibilities in protecting these anti-China activists now settled in the country, but is this so-called information really that significant which could threaten national security?"

Meanwhile Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu warned countries against their attempts to interfere with Hong Kong's trade promotion outposts overseas.

"Any attempt to interfere with the work of the [HKETOs] in different places will be against free trade and free economy, and will be harming the economy of the countries that try to do bad things to the operation of the [HKETOs]," Lee added. 

"We will of course, do our best to protect the rightful interest and the rights that [HKETOs] enjoy as a result of legitimate officials working for the Hong Kong government, and we'll urge all governments to respect the rightful duty of our [HKETOs] in their economies."

Trickett has a private investigation firm

In the meantime, Tom Tugendhat, Britain's security minister, said Monday that the National Security Act, which was passed last year to target threats from foreign states, was a game-changer in terms of the country's ability to crack down on foreign intelligence services and hostile actors.

Currently Hong Kong has 14 HKETOs outside China, including one in London, three in the United States, and two in Canada, one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver. These offices enjoy some of the privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions.

How Hong Kong's Airport Capacity Stacks Against Other Cities

Hong Kong is struggling to increase its airport capacity

See this chart? It tracks the capacity of several international airports in seeing if they are back to 100 percent capacity post-pandemic.

You can see Singapore Changi Airport represented by a black line on the graph and it has already broken through the 100 percent mark along with London Heathrow in yellow.

New York's John F Kennedy International Airport (green line) was well over 100 percent in November, but declining slightly at the moment, while Incheon Airport in Seoul is at 99.9 percent (pink line).

Haneda Airport in Tokyo? Well it hit 100 percent last May and was already at 110 percent in mid September.

Where's Hong Kong International Airport (blue)?

In December it reached a high of around 75 percent, but it has since plunged in January (no figures yet for February). 

This is what happens when there is a clear road map out of the pandemic by reopening faster. Around Christmastime the airline was short 500 pilots to fly Cathay Pacific planes and that resulted in numerous cancellations which left a bad impression with passengers, new and loyal.

While Cathay recently announced a HK$9.78 billion (US$1.3 billion) net profit last year, it doesn't believe it will return to 2019 capacity levels until 2025, and so HKIA's blue line on the graph won't be hitting 100 percent anytime soon...

Barely Recruiting Hong Kong's Finest

The force is actively looking for applicants at home and abroad

The Hong Kong Police Force is still desperate for recruits, despite dangling very good salaries and benefits. It's now gotten to the point where the force has lowered its requirements to make it easier to get more applicants.

It happened last May, when height and weight minimums were scrapped. Previously men had to have a minimum height of 163cm and 50kg, and 152cm and 42kg for women. They could also wear corrective lenses.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung gave an update on the recruitment situation in the Legislative Council on January 10.

Tang gave an update at the Legislative Council

He said: "The Hong Kong Police Force has been adopting proactive recruitment strategies to attract high calibre candidates who have the competence to become a police officer, the affection for the Motherland and Hong Kong, and the passion to serve the public so that the force can continue to demonstrate its professional capability and maintain Hong Kong as one of the safest cities in the world."

While he says there has been no change in the language requirements of all police officers (should read, write and speak fluent Cantonese), the force has developed its own Chinese and English proficiency test "to suit the police officers' practical needs in communication and comprehension when performing their day-to-day duties".

What were the results?

On December 31, 2023, Tang says 87 applicants took the General Chinese Test, and 623 the General English Test, and 14 took both.

University recruitment poster in China

"The passing rates for the General Chinese Test and the General English Test were 49.4 percent, and 27.6 percent respectively," he said.

Those rates don't really bode well for the force or Hong Kong.

In addition, Tang says the force is recruiting applicants on the mainland, specifically looking for Hongkongers studying in China with 23 successfully hired, as well as students in overseas cities like London, Toronto and Sydney, where 40 who joined the HKPF.

"It is the HKPF's initial plan to resume publicity and recruitment campaigns overseas later this year," he said.

Good luck Mr Tang.

Graffiti with Chinese Characteristics

The "art" before it was covered in graffiti in an angry response

Brick Lane in East London is known for graffiti on the walls, adding an artistic touch to the neighbourhood.

However, some Chinese art students whitewashed a long wall with white paint and then spray painted in red 24 Chinese characters that would easily have been spotted in their homeland: "Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship".

The words are meant to represent the core values of socialism.

The 24 characters sparked fierce criticism

However reaction was swift.

On top of the whitewashed wall was instant feedback on the "art".

There were strong words, like "F*** Communism", "Remember June 4th", "No Freedom in China", "But some are more equal than others", while in between the characters for "patriotism" there's a sticker of the face of Chinese leader Xi Jinping with the words, "No Xi Dictatorship".

These are only a few of the examples.

The "art" or "art stunt" also raised questions as to whether the students should have even painted Chinese slogans in the UK, or did they do this as an act of satire?

Regardless it riled up a lot of people, including many Chinese living there who do not want to return to China and graffitied the graffiti.

Someone took the time to type up a description of the "art work" as one would find in a gallery or museum to give it context.

Sticker reads "No Xi Dictatorship"

It reads in part:

"The twelve Core Socialist Values are a set of official interpretations of Chinese Socialism promoted in China since 2012. Written in 24 Chinese characters, they represent the values of

"prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity and friendship

"The sight of this slogan is ubiquitous in public spaces around China, frequently appearing as giant posters and as stand-alone installations. Chinese President Xi Jinping aims to promote these values in a campaign to the extent that public support for Chinese-style Socialism will be "as ubiquitous as the air".

"In August 2023, a group of free-spirited Chinese artists from London painted these values on a graffiti wall in Brick Lane, East London, deliberately emulating the style that these would have been found in a Chinese setting. In an adamant display of freedom of expression, the characters stand as a silent reminder of the oppression of thought, press freedom and to free speech that is still rampant in China in 2023."

It ends with "#agendasetting".

Yuen Long Attacks Not Forgotten

Lots of police in Yuen Long for the anniversary of 7/21 attacks

On the fourth anniversary of the July 21 Yuen Long attacks, the Hong Kong police were out in force and arrested eight men and two women in Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai. 

The police did numerous stop-and-searches of people in the area, and even journalists there had to produce identification and credentials.

Police arrested Grandma Wong (right)

One of the women detained was Alexandra Wong known as "Grandma Wong" who has been supportive of the protesters since 2019. The police searched her bags which included a yellow umbrella and a British flag.

She and another woman were arrested for allegedly being involved in misconduct in a public place. Two men allegedly possessed offensive weapons, and another accused of possessing dangerous drugs.

Another man was arrested for alleged illegal entry, while the other four were found to have unpaid fines.

Meanwhile across the Pacific Ocean in downtown Vancouver, many gathered in Waterfront Station to mark the anniversary. 

People gathered at Piccadilly Circus in London

They did what they couldn't do in Hong Kong. They wore black and waved flags with the banned protest slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times", and sang "Glory to Hong Kong".

Remembrances were also held in London and Birmingham too.

Friends visiting from Hong Kong have told me how the city has become a police state, with a huge presence all the time on the streets -- even in outlying islands -- and constantly checking people's IDs. 

"Happy Hong Kong", isn't it. 

 

Legal Win for Jimmy Lai

Lai's legal team has a boost with well-known UK barrister

A big win for Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying -- to have his request granted of having a prominent British barrister represent him in his upcoming national security law collusion trial.

The Court of Appeal made the ruling on Wednesday, following a decision by High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor last month to allow King's Counsel Tim Owen from London to join Lai's legal team for public interest.

Owen's participation was opposed by the Department of Justice and the Bar Association, but the latter did not lodge an appeal against the chief judge's ruling.

Owen has worked on many cases in Hong Kong

The department argued that overseas counsel could not explain to judges new perspectives on the national security law, that was imposed by Beijing in June 2020, as they lacked a full understanding of the city's unique socio-political and constitutional context.

In other words they claimed he was an outsider who did not have a full appreciation of what was going on in Hong Kong at the time.

But the appeal court dismissed the argument, saying: "The forthcoming criminal trial is a high profile case attracting substantial publicity locally and abroad. It involves the resolution of legal issues of great general public importance that would impact substantially on the development of [national security law] jurisprudence and sedition offences," Wednesday's judgment said, without identifying the author.

"Public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice. The court must adopt a flexible and sensible approach to arrive at a decision that would best suit the public interest in this application."

High Court Chief Justice Jeremy Poon

The 74-year-old Lai will stand trial next month before a three-judge panel in the Court of First Instance on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Prosecutors are accusing Lai of conspiracy to attract foreign sanctions or blockades against city and mainland Chinese officials through pieces published by his now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, as well as through a lobbying group he is alleged to have directed and financed behind the scenes.

Owen is no stranger to Hong Kong, having worked on several high-profile cases, including Rurik Jutting, an ex-British banker who was convicted of murdering two women in 2016, and the highest ranking officer among seven policemen prosecuted for assault on a protester during the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

The department must be fuming, and by extension the government. Some pundits on Twitter think the authorities may change the rules to prevent Owen from representing Lai but the timing might be too late for that.

This development has shown it is possible to get decent if not really good representation in court.

By the same token it also helps if you yourself refuse to go down without a fight, as in the case of Chow Hang-tung, who is remanded in custody and is facing two national security law charges including subversion.

Chow fighting every legal avenue from jail

She was a part of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil every year in Victoria Park for 30 years. 

For that Chow says it is impossible for her to plead guilty she said in court. "Pursuing democracy is not a crime. I plead not guilty." 

A trained lawyer, Chow is defending herself and is methodically fighting whatever legal avenue she can think of, including making 15 bail applications for the two cases, but all have been denied.

But she did get a big win -- to allow the media to report on pre-trial hearings for national security law cases. Not only does that allow the media to report on how the national security law is applied, but also see the physical state of the accused in court.

Chow also uses the opportunity to shout out her slogans to the gallery, "Do not forget June 4. Resist till the end!" in a bid to publicise the goals of the movement.

Her biggest fear is not jail itself, but the world becoming indifferent to increasing abuse.

She seems prepared for the long fight along with Lai. They are not going gently into the good night.