A Natural Form of Resilience

Chinese tourists in Kennedy Town last year

On Xiaohongshu, Chinese tourists flock to Kennedy Town, specifically Forbes Street to take pictures of and with the banyan trees that seem to effortlessly cling onto the wall. This phenomenon is unique to Hong Kong.

Some people call them masonry wall trees because stone walls were built between the 19th century and World War II as retaining walls using stone.

Banyan trees in Kowloon Park

As these walls were being constructed, some banyan tree seeds may have blown into the crevices of the stone walls or dropped by birds and managed to sprout and grow, with their roots on the outside of the wall. It's quite amazing these trees have managed to flourish despite such an unnatural environment to establish themselves in.

There are many trees in Kennedy Town, Mid-Levels and Wan Chai.

On this trip I saw some of these banyan trees in Kowloon Park, adjacent to the aviary pond.

Banyan trees are considered to have good feng shui, symbolising longevity and perseverance. It is not a tree that is cut down for its wood because its wood is full of knots, and it is hard to set on fire so it can't be used as firewood.

These trees are beautiful signs of resilience in nature!

Ip Evades Stamp Duty Buying HK$51.8M Flat

Ip's holding company to buy flat is called Magic Fiddle

Executive Council Convenor and chairperson of the New People's Party Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee has recently made a purchase.

It's not a Burberry handbag, but it's blooming big -- a flat called Bowen Place on Bowen Road for a whopping HK$51.8 million (US$6.62 million).

But what's interesting is the way Ip went about buying the place by avoiding paying the 15 percent stamp duty which would have been around HK$7.66 million

Bowen Place on Bowen Road in Mid-Levels

She set up a company called Magic Fiddle Limited to buy out Allway Holdings Limited, which owned the flat in Mid-Levels.

Instead Ip only paid 0.2 percent in taxes, or HK$103,600.

Ip explained the flat was for her daughter, and that she had wanted to purchase it as a first-time homeowner, but that the seller wanted to do the transaction through a company transfer, or buying out the shares.

The owner of Allway Holdings was Michelle Cheng, who is the owner and CEO of Occasions Asia Pacific, a public relations company. Ip added while Occasions had helped her with organising an event before, she claimed she did not know Cheng personally.

In 2018 local policy think tank Liber Research Community found the Hong Kong government had lost at least HK$9.4 billion since 2010 because buyers evaded paying stamp duties by buying real estate through share transfers.

Ip with daughter Cynthia in 2008

According to the study of the 126 transactions, 90 cases involved foreign buyers, with some being high-level executives of mainland property companies, ex-members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and local celebrities.

One would have thought after a study like that the government would want to close that loophole in a bid to build up its coffers, but it still hasn't done so five years on.

After Ip's purchase was reported in HK01, she defended it, saying the transaction was above board, and that she did nothing wrong.

"A lot of the comments are unfair and really quite ignorant... I think it is quite unfair to suggest that [property] purchased through a company is tax evasion... It is the buyer's choice, in a way which is the most convenient," she said.

Being rich has its benefits, including being even richer.

Lam's New Bling Digs

Lam's office will be at Pacific Place One in Admiralty

There was a lot of excitement and confusion when former TVB anchor Chris Wong posted on social media that former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was spotted in Heathrow Airport in London, appearing to be transferring to go somewhere else.

Ex-TVB anchor misreported Lam being in the UK

But it turned out to be a lot of baloney when she was photographed at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai the day before the Hong Kong Book Fair opened.

She was there having breakfast alone before attending a seminar held by a pro-Beijing think tank.

There was a flurry of comments wondering why Lam would be in the UK when she has been sanctioned there.

Nevertheless, there is definitely brouhaha over the news that she has an office -- she has retired, why does she need an office? -- in Pacific Place -- and that it will cost a whopping HK$22 million (US$2.8 million) over three years.

She is still in HK, spotted here at HKCEC

And yes, taxpayers must foot the bill.

The 2,874 sq ft space above the shopping mall in Admiralty will cost HK$377,000 per month in rent for a three-year contract.

The space is being renovated at the tune of HK$8.7 million.

Since the time of Tung Chee-hwa as the first chief executive, each successive leader has had an office set up for them by the government so that they can perform such activities as "receiving visiting dignitaries and delegations, giving local and overseas media interviews, and taking part in speaking engagements."

The offices of previous leaders have been situated in a historic building in Mid-Levels, and so Lam's office will be the first one located on commercial property.

It doesn't seem like there was any discussion about how much rent taxpayers should be shelling out for an office for arguably the most hated chief executive (so far). Nor does there seem to be any discussion of a tender...

And as a former chief executive her perks include having a chauffeur, a senior personal assistant and an assistant clerical officer.

Lam's office is the first on commercial property

It seem the cost of her office is way more than the previous three chief executives combined at only HK$11.4 million for 2020-21.

Dominic Lee Tsz-king of the New People's Party seems to be the only one grumbling about Lam's office, describing it as "too expensive and unnecessary."

"I don't understand why a separate office needs to be rented in such a premium location... so much taxpayers' money will be spent," he said.

Indeed, many are wondering the same thing.