New Street Signs Stir Controversy

The calligraphic style of Wen Yue Type in Central

Some Hong Kong residents have taken pictures of recently installed street signs in a new font that has them riled up, and understandably so.

There are around 60 new street signs in three select locations that are, according to the Highways Department, a bid to beautify the city's streetscape.

The three districts are: the Outlying Islands Ferry Pier in Central, Tai Wai MTR station, and Lo Tak Court in Tsuen Wan.

Experts say the font hard to read for long periods

Called Wen Yue Type, the font inspired by the Ming dynasty, was designed by a mainland Chinese company that is meant to convey a sense of rhythm with its calligraphic features as it has thick and thin lines.

"The font aims to infuse a rich cultural ambience into the landscape and atmosphere of the community. It is well-proportioned, and its overall design is consistent with existing nameplates, effectively providing street information to the public," said a statement from the Highways Department to a media query.

Hong Kong currently uses the Avector Chinese TrueType Font (Hong Kong), which a design academic says may seem boring, but it's clear and straightforward.

Brian Kwok Sze-hang, associate professor at the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University says the new font is more decorative and that it "can be tiring to read for an extended period".

In addition he questioned how the font would infuse cultural ambience.

"When we talk about culture, it should be linked to the history of the city or neighbourhood. Changing the font on a street nameplate does not necessarily instil cultural awareness. While they may have selected a font to represent the culture, they have applied it to the wrong subject," Kwok said.

The current font is straightforward 

Meanwhile Gary Yau, founder of the Road Research Society, wondered if the new font had adequate traditional Chinese characters for some street names with advanced characters.

"I question whether this classic font, mainly applied in simplified Chinese, can truly represent Hong Kong's distinctive features," he said, noting there are fonts designed for Hong Kong that use traditional characters.

The Highways Department added there were no immediately plans to have the new street nameplate designs throughout the entire city. 

Then why do it? And why these three locations?

It's a mystery that has more nays than yeas.

Protestor Shot by Police is Sentenced to Jail

Tsang was sentenced to three and a half years in jail

The convictions against 2019 protesters continue with one who was shot by the police has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for rioting and assaulting a police officer.

Tsang Chi-kin, who was 18 years old at the time, was involved in clashes with the police on October 1, 2019. He was in Tsuen Wan when an officer fired a live round at close range at Tsang -- shooting him in his left lung, only 3cm from his heart.

He was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later had the bullet removed.

Tsang was shot by a police officer October 1

According to Judge Ada Yim, before Tsang was shot, some 200 protesters were gathered in the area, throwing Molotov cocktails and bricks at the police, and setting fires. 

At the time Tsang was dressed head to toe in black, including goggles and gloves, and was carrying a makeshift shield.

He had no prior criminal record, and was diagnosed with depression in 2017. Yim said Tsang cooperated with the police investigation and wrote his own plea letter regretting his actions. But she said his depression and injury from the shooting were not reasons for a lower penalty.

She handed him a sentence of 40 months for rioting, and an additional seven months for assaulting a police officer. 

Last July Tsang was arrested along with three others in Sai Kung as they were planning to escape to Taiwan by boat. Before that, the four had been hiding in various safehouses for two years until crowdfunded money ran out.

Tsang examining his X-rays

The courts continue to convict, with at last count in April, some 6,000 more cases to go. 

Tsang will do his time, and then what will his future be in Hong Kong? Does he even have a future there?

 

Store Supporting Protests Shuttered

The last Chickeeduck store closed in Tsuen Wan yesterday

Hong Kong brand Chickeeduck sold mostly children's clothing with cute cartoon designs, but also adult tops such as T-shirts and sweatshirts. 

It became even more famous when its owner, Herbert Chow Siu-lung openly supported the anti-extradition protests in 2019, even placing a "Lady Liberty" statue of a female protester complete with a yellow hard hat and gas mask in his store.

Chow with the Lady Liberty statue in his store

The store also sold protest paraphernalia, like tote bags showing five cartoon ducks swimming on one side, and a flag-bearing chicken on the other, directly related to the slogan, "Five demands, not one less". 

While those supporting the protests flocked to the brand's several locations to snap up clothing from the stores, Chickeeduck also faced a lot of harassment, causing Chow to announce in November 2021 he was going to close his stores the following year.

"In the past 18 months Chickeeduck has been suffering unprecedented harassment by unidentifiable malicious forces," Chow wrote in a statement in November 2021.

"Instead of wasting time, energy and resources to fight against unidentifiable malicious forces, which have caused personal risks against the company's staff, artists and local collaboration brands, we would rather take one step back and exit."

The shop sold protest-related products

At the same time mainland manufacturers producing goods for Chickeeduck were pressured to stop, while shopping malls and other landlords either did not renew leases or demanded to end the contract earlier.

Yesterday was the last day of Chickeeduck's operations at its Tsuen Wan store. People not only visited the store to buy up the last of the merchandise, but also the media were on hand to record the event. When the shop was about to close for good, a large crowd had gathered outside on the street to witness the end of the brand's brick and mortar shop.

The sign on the door? In Chinese it reminded people: "We must not get used to this."

The day before I left Hong Kong, almost a year ago, my friend YTSL took me to the Chickeeduck store near where she lived (now closed). 

"We must not get used to this" says the sign

When we got there, the young woman was about to lock the door for the night when we begged her to let us in. She told us to come back the next day when I said, "But I'm leaving Hong Kong tomorrow!" 

She didn't hesitate to let us in.

I didn't want to take too much of her time and quickly decided on a T-shirt, which YTSL gave me as a farewell present.

Moments like these you will never forget.

Suspended Students Leads to Firestorm over Cartoon

Zunzi's cartoon sparked complaints from the police

The Education Bureau has told St Francis Xavier's school in Tsuen Wan to submit a report that resulted in 14 students being suspended for apparently disrespecting China's anthem and emblem when they failed to turn up for the flag-raising ceremony.

One of the students said he was confused by the punishment as suspensions are reserved for students who smoke on campus or get caught in a fight.

"Although I'm back at school now, I have no idea why I was punished," he said.

St Francis Xavier School in Tsuen Wan

The student said that morning they were eating breakfast in the school playground when the anthem started playing.

He began walking over when he heard the anthem but was stopped by the principal who told the students they were suspended and ordered to pack up their things and leave.

"How could you decide this before having any evidence? Everyone in Form Six is racing against time doing past [exam] papers. Have you considered us before suspending us?" asked another student.

In a letter to parents, the school said the 14 students were suspended for "breaking school rules" because they had failed to turn up for assembly.

The flag-raising ceremony is mandated to be held on a weekly basis. 

Some lawmakers said the punishment may have been too harsh, but still felt the students were in the wrong.

But others had another opinion.

Leo Chu Tsz-lok, the education affairs spokesman for the Democratic Party, urged authorities to review the manner in which the school had handled the incident.

Zunzi's caricature self-portrait

"You can't boost one's patriotism by punishing [students]. While there are guidelines from education authorities on the flag-raising ceremony, students should not be taken to task at every turn just for some minor and careless mistakes."

Political cartoonist Zunzi made a mockery of the incident in a political cartoon, but was admonished by the police for painting them in a bad light.

The cartoon shows riot police arriving at a school, with one officer asking a bespectacled woman: "What bad things have the students done today, headmistress Chan?" The woman lists the infringements -- using foul language, stealing an eraser, bringing along a laser pen, and talking back to the teacher.

He wanted to show the absurdity of the situation, but the police took exception and complained to Ming Pao. 

The police letter said the cartoon would mislead readers into thinking officers were called in to handle students who showed "disrespect" for the flag-raising ceremony.

The letter added the cartoon's content was "not factual" and would not only "damage the force's reputation", but also "harm the force's relations with citizens".

For the most part relations were damaged back in 2019... sending this letter showed how desperate the force is to defend its reputation, and that it didn't have a sense of humour.

Zunzi denied he was criticising the force, but instead asking for teachers to be more lenient on disciplinary matters.

The brouhaha over the cartoon made the force look even more thin-skinned and emphasised the absurdity of the school's punishment of the students.

Luckily Zunzi is not in Hong Kong anymore, but still, can no one take a joke these days?

Four Arrested in Attempt to Flee HK

Tsang two years earlier looking small and young

Many critics are pointing out how the Hong Kong police have paraded four young men who absconded their court hearings related to the 2019 protests.

The four, ranging from 16 to 24 years old, hid from the authorities for almost two years, moved from place to place at night in cardboard boxes, and it looks like they were malnourished.

Apparently their alleged plan was to leave for Taiwan, as they were arrested at Pak Tam Chung, a peninsula in southern Sai Kung very early on Wednesday morning.

Tsang (far right) and another arrestee

The police's main arrestee is Tsang Chi-kin, who some may remember was shot by a policeman in broad daylight on October 1, 2019 in Tsuen Wan.

Now three years later he is lean and skinny with very long hair. He is also escorted by policemen that some observe are shorter that Tsang to make him look taller, perhaps in a bid to show that he is no longer the young secondary student who was shot.

Critics also note that the media are not usually allowed to photograph arrestees so closely, but a few days ago they were able to get up close, perhaps to hint to others this is what happens when you try to hide from the authorities.

It's also interesting senior superintendent Li Kwai-wah attempted to sympathise what the four young men had gone through.

"Although the four arrestees had committed some offences in the past, and violated bail conditions, after seeing what they had been through and their appearance, we felt very upset and appalled," Li said.

Tsang was shot by a policeman in October 2019

The four "were living a lie and full of fear for nearly two years -- and wasted two years of their youth for nothing."

It seems ironic for Li to say this, as the four were perhaps fearful of what would happen to them if they were arrested, which is why they did what they did. It may not have been the right decision, but this what what they chose to do.

He also noted the arrestees' long, unkempt hair, and "poor mental condition" when they were arrested.

Li says the four were supported by a foreign crowd-funding group -- based in the UK -- and some people in Hong Kong moved them to different locations for two years. One arrested was a 34-year-old man. Li said the four paid the group HK$400,000 to get them out of Hong Kong.

The four had even tried to approach the US Consulate in Central in October 2020 but were denied entry. 

Seven of 12 were convicted of perverting justice

Now the national security police are involved in the investigation, and that people who had donated to the group's crowdfunding activity may have violated the law. 

And by the way seven of the 12 people who were first reported to attempt to flee to Taiwan were handed sentences ranging from seven to 10 months in jail for perverting the course of justice.

They all pleaded guilty after having served several months in prison across the border for entering China illegally.