Vanity Plates in HK for a Price

Just some of the thousands of vanity plates in Hong Kong

If you want a personalised license plate in Hong Kong you need to bid for it, even if you're quite sure you're the only person who's going to want it.

I found this out through a friend of mine who absolutely adores rabbits and so she wanted the license plate "wabbit" as in Bugs Bunny.

Some license plates are just plain amusing...

She had to attend the auction when her license plate came up and (luckily) no one else wanted to compete against her to bid for it so she paid the HK$5,000 (US$640).

But what if it's a license place other people want? 

The other day the Transport Department held an auction the other day of lucky license plates after the Lunar New Year.

The ones up for grabs were:

1388

UU 88

TT 888

VV 8888

292

And one with just the letter "R", considered a lucky plate because it is related to racing cars and the first letter denoting the Year of the Rabbit, raked in a whopping HK$25 million (US$3.18 million).

It is the second-highest amount paid for vanity plates.

Other plates are strictly for the privileged...

Bidding for "R" started at the base price of HK$5,000 and several bidders soon pushed the price up to HK$2 million then HK$9 million. It was finally after 60 rounds that it was finally sold for HK$25.5 million, about 5,200 times the opening price.

Some people commenting on the news story remarked how this was a great way for the government to collect more coffers from the rich rather than further burdening the poor, while others pointed out the pandemic hasn't hurt the wealthy at all. 

The money apparently goes to charities around the city.

With other personalised plates like "God", "Wanker", "I Know", and "U Wish" hints the personalities of the car owners who wanted them -- at any price...

Balloon-gate Ends with a Bang

The moment the balloon was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet

The deed was done -- an F-22 fighter jet shot down the giant Chinese so-called weather balloon as it was hovering over the Atlantic Ocean, six miles off the coast of South Carolina.

Thus came the end of the balloon saga, following US President Joe Biden's order.

"I told them to shoot it down," he said on his way to Camp David. "They said to me, let's wait until the safest place to do it."

Biden gave a statement after the ballon was shot

And so it was shot down at 2.39pm EST, and the Pentagon said the Navy and Coast Guard would recover as much of the debris for further examination.

Meanwhile the Chinese expressed its "strong discontent and protest" about the downing of the balloon, repeating its explanation that it was a civilian aircraft that had inadvertently strayed into North American air space.

"In these circumstances, for the United States to insist on using armed force is clearly an excessive reaction that seriously violates international convention," the Chinese foreign ministry statement said. 

"China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise involved, and retains the right to respond further."

The US told the Chinese the possibility of them shooting down the balloon -- it was floating over the US for seven days, thus giving the Chinese several opportunities to own up to the incident, but apparently its reason was not convincing enough.

The debris is being recovered for examination

Some experts say the balloon may have been literally a trial balloon to see how the US would react, and others say perhaps Beijing is testing its latest surveillance capabilities.

In any event, there is now a second balloon flying over South America... 

What is hard to understand is why this balloon mission was given the green light at this time, further ratcheting up tensions between China and the US. Is Xi Jinping looking for a fight on the last day of the Lunar New Year?

Where Did Mainland Visitors Go?

Around 11K mainland visitors come daily to Hong Kong

It is day eight of the Lunar New Year and the windfall of Chinese tourists flooding Hong Kong did not happen.

There had been reports before the Year of the Rabbit began that some 1 million people applied for visas to travel to Hong Kong and Macau.

Shops did not see flood of tourists as expected

Perhaps the majority of them decided to stay closer to home instead?

So far 64,000 people visited Macau on average everyday during the Lunar New Year, of which 37,800 were from China. In contrast, during the same period, only 23,000 people visited Hong Kong daily, and only 11,000 of them were from the mainland.

Newspaper editorials like the one in the Hong Kong Standard are complaining that it took Hong Kong much longer than Macau to settle a deal with Guangdong to drop PCR tests, and the daily cap of visitors coming in either increased or scrapped entirely.

Hong Kong's outgoing deputy at the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Tam Yiu-chung, says he expects Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to announce the removal of the PCR test mandate for those traveling between Hong Kong and the mainland tomorrow.

Macau seeing way more mainlanders than HK

If that happens, that could help salvage the last few days of the Lunar New Year, or looking long-term,  hopefully entice more people to come back to the city.

Year of the Rabbit Won't be a Big Leap Forward

Cute pink fluffy rabbit at Pacific Place in Admiralty

The Year of the Tiger is just about over and most people would agree to be happy to see it leave and usher in the Year of the Rabbit.

While the Rabbit is known for its politeness, and patience, it is also shrewd.

However, many Hong Kong fortune tellers don't believe the Year of the Rabbit -- a water one -- it won't be hopping into too bright of a future.

Lee and his wife sending good wishes for CNY

They believe the property market will still be weak, the economy will not completely rebound, and Covid-19 will still linger.

Things may be tough for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu as he is born in the Year of the Rooster, which clashes with the rabbit. 

"His policies may face resistance or not turn out as planned," said Yunwenzi, or Master Cloud, a specialist in Qimen Dunjia, the ancient Chinese art of divination. She predicted the protests in 2019.

She advised Lee to be patient, saying: "Although society is turning more peaceful and harmonious, allowing him to push reforms more easily, it will take time to see results."

Geomancer Tong Pik-ha suggested Lee could improve his luck by going to more celebratory events. "He should travel more, perhaps go overseas to tell more good stories about Hong Kong," she said.

Chan in Davos promoting Hong Kong

Like what Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is doing, wandering the streets of Davos, Switzerland and trying to convince the Swiss to visit Hong Kong by looking at videos on his super old iPad...

Meanwhile well-known soothsayer Raymond Lo Hang-lap isn't optimistic about the year ahead.

"There is a total absence of the fire element in the Rabbit year," he said. "Fire is a symbol of happiness and positive energy. When fire is absent, there will be less drive for investment activities. There may also be setbacks in the stock market."

Sounds like a repeat of this past year...

On that note, we certainly hope things will be better in the Year of the Rabbit!

祝你i新年快乐！身体健康！心想事成！万事如意！

Hong Kong's Nightlife Perks Up

People visiting bars and nightclubs no longer need RAT tests

Hong Kong's re-opening continues with bars and nightclubs thrilled at the news that its patrons no longer need to show a negative rapid antigen test to enter, or at cinemas, museums, amusement parks and performance venues. 

While the cap on banquets at 240 people has been lifted (how did they even come up with that number?), the rules that a maximum of 12 per table and wearing masks in public still remain.

Lee will visit Beijing on Wednesday

It seems the Hong Kong government doesn't seem to care how the lifting of social-distancing measures has had on the healthcare system, with over 14,500 new infections, 4,105 need to be hospitalised. That said there are 41 patients in ICU.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu warned the number of people receiving hospital treatment surged to over 4,000 -- four times the figure of when arrivals to Hong Kong underwent "0+3".

"The consideration is that we have to gradually open up while putting the risk under control," he said during a press conference announcing he would travel to Beijing on Wednesday until Saturday.

On the agenda? Talks to reopen the border with China, and ask about the progress for Beijing for its interpretation of the national security law on whether overseas counsel were allowed to take part in relevant cases, and in this case Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

But back to the lifting of Covid-19 rules -- people can finally freely patronise bars and nightclubs, and restaurants and hotels are doing brisk business, why is it that people can't gather to watch fireworks still?

The government released a notice saying the 2023 Lunar New Year fireworks display would be cancelled. 

Yet another lunar new year without fireworks

"While there have been adjustments to the anti-epidemic measures recently, allowing the staging of more large-scale activities in society, this year's Lunar New Year Fireworks Display could not be organised in time, as it normally takes two to three months to arrange," it said.

Seems like the government was either caught completely off guard by the recent developments or it's a cost-saving measure. Either way it has sucked out the fun of the upcoming Year of the Rabbit already.