Labubu's Panda-monium Promotes Hong Kong

Yeoh posing with her special edition Labubu with twin pandas

Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh has become the latest Labubu fan after she was gifted a custom one holding two panda cubs that are celebrating their first birthday in Hong Kong.

Yeoh posted pictures of herself on Instagram holding the doll with a mischievous grin with a giant bucket of popcorn, another with British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, and a shot with fellow Wicked actor Jeff Goldblum.

Jia Jia and De De were born in Hong Kong

"Celebrating Hong Kong born Panda Twins first birthday (and my birthday too) with Labubu in the Hollywood Bowl!!! Thank you @discoverhongkong for sending the greatest companions!" she wrote.

Yeoh is one of several celebrities who received the specially-designed Labubu doll as part of a collaboration between the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the toy's creator, Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, to mark the twin pandas' first birthday and promote the city... of course.

The cubs, Jia Jia and De De, who were born on August 15, are the first pandas to be born in Hong Kong and this promotion is a way to prolong panda-monium a bit longer.

Seems like just about everyone has caught onto the Labubu craze, and the government is riding the wave with this special doll. 

Will it catch on with Labubu fans? The sales numbers will tell.

HK$700K on Panda Naming Competition

An An and Ke Ke are the newest attractions at Ocean Park

The pair of pandas that have created panda-monium at Ocean Park are keeping their original names despite the government spending HK$700,000 for a naming competition.

On July 1, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced Beijing would gift Hong Kong a pair of giant pandas to Ocean Park. They were named An An and Ke Ke.

But the authorities decided to get the public to "exercise creativity and suggest meaningful new names for the giant pandas that highlight their characteristics." 

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (up until recently under Kevin Yeung Yun-hung) spent the HK$700,000 on building a website for the competition, have advertisements posted in MTR stations and on the internet, and procure prizes for the winners.

Hong Kong residents submitted 22,600 names, but in the end the judges (who did this job on a voluntary basis), chose the winner, a man who suggested the pandas keep their original names.

Groan.

He told reporters that he was a "panda lover" and had read that it was difficult for pandas to get used to new names after the age of five. An An and Ke Ke are both five-years old.

The winner received prizes worth HK$47,320, including a tourbillon watch valued at HK$36,800, and membership and vouchers for Ocean Park.

Merit prizes were handed out to eight rejected names.

The newly appointed culture minister Rosanna Law Shuk-pui defended the naming contest when a reporter asked if it had been a waste of taxpayer money if the pandas were not renamed.

"When [the results] were announced... there was a round of applause," she said. "I think if we did not have this competition, we would not know that majority of the participants felt it was better to keep the names An An and Ke Ke."

Wait -- so does that mean the majority of the suggestions were to keep the original names? Then why did that man win a watch? Was this a vote or a naming competition? 

"An An" means a peaceful and stable future for Hong Kong, while "Ke Ke" suggests unlimited possibilities for the city.

The Hype of Pandas Coming to HK

HK and Chinese officials are excited about pandas coming

As if a distraction from Hong Kong's struggling economy, there's a lot of attention focused on the city getting a pair of pandas from China. Even Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has flown to Sichuan to see pandas, though it's not clear if he's seen the pandas chosen for Hong Kong.

"The male panda weights 120kg and has been described as agile, clever and active, while the female is around 100kg and is gentle and adorable, with a mild temperament," Lee said. 

Hmm... sounds like what he expects male-female relationships to be like... whatever the species...

Lee (far left) seeing pandas in Sichuan

Lee hopes the pair will produce offspring to bring "even more joy and warmth" to the public.

Before the pandas come to Hong Kong, they need to be quarantined for 30 days in China and another 30 days in Hong Kong before the public can see them.

Again where did this 60-day quarantine number come from?

The Chief Executive hopes to have the pandas by -- you guessed it -- October 1, National Day.

Communist Party secretary of Sichuan Wang Xiaohui met the Hong Kong delegation on Monday and said the central government's move to give the pair of pandas to Hong Kong showed its care and support.

"Sichuan is the hometown of giant pandas, and the pandas gifted to Hong Kong by the central government all come from Sichuan," Wang said. "Giant pandas have become special envoys and a bond of friendship between the people of Sichuan and Hong Kong.

"Under the unified arrangements of the central government, we will fully cooperate and make all necessary preparations to ensure that the giant pandas can soon arrive and meet with the people of Hong Kong."

The hype is growing...

HK's Economy Strugging in the Doldrums

Hong Kong's economy won't be recovering anytime soon

Hong Kong's economy isn't going to be bouncing back anytime soon with the latest numbers.

According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the statistics are as follows:

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there's even more Hongkongers leaving the city than five years earlier, and a 39 percent drop in mainlanders coming to Hong Kong.

These numbers are not a good sign, and when Beijing has announced that permanent residents who are not ethnically Chinese can now apply for a five-year visa to the mainland, there's going to be a greater exodus from Hong Kong.

What is the Hong Kong government going to do about it, besides chasing mega events as if they were women?

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism must be relieved that he just needs to focus on collecting two pandas from Sichuan to bring to the city within months. That will involve him leading a delegation to go there to discuss the logistics of transporting the pandas, quarantine and naming them.

Hong Kong Marks 27th Anniversary of Handover

Flag-raising ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention Centre

Hey it's July 1! The 27th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong back to the motherland!

Some 4,000 police officers were deployed across the city to ensure celebrations go ahead smoothly. Those wearing what is considered seditious clothing could be stopped and questioned by police, or worse, arrested.

Celebrating the 27th anniversary of the handover

At the flag-raising ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, top officials attended, but there was no room for the public to witness the proceedings. Former chief executives Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Leung Chun-ying, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Tung Chee-hwa were there along with Zheng Yanxiong, head of the liaison office.

In an article published on Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu wrote about the passing of Article 23 that has become part of Hong Kong's "glorious history".

He said the city's door was once "wide open to both thieves and friends", and now with Article 23 in place, it is a sophisticated security system that can identify "thieves" and protect its "friends".

"For an extremely small minority of those who jeopardise national security, this law is a sharp sword pointed at them; for the community at large and foreign investors, this law is a 'protector' of their rights, freedoms, property and investments," Lee wrote.

Two new pandas will come to Ocean Park

As part of the celebrations for the anniversary of the handover, Hong Kong will receive two giant pandas that will be cared for at Ocean Park. 

In a Facebook post, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung wrote: "A new pair of giant pandas will attract a massive amount of tourists and residents, injecting impetus into Hong Kong's tourism industry."

How massive is massive? 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong permanent residents who are not of Chinese nationality will be eligible for five-year permits to enter the mainland starting from July 10. Each stay can be no longer than 90 days. Yet more people will be coming to Shenzhen to shop...

 

Biden and Xi Meet Again

Biden and Xi shake hands in highly choreographed meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden finally met again in San Francisco following over a year of tense relations between the two countries.

They had talks that lasted four hours, which is considered really productive, going over a wide range of topics from restarting military-to military direct contact, curbing fentanyl production, Taiwan, the Israel-Hamas war, and artificial intelligence.

The two leaders held talks for four hours

Xi offered a diplomatic comment: "Planet Earth is big enough" for both superpowers, and that while their countries were different, they should be "fully capable of rising above differences."

The Chinese leader also hinted the panda diplomacy program might start up again after the US sent back three pandas over a week ago.

At a press conference after Xi had left, a reporter asked Biden if he still regarded Xi a dictator, a word he had used earlier in the year.

"Well, look, he is," Biden said. "I mean, he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country."

Reporters freaked out that Biden had said the D-word, but he was just calling a spade a spade.

Will it undo the four hours of talks? No.

Perhaps panda diplomacy will restart again?

China needs the US desperately to woo back American companies to do more business in the Middle Kingdom, but the political risks are too high these days. 

Company executives and journalists being disappeared and detained, or have exit bans placed on them are not conducive to a good business environment...