HK's Special Treatment for Unvaccinated Mainlanders Draws Ire

Lee says China is the safest in the world from Covid-19

Yesterday Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu dropped a bombshell during his media briefing.

He admitted mainlanders who were not vaccinated were coming into Hong Kong, but that they weren't the cause of infections.

What?

How can they not be the cause of infections and why are they even being allowed in in the first place when Hong Kong has mandated that all travellers to the city must be vaccinated? Even going out to eat in a restaurant people soon need to be triple jabbed.

Unvaxxed mainlanders come to HK

Why is there a different set of rules for mainlanders when Hongkongers don't get a break going into China?

Lee's explanation? China infection rate is the lowest in the world.

Quite shocking he believes in the numbers...

After the uproar, Dr Joseph Tsang Kay-yan, co-chair of the Hong Kong Medical Association's advisory committee on communicable diseases said the government should stop allowing unvaccinated visitors from the mainland and Macau from coming in.

"The impression is not very good. It makes people think there's different treatment. We are not talking about anyone from any places or countries. We are talking about a set of rules in Hong Kong that are applicable to everyone," he said.

Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun echoed Tsang's comments.

"For many Hong Kong people, they will soon have to be triple-jabbed to have a 'blue health code'. Today, many of them cannot go to regulated premises if they are not double-jabbed. You cannot expect them to accept some people arriving from the mainland can have a 'blue code' without having a single jab. It's about the impression," he said.

Tien also said although people travelling from the mainland are very unlikely to be carrying Covid when they arrive into Hong Kong, they can still get infected while in the city and spread the virus further.

More elderly HKers need to be inoculated

Did no one warn Lee what came out of his mouth would leave a really bad impression and further expose the government's ignorance when it comes to Covid-19?

The authorities are so focused on punishing locals for any kind of Covid-19 infraction, that they turn a blind eye when it comes to mainland visitors. 

How about getting more elderly people vaccinated so that the city can fully open up?

The Lee administration's credibility has plunged even further now (not that it was high to start with).

Was this policy all along since the beginning of the pandemic?

Overwhelming Turnout to Mourn Queen

Davidson's picture of the sea of flowers

In the days following the Queen's death last Thursday, people in Hong Kong have been flocking to the British Consulate in Admiralty to lay flowers. The last few days have had extremely long lines that stretch through nearby Hong Kong Park to Cotton Tree Drive with people wanting to sign the condolence book.

Despite the hot weather advisory, they have been waiting in line for about three hours each day, as the condolence book is available from 10am to 4pm until this Friday.

The British Consul-General Brian Davidson tweeted that over 2,500 condolence books have been filled and he posted pictures of thousands of bouquets placed on the ground by the consulate.

Pictures and notes were also placed at consulate

It's also interesting to note that convenor of the Executive Council Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee came to the consulate earlier today with two bodyguards(!) presumably to sign the book of condolence. Interesting considering she is a staunch pro-Beijing politician. 

Did she not get the memo that Beijing stated Hong Kong was never a British colony?

A few days earlier she posted this tweet:

"Queen Elizabeth II visited Hong Kong two times during her reign. She impressed me as a dutiful and caring monarch, who had weathered many storms but never shunned her responsibilities. She is a symbol of resilience and loyalty to her people and country, May her soul rest in peace."

In any event, local media are suggesting the long lines of people at the British consulate is an unofficial referendum of how people feel about what is happening to Hong Kong, that the onslaught of changes is too much to bear, and they are nostalgic about the past, pre-1997.

People lined up for hours in hot sun to pay respects

The Queen's death has given some Hongkongers the opportunity to openly show their appreciation to the British, though critics say the country didn't do enough to give local people full democracy. Others think then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher gave up Hong Kong too easily and shouldn't have handed it back at all.

Hongkongers have until September 19 to openly mourn the Queen and all things British; once it's over, the authorities will surely be back to punishing those publicly unfurling British flags or seen pining for the UK...

Spending 25 Percent Lesson Time on Patriotism

Children will spend more class time on patriotic education

Hong Kong parents who have taken their children out of the local school system to be educated overseas must be breathing a sigh of relief they did the right thing.

That's because the Education Bureau has asked (not directed) primary schools to spend up to one-quarter of the study time towards patriotism and national security during the six years of primary education.

Topics to be covered include "the understanding of Chinese culture, the constitution, Basic Law and national security education".

Authorities also recommended organising "cross-disciplinary" exchange visits to mainland China.

This is the first change in the curriculum in eight years. A bureau spokesman said there was a need to update the primary curriculum guide to "enhance student learning", and noted the ones for kindergarten and secondary school had been updated in 2017.

There are seven learning goals, but the first and main one is to "understand our country and the Chinese culture, and cultivate a sense of belonging and national identity towards our country through national education and national security education".

In order to teach all this information, schools are to set side up to 25 percent of the 4,752 hours of lesson time during the six primary school years for organising activities to brush up their understanding of the constitution, the Basic Law and national security.

That time will be cut into lesson time for learning the Chinese and English languages, as well as mathematics.

As a parent this must be infuriating to know that precious class time is being squandered on national education, training young children to parrot Communist ideas and beliefs.

Perhaps there will be a continued spike in students leaving the city later this year?

Jimmy Lai the Hongkonger

Lai believes he is sacrificing himself for the greater good

This afternoon I went to the screening of The Hong Konger, a documentary about the life of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, how he smuggled himself on a boat to the city and became a tycoon who is now in prison on national security law charges.

The 73-minute film was screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival Centre on Seymour Street downtown. When ticket holders entered they were immediately greeted with June 4 literature from the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, a local activist group that not only organises the annual candlelight vigil that marches up Granville Street to the Chinese consulate, but also helps Hongkongers immigrating here.

While waiting for the film to start VSSDM showed a video of its various activities through the years... tedious, but for the group a good document of what they have done.

The event started almost 15 minutes late, and I was disappointed to find out Sebastian Lai, Jimmy Lai's son would not be here, but instead gave a video message.

He was purposely paraded around the newsroom

Shot on his phone, Sebastian Lai tried hard not to identify his surroundings but briefly said in an English accent how his father was principled and he would not go to prison if he did not think it would be for the greater good, for fighting for democracy.

The Hong Konger was produced by Acton Centre, an American think tank based in Michigan, which probably explains why two of the major talking heads was a former US Consul-general and another diplomat, while former governor Chris Patten is in it, along with Benedict Rogers of Hong Kong Watch, and Samuel Chu, a feisty activist, Simon Lee, a former columnist and executive who worked at Next Digital with Jimmy Lai.

The main takeaway from the film is that Lai is a restless person, constantly looking for purpose in his life and never wavers from his moral compass, thanks to religion.

Lai and others recall his young life, how his family was from the landowner class in southern China and was punished for this. He was born in 1948 and they were young children when his parents were sent away to do hard labour; Lai recalls as children they just tried to survive.

At the age of eight he went to work in a railway station as a porter. One time after carrying someone's bags, they gave him a tip and handed him a chocolate bar. He had never seen it before and couldn't help himself and ripped it open to eat it. 

He named the clothing brand after a pizza shop

Lai recalled never having eaten something so delicious before and asked the man where he was from. His reply? Hong Kong.

Four years later he made the journey by boat (where everyone got seasick), and arrived at night to work in a textile factory. The next day when he went to get breakfast, he was amazed to see so many stalls selling all different kinds of food. He soon felt this was the place for him.

It was this experience that helped Lai learn the textile trade, later set up his own factory (through money he had invested in the stock market), and then went into retail with Giordano, named after a pizza shop in Italy.

But making lots of money was not enough for Lai -- he wanted more meaning and after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, Lai felt he should go into the media business. "If you give people choice, you give them freedom," he says.

Hence the birth of first Next magazine, then Apple Daily in 1995.

Soon after he penned an open letter to then Chinese premier Li Peng, who ordered the military crackdown, apparently using a lot of words that were not fit for print... 

Lai marched in the beginning of the 2019 protests

The effect was immediate -- Lai's Giordano stores in China were going to be forced to shut down, which forced the tycoon to sell it off, but also helped him focus his efforts on Apple Daily. 

As several people in the documentary point out, the pro-democracy newspaper was a thorn in Beijing's side, amplifying the movement through its printed words and later online. That made Lai an enemy of China.

He has accepted his fate, thanks to the introduction of religion by his wife Theresa who is a Catholic. Lai strongly believes his faith will guide him through bad times.

One quibble about the documentary is that when it showed footage of the Umbrella Movement in 2014, it seemed to not have enough clips, and so it "borrowed" from those in 2019, such as police firing tear gas canisters, a water cannon shooting blue coloured water, and people huddled under umbrellas, which are factually incorrect to use to illustrate that time period.

After the film, three speakers attended virtually: Mark Clifford, former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and author of the book, Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World, the columnist Lee, and Chu.

Apple Daily was raided then shut down in 2021

Some people in the audience asked thoughtful questions, but the main thing was that the three speakers encouraged people to do whatever they could to help the movement through small and big things. Chu said it could be screening the film to four or five people in a living room, or just talking to your friends about Hong Kong.

Another brought the attention to having Lai nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, an initiative China scholar Perry Link has spearheaded. However, Clifford said as the late political dissident Liu Xiaobo was named some 10 years ago, the chances of another Chinese person winning it again was very slim; there was also the intense backlash Norway received afterwards, when the government was not even involved in the Nobel committee.

There was also talk about how the current war in Ukraine was a test case for China to watch with regards to Taiwan -- how much international help will Taiwan get if it is invaded? There was also talk about how the Hong Kong movement needs to be more connected around the world and have a united front, as demonstrated by dissident Uyghurs who pushed for five years to have the UN report recently released to prove atrocities against their people.

The speakers urged people not to forget Lai and all the other political prisoners in jail, to speak to their elected representatives and help them understand the situation in Hong Kong. Chu kept saying that Lai is the epitome of Hong Kong -- how he arrived with nothing and became a tycoon, and yet he is prepared for life in prison.

They also said the Chinese authoritarian regime wants people to think that things are inevitable -- that there is no point in fighting back, but that instead people should keep fighting. And with the current zero-Covid mandate, the country seems to be doing a good job of imploding on itself, and that it is only a matter of time. But in that time people should not be complacent and keep fighting.

Picture of the Day: Cows Ice Cream

My scoop of Royal Cownadian Mint!

Ice cream! Ice cream! 

We all scream for ice cream!

At Whistler there's one place that regularly has lines out the door.

It's called Cows ice cream and its location in Whistler Village is the only one in British Columbia!

My parents' friend alerted me to this shop -- he makes a pilgrimage to the place every time he's at Whistler and I can see why.

First off is the flavours. There's no boring vanilla or chocolate, but fun-sounding ones like Nanaimoo Bar (custard flavoured ice cream with a hint of coconut, chocolate marble and chocolate wafer pieces; Orange Cowsicle (vanilla ice cream with orange creamsicle sauce); and Black Angus Forest (chocolate ice cream with cherries and marshmallow sauce).

After my epic hike on Whistler and Blackcomb, I felt I deserved some ice cream and headed to Cows ice cream where there was a relatively short line of about 10 people in front of me.

I tried to check out the flavours, but could only see the names posted on the wall, while the actual tubs of ice cream were halfway to the cash register.

In the end I settled with Royal Cownadian Mint (chocolate ice cream infused with pure peppermint oil, with chocolate marble and chocolate wafer pieces).

Customers can have their ice cream in a cup, a regular waffle cone, or ones decorated with chocolate sauce,  or chocolate sauce with nuts or sprinkles. 

At over CAD$6.00 a scoop, it's almost double the cost of a regular ice cream.

However, many appreciate the ice creams are much creamier -- they boast having a higher fat content at 14-18 percent compared to regular ice cream at 10-12 percent.

That said my scoop of chocolate mint ice cream wasn't too rich-tasting and not too sweet either.

If ice cream is not your thing, there are other things to buy in the shop, from cheese to chocolate-covered potato chips, and cow-themed merchandise from children's books to calendars, hats, socks and even beach towels.

A pity there is only one shop in Whistler! 

Cows

4313 Main Street, Unit #1

Whistler, BC

604 938 9822

Remembering the Queen

The Queen died today at the age of 96

This morning Vancouver time we woke up to the news that members of the Royal family were rushing to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be by the Queen's side.

The news cycle was constantly reminding views of the situation, having royal experts on talking about the same thing in every imaginable angle, showing the same footage over and over again.

After we left Whistler to return to Vancouver, we checked our phones to find out the Queen had died. She was 96 years old.

She and Prince Philip visited Vancouver in 1983

For the majority of people on the planet, she is the only Queen we have known since childhood, a constant grandmotherly figure in our lives who put duty before everything else. Perhaps her only misstep was not sympathising with the people's profound sorrow over the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Her children have had some scandals -- Prince Andrew the latest to cause great distress with his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Nevertheless, she held her family together and they continued to march stoically.

But that brave face is now gone, leaving many bereft and wondering what is in store with King Charles III who will make a formal address tomorrow.

Today many were recounting their encounters with the Queen on the radio and on social media, some humorous, others touching. She and her family even hung out with a family on their potato farm in Manitoba in the 1970s! They are lounging on those terrible wide nylon ribbon folding chairs in a backyard.

I saw her from a far distance in BC Place in 1983. Students were invited to come to the massive stadium that held over 60,000 people to sing a song to her and wave small Canadian flags. As she entered in an open-top car wearing a yellow suit and straw hat, we all screamed and shouted as if she were a rockstar as the car made a loop around the stadium.

Visiting a HK outdoor market stall in 1975

We all thought she looked at us and waved our flags even more frantically.

When she left, she made a speech in which she thanked everyone for the flowers she received -- so much so she could now open a flower shop.

During her 70-year reign, the British empire crumbled with decolonisation -- a good thing -- and she embraced the inevitable.

It would have been fascinating to know what she thought of the Chinese and Hong Kong's fate after 1997. But it was her son Charles who attended the ceremony who had some interesting observations.

In his diary he wrote everyone he spoke to was optimistic about Hong Kong's future, but added: "In the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset -- the rule of law".

Then he concluded: "Thus we left Hong Kong to her fate, and the hope that Martin Lee [Chu-ming], the leader of the Democrats would not be arrested."

Charles represented the Queen at the handover

Charles also lamented how the loss of Hong Kong was the end of Britain's Empire, as it had been the jewel in the imperial crown for the best part of the UK's 156-year colonial rule.

Many in Hong Kong are mourning the passing of the Queen by posting old photographs of her visiting the city in 1975, and of her profile on pre-1997 coins. 

It's interesting to note how prescient the now King was 25 years ago on worrying about Lee being arrested. It was only a matter of time...

Meanwhile it is absolutely atrocious that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu choses to release the blandest statement ever on the death of the Queen.

While many other dignitaries try to recall specific incidents or places where they met her, Lee just sticks to the fact that she was the longest-reigning monarch at 70 years, and how she was "greatly respected, admired and praised by the British people",

She was Queen of Hong Kong, her face was on the then colony's currency, postal stamps, her portrait hung in government offices and schools, and Government House had crockery with "ER II" on them. School children sang "God Save the Queen".

The Queen's head was on Hong Kong currency

To deny her Royal Highness was a big part of Hong Kong is outrageous and a pathetic attempt to erase her from the city's history, and to continue the ridiculous narrative that it was not a British colony.

Along with the nostalgia of Hong Kong before 1997, the Queen just may have become yet another sign of quiet resistance, of insisting to remember her in one form or another.

Wonder what she would have thought of that.

As Paddington Bear says, "Thank you ma'am... for everything".

Blackcomb and Whistler Hiking Excursion

Stunning views of the Rockies at Whistler

Today was another gorgeous day, perfect for hiking at Whistler. And the trails are all up in the mountains.

And to get up there after Labour Day, only the Blackcomb gondola is open. The lift ticket is CAD$85, but gives you access to all the lifts once you get up to the top of Blackcomb.

These little birds are friendly!

When I bought my ticket I was told not to walk all the way down -- at most at the halfway point -- because the trails are quite steep. However, if you are a glutton for punishment you could walk all the way up...

It's a long ride up -- about 15 minutes and it's a scenic ride, with lots of trees, blue skies and sparse clouds.

At the top there is an area for non-hikers to take pictures of the dramatic skyline in the distance, while hikers can walk up higher to the few hiking trails. As it was my first time up there, I took a conservative approach, going on the green and blue trails.

Started off on Alpine Loop, described as a gentle walk, but really it's a bit of a hike up on gravel. Then I checked out Fitzsimmons Lookout where I sat down on a bench and ate my sandwich among the trees. 

Then I started off on Overlord Trail, which was pretty straight forward with a relatively wide trail. There were some grey birds with white chests flying around and I stopped to take a picture and they didn't mind to pose. One even hopped closer and closer to my feet! I was very surprised they were not afraid of humans.

A young couple ahead of me wanted to go on Marmot Trail but didn't see it and kept going on Overlord Trail which later connects to a more advanced trail called Decker Loop -- which I wanted to avoid.

Taking the Peak2Peak gondola to Whistler

But I could see a small, narrow trail veering up and to the left, and I checked my Strava map and I was going the right direction. This Marmot Trail was my cardio workout -- at times it entailed climbing up the hill, other times slightly flat for a bit of a breather before hiking uphill again. 

I didn't see any marmots, and luckily no bears either -- but the end of the hike was a drag -- giant pebbles that were hardly smooth which made it easy to lose balance. 

Since it was only just after 1.30pm, I decided to take the Peak2Peak gondola to go to Whistler Mountain. The last time I went skiing this gondola wasn't available, and since I don't ski anymore, I had to take this opportunity to check it out.

This is also a long gondola ride that goes down a valley and then back up, though the ride itself is very smooth -- when you pass the towers, there is no shaking at all.

After the skybridge you can see this landscape

When I reached the other side, there was a row of rubber ducks greeting visitors off the gondola -- what was that about? 

In any event, I thought I would do the relatively easy hike called Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk, but then I discovered after walking along the gravel path that it led to yet another chairlift ride up to the summit!

And taking that chairlift was very scary for me! I could not look down and had to try to keep looking up and to the distance, while holding onto the safety bar! I did not dare even take my phone out to take pictures!

At the top is the Cloudraker Skybridge -- basically a cable suspension bridge. Again I could not bring myself to have my phone out until I got to the other side. The bridge itself has bars along for people to hold on to, and one man in front was holding onto both sides as he went along.

An Olympic inukshuk greets visitors

We were rewarded with amazing views of mountains in the distance along with two lakes. There's also an Olympics inukshuk near the skybridge to take pictures of too. Whistler Mountain was windier and slightly colder than Blackcomb, but still necessary to keep a hat and sunglasses on.

By around 3.30pm I took the scary chairlift down Whistler Mountain, then the Peak2Peak before finally taking the Blackcomb gondola back home. Needless to say this excursion merited ice cream!

Cows Ice Cream is locally owned and I took the opportunity to try a scoop of "Royal Cownadian Mint" -- chocolate with peppermint oil and bits of chocolate in a waffle cone. Delicious and not too sweet.

What a day!

The Most Relaxing Place in Whistler

The rock that welcomes visitors to the spa

I've been in Whistler for a few days, which is about an hour and a half away by car from Vancouver on Highway 99 otherwise known as Sea to Sky Highway.

This afternoon a friend took me to Scandinave Spa, about 2km from Whistler Village, but best to get there by car. 

Walking through a forest to the spa

I'd been there before a few years ago when there was snow on the ground! The spa is open year-round even though most of it is out in the open. It's basically made up of several hot and cold baths that are outside for people to alternate between, and there's also sauna and steam rooms, as well as solariums for people to lie on reclining chairs for a nap, read, or appreciate the view, or even do yoga.

In the summer there are more options of either sitting or hanging around outside, with chairs around a fire, hammocks, and large round daybeds complete with a moveable shade.

However, the main rule is no talking! Whispering is allowed, but people have to keep silent to maintain a tranquil atmosphere for everyone to enjoy and helps keep the place calm and peaceful.

We did the hot tub, then tried to get into the cold bath, which at 15 degrees was shockingly cold to the system! The other way to think about it, is that the tingling feeling in your legs and body is a sign that you're alive!

Then we hit the steam room which I haven't done in a while, then after another cold dip went into the sauna for a good sweat. Hydrating yourself is key, and Scandinave has a few water fountains where the saunas and steam rooms are.

The price of admission in the off-season like now is CAD$90, otherwise it's CAD$100, which includes two large towels and a padlock and key to lock your locker. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash are in the showers. 

A stunning view from the entrance

An extra CAD$30 will get you a bathrobe, but one can get by with just two towels. One towel is left in the locker for showering after, the other to carry around and towel off, or use to sit on.

Massages can be had for over CAD$200, but one can already feel totally relaxed just by hanging out in the baths.

In the post-Covid era, it was nice to not have too many people around, and thankfully most of the spa is in the open air. It probably helps too that people are hardly talking!

We spent three hours here and even after an hour it was very relaxing to lie in a hammock and feel the sun's rays gently warming our legs, and a slight breeze. The landscape is absolutely stunning -- sorry no pictures because you're not allowed to bring any technology with you in the spa!

Scandinave Spa Whistler

8010 Mons Road

Whistler, BC

Macau's Gambling Days are Over

Pre-pandemic Macau was the top gambling hub in the world

The glory days of Macau's casinos raking in US$36 billion annually -- six times more than all of Las Vegas combined are fast evaporating thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, and President Xi Jinping wanting the former Portuguese colony to pivot away from baccarat tables and slot machines.

And in another sign that this is happening, casino suppliers are quitting Macau for Singapore and the Philippines.

Macau has been told to pivot from gambling

Light & Wonder Inc is a leading provider of casino products and it's relocating its expat staff to the Philippines, the company's top market in Asia, while another equipment maker in Japan is moving 30 percent of its employees to the Philippines and Singapore. 

The Japanese company has also taken half of its inventory out of Macau, as its revenues have plunged 90 percent because of its prolonged slump.

Macau's casinos aren't buying any new equipment until they get licenses to continue operating at the end of the year, and without new sales, Light & Wonder is only getting limited revenues from maintenance and technical support.

Meanwhile, Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association Chairman Jay Chun said he knew of at least four multinational casino suppliers relocating manpower and resources overseas. The trend could accelerate after the government had announced a cap of 12,000 gaming machines across the city for 2023 under a new casino law. In 2019 there were 17,000 machines.

Though Macau did well for most of the pandemic -- keeping casinos open and allowing a trickle of mainlanders in -- it was hit hard this June when China suspended quarantine-free travel with Macau for more than a month. Tourist numbers were only 300 a day in July, with casino revenue only at US$49 million that month, as casinos were closed for two weeks for a lockdown.

Covid-19 has exacerbated Macau's woes

Many are worried about China-style lockdowns in Macau, which is why they are staying away from the city.

"Singapore and the Philippines are growing exponentially," Chun said. "Macau has already lost its shine."

The devastating economic blow to Macau is only going to make it even easier for China to turn the pliant city into one Beijing wants it to be. Whether it will be a success or not is another issue.

Young People Leaving in Droves

Ming Pao's chart showing departure statistics

There is further evidence that a slew of young people have left Hong Kong for good.

Political economist and sociologist Hung Ho-fung posted a chart from Ming Pao listing the various age groups and how many have departed Hong Kong from December 2021 and June this year.

No surprise those in the 15 to 19 years group and 20 to 24 years group have seen the biggest departures at 11.8 percent and a whopping 23.4 percent respectively.

This is only a short time period and he believes there will be many more sending underaged kids overseas for school or fresh grads leaving this summer (that ends labour day, September 5 in North America).

He sarcastically adds: "I bet most of them have left for the great opps [opportunities] in the Greater Bay Area. Horray!"

Other age groups saw a drop:

25-29 (8.6 percent)

30-34 (2.1 percent)

35-39 (5.2 percent)

But for those 40 and older, that age group somehow increased.

40-44 (0.9 percent)

50-54 (4.5 percent)

60-64 (4.5 percent)

65 and above (12.5 percent)

In time we will find out where all these people have gone in the respective countries' census counts, and Canada is now more sensitive about finding out exactly where all the ethnically Chinese people came from, including an option for Hong Kong and mother tongue as Cantonese.

The Hong Kong government cannot frame this as a minor or temporary blip. These are permanent moves by people who are voting with their feet and wanting to have a better life elsewhere even if it means a big sacrifice of leaving the city they love so much.

New Museum Attempts to Evoke Patriotism

Lee officially opens a museum dedicated to Chinese resistance

The patriotism drum is beating louder in Hong Kong these days.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is leading the way by opening yet another museum, this time marking the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invasion in the lead-up to World War II.

The Hong Kong Sha Tau Kok Anti-War Memorial Hall was hailed by Lee as "a base for patriotic education".

The museum is in the Luo ancestral home

Shivers are running down people's backs reading this.

The museum is located at the Luo family ancestral home, because this was the base used by resistance fighters.

On social media Lee hailed the museum as "a base for patriotic education, which will facilitate national education, deepen citizens' understanding of Chinese history and enhance their recognition for the country".

At the opening ceremony, he said people displayed their love for the country when they defended its soil decades ago, "encouraging the people of China to fight for a great renaissance of the Chinese race".

Apparently this is a well-worn phrase used by mainland officials to refer to China's modern development.

But it is only natural for people to defend their country when it is under attack. One contemporary example is Ukraine fighting against the Russians now. Romanticising war as a bid to revive the Chinese race is melodramatic...

Lee says museum is "a base for patriotic education"

Nevertheless, the Chief Executive added the Hong Kong government "attaches great importance to the history marking the victory of the resistance and will let the public understand its role and all the stories during the war," he said.

What victory is he talking about?

In the Battle of Hong Kong, the allied forces of the British, Canadians and Indians tried to prevent the Japanese invasion, but the city fell on December 25, 1941. How is that a victory? 

Only when the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively, did the occupation end.

But perhaps this is how one whitewashes history and insists on this victorious narrative complete with a physical building as proof. In 2014 the National People's Congress declared September 3 as "Victory Day".

When researching this museum, it should be noted only mainland Chinese state media mentioned its opening...

Wanted: Teachers, Students in Hong Kong

Over 4,000 teachers have left the school system this past year

The school year has just started in Hong Kong, but with a lot fewer teachers and students.

The latest government figures show more than 4,000 teachers left their jobs in the past school year, a five-year high and 70 percent spike from the year before. 

Apparently this past summer there have been hundreds of ads posted in newspapers of schools looking for teachers.

Teachers must instil patriotism in students now

In the meantime, some 30,000 fewer students attending primary and secondary school in September 2021 compared to the preceding October.

Not only do teachers have to instil patriotism in students through national education, but also study President Xi Jinping's speech in the case of secondary students, while newly-revised textbooks have hardly any reference to June 4 or the candlelight vigil in Hong Kong.

Teachers are walking a fine line made worse by the threat that students and teachers can report on teachers who may be violating the national security law.

Nevertheless, the authorities refuse to acknowledge the real reason why so many teachers and students have left the school system.

The government claims teachers left their posts for various reasons including retirement, further study or found a job in another sector.

Schools have advertised for teacher positions

Schools are so short of teachers that even fresh education graduates who don't yet have their teaching diploma have been hired. 

However they are gloomy about their own career prospects with all the political requirements placed on them.

"There's not much that can be changed," said a 23-year-old university graduate who has taught a year of English in a secondary school. "You either submit, or quit."

Getting HK Priorities Straight

Diners are flocking to Tung Po Kitchen for the last hurrah

The famous or infamous Tung Po Kitchen is closing today (September 2 Hong Kong time) after 30 years. It's a dai pai dong in the Java Road Municipal Services Building, in other words, the North Point wet market. 

It took over a big area of  the cooked food area of the wet market, its owner Robby Cheung a charismatic frontman, who entertained guests by opening beer bottles with a chopstick, and joined them in drinking beers in ceramic bowls, along with singing and dancing.

Owner Robby Cheung (left) is a lively character

The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department cracked down on the eatery, saying that in an investigation since May 2021, Tung Po was suspected of having illegal subleases by four tenants, and in fact they did not operate as sole proprietors, and therefore in breach of their tenancy agreements.

Tung Po tried to appeal, but it was rejected and now must close.

I have eaten there twice, the first time with a group of colleagues and enjoyed the delicious claypot dishes like braised tofu or vermicelli with melon and dried shrimp, as well as claypot rice, along with steamed razor clams, and clams stirfried with black bean sauce.

The second time I went with YTSL and I ordered braised eggplant with minced pork. I should have waited for it to cool down and managed to burn my throat -- very painful! I left the next day for New York and even went to the hospital emergency to get it checked out. All I could do was keep gargling some green medicated liquid to keep my throat clean. The only thing I could eat pain-free was ice cream for a few days. 

Seafood dishes well known, lotus-wrapped rice

So while I don't miss the greasy floors and plastic stools, it is infuriating to see the government has suddenly decided to enforce laws now, when Tung Po had been violating it for years.

The same goes for illegal kaito ferry boats, some of which, it has been discovered, are operating without licenses. Some are rented out for outings by customers, others service outlying islands and transport people to and from Hong Kong Island mostly in the evenings.

Apparently the Marine Department conducted over 45 special patrols between 2017 and 2020 and says the number of inspections has to be stepped up to crack down on illegal kaito services.

Does this sudden crackdown on services and businesses using colonial laws have to do with the fact that a former cop is now Hong Kong's leader?

HK can't splurge on BioNTech jabs for kids?

People have complained that groups of police officers are on the prowl for any groups of more than four people on the street together to fine them HK$5,000 each, while four robbers got away with over HK$10 million in luxury watches after robbing a Causeway Bay shop.

What kind of law and order is happening in Hong Kong these days?

Meanwhile the government doesn't seem to value its next generation and won't procure BioNTech vaccines for children six months to three years old because it's "too pricey". Children can only get Sinovac shots.

On Thursday the number of Covid-19 cases jumped to 10,586, the first time since late March when the cases hit over 10,000. 

The percentage of vaccinations in children aged six months to three years is only at 11.7 percent of the total age group, and health officials are urging parents to get their children jabbed as school starts.

Over HK$330M for quarantine camps in Lantau

But why are these kids being treated different from adults, who get to choose between Sinovac and BioNTech?

It's not surprising some parents are cautious about vaccinations and having a choice would motivate them to get their children inoculated.

Meanwhile the government spent HK$330 million on three Covid-19 quarantine camps near Disneyland, and over HK$500 million on PCR tests since July 1 this year.

UN Report Validates Internment Camp Claims

Bachelet was met by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in May

When UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet visited Xinjiang, China in May, critics of Beijing were worried she did not see what they knew -- that Uyghurs were being rounded up and sent into detention camps where they were physically tortured, and "brainwashed" into speaking Mandarin and repeating Communist slogans.

Today, just 10 minutes before her term was up, Bachelet released the long-awaited report, accusing China of serious human rights violations that "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity".

Bachelet released the report today

However, the 48-page report stopped short of declaring the treatment as "genocide", but it validated the years of work by Uyghur activists, rights groups and academics that China detained Uyghurs, Kazakhs and others for having overseas ties or practicing Islam.

Sophie Richardson, the China director for Human Rights Watch says the report is "an unprecedented challenge to Beijing's lies and horrific treatment of Uyghurs. The high commissioners' damning findings explain why the Chinese government fought tooth and nail to prevent the publication of her Xinjiang report, which lays bare China's sweeping rights abuses."

Indeed. 

Adrian Zenz, who has been researching the camps and abuses through public documents says China will find it hard to refute the report because it uses Chinese documents to prove the rights violations.

The report confirms detentions and forced labour 

"The report is very conservative in its use of data and the conclusions drawn from it, which, together with using Beijing's own sources, will make it very hard for China to counter or refute it," he says in a Twitter thread.

However Zenz points out some weak areas in the report that are light on forced labour and birth prevention, but still comments the cautious and methodical approach makes the report hard to refute. The strongest sections he says are those on internment and religious freedom.

He also notes Bachelet's visit didn't seem to have impacted the report in any way, and delaying its release was "a waste".

Nevertheless, she says, "I said that I would publish it before my mandate ended and I have."

Bachelet said that the delay in publishing had been because she "wanted to take the greatest care to deal with the responses and inputs received from the (Chinese) government last week."

Zenz says the report will be hard to refute

China had already imposed a lot of pressure on her not to release the report, which Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said was "a farce orchestrated by the United States and a small number of Western powers."

Beijing submitted a 131-page response to the human rights office's "so-called 'assessment'" it claimed was "based on disinformation and lies", and ignored its success in stopping extremism in Xinjiang.

In any event, for Uyghur activists and rights groups, the report is significant in that it vindicates their work in documenting and reporting on their family members and loved ones being sent away in the camps, some mentally and physically changed after they were released.

"It paves the way for meaningful and tangible action by member states, UN bodies and the business community," said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress. "Accountability starts now," he added.

Indeed.

The report recommends releasing detainees

Richardson of Human Rights Watch says now the United Nations Human Rights Council should begin investigating the Chinese government's "crimes against humanity targeting the Uyghurs and others -- and hold those responsible to account."

But time is of the essence -- the Human Rights Council starts its last session of the year in 12 days.

Remembering August 31

People left flowers, believing people died in the station

Today Hongkongers are remembering the third anniversary of the events that transpired in Prince Edward MTR station. Commuters, some of whom were protesters, some not, were attacked by police in the MTR station. 

The images of fully armoured police armed with batons, beat people trying to defend themselves with flimsy umbrellas were shocking, people huddled together on the floor of an MTR carriage crying hysterically, fearing for their lives.

This scene is etched in people's memories

Meanwhile first aid volunteers tried to reach people down in the MTR they thought were injured, but the police had the entrance gates shut down. One very young first aid volunteer begged the police to let him inside to help the victims, even offering his first aid kit to them, but they told him to get lost. He cried in anguish, feeling guilty and frustrated.

Now three years later and in Vancouver, I am still grappling with these events.

This evening at a dinner party I sat next to middle-aged man who was born and raised in Hong Kong, went to Canada for school at the age of 16 in Victoria, BC and later university in London, ON. Afterwards he basically settled here for over 30 years.

He asked me what it was like during the protests in 2019, could there have been 2 million people on the streets? I said that there were some people who did the whole march and then went back to Causeway Bay to walk it again.

How could the Hong Kong government have not seen what the people wanted? How could it not have listened to them?

From this day police became more aggressive

As I told him I have lived there for 18 years in total, the last stretch from 2010 until four months ago, he then knew that I had seen Hong Kong's progression, as I had witnessed the Umbrella Movement and then the 2019 protests.

The last time he visited Hong Kong was in 2012 and even then he could feel the tension, with Hongkongers frustrated with mainlanders coming to the city to buy everything from shampoo to food to luxury goods to flats.

He used to visit Hong Kong every 10 years, but the pandemic and the passing of his father in 2020 in Vancouver put an end to that. Seeing how the city has changed in the last few years has made him uninterested in going back, though he admits missing eating certain foods, like liver sausage wrapped in steamed rice rolls, and snake soup.

When the protests erupted three years ago, he only saw snippets of it in news reports or on social media. It wasn't until he watched the documentary, Revolution of Our Times did he finally get to see the comprehensive picture of the protests from beginning to end. 

He says some friends are very yellow, others are the deepest hue of blue, and at times finds it hard to navigate conversations as diplomatically as possible. 

This documentary gives a fuller picture of protests

This is not an isolated problem, as every other Hongkongers has had to deftly figure out who is blue and who is yellow and steer clear of politics as much as possible. This is the reality these days, there is no green, or middle ground.

We all love Hong Kong, and the ones who have left love it just as much as those who are still there. Which is why we remember all the anniversaries, because this is a collective memory -- we saw what happened and we will not forget.