July 2010
1 post
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"As you sow, so shall you reap": the Democratic...
This year’s 1 July protest march - held less than a week after the electoral reform proposals for 2012 were passed by Legco - was the first march to be held amidst internecine warfare in the pan-Democratic camp. While the Democratic Party was a natural target for criticism, the repercussions of the League of Social Democrats’ more extreme tactics also became increasingly apparent -...
June 2010
14 posts
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Columns: A Pyrrhic Victory
Stephen Vines’ column in today’s SCMP, and the Editorial column in the Ming Pao, both sounded a note of caution over the perceived victory of the Government in the political reform votes.
The Ming Pao editorial observed that, while the Chief Executive and his Cabinet had reason for excitement after the arduous passage of both proposals, the characterisation of their passage as a...
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Gunboat Diplomat: The 2012 resolutions and the...
After half a day’s continued acrimonious debate, the Government proposal (as modified by the Democratic Party) on Legco electoral reform in 2012 has been approved 46:12. (Tsang Yok-sing [HKI; DAB], as Legco President, did not vote; Leung Kwok-hung [NTE; LSD] was absent, having been expelled from the chamber for interrupting Minister for Mainland and Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam.)
...
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“And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,...”
– Rudyard Kipling
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A brief observation on the League of Social...
Yesterday (24 June) evening, Albert Chan (NT West; LSD) said that the LSD was a follower of Marxism and was therefore obliged to both give and accept criticism.
If the LSD subscribes to dialectical materialism, where is the possibility of synthesis?
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The political reform debate (Day 2)
The political infighting between the Democratic Party and the League of Social Democrats continued yesterday, during the second day of legislative debate on the 2012 political reform proposals. What follows is a partial summary of the day’s proceedings, gleaned from the Ming Pao text feed.
Miriam Lau (FC-Transport; Liberal Party) argued that the Chief Executive Electoral Committee should...
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The political reform debate (Day 1)
What follows is a brief English-language summary of the legislative debate on the 2012 political reforms (derived from the Ming Pao text feed), with a few brief comments.
Synopsis:
Pro-establishment groups have booked out Chater Garden for their pro-reform “carnival” - which is closed to anybody who doesn’t have an admission pass or a press pass. The irony of the Royalist...
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A change to the comments system
Previously Nathan Road used the (admittedly rather rudimentary) “Question posts” system on Tumblr to allow for user comments. The fact that absolutely nobody has posted any answers has not deterred efforts to tinker.
A Disqus system has now been cobbled together and will be fettled with over the next few days. It is currently set to allow users registered with Disqus or OpenID to...
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Gunboat Diplomat: what does Beijing's volte-face...
Re-posted to test comments system.
A week is a long time in politics. Since the last Gunboat Diplomat on electoral reform, much of the political terrain has changed. Mere hours before Audrey Eu went toe-to-toe with Donald Tsang in Thursday night’s debate, former Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung made a swift volte-face in support of the Democratic Party’s variant of the...
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The Donald Tsang / Audrey Eu debate: English...
The following is a translated transcript of the televised debate between Donald Tsang and Audrey Eu prepared by your correspondent, motivated by the belief that official translators are somewhat less than infallible. Items in square brackets are editorial comments or interpolation. All errors are, of course, your correspondent’s.
Moderator:
Welcome to this historic debate. Our topic is...
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“[…] the auntie in red was better.”
– 3-year-old Zachary Au, on the debate between Donald Tsang and Audrey Eu. (SCMP, 18 June 2010)
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Gunboat Diplomat: The Donald Tsang / Audrey Eu...
Earlier in the evening Palmerston attended the live telecast of the political reform debate between Donald Tsang and Audrey Eu outside Government Headquarters, organised by the League of Social Democrats. Brief impressions (supplanted in part by a review of the RTHK footage) follow.
Watching Tsang debate against Eu was like what a Palin-Obama debate would be like. Tsang’s speech...
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Gunboat Diplomat: Electoral reform
Much ink has already been spilt on the demerits of the 2012 electoral reform proposal. In light of the proposal’s imminent introduction into Legco, now is perhaps an apposite time to consider not only what the pro-establishment (to use a less pejorative term than “Royalist”) camp is trying to sell, but how it has tried to sell it.
Few words on the proposal itself are...
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Three simple questions, apropos of 4 June
Can a university which awards honorary degrees to Cabinet ministers, but which refuses to display a pro-democracy sculpture on pretexts of “political neutrality”, have any moral right to educate the young?
Can a municipal Government which squanders taxpayer money without clear mandate, mocks voters for participating in legislative elections and abuses statutes for political ends have...
May 2010
0 posts
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Apropos of the Government's "weigh anchor" (起錨)...
In its latest attempt to waste taxpayer money, the Government has resorted to urging residents to “weigh anchor” in support of its proposed electoral “reforms” for 2012.
From Wikipedia:
The ship of fools is an allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or...
April 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Thought you could avoid the air pollution by going... →
Ming Pao reports that carbon dioxide levels in local department stores are nearly three times as high as roadside CO2 levels. CO2 levels in the basement of Sogo are reportedly a full 60% higher than Government-recommended levels.
(Link in Chinese)
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A pro forma rejection letter
Palmerston apologises for the - frankly rather shocking - protracted silence on Nathan Road lately, having been submerged in papers and the irritating reality of self-employment (aka unemployment). He emerges to deliver this pro forma letter.
Dear [Sir / Madam / Name of Applicant]:
Thank you for your application for [internship / mini-pupillage / work experience] in [my / our] [set of...
January 2010
3 posts
5 tags
Notes from the digital copyright reform forum
Palmerston attended the Internet Society of Hong Kong’s forum on the Government’s “Proposals for Strengthening Copyright Protection in the Digital Environment” on the 28th. The views expressed below are not to be taken as any sort of formal legal analysis or advice, nor do they reflect the views of the profession in general.
The wrangle over copyright reform in the...
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We apologise for the delay...
We are currently awaiting the loading of our complement of small lemon-soaked napkins for your comfort, refreshment and hygiene during the journey. Meanwhile we thank you for your patience. The cabin crew will shortly be serving coffee and biscuits. Again.
(Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series)
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We're entrusting our students to this lot?
From today’s SCMP:
Teaching trainees turn to top tutor for exam help
[…] About 30 students from the Hong Kong Institute of Education signed up for yesterday’s lecture by Edward Fung - a tutor from Beacon College, one of the top three tutorial schools in the city. […]
Shouldn’t that be a sufficient basis for summary expulsion?
December 2009
2 posts
5 tags
Noah's Ark, Ma Wan: Fundamentalism for all the...
Having previously written briefly about Noah’s Ark in connection with the rise of Christian fundamentalism in Hong Kong, Palmerston thought it high time to see the Biblical attraction for himself (having co-opted friend and professional scribe Hana to participate in this madcap field trip). Palmerston’s impressions below.
John Scalzi, writing about the Creation Museum, described it...
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Palmerston asks again: Who is John Galt?
Palmerston previously referred to this week’s Banyan in The Economist, which (largely accurately) characterised the current electoral reform battle as internecine warfare between factions of the local elite.
(A more cynical commentator might suggest that Banyan’s bile owes more than a little to columnist and commentator Michael Chugani.)
Naturally, the comment thread has devolved...
November 2009
4 posts
6 tags
From the pages of this week's Economist... →
This week’s Banyan describes the political “reform” controversy currently brewing as internecine warfare between elites - a sadly accurate description…
… Part of the flavour of Hong Kong’s democracy struggle comes from the close intertwining of the elite in a small territory of 7m. …
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Chinese History Revisited: Chapter 4 (Part 2)
This is the fifth in a series of posts summarising and discussing “Chinese History Revisited” (中國文明的反思; transliterated, “Reflections on Chinese Civilisation”), written by Mainland journalist Xiao Jiansheng (萧建生).
Click on the tag “Chinese History Revisited” to see the entire series.
Common justifications for centralised rule
Having described the foibles of local government, Xiao attacks the...
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Chinese History Revisited: Chapter 4 (Part 1)
This is the fourth in a series of posts summarising and discussing “Chinese History Revisited” (中國文明的反思; transliterated, “Reflections on Chinese Civilisation”), written by Mainland journalist Xiao Jiansheng (萧建生).
Click on the tag “Chinese History Revisited” to see the entire series.
A house built on sand
In Chapter 4 Xiao focuses on the Han (漢) and Tang (唐) Dynasties in an attempt to...
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October 2009
15 posts
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Chinese History Revisited: Chapter 3
This is the third in a series of posts summarising and discussing “Chinese History Revisited” (中國文明的反思; transliterated, “Reflections on Chinese Civilisation”), written by Mainland journalist Xiao Jiansheng (萧建生).
Click on the tag “Chinese History Revisited” to see the entire series.
In Chapter 3 Xiao turns his attention to the Qin Dynasty (秦朝). The prevailing orthodoxy has long...
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“OHMY GOD”
– vanity license plate above Guangdong license plate, spotted on speeding car
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Has Tsang finally lost it?
Earlier today Donald Tsang hit out at the local press for its increasingly feverish coverage of perceived conflicts of interest relating to compact-fluorescent bulbs (for which his in-laws operate a major supplier) and Lehman minibonds (purchased by his sister-in-law). The crux of Tsang’s statement is that the allegations of “transfer of interests” are entirely baseless and...
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Chinese History Revisited: Chapter 2
This is the second in a series of posts summarising and discussing “Chinese History Revisited” (中國文明的反思; transliterated, “Reflections on Chinese Civilisation”), written by Mainland journalist Xiao Jiansheng (萧建生).
The first post can be found here.
Update: Click on the tag “Chinese History Revisited” to see the entire series.
Chapter 2
Xiao turns to the Spring and Autumn Period...
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“It’s the real deal!”
– Papercraft burnt offering vendor, Qing Ming 2009
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Illiteracy Watch (Part 1 of an occasional series)
This morning’s South China Morning Post referred (in the “National” section) to a museum dedicated to the “evolvement” of Chinese characters.
Perhaps there is at least one Young-Earth Creationist at the SCMP who is so uncomfortable with the word “evolution” that they want to see it completely eradicated from that paper?
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Chinese History Revisited: Preface and Chapter 1
This is the first in a series of posts summarising and discussing “Chinese History Revisited” (中國文明的反思; transliterated, “Reflections on Chinese Civilisation”), written by Mainland journalist Xiao Jiansheng (萧建生). Previous attempts to publish the book in the Mainland were unsuccessful; the book has recently been published in its entirety in Hong Kong.
Update: Click on the...
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Gunboat Diplomat: Celebrity tutors in the...
Economics cram-school tutor Kevin Ko (高式卡)* has commenced defamation proceedings in the High Court against the makers of a film entitled Trick or Cheat (愛出貓), in which a character (alleged to resemble Ko in name and appearance and who is likewise dubbed “King of Tutors”) engages in a sex-for-exam-questions deal with an official from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. ...
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The Immigration Department: One SAR, Two Systems?
It has recently come to light that June 4 student leader Zhou Yongjun (周勇軍) was sent to the Mainland by the Immigration Department after he arrived in Hong Kong on forged papers. EastSouthWestNorth has a comprehensive account of the intrigue.
The precise details of what Zhou has done to offend the Mainland authorities, or the coincidences (if any) relating to the name on the forged Malaysian...
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Legco politics: pettier than most
University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small. - Henry Kissinger
The recent imbroglio over legislator Kam Nai-wai’s not-quite-a-sex-scandal and the Chief Executive’s attempt (and a misguided one, at that) at correcting the pan-Democrats’ grammar (Mingpao: Link in Chinese) are but the latest illustrations of the pettiness of disputes in local politics....
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Gunboat Diplomat: The Commissars and the Common...
Recent events in local legal circles - notably the selection of HKU’s Law Faculty Dean and the imminent retirement of Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang - have prompted calls by some for the legal system to purge itself of its “colonial legacy”. These views have been most publicly espoused by Ms Rosanna Yam, a regular correspondent to the South China Morning Post (see, for...
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Christian Fundamentalism - meh
This is a reply to this post from Palmerston.
Like Palmerston, I may not agree with the STL’s position. But I think his account overstates the influence of fundamentalist Christianity by misinterpreting the position it occupies in Hong Kong culture (as compared to, say, that of the United States). Broadly speaking, Hong Kong fundamentalism is a Christian variation on an essentially...
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Choi Yuen Tsuen 菜園村
This is an English-language abstract of the Chinese guest post by Samson Yuen below. The author’s rights are reserved.
The Government’s insistence on tearing down the village of Choi Yuen Tsuen in Shek Kong as part of its hastily-conceived plan to build the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has undoubtedly proved a mistake. Its underhanded tactics, such as non-consultation of...
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Gunboat Diplomat: Christian Fundamentalism in Hong...
Update: See also cxkd’s response to this post.
Evangelical Christianity has made considerable inroads into the Hong Kong consciousness over the last few years. It is no longer uncommon to see posters advertising prayer meetings presided over by pastors of international renown, or Genesis-themed recreational parks. Sadly, the advent of American-style megachurches, Christian television...
September 2009
10 posts
6 tags
Celebrations? What celebrations?
1 October marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. What is most telling about the state of the nation, however, is how that anniversary is being marked by officialdom.
The measures in place in Beijing and elsewhere seem to be best suited to mobilisation for war, rather than preparation for diamond jubilee celebrations. The Central Government has imposed a...
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Starbucks, the Star Ferry, and the best bookstore...
In the Starbucks Bing Sutt (冰室; transliterated as “ice room”) at 13 Duddell Street in Central, the air conditioning is appropriately strong, and well-dressed twenty-somethings are snapping photos of the retro decor on their iPhones. Starbucks commissioned local lifestyle store G.O.D. to take the Bing Sutt - itself a distinctively local fusion of Western and Chinese tastes, serving...
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Numbers games →
Over the past decade, HK’s GDP has grown by almost 50%, while the median family income has actually decreased slightly: today, it’s HK$18,000 (US$2,322). Local newspaper Mingpao has more.
The CIA puts HK’s Gini coefficient at 52.3, which makes it comparable to countries such as Zambia and Chile. (The US is the highest ranking developed country I can find on the list, at 45; it narrowly beats out...
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Gunboat Diplomat: Palin's CLSA speech
Sarah Palin’s keynote address before the CLSA Forum in Hong Kong, arranged amidst considerable secrecy, has ended.
(News reports: AP1, AP2, AFP, Bloomberg, WSJ, HuffPo, Guardian, The Times)
The Palin team’s habitual secrecy has achieved two objectives. First, it has allowed Palin to stick to what Karl Rove confirmed was an extensively prepared - and almost certainly completely...
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Places: Science Park
The *BIG* thing about Palo Alto is that, as a city, it designs tons of incredibly powerful and scary shit inside its science parks, which are EVERYWHERE.
- Douglas Coupland, Microserfs
Even before the slate-gray “Hong Kong Science Park” sign heralds your correspondent’s arrival, it is easy to tell where he is. A vast expanse of glass, punctuated by gunmetal formwork, solid waved...
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Times Online: Would you pay this much for dinner... →
Apropos of Sarah Palin’s upcoming keynote at the CLSA investors’ forum in Hong Kong, The Times reports that a dinner date with the Terror from Wasilla has been auctioned off for a mere US$63,500.
Presumably said dinner date will be worth its price in gaffes alone.
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Whither social enterprise?
Hong Kong’s few successful home-grown social enterprises have earned quite a bit of press in recent years, but judging from their leaders’ remarks at last Saturday’s TEDxPedition conference, they are still struggling to gain broad acceptance.
The conference, held at the Hong Kong Jockey Club and organized by Suchen Global, covered quite a bit of ground: speakers represented a venture capital fund...
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Why Palmerston?
It has been fashionable in post-Handover Hong Kong to play down the territory’s colonial past. The Chief Executive rarely trumpets his knighthood. Queen’s Pier has been unceremoniously demolished. The secondary and tertiary education systems have changed from the British model to the North American model. Even the postboxes have changed their stripes.
However, all of these changes have not...