The former head of the Hong Kong Democratic Party and stalwart democracy campaigner is retiring from the territory’s legislature after a 23-year run. As one of Hong Kong’s leading barristers, no doubt we will continue to hear from Martin. And he left no doubt that he has not been intimidated by the attacks on him, including a misinformation campaign by pro-China newspapers last year after he wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 27, 2007. The article specifically disavowed efforts to organize the Olympics, but Sing Tao and other newspapers mistranslated this as saying that he had called for a boycott, and then continued to attack him on the basis of this even after the mistranslation was pointed out. Mr. Lee has earned his retirement; we just hope those who take up the battle show the same kind of mettle.
South Koreans have a new fad, according to the FT: Staging their own funerals. Apparently it’s a way of creating a near-death experience that will increase one’s appreciation for life. Can climbing into a coffin be good for your mental health? Consider that many Thai Buddhists carry grisly pictures of dead bodies to meditate on the impermanence of life. Perhaps it’s not such a crazy idea.
The Chinese government has issued etiquette tips to Beijing residents on how to handle visitors during the Olympic Games. The most intriguing, as the Peaceful Rise blog pointed out, is the reminder to be enthusiastic in moderation because “nei wai you bie” — “differentiate between the inner and outer.” The term is a none-too-subtle reminder that there is “us” and “them,” and a good Chinese should always remember not to be too friendly with the barbarians, or wash the country’s dirty linen in front of them.
Hong Kong actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Carina Lau Kar-Ling finally tied the knot earlier today in Bhutan, in a ceremony “directed” by none other than iconic Hong Kong filmmaker, Wong Kar-Wai. The photo below, taken last Friday at the Ugyen Pelri Palace, shows the couple in traditional Bhutanese attire. But as Alexandra Seno explains below, today’s nuptials had all the typical trappings of a WKW movie—right down to the sound track.
Photo: Jet Tone Films
Alex Seno told TT:
Music has always been a crucial ingredient to the magic of Cannes-winning Hong Kong art house film director Wong Kar Wai’s celluloid love stories. Think: Astor Piazolla’s cello tango rhythms from “In the Mood for Love,” “California Dreaming” in “Chungking Express.”
At the relatively intimate wedding today at the Uma Paro in Bhutan, the admirably tenacious Hong Kong paparazzi outside may be doing all they can to get pictures of the ceremony and parties (ivory Vera Wang wedding gown chosen by William Chang Suk-Ping), but we can give you more: the sounds of the celebration.
Since signing up as unpaid (and outrageously over qualified) “wedding planner” for the nuptials of Carina and Tony, Wong has been consumed with selecting just the right tunes to set just the right mood. Wong and his regular crew are essentially planning and executing this wedding—running it like one of his movie sets with his usual film cabal.
When it rained during an open-air wedding portrait shoot last Saturday, Wong ordered his regular producer to scout for another “set” immediately. A good thing that the crew were used to the director’s improvisationational working style.
For all the die-hard Wong (or Lau and Leung) fans, here are the songs and artists that the filmmaker and his crew have lined for the wedding:
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Mendelssohn’s wedding march
Happy Together
Even If
Songs by Sergio Mendez
Songs by Abba
Songs by the Bee Gees
Songs by Stan Getz
Live performances by Faye Wong and Tony Leung
The wedding started today with a traditional tea ceremony for Lau, Leung and their mothers at 10 a.m., followed by the Buddhist blessing with members of the Bhutanese royal family in attendance at 11. Guests then had lunch of Italian food. Tonight’s festivities include a black-tie buffet barbecue dinner.
A DJ from Hong Kong has been brought in for this evening’s dancing as well as a five-piece band directed by Roel Garcia, who did the music for such Wong classics as “Ashes of Time Redux” and “Chungking Express.”
For more on the wedding that has Hong Kong’s media world chasing off to the Himalayan kingdom see Alex’s article in today’s IHT. Or see Alex’s blog.
TT spent part of Friday at Nextmedia, the company that prints the Far Eastern Economic Review. Our hosts were Yeung Wai-hong, publisher of Next magazine, and Thomas Crampton, a former International Herald Tribune correspondent. Tom has ink in his veins, but also can’t resist a camera.
If you’re in Hong Kong and are an Olympics fan, the Langham Place Mall is the place to go to catch the excitement. That’s the venue for a “160-hour Stackathon” by Guinness World Record-holding card stacker Bryan Berg, who is recreating Beijing landmarks out of playing cards. TT thinks that Mr. Berg’s creations are, to use the technical term, “cool,” but according to a press release we received, he is motivated by a desire to “explore themes of impermanence and durability of architecture.” Well, he went to Harvard Graduate School of Design, so no wonder he talks like that.
What really piqued our interest, however, was Makey Au-Yeung, Senior Marketing Manager of Eagle Property Management (CP) Limited, saying that “The 160-hour Stackathon is part of our mission to invigorate the cultural face of Mongkok.” Funny, we thought Mongkok already had a thriving cultural scene….
Today the International Herald Tribune published a modern classic of the letter-to-the-editor genre. A certain S. Tsow of Bangkok laments that his op-ed submission to the paper has not met with any response: “I have entertained the pleasant delusion that you were waiting till you could nominate me for the Pulitzer Prize before finally informing me that you planned to publish it on your front page, and syndicate it to a dozen other publications, thereby making me world-famous and fantastically rich.”
A quick check of Mr. Tsow’s name on the Internet reveals that he is, no surprise, author of a book about expats misbehaving in Thailand. No shortage of material there, and Mr. Tsow certainly has a colorful writing style. The Nation newspaper published an op-ed by him that led with this gem: “As a person of superstition and a “Star Wars” fan, I’ve been wondering lately: Is the Force with Barack Obama?”
TT thinks that the IHT is exploiting Mr. Tsow’s talent by publishing his letter at no cost while allowing an undoubted masterpiece to languish on Serge Schmemann’s desk. Who wants to start a petition campaign to get Mr. Tsow the recognition he deserves?
Here’s a hilarious article from National Review which quotes emails from Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill telling a reporter a few months back that the U.S. would accept nothing less from North Korea than a complete accounting of its nuclear weapons programs and proliferation. He complained that a Fox story reporting that the U.S. was considering a partial or incremental declaration was false: “…this stupidity has never been under consideration by anyone who is part of the process….” But of course the Bush administration did accept the June 26 declaration which says nothing about uranium enrichment or proliferation to Syria; now that North Korea is off the list of terrorist states, the U.S. still wants to get to the bottom of those issues. It’s worth revisiting the question Mr. Hill posed to the Fox reporter, who he accused of being on drugs: “Do you really think we could make concessions on the basis of an incomplete declaration, then somehow we would be able to return to the contentious issues AFTER – AFTER!!!??? — giving away all our leverage?”
An interview by Far Eastern Economic Review Editor Hugo Restall with Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, ahead of the July 7 launch in Hong Kong of her new report, “China’s Forbidden Zones: Shutting the Media Out of Tibet and Other ‘Sensitive’ Stories.”
TT was in Singapore last week for a court appearance, the first time in two years that we have visited the Lion City. The best thing about Singapore is its airport, which claims to have the lowest duty free prices in the region. To our surprise, the prices were not the best we’ve seen, although with inflation starting up it may become more difficult to keep track of the real bargains. Here’s a rundown of some of the deals on offer (as usual, all are for a 1 liter bottle unless otherwise noted, and are in US$, converted at the rate of 1.365):
$48.72 Glenlivet 15-year scotch
$68.13 Glenlivet 18-year scotch
$188.28 Johnny Walker Blue scotch
$47.99 Glenfiddich 12-year scotch
$31.36 Chivas Regal 12-year scotch (1.14 l)
$83.52 Chivas Regal 18-year scotch
$134.07 Remy Martin XO cognac
$165.57 Hennessy XO cognac
$15.68 Absolut vodka
$22.56 Baileys liquer
$16.04 Kahlua liquer
$18.10 Bombay Saphire gin
$15.09 Bacardi rum
$17.07 Myers rum
$15.68 Jim Beam bourbon
$40.29 Taylors 10-year port (75 cl)
$78.39 Taylors 20-year port (75 cl)
$151.65 Dom Perignon 2000 champagne (75 cl)
We just received a press release from Japan’s Oki Electronics that henceforth the company’s employee canteen in Tokyo will do double duty as fuel supplier to its fleet of diesel trucks. The leftover oil and grease from the kitchen will be converted into biodiesel. While this may seem like a worthy effort to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons, decrease carbon footprint, etc. etc., there is an obvious ethical objection: Doesn’t this incentivize the company to serve ever greater proportions of greasy food to its employees? It seems that the workers’ coronary arteries will be among the victims of the latest oil shock.
Two fascinating articles appeared in the last day which, while very different, both shed light on the tendency of Westerners to give China a free ride on issues of human rights and civil liberties. Paul Mooney writes on self-censorship in the groves of academia, while the China diary of George H.W. Bush’s tenure as ambassador to Beijing reveals, ironically enough, infuriation with his countrymen for failing to apply the same standards used to criticize the Soviet Union.
1,200 girls in bikinis formed the Olympic rings in Guangzhou, apparently as part of an effort to set a world record. The Olympics are truly inspiring the Chinese people to outstanding aesthetic achievements.
Think twice before you tell somebody they have bad breath, especially if they have a lead pipe handy. That’s the message of this Philippine Inquirer story about a Quezon City man who was bludgeoned to death in retaliation for his observation. The police are now hunting for Federico Marcos Jr., who reportedly said “Do not tell me that I have bad breath. I won’t mind going to jail as long as I get to kill you.”
This just in from Xinhua: Chinese scientists have found that the scent of cat urine on a male mouse makes him more attractive to female mice. Par for the course with Xinhua, the story is so confusing it’s hard to say exactly what the experiment showed. But maybe this will help explain one of the mysteries of human behavior, why women are attracted to bad boys and men with fast cars — a whiff of danger is the ultimate turn-on.
Time magazine exposes the newest thing in Japanese pornos, movies starring elderly couples. It’s all part of the aging of society, we suppose. But titles like “Forbidden Elderly Care” make us wonder whether perhaps video night at the nursing home should be chaperoned.
A journalist’s account of an afternoon in the world’s biggest, and emptiest, mall in Dongguan, and learning how to play card games with the bored staff.
Looks like Hong Kong University is embracing one of the worst parts of Western academia: multi-culti victim studies. We received an email today announcing the launch of a book series from HKU Press entitled “Queer Asia,” and dedicated to opening “a space for books from all disciplines on non-normative sexuality and gender cultures, identities and practices in Asia.” An attempt to explain what that mouthful of jargon really means is promised at the launch party.
Presumably one of the reasons for hosting the Olympics was to show the world that China has a vibrant cultural scene and is no longer a country of dingy state-run restaurants where the staff’s standard refrain is “mei you” (don’t have). So it’s hard to understand the decision to close down Beijing Timeout magazine, which like its counterparts around the world is dedicated to helping you find the hippest hangouts and most happening cultural venues. (Download the last issue here.)
An interesting piece from the American Journalism Review on the possible dangers facing foreign journalists covering the Olympics in Beijing. OK, so it is a bit overwrought. But then again it is not too hard to imagine a violent outburst against foreigners by Chinese fans upset about their champion’s loss on the sporting field — it has happened before.
After many years of watching Amazon in vain, we finally found a copy of “Noble House” on DVD. Apparently it just came out, as it is prominently displayed at the Hong Kong HMV. First aired on American television in 1988, the eight-hour miniseries is a pretty good take on the territory in the 1980s. Not having read the book, we can’t say how faithful it is to James Clavell’s original, but it has good production values, not to mention Pierce Brosnan and some other fine actors. The juxtapositioning within a few days of several real-life disasters — the fire in the Aberdeen floating restaurant, a mid-levels high rise falling down, and a jockey trampled to death on the track — gives the impression that Hong Kong was once a thrilling, if dangerous, place indeed. Check out John Rhys-Davies as the evil taipan Quillan Gornt perusing the Feb. 5, 1987 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review.
PM Kevin Rudd’s belated visit to Japan catches the gimlet eye of the Australian’s animation department (that’s what we need!) here.
Meanwhile, the Cairns Post has the thrilling tale of a man whose, er, trouser snake was bitten by a real snake. Must have been a case of snake envy.
From the Hong Kong Standard we learned of this novel application of YouTube: Shaming deadbeat dads. Briton Simon Sywak has been dodging his ex-wife Helen in the U.K., claiming he couldn’t pay his alimony because he’s jobless and broke. Turns out he’s been working as a VP for JP Morgan in Singapore. Dunno, but we’ve heard they pay pretty well. Or maybe they don’t once their employees get done for failing to comply with court orders. Helen believes he may now be hiding out in Hong Kong.
… Chinese version. Ambrica Productions has a new Frontline program on China’s young people for America’s public broadcasting stations, to be aired June 17.
RFA Unplugged reports on a new craze among Pyongyang’s elite for a deluxe brand of South Korean rice cookers. The perfect product to show off your wealth in a socialist paradise where most people don’t have enough rice to eat, let alone a fancy cooker.
Hong Kong is host to many a trade show and exposition, but one upcoming event this week at the convention center caught our eye: The ITE MICE show. This is an expo about, well, holding expos (MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions). Actually it turns out this is hardly unique — there is a whole industry that revolves around setting up meetings for the meetings industry with a busy calendar. Now, we’d like to be first in proposing a convention of MICE industry convention planners….
The tragic murders in Akihabara yesterday have justifiably shocked Japan, especially since it is only a few months since another such case of a man running amok with a knife killing random Tokyoites. But as this blog post notes, there is a certain irony to this attack taking place in Akihabara. The area is home to the MAD store, which sells hunting knives. And the store, like many businesses in Japan, prominently displays a “no foreigners” sign — apparently gaijin are too dangerous to be trusted with sharp objects. As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Two wacky stories from Reuters, the first about the $6,000 watermelon (what, $100 canteloupes weren’t good enough?), and the second about a hula troupe in the city of Obama which is paying tribute to an American politician of the same name.
The Marmot’s Hole points out a potentially explosive new element in the ongoing controversy between the U.S. and Korea over beef imports: Michael Jordan refuses to eat Korean barbeque in the new Hanes commercial below.
Scientists in New Zealand have found a way to reduce sheep farting, a major source of greenhouse gases. If it works for cows too, it could dramatically cut the world’s output of methane, which has a much greater effect on climate than carbon dioxide.
Sally Lo MBE, chairman of the Hong Kong Cancer Fund and one of Hong Kong’s great and good, sent out an email to supporters Wednesday with an apology. It turns out that the Fund’s new Prostate Cancer awareness campaign’s corporate sponsor was unsuitable: “It was brought to our attention that Alfred Dunhill, who we regard as a luxury brand of clothing and accessories, is also linked to the tobacco industry.” Quelle horreur!
It’s worth noting that Dunhill cigarettes are made by British American Tobacco, and are absolutely delicious. Try one today!
Moreover, luxury brands group Richemont owns both 30% of BAT as well as the Dunhill brand. It also produces Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai, Montblanc, Chloe, Shanghai Tang, Baume and Mercier, Lange & Sohne, Lancel, Montegrappa and Purdey. So if Hong Kong Taitais are boycotting brands associated with Dunhill cigarettes, they may find themselves with few baubles to play with.
This evening the REVIEW won two honorable mentions at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) annual dinner. But it was amusing to find that, even in an event run by reporters and editors, a major typo crept in: The banner on stage proclaimed the “2008 Awards for Editional Excellence.” There but for the grace of God go I, we editions were thinking.
Before anyone thinks that we have it in for SCMP scribes, there have always been plenty of good journalists at the paper. Take Ben Kwok, who of late has been writing the Lai See column on the back of the business section.
Word on the street has it that Mr. Kwok’s May 20 column so angered Henderson Land Chairman Lee Shau-kee that a call went out to the paper’s top management to demand the writer be fired. The reporter’s sin was simply to point out that while Mr. Lee criticized Sun Hung Kai for including the three Kwok brothers in its top management — “Too many kids working in a company could spell trouble” — he himself has given three of his five children roles in his own company. Thankfully, it seems that for now the SCMP’s tycoon owners are backing up their writer.
Another glaring example of how third rate is the South China Morning Post: Saturday the paper published a long, complimentary profile of Victor Fung Kwok-king. Nothing wrong with that. But our jaw dropped when we saw the author: Sarah Monks.
Now, we don’t have anything against either individual, in fact we rather like them. But Mr. Fung was chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for nine years during the 1990s, and Ms. Monks was the director of communications for the Council from the mid 1980s to the mid-2000s. In other words, she was Mr. Fung’s publicist. It is remarkable that none of the editors thought it inappropriate to assign a writer to profile someone with whom they had a close working relationship. But if there is some perceived benefit to justify such an arrangement, it is still shamefully bad practice not to inform readers so that they can place the piece in its proper context.
