I’m guessing if you’re not a businessperson, you’ll likely disagree with a recently released ranking by leading conservative Canadian think tank Fraser Institute that places Hong Kong above the US, Canada, and all Scandinavian countries in terms of “human freedom.” In Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom, the institute “focuses on creating the first comprehensive... Read more »
Police estimate that about 2,600 protesters participated in a pro-government rally in Hong Kong on Sunday (or "as many as 40,000," if you believe organizers). It was the first half of a doubleheader of protests, with the nightcap coming yesterday -- the anti-government variety -- attended by 17,000, according to police. (In proportional hyperbole, organizers declared 130,000 people showed up.)
Hong Kong had fireworks at Victoria Harbor. Shanghai had a 4D light show on the Bund. Beijing had a beam of light out of the China Millennium Monument (a sundial you probably haven’t been to, because Haidian district). We love our home city, but am also kind of okay admitting that Beijing loses this round (though... Read more »
They’re marching in Hong Kong again — and again — as competing rallies express support and opposition to Hong Kong’s government. The first rally — the pro-gov variety — does not augur more civil public assemblies. As SCMP reports:
Hong Kong and the mainland can’t seem to stop offending one another. The latest rumpus, as explained by Bad Canto, began after the Hong Kong TV series Friendly Fire depicted two pregnant women — one local and one from the mainland — arguing in a hospital. The controversial scene is above. Via Singapore Yahoo:
BJC's "An Expat Christmas" series shifts to Hong Kong, where Pete DeMola, a longtime mainland resident who relocated not long ago, prepares for a double celebration in the special administrative region.
We have no question that Chi Lin Nunnery in Kowloon’s Diamond Hill is a beautiful complex, possibly one of the most beautiful temple complexes in Hong Kong. It is apparently 33,000 square meters of tranquility and natural splendor, with the main building buttressed by hills, ponds, orchids, and topiaries, all against a backdrop of soaring skyscrapers.... Read more »
This video by Gregory Lane, "So Long, My Hong Kong," presents dozens of beautifully rendered shots of the true Pearl of the Orient. I've said it before but it bears repeating: Hong Kong does not seem like a city built by men of this world, such is the ambition of its design and overwhelming beauty. You get a glimpse of that here.
On Saturday, a record 4,000 people took part in an LGBT rights parade in Hong Kong themed “Dare to Love.” The above image — and several others after the jump — is via NetEase. A few videos are embedded after the jump as well, while chinaSMACK has a round-up of mainland Chinese reactions to the... Read more »
We're as sick of Gangnam Style parodies as everyone else, but this latest, "Nasty China Style," has a few redeeming factors. First, it's sung in Cantonese; I tend to think all Gangnam parodies are bad mostly because of the lyrics, but it helps when you don't know what they're saying. (There are subtitles though.) Second, file this one under "Red Army Orchestra meme" -- it'll help you get over the anti-Gangnam mental block so that you click play; other memes also make a cameo, such as "My dad is Li Gang." And third, it highlights the ongoing Hong Kong-mainland China rivalry, which transcends Gangnam.
