Chinese New Year Cultural Appropriation

Don't decorate a CNY dish with funeral paper

Late last night, a former colleague now based in London had a freak out on Twitter when she saw the UK newspaper The Guardian post recipes for the upcoming Lunar New Year, but the accompanying pictures demonstrated no Chinese person was consulted to see if the decorations were culturally appropriate.

One picture shows a plate of pork and crab potstickers -- they should really be boiled dumplings -- on a piece of batik fabric -- not really Chinese -- but worst of all decorated with joss paper that are usually burned to pay respects to ancestors when grave sweeping.

Funeral envelopes mixed with lai see packets...

In addition, the chopsticks look like joss sticks, another not really good thing to do, and what's with the ancient Chinese coins?

Meanwhile BBC Food also posted recipes by School of Wok founder Jeremy Pang. One of them is lo mein with scallops and tenderstem broccoli. While it's fine to have the lai see envelope as a decoration, next to it is another envelope -- given out by the grieving family to funeral attendees, which usually includes a coin, tissue and a piece of candy.

May we also point out the turquoise chopsticks are really ugly?

These ignorant gaffes sparked or rather led to an explosion of complaints from Chinese people about how everyone else is so ignorant of Chinese culture, sometimes even stabbing a dish of noodles with chopsticks that again look like joss sticks.

One person remarked: "I'm absolutely horrified by this. This is like putting up a Christmas tree at a funeral."

Stabbing dish like joss sticks

Others also remarked how whenever Thai or Filipino food is styled, chopsticks are always placed next to the dish, when they typically eat with a fork and spoon.

For me at least, this incident just shows how there is a lack of diversity in these two news organisations, and no one bothered to check to see if these pictures were culturally correct.

The people who created the recipes were Taiwanese and a second-generation British-Chinese. Or if they weren't available, how about some professors in Chinese sociology or culture?

The Guardian has since apologised for the mistake, and BBC Food is looking into its gaffe.

Wonder how the Year of the Tiger will turn out for them...

Hong Kong's Further Shrinking Press Freedoms

The BBC World Service will not be carried by RTHK anymore

 

Last week the UK revoked the broadcasting license of China Global Television Network (CGTN), after it said the state-owned broadcaster was run by the Chinese Communist Party and therefore violated British laws.

That led to Bejiing banning the BBC World Service "within Chinese territory" for what it called "serious content violations" following an explosive report on sexual assault of Uyghur women in "vocational training centres" that many critics say are internment camps.

The BBC report says Uyghur women were raped

Just hours after that announcement, Radio Television Hong Kong followed suit with an announcement this morning, which led to an outcry that press freedom is further deteriorating in the city.

RTHK stopped broadcasting BBC's World Service and News Weekly as of 11pm tonight, though other TV networks like TVB, Now TV and Cable TV said they would continue offering programs by the UK-based broadcaster.

Previously RTHK aired BBC World Service daily from 11pm to 7am, and the Cantonese-language radio show BBC News Weekly every Sunday at 7am. It was not clear what the programing would be replaced with.

The head of the University of Hong Kong's journalism and media studies centre, Keith Richburg, says it's "surprising" that RTHK has pulled the plug on its live relay of BBC World Service.

Richburg questions RTHK's decision on BBC

"Hong Kong is supposedly still autonomous, first of all, And so a decision like this seems to have been something that would have been ordered either by the Hong Kong government for RTHK or coming from the top from China and relayed to RTHK," he said.

"We really kind of need to get to the background of how that decision was made and made so quickly as well. People would be very very curious to know what the decision-making process was behind that."

Meanwhile, the RTHK Programme Staff Union called on the broadcaster and the relevant government bureau to explain the decision.

In a statement, the union says under One Country, Two Systems, it has never heard of other examples when Hong Kong has to follow instructions by the mainland's broadcasting regulator.

It noted that RTHK has been relaying BBC World Service for more than four decades, and it's a pity that the arrangement has come to an end.

RTHK's move follows Beijing's decision

Finally in a written statement, RTHK cited Beijing's decision as the reason for its move, while a spokeswoman said the decision was made within the broadcaster's management.

"The decision was made among RTHK management, and concerned heads of sections were informed this morning," said Echo Wai Pui-man, head of corporate communications and standards at RTHK.

So it seems the decision was political in following Beijing's lead. Will this affect how other foreign media outlets operate in Hong Kong? 

Richburg now knows where the city stands... behind Beijing.

Toilet Paper Worth Robbing

Mongkok police investigate the robbery of 600 rolls of toilet paper

Hongkongers are still obsessed with having enough toilet paper, so much so that there was an armed robbery for the bog roll at around 6am this morning.

Three masked men with two knives held up a delivery man outside a Wellcome store in Mongkok, Kowloon, and stole 600 rolls in 50 packs worth about HK$1,600 (US$206).

Three men armed with two knives threatened Wellcome staff

The heist was so unusual that it made international headlines in The Guardian and the BBC.

By lunchtime two men were arrested in a Mongkok guest house where they kept the toilet paper, and police are still looking for the three people who committed the robbery this morning.

Wellcome said its staff were threatened and robbed while they were unloading a delivery of toilet paper from a truck at the store. No one was injured.

"This is a senseless act and we are shocked," said a spokeswoman from the supermarket chain. She added all Wellcome stores had enough supply of toilet paper and more coming in, and urged customers not to panic buy.

"A temporary shortage was caused by a sudden and unusual surge in demand. We will do our utmost to speed up replenishment in our stores until the situation stabilizes," she said.

This is what Hong Kong has come to -- holding up delivery men with knives to get a stash of toilet paper... it's absolutely ridiculous and sad.

I went out for dinner with a friend tonight in Central and again, only five tables occupied, about 10 people in total. The restaurant industry in Hong Kong is plunging very quickly with no end in sight.

Someone has been hoarding a lot of toilet paper...

On a related note, I found out belatedly that a fine dining restaurant in Sheung Wan is closing today after months of negotiations with the landlord went nowhere. I walked by the restaurant and it was just barely half full. Other bars and restaurants the same, though it is a Monday, a slow day.

Nevertheless, we leave you with one more toilet paper anecdote overheard in a restaurant in Wan Chai. The parents were so desperate for the bog roll that their kids studying in either the UK or Australia sent them a pack of toilet paper via courier.

True story.

London: Afternoon Tea at the Langham

 

Our desserts and scones at the afternoon tea at The Langham London

A trip to London is not complete without a proper afternoon tea. Where to go? The Langham London. When we found it in the West End, we discovered it is steps away from the BBC's new headquarters which was cool. Too bad the broadcaster had an event in the courtyard area which was cordoned off, otherwise we'd have wandered a bit closer...

In any event the Langham London is a pretty grand place and we made a reservation for tea at 3.30pm, though we arrived a bit earlier. Afternoon tea was already in full swing in Palm Court, and we were seated near the piano, where the pianist played easy-listening classics that were enjoyable to listen to for a few hours.

Really delicious sandwiches to start off

The afternoon tea here is not cheap -- starts at £62 (US$78) per person to £68, which includes a savoury dish -- but you will be extremely full afterwards and the service is impeccable. The staff are very courteous and attentive to your needs.

The first order of business is deciding which tea to drink, and there is an extensive tea menu of black, white and green teas, infusions, and oolong teas. Guests are even encouraged to try different teas throughout the afternoon.

We started off with sandwiches, and usually these savouries are not given much thought, tasteless and dry. However here, each one was delicious -- cucumber and cream cheese, Scottish smoked salmon with horseradish cream, peppered beef pastrami with artichoke, smoked chicken, and brown egg and autumn truffle brioche bun.

An extra course of tomatoes and goat cheese tart

When we were finished them, a server came around with a silver tray with more of the same sandwiches. If you insist! We took one each.

Our next "course" was an extra savoury dish. I tried the Isle of Wright tomato and goat cheese tart, with lots of slightly unripe tomatoes, though the pastry was crispy, while my cousin had the Orkney scallop with dill beurre blanc.

Then came our sweets with fun names. For example Precisely Prescilla! is a raspberry sponge roll with raspberry confit, while It's all about Brigitte is caramelized puff pastry, coffee pecan and chocolate. I really liked Brigitte and the fig tart. Oh and the blackcurrant sorbet with green apple compote.

Desserts with scones in the back and champagne if you wish!

If that's not enough, the main event are the scones. Each person gets a plain one and one studded with raisins. Even though both have been sitting at the table for a while, they are still fluffy and delicious with clotted cream and a choice of strawberry jam or marmalade. When you finish those, you can have more, if you can fit them into your stomach. We sadly declined seconds.

And before we left, we each received a small round lemon and olive cake. I brought mine back to Hong Kong for my colleagues to try and it was still moist. It sounds like a strange combination of olive and lemon, but it works.

The afternoon tea experience wasn't complete without lots of people watching in the room, young couples, young women catching up, a business meeting, a husband and wife indulging in some time together, and even a baby took in the sights and sounds.

Freshly-baked scones that were fluffy

We literally rolled out of there around 5.30pm with memories of a delicious afternoon tea. Those scones are seared in my memory as some of the best I've had!

Palm Court
The Langham London
1c Portland Place, Regent Street
London
W1B 1JA
langhamhotels.com

RTHK Changes Channels

RTHK cuts the 24-hour transmission of BBC World Service to eight hours

Ah Hong Kong is sliding further into mainlandization with Radio Television Hong Kong announcing it will drop the 24-hour transmission of BBC World Service that has been broadcasting for almost 40 years and replace it with Chinese state radio.

The change will happen in a few weeks' time in early September, which an RTHK spokesperson said was to "enhance the cultural exchange between the mainland and Hong Kong".

How nice, considering China National Radio, known as Central People's Radio in Chinese, will be in Putonghua, not Cantonese. Guess that's part of the "cultural exchange".

From September, the BBC can be heard overnight 11pm-7am

But before you get out your pitchforks, not all is lost -- BBC World Service will continue to be broadcast from 11pm to 7am, which means having to become a night owl listener.

Demosisto's Joshua Wong Chi-fung says he has listened to BBC World Service since high school "because our teacher always told us to learn English from the BBC," he said.

However he cited other reasons for the change.

"This just proves how political consideration and Chinese forces are eroding press freedom [in Hong Kong]," Wong said.

But RTHK retorted that the Chinese broadcast was made for the city.

"This channel is tailor made for RTHK when we first introduced digital audio broadcasting, and it can enhance the cultural exchange between the mainland and Hong Kong," said Amen Ng, head of corporate communications at RTHK.

Wonder how many people will listen to China National Radio...

Father of Pinyin Dies

Zhou returned to China in 1949 to help the country -- by creating pinyin

I was kind of dreading this day -- but it has come. The father of pinyin, Zhou Youguang, has died at the age of 111. He died this afternoon (Saturday), a day after his birthday in Beijing.

It's pretty amazing he lived this long, and I suspect it was keeping his mind active that kept him going.

He was born in 1906 during the Qing Dynasty and as a young man he lived and worked in the United States as a Wall Street banker.

When the Communists took over in 1949, Zhou returned and was tasked with creating a new writing system using the Roman alphabet.

"We spent three years developing pinyin. People made fun of us, joking that it had taken us a long time to deal with just 26 letters, he recalled to the BBC in 2012.

He had kept active, writing many articles and books

However, it has helped millions of people, including me, to learn how to pronounce words in Putonghua properly.

It is now widely used on phone apps to help people communicate. They can type in the pinyin and from there choose the Chinese character they need.

Developing the pinyin system helped protect Zhou from Mao's political purges, but eventually Zhou was sent down to the countryside for re-education during the Cultural Revolution.

As he became older he grew more critical and outspoken about the present day Communist Party and wrote several articles and books that were banned.

In an interview with NPR in 2011, Zhou said he hoped to live long enough to see the Chinese authorities admit the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters around Tiananmen Square in June 1989 was a mistake.

Wishful thinking on Zhou's part.

He added that most ordinary people did not believe in the Communist Party, and that the vast majority of Chinese intellectuals favoured democracy.

Beijing can probably breathe a sigh of relief that another one of its critics has passed. They couldn't do much to Zhou considering his immense contribution to the country, but we hope he will see justice in the end.

I wrote a blog post about him when I was in Beijing. One of my colleagues at the time went to visit him and told me later she thought he was a wonderful, sweet man. He wasn't a typical Chinese elder who towed the party line, but instead had a lot of interesting things to say about a wide range of subjects.

Thank you Mr Zhou for creating a writing system that has made Chinese more accessible to so many people and in so many ways.

Defining Hipsters

Identical twins Gary and Alan Keery from Belfast opened Cereal Killer Cafe

One more interesting documentary I watched on the plane to keep myself awake was Peter York's Hipster Handbook by the BBC.

York is a social commentator and dressed very dapper in contrast to hipsters -- who we should point out don't like to be called that -- who wear beards, flannel shirts, no mass fashion labels, have retro looks. tattoos and scruffy hair.

The dapper host Peter York contrasts with how hipsters look

During the one-hour documentary, he tries to figure out if hipsters are a fad or trend, and how it has influenced consumerism. When it comes to their look, it is decided that hipsters may be anti-fashion label, though they do appreciate authenticity, such as old school work overalls from the 1950s, say, or leather bomber jackets that are made today but look exactly like ones from over 60 years ago.

Many men may be identified as hipsters from their beards and man-buns, but York finds out that facial hair is in fact carefully groomed and there are specialist barbers that carefully shape beards and add products to them to keep their shape or condition the facial hair.

Hipsters are also usually in the creative field, and can be found in cafes with their Mac laptops and iPhones, and they have this fascination, obsession or passion for artisan-made products, from coffee to clothing. They like knowing where what they are eating or drinking comes from, preferably locally sourced, which creates a sense of belonging to community.

A man gets his beard groomed in a specialist barber shop

York observes the word "authenticity" creeps up again and again, how hipsters don't want something manipulated, but real and true to some degree, which is why they like decor to show things like exposed brick, old school style light bulbs.

A fun shop called the Cereal Killer Cafe is filled with lots of boxes of breakfast cereals from our childhoods all lined up on the shelves and people can choose which one they want with milk they pour into a bowl themselves.

The ironic thing is that the concept of "authenticity" and "artisan" have appealed to mass market brands and they have replicated the exposed brick look and co-opted the aforementioned key words in their marketing to appeal to hipsters or hipster-wannabes.

The Mast Brothers were exposed for not so authentic chocolate

In addition there are some allegedly faux hipsters, such as the Mast Brothers, known for their beautifully packaged chocolate. They claim it is from "bean to bar", but in reality some chocolate experts claim some of their chocolate included Valrhona mixed in.

The Mast Brothers differentiated themselves not only with the nice packaging to justify pricing at US$10 a bar, but also their distinctive look with bushy beards, and how they apparently travel the world sourcing cocoa beans.

Nevertheless, York still finds it a fascinating discussion with experts about the hipster history in the United States, where African Americans claimed hipsters were cool with black music, while in England, Shoreditch is an example of a neighbourhood that was previously not cool, but became so thanks to hipsters transforming the area.

In the end York concludes that hipsters are not creators of new products per se, but "curate" them, and look for things they are willing to spend on, like quality pints of craft beer or "authentic" fashion pieces as a way to live better.

The documentary was a fascinating discussion, and now I see hipsters in a new light -- and am more aware of big business co-opting the concept of "authentic" and "artisan" with varying degrees of success.

What's the next lifestyle trend going to be?

Peter York's Hipster Handbook

BBC4