Picture of the Day: Flowering Tree

There's a tree at Chater Garden that has fern-like leaves

 

I often pass by Chater Garden across from the Bank of China headquarters, and there is a lovely old tree there in the public space.

The red flowers are orchid-shaped

Its flowers are now blooming and they are a brilliant red with flowers that seem similar to orchids and have fern-like leaves.

So pretty!

Ex-lawmaker Makes New Life in Australia

Hui announced he had left the UK for Australia

 

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung has announced he has moved from the UK to Australia on his Facebook page, but feared for his safety and did not reveal exactly where he was, except that he is in southeastern Australia. He arrived on Tuesday and is currently undergoing quarantine. 

Hui wrote he would continue his lobbying work in Australia, while leave activism efforts in Britain to Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who moved there just before the national security law was implemented in late June. 

Law is busy with lobbying efforts in the UK

When contacted by the media, Hui denied he was pressured by the UK government to leave, saying he always saw it as a stopover place before going to a third destination. He said he would live on his savings, and support through a social media platform called Patreon, where many pro-democracy activists receive donations from supporters.

"For the long term I've yet to think it over," he said.

Hui thanked Australian authorities for allowing him to come in on a tourist visa despite the strict Covid-19 entry restrictions and that he was undergoing two weeks of quarantine. In the social media post he also thanked the Australian government for coordinating his flight arrangements, thought he had not applied for asylum and would not do so unless it was his last option.

"Although there are many Hongkongers living and studying in Australia, there are relatively few Hong Kong political leaders who are in exile here and are engaged in lobbying work. This is one of the reasons why I decided to move to Australia," Hui said, adding he had relatives in the country who could help him.

Hui at a climate change meeting in Copenhagen

He explained he would lobby the Australian government to press sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, and loosen its immigration rules to allow residents facing persecution to move there. 

Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong last July, saying it was "deeply concerned" about Beijing imposing the national security law on the city.

The 38-year-old lawmaker fled Hong Kong in late November while out on bail late last year, facing numerous charges related to the anti-government protests in 2019.

Denmark invited Hui to come attend a supposed climate change meeting in Copenhagen, and he was able to secure court approval to leave Hong Kong while awaiting trial.

His family joined him later and they flew to Britain, but then five bank accounts belonging to his family were frozen by HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. He urged the British authorities to impose sanctions on HSBC for freezing credit cards and savings accounts belonging to him and his family due to "political considerations".

HSBC and two other banks froze Hui's accounts

It will be interesting to see how Hui and his family fare in Australia, but with relatives to support them, it sounds like a practical decision. But surely the Chinese will be conducting surveillance on him, so Hui needs to be careful. 

Nevertheless it is possible he can carve out a career as an activist in exile and keep the discussion going on Hong Kong and its deteriorating environment.

Ted Hui's Financial Woes Continue

Ted Hui's war of words with HSBC continues with credit cards

 

Exiled former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung is being slowly financially strangled while living in the UK now that HSBC has suddenly cancelled his credit card and those of his family.

He claimed the bank did this due to "political considerations" and "unlawfully embezzling" their money.

Weeks earlier the Hong Kong police accused Hui of misappropriating money from a crowdfunding campaign and froze his bank accounts and those of his parents and wife, including ones with HSBC.

Hui's credit card was suddenly cancelled

In today's Facebook post, Hui said the bank told him that all credit cards belonging to him and his family had been cancelled without notice as a "commercial decision".

"The decision to cancel the credit cards is a political one, taken out of HSBC's own political considerations, with a view to aiding the regime in cracking down on opposition voices," he wrote. "This deed has no legal basis at all."

Hui also accused the bank of "acting like a robber", saying he was told it "might not be possible" for him to receive refunds for certain goods purchased with the cards.

"All private property is protected by Hong Kong's Basic Law. It has now been unlawfully embezzled by HSBC without any explanation," Hui said, adding he and his family had a good credit history. 

He said the move reflected the business community's obedience to the regime under the Beijing-imposed national security law, which he characterized as overriding existing frameworks and constraining regulators, forcing them to be "politically correct".

Hui claims the bank is "acting like a robber"

While HSBC refused to comment on specific accounts, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority only said banks were required to conduct business according to applicable laws and international regulatory standards.

One broker surmised the move may be HSBC's way of trying to cut its ties from politically sensitive figures, while another pointed out Hui was basically unemployed now that he was not a legislator nor a district councillor, so he didn't have a stable income anymore.

Hui was out on bail and facing several criminal charges related to last year's anti-government protests when he fled to Britain via Denmark last month.

The police confirmed they froze HK$850,000 (US$109,600) in Hui's accounts with HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. 

Hui last year during one of the protests

The former legislator denied embezzling funds, saying a law firm was holding the funds in another account. 

It's a war of words Hui is having with banks and the police, and in the meantime his financial resources are shrinking very fast. It seems the Hong Kong government and by extension Beijing is like a snake coiled around Hui and making it harder and harder for him to breathe.

How will he survive? It would be difficult for people in Hong Kong to send money to him, as they could be accused of helping a fugitive and possibly charged. 

It seems starting a new life in Britain will be much harder than Hui thought...

Picture of the Day: The Old Bank of China

The old Bank of China building surrounded by water barricades

 

This is the old Bank of China building, that stands next to the HSBC headquarters in Central, and a stone's throw away from the modern Bank of China building, designed by the late I.M. Pei.

The bank established its Hong Kong branch in 1917, and incidentally in the 1940s, Pei's father was the general manager.

Fast forward to a few years ago just before the centenary anniversary of the Bank of China, Pei's son, Sandy Pei was commissioned to refurbish the old bank. 

It is now the bank of the Hong Kong government which makes it vulnerable to protests, but with the coronavirus pandemic going on, it seems excessive to have these water barricades surrounding the elegant stone building.

They just make the building look uninviting and intimidating with a security guard to boot.

Financial Groups Back Protesters

Tonight in Tsim Sha Tsui the police try to contain protesters in the area

Yesterday Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet Ngor and Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po tried to blame the economic slowdown in Hong Kong on the protesters.

However, two groups in the financial industry, one for banking the other finance, with members totaling 9,622 professionals issued a statement today refuting what Lam and Chan said.

Yesterday Carrie Lam with Paul Chan (left)

"Earlier this week at a press conference, Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan warned that Extradition Bill protests would hit [the] Hong Kong economy. The government's statement is misleading and placing the blame on protesters is irresponsible and unacceptable.

"Hong Kong's economy has already shown signs of a slowdown in the first quarter of this year whereas the first demonstration began in the late second quarter," the statement continues. "Recently, the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy of the University of Hong Kong and Wang Chunxin, senior economic researcher of Bank of China Hong Kong, have lowered Hong Kong's annual GDP forecast to 1.7 percent - 1.8 percent, mainly due to the US-China trade war.

"The report did not mention any impact caused by the protests. However, the Government's continued selective disregard of the law, abuse use of institutional violence, and negative sentiment by the international investment community will be [the] real reasons for any economic deterioration down the road."

Peaceful protests in Tai Po this afternoon

The statement continues to say that the five demands of the protesters should be met for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and that the government needs to respond quickly.

"Allegations of 'foreign forces' meddling in recent events with no actual supporting evidence is unhelpful. On that basis, society and various industry sectors demand that a neutral and recognized independent investigation committee to be set up to uncover the truth and responsible parties, so that Hong Kong can return to the right track as soon as possible."

It's interesting these two financial groups have made a very forceful statement condemning the government for placing the blame squarely on the protesters "in an attempt to deceive the public from its mistakes and divisive statements".

Two financial groups condemn the government's inactions

Wonder how Lam and co will respond to this damning indictment...

Meanwhile this evening more battles erupted between the protesters and police in Tai Po, Sha Tin, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong and Ngau Tau Kok.

My relatives and I watched the rising tensions between the police and protesters on Nathan Road in the shopping area of Tsim Sha Tsui. Some police were surrounded after they had arrested a young woman.

The crowd grew as people who were hanging out in the area, just finished dinner or a movie came out to see what was going on. Many turned on the lights on their smartphones to shine back at the police.

A young woman arrested in Tsim Sha Tsui, protesters angry

Eventually the officers had to retreat back to their police station nearby but not without lobbing a few canisters of tear gas for good measure.

Tomorrow is another day...

Tribute to IM Pei

The legendary architect IM Pei has died at the age of 102

This morning I woke up to the sad news that architect IM Pei had died at the age of 102. Tributes have been pouring in for the Chinese-American who is famous for his buildings scattered around the world, including the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and of course in Hong Kong, the Bank of China headquarters.

The Bank of China Building in Hong Kong

I pass by that building every time I go to the gym behind the bank, climbing up the stairs along the mini waterfalls. When the bank was first built, superstitious Hongkongers worried the building looked like a knife, cutting up the city, or that it looked like the devil with its two antennae at the top.

Pei's family has a long history with the bank -- in fact it just celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, making it around the same age as him!

His father, Tsuyee Pei, was one of China's leading bankers, according to the New York Times, and when Ieoh Ming Pei was an infant, the family moved to Hong Kong so that Pei senior could run the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China.

A century later and two generations later, IM Pei's son, Li Chung Pei or Sandi, would lead the renovations of the old Bank of China just down the street from his father's shiny triangular building.

It's a wonderful anecdote that clearly illustrates the Pei's family roots in Hong Kong and its contribution to banking and architecture in the city.

The Suzhou Museum is symmetrical and calming

My other story is in 2008 I spent Chinese New Year in Shanghai on my own. One of my days there I caught the train to Suzhou for the day, wandering around when I stumbled on a building that didn't look like the typical mainland Chinese architectural style of big, boxy and lacking style.

I was immediately drawn to this building that was very symmetrical and discovered it was the Suzhou Museum -- designed by IM Pei.

But of course.

This realization made my visit to Suzhou exponentially better as I was immediately soothed by its simple lines, sitting on the edge of a man-made pond that had a calming effect.

Dramatic pyramid down below the Louvre

How did I not know this was here? The building itself was much more interesting than the exhibits inside.

Sadly the Bank of China building is the only IM Pei building in Hong Kong -- in October 2013 it was announced Sunning Plaza, a 31-storey office building in Causeway Bay, whose main feature was that there was a large open space around the buildings, thus creating an "urban oasis". People liked being able to sit outside and dine al fresco amid a quartet of palm trees.

But alas Pei's first project in Hong Kong was torn down by landlord Hysan Development that replaced it with -- what else -- a mixed retail and office building that is a non-descript office block -- literally. It opened late last year.

Nevertheless, in front of the cameras Pei was always smiling, looking dapper in his suits and wearing his trademark black frame round glasses. He knew how to charm potential clients and explain to existing clients why things had to be done his way. There were compromises too, but probably his biggest battle -- the Pyramid at the Louvre -- shows Pei's skills not only in design but also patience and persuasion.

I haven't seen this entire video of his lecture at MIT about the project, but he explains in great detail (with jokes aside), the challenges he went through and how he solved several issues.



Pei is not only a legend in architecture, but also for Chinese immigrants and ethnic Chinese the world over, an inspiration of being proud of his roots and being successful for his designs that changed the urban landscapes around the world.

Pei fought the controversy of having a pyramid at the Louvre

He may have left us but may his buildings continue to live on.

Picture of the Day: Bank of China

The giant peach blossom tree in the Bank of China lobby

Many shopping malls, offices and apartment buildings have peach blossom trees in vases. It's kind of like a pink Christmas tree, decorated with lai see envelopes hanging from the branches. Peach blossoms are also meant to signify romance and longevity.

These trees are so hard to photograph up close. The one in the Bank of China headquarters in Central is very impressive and I took a picture of it as I was going up the escalator. Only then can you see the size but also the dramatic space that it's situated in.

The sad thing about these trees is that after the new year holidays, they are unceremoniously dumped, and there's no tree chipping service like they have after Christmas in North America.

How about making some kind of compost out of these trees or keeping them alive throughout the year so that they can be used the following year?

Hong Kong needs to be more responsible when it comes to dealing with living things, and of course being more sustainable in general.

But in the meantime we're enjoying this peach blossom tree while it's on display....

Super Fun Super Pool

People playing with lights in front of the Bank of China

On Friday evening I finished working out at the gym and on my way home I heard music and saw some glowing lights at Chater Garden, across from the Bank of China Building.

The circular art installation gets people involved

I took a closer look and saw in a circular penned area were colourful discs that changed colours when people stepped on them, and music played in the background.

It turns out it's an interactive art installation called Super Pool by Jen Lewin, an American artist based out of New York.

She is known for combining light, sound and complex engineering to create art installations that use LED lighting.

One of her best known works is called Pool, that uses over 200 LED-lit platforms that change colour according to the pressure and speed changes of the person stepping on it.

The Pool Around The World from Jen Lewin Studio on Vimeo.

For Super Pool, over 100 of the LED-lit pads are used.

The installation is part of the 45th Hong Kong Arts Festival that just kicked off last Thursday and it has since moved on to either Tsim Sha Tsui or Tsing Yi because tonight Super Pool is already gone from Central.

Everyone had fun watching the pads change colour

Nevertheless, I managed to get inside to try out Super Pool myself and it was the perfect playground for kids to run around, while adults were busy taking selfies. Super Pool is even cooler at night with the pads glowing from blue to aquamarine to magenta.

Visitors could play at Super Pool for about half an hour until the next batch of people are allowed in, but really 15 minutes was plenty. Afterwards we were encouraged to Instagram pictures we had taken and add #superpoolhkaf so that it would appear on its own account on a large screen and we could even get our picture printed out for fun.

While most people probably didn't understand the artistic value of the piece, it was definitely enjoyed by a lot of visitors who had fun playing with lights and sound on a Friday night.