Picture of the Day: Fan Power

Keung To fans spend money to broadcast his birthday

I'm walking around a shopping mall in downtown Vancouver called Pacific Centre and I see not one but two large screens showing a video compilation of Keung To, one of the more popular singers from the Hong Kong boy band Mirror!

It turns out it's his birthday on April 30, and his fans here have enough $$$ to rent space on a digital billboard in a major shopping mall to display their love for him!

Back in the 1980s fans of Cantopop stars like Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, Anita Mui Yim-fong and Jacky Cheung Hok-yau would buy ginormous bouquets of flowers to give them personally at their concerts.

Now in 2022 and fans have gone all digital with massive billboards and way more money involved.

It's the same kind of fervent dedication, but with deeper pockets thanks to crowdfunding...

PS: Here is the link link to my new blog: https://goodbyehkhelloyvr.blogspot.com/

Learning Cantopop 101

Each day of the year has a Cantopop milestone

 

I met up with a friend today for lunch and then afterwards we went to the fifth floor of Times Square in Causeway Bay where there is an exhibition called Cantopop 101.

Apparently there are three different shows tied to this, dividing Cantopop into different time periods from the 1980s to the 1990s, 1990s to the 2000s, and 2000s to 2010s.

On the exhibition boards made of particle board are clipboards, each with a piece of paper attached to it representing one day, so there are 365 of these sheets of paper, each hung by a clipboard. Each piece of paper meticulously charts what happened in the Hong Kong music scene on that day in different years.

Photos of Cantopop artist Joyce Cheng Yan-yee

It could be a particular singer was born, or a group was first formed, someone's first single was released, a concert was held, or someone died.

It's quite an impressive compilation of Cantopop trivia, but also I'm sure it evokes a lot of memories for people who grew up in these decades and listened to these artists.

There are a few Polaroid shots of artists today and they are signed. They aren't formal portraits, casual and fun.

In the middle of the room are some colourful stools. My friend told me that on specific days artists will come in and perform a "silent concert" where attendees wear headphones to listen. All the concerts have sold out already.

The curator of the show is Colin Mak, a DJ with 90.3FM. The exhibition includes a telephone booth-sized recording studio where attendees can record their feelings about the show and the best ones will be aired on his show.

The aforementioned compilation of the sheets of paper for every day of the year? They have also been made into a book, only 903 copies (the same number as the radio station 90.3), and they were sold out in minutes.

Cantopop memories in shape of tree

This shows how much people love Cantopop, how it has defined who they are, how much they want to preserve it, and worry about its future.

With the Communist Party recently bearing down on Hong Kong when it comes to movies and art, it won't be long before it impacts music, literature, plays, dance and operas.

There is also talk of encouraging more Mandarin to be used in Hong Kong... so what will happen to Cantopop?

A beautiful black and white graphic on the wall shows important musical milestones that start from 1931 and like rings on a tree, grow wider and wider, ending at around 2010. What will happen to this tree after 2021? Will it continue to grow or will it be chopped down soon?

Cantopop 101

Until July 1

Shop 5017-519, 5/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street

Causeway Bay

 

Government Crackdown on District Councillors

Lam claims district councillors pose "immense challenges"

 

Last Thursday I received a text message from my district councillor, announcing she was resigning because of health issues.

I was disappointed to get the news, but also not surprised.

The Hong Kong government is making it harder and harder for district councillors, particular the pro-democracy ones to continue doing their jobs, as some have been arrested for taking part in the pan-democratic primaries last July, and the rest are being forced to take the oath, by swearing allegiance to the city and to uphold the Basic Law.

District Councillor Cherry Wong has quit

But really these district councillors are trying to do what their constituents want, which is to make their neighbourhoods safer and cleaner, encourage recycling, or voice opinions on unwanted development.

So it's outrageous for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to claim these district councillors present "immense challenges" for the Home Affairs Department because they're behaving in a way that has "never been seen before".

It turns out HAD had issued warning letters to over 30 district councillors who had handed out candles to people on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The warning letters said the councillors may have breached local laws by distributing candles to people and encouraging them to take part in an unauthorized assembly, adding their activities were "unrelated to the District Council's work" and "undermine district harmony," the department said.

The HAD is responsible for managing local administration and district councillors' salaries and funding, and Lam said the HAD will "respond appropriately" if councillors are found to have improperly used public funds or violated regulations.

Some district councillors handed out candles

Maybe it was someone's birthday that day and they needed candles. Why all this fuss? But obviously the government does not want its money -- which is technically the people's money -- used to mark this politically-charged tragic event, which up until recently was legal.

Last week three district councillors, including Yau Tsim Mong District Councillor Suzanne Wu set up street booths to talk about Tiananmen Square. They were warned along with six other district councillors from the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile Sha Tin District Councillor Vienna Luk was warned after citing lyrics from the Cantopop song, The Great Wall, by rock band Beyond in a Facebook message. The 1992 song describes China has a country where facts and truth were shut up behind walls.

Luk asked why the HAD had a problem with her appreciating music.

Then two other Sha Tin district councillors, Raymond Li and Thomas Cheung, were warned for displaying a banner that read, "Candlelights will not be out."

Some wanted to mark the Tiananmen anniversary

And then on Saturday, Tsuen Wan District Councillor Lam Sek-tim called off an energy-saving event after the department sent him a warning letter. In an earlier Facebook post, Lam had urged residents to turn off their lights for an hour and he would give away a few electric-powered candles. He did not mention the 1989 crackdown at all.

So I'm not surprised my district councillors has "resigned"; I don't know the circumstances, but I'm guessing it is very similar to what her colleagues have experienced.

Up until last week she sent out regular updates of what she had been up to, encouraged people to donate gently used sweaters and thermos to distribute to the elderly in poverty, gave out calendars and turnip cake in the new year, as well as lots of masks and hand sanitizers during the pandemic. 

If anything it's the government making it hard for district councillors to do their jobs. It was their constituents who democratically voted them in. 

The electoral system can't change fast enough for the government so it's doing its utmost to make the district councillors all leave their positions either through convictions, forcing them to take the oath, or quit under duress.

Community, not Government, Fights the Virus

The stress of the pandemic is having a toll on Hongkongers, two months on

Imagine in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, you are born to the world and six weeks later you contract the contagious virus.

That's what happened to a baby boy at a celebration for him on March 30. He is the youngest known infected patient in Hong Kong and health officials are trying to track down who came into contact with the baby.

On this day 17 years ago we lost Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing

"The person might have held him, thereby infecting him," said Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protection at a press conference today.

Dr Lau Ka-hin, chief manager of quality and standards at the Hospital Authority, said the baby had a fever of up to 38 degrees Celsius, but was in stable condition. He was tested for other illnesses like meningitis, and the tests were normal.

His parents tested negative for the cornavirus.

The child is being given a cocktail of anti-viral medication on the advice of experts.

We hope the baby will pull through and get better soon, and we can only imagine his parents in shock and fear at the situation they have put their child in. Major guilt complex for sure.

What would goh goh think about our world today?

This being April 1 is also a sad anniversary -- the death of Cantopop king Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing who committed suicide on this day in 2003 in the midst of the SARS epidemic. He was 46 years old.

Seventeen years later and we are experiencing something worse than SARS that is affecting the entire world.

On social media, many people posted pictures of him to remember "goh goh". My friend YTSL told me there would be no gathering at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong where he died, due to the coronavirus. Every year lots of bouquets of flowers are placed by the hotel by fans who still miss their idol deeply.

What would goh goh think about where Hong Kong is now? We have all been through so much in the intervening years, and yet this pandemic as well as the anti-government protests are far from over.

Long lines for masks in the early stages of the epidemic

Luckily the number of cases in the city is relatively low compared to others, as the community has been quicker to respond than the authorities by wearing masks and social distancing at an early stage; meanwhile the media continue to press the government on why it is not enacting tougher measures faster to prevent people from gathering.

Finally today karaoke lounges and mahjong parlours must shut for 14 days after a lot of questions from reporters yesterday. Beauty and massage parlours may be next. But the government should really be implementing tougher measures right from the beginning; why is it waiting for an uproar from the public and the media before finally shutting establishments down temporarily?

No wonder some 70 percent of people believe Hong Kong has managed to avoid a large-scale epidemic due to the efforts of the community, in a recent survey conducted by Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Karaoke lounges and mahjong parlours are finally shut down

Over 60 percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the government's immigration measures since the outbreak, as there were many calls to completely shut off the border with the mainland, but the authorities refused.

When it comes to the government procuring protective equipment, some 67 percent of people are dissatisfied, as evidenced by the massive lines for masks and the exorbitant prices for them. The government promised more masks for the community, particularly the elderly and those in seniors' homes, but that promise doesn't see to have been kept. Healthcare workers have also protested about not having enough protective gear.

One would think that showing leadership during this pandemic would be a good opportunity for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to redeem herself after her pathetic performance during the eight-months of protests (which are still on-going by the way). But she squandered that chance and seems to be constantly playing catch-up and reacting to issues than being pro-active about them.

Perhaps she doesn't care much about the upcoming Legislative Council elections in November?

We Still Remember

Lots of flower arrangements with messages for Leslie Cheung by the hotel

April 1 is not a joke for people in Hong Kong. For the past 15 years it has been a day of mourning the loss of Cantopop singer and actor Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing.

Every year a plethora of flower arrangements are left by fans at the corner of the Mandarin Oriental where he fell to his death.

People gather every year to mark the sad anniversary

Since it was Easter weekend it was nice that the roads were blocked off around the hotel so that passers-by like myself could take a closer look without having to worry about oncoming traffic.

People remember Cheung for being down-to-earth, true to himself (near the end) and so talented. They give him the nickname "gor gor" or "older brother" as a term of endearment and also as someone they looked up to.

Has it been 15 years already?

It's hard to believe it's already been 15 years and yet the outpouring of remembrance is still going strong. The amount of flowers and messages dedicated to him doesn't seem to have decreased much over the years.

Picture of the Day: Happy Birthday Leslie

A large stage set up at Tamar with screens to show the tribute concert

A few days ago I saw posters up on the MTR station advertising Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing's 60th birthday party.

But he passed away in 2003!

However his fervent and loyal fans have decided to get together and celebrate at Tamar tonight so I went to check it out briefly.

Hundreds of fans showed up for the free event

Wow -- it was a huge production -- a massive stage, seating for VIP guests and others stood by the sides. Even though it was free admission, there was a long lineup just to get in. A few of the fans we met had even come from Guizhou and Shenzhen for the event.

They all miss their "Goh Goh" or older brother so much. Some explained they were attracted to him because of his good looks, and later they felt he was very in tune with what people were going through. To them, Cheung was the embodiment of what a man should be like, handsome, sensitive, kind, hardworking and very determined. And they looked up to him like an older brother.

But why hold a birthday party for him when he's not there?

A big birthday card for Leslie from his fans

Perhaps it's a happy occasion for fans to use this as an excuse to play his songs, watch his film clips and reminisce. The other time they gather is on the sad anniversary of his suicide on April 1, 2003 at the Mandarin Oriental...

We're just impressed by not only the setup, but the turnout!

If only he could see his fans celebrating a milestone birthday for him! What would Cheung think?!