Coronavirus Spikes, Hong Kong's Leash Tightens

The number of coronavirus cases is now over 60,000 worldwide

Every morning turning on the computer and seeing the latest coronavirus numbers is a necessary but dreaded task. But this morning it was even more shocking because the number of cases was over 15,000, almost tenfold the day before to a total of over 60,000. The number of deaths increased by 254 to over 1,300.

That's because China decided to broaden the definition of cases to not only those who have been tested and confirmed to have the coronavirus, but also include those who show symptoms that make them highly suspect of having the coronavirus, or COVID-19 to enable these patients to get the necessary care and hopefully hospital bed they need.

Zhang Xiaoming has been demoted one rung down

Previously Wuhan would only get a certain number of test kits per day in a bid to slow down or make the number of cases seem smaller. But someone has somehow persuaded China that to better control the outbreak, a more realistic show of numbers is necessary so that enough aid and help gets there.

It's hard to understand -- Wuhan doctors and nurses are working around the clock -- have the PLA doctors and nurses helped relieve them? Or are they too busy manning the newly-built hospitals?

In any event, everyday the numbers are only going to keep growing -- and these are only the cases that China is willing to tell us. There could be many more they have yet to reveal...

In the midst of the release of these shocking numbers, Beijing has demoted Zhang Xiaoming from director to deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office.

The new HKMAO director is now Xiao Baolong

The top position has been taken over by Xia Baolong, a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference and was previously Zhejiang party chief; most importantly he is a Xi Jinping loyalist.

And what is Xia known for? During his leadership in Zhejiang, he apparently issued the order to remove some 2,000 crosses from churches in Wenzhou, which is considered the centre of Christianity in China.

So... one can imagine Xia will be taking a harder line on Hong Kong than Zhang... Hong Kong's protesters will have a formidable opponent to conquer or charm.

China watchers conclude this latest move indicates Xi has changed the puppeteers, but the puppet (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor) remains. It shows that Beijing is going to take more control over the city, than depend on the puppet to do the dirty work...

Christmas Banned in a Chinese Town

The grinch has arrived in Langfang, Hebei province in northern China

The local government in Langfang, a Chinese town in Hebei province, is the Christmas grinch this year.

Officials have ordered the removal of all festive decorations and banned shops from holding sales to "maintain stability".

The statement from the city management office of Langfang also appealed to the public to report anyone "spreading religion" in parks and squares, though it didn't specify which religion.

All Christmas decorations are banned from the city

Christmas isn't a recognized holiday in China, though for many particularly young people it's an excuse to hang out with friends at restaurants and bars, or buying gifts.

Langfang isn't the first place to ban Christmas -- in December last year, members of the Communist Party's Youth League at the University of South China in Hunan province were asked to sign a code of conduct that they would not participate in Christmas-related celebrations.

In the case of Langfang, local officials said anyone caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figurines in the city would be published, while shops are prohibited from holding Christmas performances or promotional sales.

This ban comes after the government has been cracking down on people practicing Christianity. On Saturday morning, more than 60 police officers and officials stormed a children's Bible class in Guangzhou.

Langfang may be trying to please Beijing through the ban

The authorities also shut down the 1,500-member Zion Church in Beijing in September, and Chengdu's 500-member Early Rain Covenant Church last week. In the latter case, about 100 worshippers were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids.

Amnesty International China researcher Patrick Poon the recent raids on churches reflected the government's attitude towards Christianity, and the move by Langfang officials in Hebei may have been intended to impress Beijing.

"The authorities in Langfang might want to show how much they are ready to please the central government by banning Christmas decorations and sales.

"However, it also shows their ignorance about what Christmas really means for Christians, which is not about shopping or party celebrations, but it's the time to manifest their faith."

It's also interesting to keep in mind China manufactured and exported 60 percent of the world's artificial Christmas trees in 2017, according to Xinhua.

Why isn't that banned?

Picture of the Day: The Colosseum

The weather was unpredictable the day we went to the Colosseum

The day we visited the Colosseum, the weather was very windy and rainy; it turns out there was a Category 1 hurricane going through Italy. At times we were pushed by the wind and other times there were massive downpours, and then light rain or it stopped.

It is the largest amphitheatre ever built

It's very convenient to get there -- there's a metro stop for Colosseo. We didn't go into the Colosseum, but took pictures from the outside. Our pictures look kind of eerie because the sky looks pinky-gray.

The building is an impressive piece of architecture, an amphitheatre that could hold between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators for gladiatorial contests, executions, animal hunts, dramas, and even mock sea battles.

The Colosseum stopped being a venue for entertainment in the early medieval era and was turned into a place for housing, workshops, quarters for religious orders, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.

Two days later we got up early to beat the morning rush hour traffic to get to the airport on time.

Blue skies over the Colosseum the morning we leave!

On the way we passed by the Colosseum one more time -- with blue skies and puffy white clouds in the background.

Port Visit: Palma de Mallorca

The Palace of L'Almudaina (left) and La Seu cathedral (right)

Our next port of call was Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands in Spain. We had a short shuttle ride to the main attraction, La Seu, or Palma Cathedral, a massive cathedral near the water, and it was built to look like a ship moored at the city's edge.

The beautiful nave of the cathedral

When James I, King of Aragon conquered the area, the mosque on that site was turned into a cathedral with construction starting in 1300 and didn't finish until 1601. James I wanted to make a statement with the church, that Christianity had established itself here. And it is a grand statement.

It's a Gothic cathedral complete with flying buttresses and has one of the largest rose windows in the world, known as "the Gothic eye". Its nave is also one of the highest in all the Gothic cathedrals in Europe.

After an earthquake struck in 1851, parts of the cathedral had to be rebuilt and was overseen by architect Antonio Gaudi.

Inside it's magnificent -- one is filled with awe seeing the light bouncing off the stained glass windows and creating a kaleidoscope effect with colours. It's absolutely beautiful. You feel so tiny in the cathedral and at the same time in awe of the beauty of the place that's quite eclectic.

Everyone is drawn to the nave, which has a kind of hanging chandelier, perhaps designed by Gaudi, with a string of lights supporting the crucifixion of Christ at the top, and below more strings of lights.

Our delicious seafood paella for lunch

To the right is an area that's been completely designed by Gaudi. It looks very organic and hardly structured. On the left it looks like the sea, with fish looking like they are coming out of the wall, while the other walls have various textures and sculptures covered with splattered paint. Was it a rush job or deliberately done like that to contrast with the orderliness of the cathedral?

Next door is the Palau de L'Almudaina, originally an Islamic fort that was converted into a residence for Mallorcan monarchs at the end of the 13th century.

It is very grand and solid inside, thanks to the Moorish architecture, while the walls are filled with Flemish tapestries and paintings. Some of the rooms are very grand (though probably cold in the evenings). One dining hall has a series of arches holding up the room, with a massive carpet on the floor and the windows overlook the sea.

The tomatoes (left) and mushrooms (right) were huge!

The palace has its own small chapel too, intimate, and even the vestments are on display in glass showcases. There is also a small courtyard complete with a fountain.

Afterwards we wandered through the streets in search of a bite to eat and found a small place that actually did a decent seafood paella, thought it took a while for it to be prepared.

Nearby was a food market, but many of the stalls were closing for the afternoon already. Of the ones that were still open, the produce looked amazing -- the tomatoes were massive together with the mushrooms, while the seafood, such as oysters looked delicious.

The elegant Parliament building

On our way back to the shuttle, we stumbled upon the Parliament building, a beautiful ornate building with the Spanish, Catalan and EU flags flying out front.

China's Aversion to Christmas

Mainland Chinese don't really understand Christmas but find it a fun party

Over a week ago when I was talking to some mainland Chinese students in a Hong Kong shopping mall, they found the concept of Christmas really weird. They didn't understand the purpose of decorating trees and putting them inside, taking pictures with an elderly man with a white beard in a red suit, and what this had to do with a baby born in a barn.

It is an honest observation coming from people who grew up in a country that does not promote any kind of religion, Christianity being one of them.

While there are many Christians in Hong Kong, Christmas is very much a commercial event in the city, and it's a holiday everyone there has grown up with.

Over 3 million Christmas decorations were bought on Tmall

But in China, the Chinese government is going to great lengths to dissuade people from celebrating Christmas -- even though the country manufactures the most goods related to the holiday, from decorations to gifts.

About a week ago, members of the Communist Party's Youth League at the University of South China in Hunan province were asked to sign a code of conduct which told them not to participate in Christmas-related celebrations, according to a statement circulating on Weibo.

"Communist Party members must be role models in abiding to the faith of communism. [Members are] not allowed to have superstitions and blindly follow the opium of Western spirits," the statement said, which was signed off by the Youth League.

The memo also said party members would face disciplinary consequences if they or their direct relatives were found to be involved in religious activities on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Instead they were instructed to hold events to promote "patriotic and traditional Chinese culture".

Yawn. And what does that mean?

China supplies 60% of the world's plastic Christmas trees

That's the same sentiment a student had in Jiangsu province, whose university had also banned Christmas celebrations.

"I am not very convinced of the school's excuse. Nobody relates Christmas to Western ideologies. Now I may not party with my friends in the school's dorm because we are afraid there will be inspections," he said.

He also didn't know the relationship between Christmas and the Christian faith.

Its not just happening in Hunan and Jiangsu provinces, but also Liaoning and Shaanxi provinces, where people were banned from gathering for celebrations on December 24 and 25.

But commercially Chinese companies love Christmas. Over 600,000 Christmas trees and 3 million decorations were bought on T Mall, owned by Alibaba. China makes over 60 percent of the world's plastic Christmas trees.

What's wrong with Christmas with Chinese characteristics?

Liu Kaiming, head of the Institute of Contemporary Observation in Shenzhen, said he finds it absurd for local institutions to ban the celebration of Christmas because it is a "Western festival".

"To Chinese people, this festival is not much different to the Singles' Day on November 11, it's for shopping," he said.

"China has long been using a Western calendar. We celebrate the New Year, Labour Day, and Women's Day based on Western origins. Are we going to ban all of them?" he said.

"This is China's dilemma -- it is largely opened up to globalization now, but it also holds back from embracing full-scale globalization because of domestic politics," Liu continued.

"The recent political emphasis on the 'revitalization of Chinese culture' from officials may have prompted local units to use this season as a chance to show loyalty by following the party line."

This relates back to President Xi Jinping who expects all cadres to show unwavering loyalty to the Party.

It's not just Christianity under fire, but also Buddhism and feng shui -- there's only one thing to believe in -- the Party.

Now if only the Party had Christmas-like celebrations then maybe people would be more on board.

圣诞快乐！

Silk Road: Gaochang Ruins

Well-preserved ruins still standing tall at Gaochang

Another deserted city is the Gaochang Ruins, about 30 kilometres southeast of Turpan located on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

A main storage building in Gaochang, 30km from Turpan

From the remaining architecture, the place looked pretty sophisticated with buttressed walls and arches, and had temples too. It was originally built as a garrison town in 100 BC and was a key point along the Silk Road because travelers could stop here for food and water.

By the 14th century, it was severely damaged from wars between Mongolians and Uyghurs, and as a result Gaochang was eventually abandoned. But some of the buildings still stand and look in pretty good condition, making one wonder what life was like back then.

Gaochang was also known as a sanctuary of culture. The Buddhist monk Xuanzhaung, came here on his way to India and taught Buddhism -- we were even shown the room where he gave his lessons. There were also residents who were Christian and Manicheans, a religion based on good and evil from Iran.

The temple where Xuanzhuang gave lectures on Buddhism

We got to not only see these ruins, but also some tombs down below. One or two had Chinese calligraphy or paintings that looked detailed, featuring portraits of people. It's quite amazing that these items are well preserved and that no one has stolen them yet.

Vancouverite Finally Free

Kevin Garratt hugging his wife Julia in Vancouver

We were relieved this morning to read the news that Vancouverite Kevin Garratt was released after spending two years in a Chinese jail on suspicion of spying.

The move comes soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Beijing earlier this month and raised the Garratt case with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a week before Prime Minister Li Keqiang comes to Canada next week.

Earlier this week Garratt was formally sentenced and then released on bail. According to his family, he was deported from China yesterday and was back in Canada.

Garratt in front of the coffee shop at Dandong

In August 2014, Garratt and his wife Julia were detained in Dandong, a city near the Chinese border with North Korea where the couple had a cafe called Peter's Coffee Shop which they operated as part of a Christian aid mission.

Chinese officials later said they were being held on "suspicion of stealing and spying to obtain state secrets".

"Kevin Garratt and his wife... are suspected of collecting and stealing intelligence materials related to Chinese military targets and important Chinese national defence scientific research programs, and engaging in activities that endanger China's national security," the Foreign Ministry said in a short statement at the time.

Their son Simeon said in Vancouver at the time that the charges "sound ridiculous". "Military secrets? It sounds like something out of a movie or something. Those are the accusations, but I have no idea where they are coming from or how it even came about."

Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Xi Jinping earlier this month

There were also concerns that China's relationship with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn't good, which made Garratt's situation harder to bring up and resolve.

Soon Julia Garratt was released on bail and allowed to leave China, but in January Chinese authorities announced Garratt would be tried on the charges. And now he's finally free.

He had originally said that God had told them to go to Dandong to spread Christianity into North Korea.

But after this two-year long wait and finally returning back to Canada, what's Garratt's next move?

Nevertheless, his release demonstrates Trudeau's ability to sway the Chinese, and scores the respect of Canadians for finally successfully dealing with this case which has been left idle for some time.

Pokemon Debate

You can capture Pokemon anywhere, even on the MTR...

There are so many Pokemon Go stories in Hong Kong these days, with the tram being inundated with riders keen on catching as many monsters as they can on their way home, or on the weekends they gather with friends, or how people discover new places in their neighbourhood they never knew about before.

But now there's a new debate brewing among Christians in Hong Kong -- is the game satanic, addictive or conducive to spreading the gospel.

After the game was launched in the city on July 25, an anonymous message circulated around social media, asking Protestants to pray for those who was addicted to the augmented reality game.

The tram is the best way to catch Pokemon safely + efficiently

It said Pokemon images were partly inspired by figurines in Japanese shrines, and suggested "the game would guide people to play with evil spirits".

"There are Christians talking about not playing the game... and I agree that you can choose not to play it to avoid getting addicted," said Reverend Sam Chung Shu-sum, senior pastor at Assemblies of God West Post Church.

"But while new [trends] are always attractive or even potentially addictive, Christians could also make good use of them."

Last month Chung had written on his blog questioning whether Christians with weak wills might find the game addictive.

However Alliance Bible Seminary assistant professor John Chan suggested on Facebook that churches could have "lures" to attract rare Pokemon, and that might attract some potential church-goers.

Hundreds of Pokemon hunters gather in Tin Shui Wai

While the game is about catching monsters, how is the game satanic in any way? It's just a game! There are many people addicted to it at the moment, and the trend could fizzle as fast as it came, as it's virtually impossible to catch all the Pokemon, unless you're like American Nick Johnson who has literally traveled around the world to catch practically every single one, even the regional creatures.

Although I'm not religious, I like Chan's suggestion that Pokemon Go could result in more people going to church. It's just a matter of getting them through the door, right?

The game is a time waster -- there's no doubt about that. But some people admit to walking their dogs longer than usual or even meeting new friends to catch Pokemon. That's a good thing too, right?