Two Former HK Leaders Named in Pandora Papers

11.9 million files reveal offshore accounts of wealthy elites

The Pandora Papers have revealed a treasure trove financial records showing current and former politicians, royalty, billionaires and celebrities who have hidden their money in tax-free offshore accounts.

Released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the 11.9 million files -- even bigger than the Panama Papers -- names two former Hong Kong leaders, Leung Chung-ying and Tung Chee-hwa.

In a report by Stand News that worked with ICIJ, Tung and his family have dozens of accounts related to seven offshore companies, while Leung was listed as the owner of two British Virgin Island companies while he was Hong Kong's chief executive.

Leung was accused of corruption but later cleared

Opposition lawmakers accused Leung of corruption in 2014 in relation to a HK$50 million payment he received from an Australian engineering firm and was investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, but the Department of Justice dropped the case in 2018 due to insufficient evidence.

With the publication of Stand News' report, Leung is threatening legal action against the online news outlet, warning against the "flames of irresponsible journalism". In a series of Facebook posts over seven hours, he accused Stand News of misrepresenting the facts and being either ignorant of the laws governing what the city leader must disclose about his financials or driven by ulterior motives in deciding the publish the allegations.

Through its investigation of the financial records held by the ICIJ, Stand News reported Leung conducted business through two offshore companies and sold his 30 percent stake in DTZ Japan for HK$2.3 million in 2012, the year he began his five-year term as chief executive.

Tung and his family have 72 offshore accounts

Stand News also reported Tung and his family members were tied to at least 72 accounts owned by seven offshore companies, with one having an estimated US$1 million in assets, which were used to skirt taxes in Hong Kong. Tung has yet to respond to the allegations.

The online news outlet was one of 150 media outlets around the world, and the only one from Hong Kong to work on the Pandora Papers. 

Double Bronzes for Hong Kong

Minnie Soo (left) hugs Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching

 

The day started off really well with the Hong Kong women's table tennis team scoring a well deserved bronze in doubles. 

Hong Kong beat Germany for bronze today

They took revenge on Germany who had defeated them in the Rio Games in 2016. What's also interesting is that all the players are Hongkongers, not mainlanders who migrated to the city. 

"We are all home-grown and we have worked together and won medals in events other than the Olympics, such as the world Cup and world championships," said three-time Olympian Lee Ho-ching.

"The result carries a big meaning as home-grown players," Doo Hoi-kem said, hoping their bronze will inspire future generations in the sport.

Later in the day Grace Lau Mo-sheung also won bronze in karate, which made its Olympic debut. 

"I want to thank my family so much. Without their support, I could not even start as a full-time athlete," a teary Lau said after winning the bronze medal kata match against Turkey.

Grace Lau won bronze in debut sport karate

Hong Kong has now hauled in five medals for the Games, unprecedented for the city of 7.8 million.

Then many Hongkongers breathed a sigh of relief to hear that pop singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming was spared a criminal record when the Independent Commission Against Corruption agreed to stop pursuing its claim that he gave a performance that broke the election law.

Wong and jailed former lawmaker Au Nok-hin were charged with corruption by providing entertainment at an election rally with the aim to sway voters in 2018.

A prosecutor for the ICAC said the agency agreed to settle the case against the two by imposing a bind-over order, which requires the accused to maintain good behaviour for a designated length of time, given the relatively minor nature of the offence.

Wong was spared a criminal record today

In this case, the order is for 18 months and they must pay HK$2,000 (US$257) each if they breach the terms, which included avoiding further election-related offences.

The 34-year-old Au is currently in jail serving a 10-month sentence for organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly on August 18, 2019. He is also awaiting trial on an alleged national security law violation.

After the ruling, Wong, 59, gave an impromptu performance outside Eastern Court of the Cantonese song, Ask Me, which he said reflected his thoughts.

The chorus is: "No matter if I am by all means correct, or if I am by all means wrong, I whole heartedly accept the consequences. To face everything in the world, no matter how it will be, I will preserve the real me."

Wong finished by saying, "Hongkongers continue singing. Hongkongers hang in there."

Au is still in jail for a 10-month sentence

The prosecution did not have enough evidence to show the court -- but promised it would when it had some. The prosecutor for the ICAC said she had no proof Au paid Wong for the performance or if the singer had been paid to appeal to voters.

Why this even went to court is curious. 

"After considering that the case involved only two songs and after reviewing the background of the case, we agreed to dispose of the case by way of a bind-over order," the prosecutor said.

There is no proof Wong and Au did anything criminally wrong and yet they must be on good behaviour for a year and a half.

The authorities are watching...

Film Review: The Kingmaker

Imelda Marcos tells her side of the story in The Kingmaker

As a teenager in the 1980s, I learned about Imelda Marcos and her husband, then president of the Philippines, through my two classmates. I later found out they and their families had fled the country to get away from Marcos, and later watching news reports of their wealth excesses, it was a wonder how they amassed so much wealth, while most the country was literally dirt poor.

My first (and so far only) visit to the Philippines was in 2017 for a food trade show in Manila. What shocked me the most was seeing metal detectors everywhere -- including our hotel The Peninsula Manila -- and we were lucky to be staying in Makati, the business district, but also where the wealthy live.

Greenfield reveals Marcos' inconsistencies

Our escort on the trip from Hong Kong was staying with her uncle and she told us they hardly every went out of their family compound. But if they did, her uncle always brought his gun with him...

So I was very curious to watch The Kingmaker, a documentary by Lauren Greenfield about Imelda Marcos. At first I thought it was just going to be about her, but it was much more than that.

The opening scene shows a drone shot of the shanty towns in the foreground, with glimmering towers in the back. Imelda Marcos is in a chauffeured car and when it stops at a red light, she opens the door and hands out crisp bills to poor children with outstretched, dirty hands.

She later says that the Philippines was not like this when her husband was in power.

We see her in her home, immaculately dressed, an army of nervous servants attending to her, from holding her arm to adding more powder to her face that still retains her beauty.

When she was eight years old she was orphaned when her mother died, but later became a beauty queen who caught the attention of Ferdinand Marcos who was a senator at the time. Eleven days later they were married.

Marcos enjoyed being First lady

One can tell Marcos is keen to tell her version of the story, how she was "a mother" to the country and gave it love. She did this buy buying wild animals from Africa and had them deposited on an island, but not before kicking out 254 inhabitants there; she bought at least four properties in New York City, a home in Beverly Hills that was strangely in actor George Hamilton's name, and the numerous dresses, thousands of pairs of shoes and the jewellery!

When the country revolted against the Marcoses and they had to flee to Hawaii in 1986, she slipped lots of glittering baubles into bags holding baby diapers that was put onto the plane. On camera she says that jewellery helped pay for legal fees. Yowsers.

Marcos also likes to boast who she knew, and Greenfield finds the archival footage to prove she met people like Muammar Gadafi, Saddam Hussein, and even Mao Zedong, where there is a clip of him kissing her hand. She considered them all friends...

While she maintains she and her husband did everything for the good of the Philippines, others say otherwise in The Kingmaker.

One of the giraffes caught in Africa for Marcos

When Marcos declared martial law in 1972, he claimed he did this due to a "communist threat" though opposition leaders said he used this to consolidate his power and shut down criticism. Fourteen out of 15 newspapers were shut down and those rebels trying to oust him were summarily executed.

One journalist recalls being physically tortured by having to crouch and his shins were beaten; his younger brother worked for the resistance and was caught and killed. A teacher recalled being tortured by electric batons -- by her own students, and an activist talked about being sexually assaulted by a group of men.

These testimonies are a stark contrast to the romantic picture Imelda Marcos tries to portray about her and her husband's grip on power. 

But there is more.

She tried to engineer the continuation of the Marcos dynasty by having her son, Bongbong become president, but first become vice president in the 2016 elections, but he lost by over 260,000 votes and even refused to concede.

The position of vice president is also elected, not chosen by the president like in the United States.

Bongbong tried and failed to win vice presidency

Rodrigo Duterte came to power, but it is revealed in The Kingmaker, that he also comes from a wealthy family, his father once served in Marcos' administration, and the late president's daughter Imee helped Duterte win.

And now he rules with impunity, killing tens of thousands of people on a supposed war on drugs without trying them in court.

So the Marcoses still have their wealth and power, fuelled by selling off whatever expensive trinkets they accumulated to keep their political dreams alive, including a Monet that was sold for over US$32 million.

And what happened to those African animals, the zebras and giraffes?

No one knew how to look after them, and they were literally left on their own, inbreeding which led to physical problems in the giraffes like shorter necks and not even being able to hold them upright. The human inhabitants there are resentful of the animals given priority over them.

Marcos below her Picasso and priceless art

Meanwhile the next generation are being taught revisionist history and in class they parrot how martial law was good for the country, and have no idea what really happened. Sound familiar?

It is quite eerie to see how the Marcos' have control over numerous institutions in the Philippines thanks to their enormous wealth and influence. As one critic points out, as long as they have money, they will continue to call the shots in Philippine politics. 

As she says being First Lady in the beginning of the documentary, "People underestimate women, and sometimes that's useful." 

That was Marcos' strategy, and she will continue using it to get what she wants -- power, wealth and more power.

Tiger's Taste for Maotai Takes him Down

Wang Xiaoguang is the latest official to be jailed for 20 years for corruption

While you may think Chinese President Xi Jinping has been busy with Belt and Road, and the Greater Bay Area, don't think he hasn't had time to bag more tigers. One more was recently taken down, the former vice-governor of Guizhou province.

Wang Xiaoguang, who was in power from 2009-2016 was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined a record 174 million yuan (US$26 million) for taking bribes, embezzlement and insider trading.

Wang was known as the "Maotai collector"

The prosecution claimed that Wang had taken advantage of his position to receive 49 million yuan in bribes, made 163 million yuan from insider trading of stocks and embezzled 4.8 million in land sales proceeds in 2000.

What did he do with all that money? Apparently he liked to collect rare orchids and Maotai, a kind of baijiu that is distilled from sorghum.

The court said Wang's sentence was light because the 57-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges.

In a confession, Wang said he was "addicted to orchids" and the National Supervisory Commission or anti-corruption watchdog said he had amassed so much Maotai that he became known as the "Maotai collector" and even obtained liquor licenses for his relatives to help him sell it. His wife reportedly dunked a lot of the prized Maotai down the sink before the authorities came to arrest him.

Another no-no was that Wang had "enthusiasm for reading politically incorrect overseas publications", a veiled reference to books and journals about Chinese political gossip that people would buy on their trips to Hong Kong.

He also had a penchant for collecting rare orchids like these

But sadly those days are over for Wang.

While a number officials were caught for having mistresses or too much sex, Wang was nabbed for too much Maotai and orchids. Guess each to their own...

Hu Junior Rising up Political Ranks

Hu Haifeng has been promoted to party boss in Xian, Shaanxi province

The Two Sessions are still going on in Beijing until Friday, and the other day there was an interesting announcement -- former president Hu Jintao's son, Hu Haifeng, will be promoted to become the new Communist Party chief in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province.

The 46-year-old will be elevated to the rank of vice minister, a big jump from his current position of party boss of Lishui, a much smaller city in Zhejiang province. Hu will also become a member of Shaanxi province's standing committee.

While Xian is an important economic centre in China's northwest, it is dealing with the fallout from a political scandal where several officials are under investigation by the party's anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Hu Haifeng is former president Hu Jintao's son

The officials were accused of corruption and dereliction of duty after they ignored direct orders from President Xi Jinping to demolish illegal villas built in a nature reserve in the Qinling mountains.

Beijing-based political analyst Zhang Lifan says Hu's promotion is seen as a gesture by Xi to appease Hu Jintao's supporters, as the president faces greater challenges domestically and internationally.

"Xi is facing a difficult situation now," Zhang said, referring to the trade war with the United States and slowing economic growth.

However, Zhang warned Xian would be a difficult assignment for someone who was not politically experienced and Hu needed to prove he was up for the challenge.

"[Hu] Haifeng initially was not very happy about becoming an official. He planned to become a technician and academic," said an acquaintance of the younger Hu.

"But the [party's Organization Department] picked him because the central government needed to bring in brilliant young people born in the 1970s."

Hu graduated from Beijing Jiaotong University in computer science and didn't enter politics until 2013. He worked as a senior engineer at state-owned Tsinghua Holdings and later became the president of Nuctech, a security scanning equipment maker controlled by Tsinghua Holdings.

Some Nuctech scanners for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

By the way, Nuctech has a near monopoly on security scanning equipment in China, pretty much a slam dunk in terms of revenues. For starters, every subway station entrance in the country has these scanning devices...

However, Hu's record isn't completely blemish free -- the company was embroiled in a corruption scandal in Namibia in 2009. Hu was president of Nuctech until the year before and then party boss of parent company Tsinghua Holdings in 2009.

At the time Namibian authorities said Hu was not a suspect, but they still wanted him to testify. News of the case was completely censored in China.

No one knows what happened in the end...

Hu's political career started in 2013 as deputy mayor of Jiaxing, a city in Zhejiang, just months after his father retired. He was later promoted to mayor of Jiaxing three years later and Lishui's party boss in July, making him the youngest prefectural-level party chief in the province.

In Lishui, Hu promoted environmental protection and eco-friendly industries, aligning himself with Xi's message that "green hills and clear waters are the true gold and silver mines".

Last April, Xi openly praised Hu's green development strategy and last month, Hu wrote an article in a party magazine in Zhejiang where he vowed to live up to the president's praise and achieve a healthy balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

Hu seems to be one to watch, even though he is reluctantly rising up the political ranks. When Xi throws you a bone, you gotta take it...

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Ma Jian, the former spymaster was jailed for life today for corruption

Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption continues with a vengeance. Today a former top spy chief was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of accepting 109 million yuan (US$15.8 million) in bribes, and crimes related to insider trading and forced share transfers.

Ma Jian was appointed deputy head of China's Ministry of State Security in 2006, in charge of counter-espionage operations. However, the crimes he was convicted of spanned a 15-year period, between 1999 and 2004.

Ma accepted bribes from Guo Wengui

After four years of detention was tried at Dalian Intermediate Court in northeast China, where he was also fined 50.5 million yuan.
The court ordered all of Ma's personal property confiscated and demanded the return of his ill-gotten gains.

During the trial, Ma confessed to the charges and said he would not appeal.

He received bribes totaling 109 million yuan to benefit several associates, including the brash tycoon Miles Guo Wengui, who is in self-imposed exile in New York City.

Ma is the highest ranking security official to be jailed since Zhou Yongkang, a former Politburo member who once oversaw the government's security operations but was jailed for life in 2015.

The ex-spy has the same name as novelist, Ma Jian (above)

One would think this story is straight forward, except that some media outlets have used the wrong picture of Ma and used the one of novelist Ma Jian -- who had trouble presenting his novel China Dream in Hong Kong in early November.

Both the former spy chief and the novelist have the same Chinese characters in their names (马建) which makes it all the more amusing and the latter has joked about it on Twitter:

"My children are puzzled to learn that I am not the author of China Dream, who has just made them seaweed dumplings for supper, but am instead a former spymaster who has just been jailed for life for accepting 'extremely large bribes'," he wrote.

Ma tweeted his amusement at being "jailed for life"

"This is a strange China Dream. Am I a banned novelist dreaming that I'm a corrupt spy chief, or am I a corrupt spy chief dreaming that I'm a banned novelist?"

Perhaps this is potential fodder for Ma -- the novelist's -- next story.

Bagging Another Tiger?

China has confirmed Meng Hongwei of Interpol is being investigated

Hot on the heels of actress Fan Bingbing's tax evasion ordeal, on Friday evening there was a curious piece of breaking news -- the Chinese head of Interpol had disappeared and his wife reported him missing to French police.

It has now transpired that Meng Hongwei, 64, was detained by Chinese authorities as soon as he landed in China on a flight from Lyon, France on September 29.

His wife Grace is worried for her and her children's safety

He has been detained for allegedly taking bribes and "gravely jeopardizing" the country's ruling Communist Party and police. On Sunday Interpol received his resignation letter and has been replaced by South Korean Kim Jong Yang.

Who knows how long Meng will be investigated for and then possibly put on trial.

What is ironic is that when he was appointed head of Interpol in 2016 there were fears he would abuse Interpol's powers to forcibly repatriate Chinese dissidents and fugitives.

But in 2017 he only issued one red notice -- which means a request to provisionally arrest a suspect pending extradition -- for Chinese fugitive tycoon Guo Wengui at Beijing's request.

In 2014 China issued notices for 100 Chinese fugitive officials living overseas.

Beijing's campaign of cracking down on corruption has not abated, and it is willing to sacrifice its reputation on the world stage to take down senior officials, as Meng was also vice-minister of public security in China.

Meng's last message to his wife was an emoji of a knife

His disappearance would have been kept quiet longer if it wasn't for his wife reporting him missing to the French police. It shows that no one -- not even the first Chinese national to head Interpol -- is safe from being investigated, and that domestic issues trump international ones.

Grace Meng, his wife, showed the authorities and the media her last communication with her husband. He told her to wait for his call and then posted an emoji of a knife, hinting danger.

Did he know what would happen if he went back to China? Or did he only find out the moment he landed?

There are too many questions, but one thing is for sure -- it doesn't matter how high up you are, if you have allegedly done something wrong, you will be taken down.

Xi President for Life

The Communist Party is changing the rules for Xi Jinping to rule for life

The big news today -- there have been rumblings about it for a while -- the Chinese Communist Party is going to abolish its two-term limit for the presidency to allow Xi Jinping, 64, to effectively rule for life, making it the biggest political change in decades.

Previous leaders typically had two five-year terms, but Xi's ability to consolidate so much power since his ascent in 2012 puts him in the ranks of "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping and the "Great Helmsman" Mao Zedong. 

"Xi Jinping thought" will also be added into the constitution, making any challenge against him a threat to Communist Party rule.

Wang Qishan may replace Li Keqiang as Premier

Originally the two-term limit was meant to prevent the cultivation of cult of personality like what happened with Mao.

But with no heir apparent in sight, or perhaps Xi isn't interested in cultivating one, it seems the authoritarian Xi is keen to continue his grip on power for a while yet. And why not with his signature project Belt and Road still underway, perhaps he wants to see it through.

Sinologists have also been discussing the possibility of Wang Qishan, Xi's right hand man in the anti-corruption campaign, to become his next Premier, replacing Li Keqiang, who has been really quiet for a few years. Maybe he and Xi didn't see eye-to-eye.

With Xi amassing so much power, one really doesn't want to mess with him.

Social media post of Winnie the Pooh making the rounds

As China expert Willy Lam, adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong and in 2015 wrote a biography about Xi, notes, the Chinese leader needs to be careful with his even greater power.

"Xi Jinping is susceptible to making big mistakes because there are now almost no checks or balances. Essentially, he has become emperor for life."

Meanwhile on social media in China, there's an image of Winnie the Pooh (in a Disney cartoon reference to Xi), hugging a big honey pot.

It says: "Find the thing you love and stick with it."

Makes sense, no?

China's Evolving Definition of Human Rights

Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia suffered human rights violations

With the year ending in just over two weeks, China has already hailed 2017 as one of "remarkable" progress in human rights, including its achievements in anti-corruption and legal reform, which don't have much, if anything to do with human rights.

The latest State Council white paper listed international cooperation on counterterrorism and climate change, as well as the "Sky Net" program to hunt down and repatriate fugitives accused of corruption as human rights achievements.

So forcibly bringing back people to stand for corruption charges is a good thing for human rights?

In the past China has included the right to peace, and the right to economic development.

Migrant workers are being forced out of Beijing

How random and irrelevant to consider these under the meaning of human rights (everywhere else).

Many international critics focused on the detention and death in custody of Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident Liu Xiaobo and how he was only briefly reunited with his wife Liu Xia before he died of cancer in July. Afterwards his body was hastily cremated and the ashes dumped at sea to avoid some kind of memorial for democracy activists.

His widow is still closely watched by the authorities and her whereabouts are still unknown. Doesn't she have human rights?

There are also human rights violations in pushing migrant workers out of Beijing on the pretense of a fire in Daxing District on November 18 that killed 19 people. Following the fire, the authorities immediately launched a 40-day campaign to get rid of the "low-end population", a word that has since been banned from China's cyberspace.

Migrant workers who provide essential services or do jobs that no one else wants to do are being pushed out of the Chinese capital with very little notice and the experience has been so harsh and violent that they don't feel welcome anymore and have no choice but to go back to their hometowns.

Uyghurs' DNA are now being collected by the police

Did the authorities realize what effect this vicious campaign will have on how the city will function from now on?

But another shocking human rights violation is a recent report from The Guardian that says DNA, fingerprints and other biometric data are being collected from Uyghurs in a "health check", called "Physicals for All". It is unclear if patients are aware this data is being collected and shared with the police.

"The mandatory databanking of a whole population's biodata, including DNA, is a gross violation of international human rights norms," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. It is even more disturbing if it is done surreptitiously, under the guise of a free healthcare program.

"Xinjiang authorities should rename their physical exams project 'Privacy Violations for All', as informed consent and real choice does not seem to be part of these programs," she added.

However, China is ignoring its critics and continuing this terrifying project -- even if someone hasn't committed a crime.

So when China says it's had a "remarkable" year in human rights, it really is living in a parallel universe where its definition is so far removed from everyone else's.

One Fat Cat's Ill-Gotten Gains

A Wu Guanzhong painting of Hong Kong was owned by a corrupt police chief

Chinese President Xi Jinping caught another fat "tiger" in his ongoing anti-corruption campaign but only now do we see how fat this cat was.

Former Tianjin police chief Wu Changshun was worth 426 million yuan thanks to his massive collection of artwork, jewellery and watches.

Xi angrily described Wu has "defying all laws human and divine," according to state media. The police chief was dismissed in 2014, and following an investigation, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve -- basically life imprisonment.

Wu Changshun was apparently worth 426 million yuan

Wu collected over 1,000 pieces of artwork, including a painting called In Memory of Hong Kong of the city's skyline by famous modern Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong who died in 2010.

Other famous paintings and calligraphy included those by Zhang Daqian. One of his paintings called A Copy of Juran's Landscape was sold at China Guardian's autumn auction for 103.5 million yuan.

Also in the collection were 11 paintings by Fan Zeng, a master of traditional Chinese painting. Wu also amassed hundreds of antiques, including a blue and white 15th century porcelain jar from the Ming dynasty, Buddha statues and ornaments.

Also in the illicit stash of goods was a green jade bracelet worth HK$1.8 million, and at least 45 luxury watches, including five Patek Philippes, as well as Cartier, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin.

He also had several Patek Philippe watches and other brands

Apparently Wu's collection was so vast that a Tianjin auction house had to hold three separate auctions to sell all the items between November 2015 and December last year, according to a report by Caixin.

Going through this huge list of items not only demonstrates Wu either had a lot of money to burn, or his bribers knew exactly what he wanted in terms of gifts. It seems like brand names were a must, and he had very good taste.

Oh well. That's all in the past now with Wu languishing in jail.

But it also makes you wonder, if there are other fatter cats...

Manila Impressions

Hitching a ride on the back of an already full Jeepney in Manila

I recently got back from a five-day trip to Manila for work and it being my first trip to the Philippines it was an eye opener.

Before I went, I was told horror stories about the notorious traffic jams -- an acquaintance recalled being stuck in a car for two hours and it hardly moved. He gave up going to his destination and instead asked the driver to take him back to his hotel.

Another friend warned me to bring reading material and download a bunch of podcasts to listen to to while away the time stuck in traffic.

But on the whole we were lucky because the distance between our hotel and the conference venue was not too far -- it wasn't close enough to walk, but it took say 20 minutes by car when it probably took 10 minutes without traffic.

On our first day, a pair begging for money from cars idling

We were ferried everywhere by car, and the main reason is safety. A woman who escorted us has Chinese relatives living in Manila. She told us their house is surrounded by a two-storey tall fence and her uncle packs a gun with him every time they go out.

She says that many years ago things were worse -- her two young cousins were almost kidnapped while their chauffeur was driving them, but luckily knew he was being followed and managed to shake off the shady characters.

I asked if Rodrigo Duterte had anything to do with the country being safer, but our Filipina fixer said it was more because the economy was improving and people were earning more money.

Nevertheless, I saw many cars and Jeepneys -- pimped up long vehicles where people sat in the back -- a kind of cramped minibus -- had Duterte stickers on them.

They would like to believe that he represents them, and not the super rich.

When I was in high school in the 1980s, I had a few Filipina friends. At first they didn't explain why they were in Vancouver, but later I found out one of the families was anti-Marcos and was waiting for him to go. The others probably had the same political leanings.

In the business district, Manila is sleek and modern

I later found out on this trip that when Marcos came to power, he immediately started going after the powerful families that lived in the south who made their money through sugar cane plantations.

I heard that these families run the plantation like fiefdoms, paying their workers low wages so their children couldn't be well educated, but always making sure they give each family a turkey for Christmas.

This uneven development and the wealth gap is very similar to China's, though the Philippines have democracy, and China does not. In both cases, however, corruption still hasn't been eradicated.

Philippine culture is a mixed-up one, thanks to the colonization of the Spanish for over 300 years. As one Fliipina put it, the Spanish only pushed religion on the colony, and so the Philippines is the largest population of Roman Catholics in the world, thanks to birth control being illegal...

After the Spanish, the Americans came for about 50 years, and gave them American English, rule of law, Spam and democracy. It is only in the last few years that the Philippines is starting to figure out its own identity and move away from its colonial mentality and become proud of its heritage.

This is reflected in the food, that has a combination of Spanish, American, Japanese and Chinese influences. And now some progressive chefs are looking to indigenous ingredients to find new flavours.

A craft beer bar in Poblacion with friendly staff

It's interesting to see young Filipino chefs keen on coming back home after having learned abroad, and wanting to start a restaurant, cafe or a bar. Perhaps it's because rents are cheap and so is labour. But perhaps those are the best conditions to be able to experiment and take some risks.

In Hong Kong the start-up costs are so prohibitive that it's way too risky to even try.

The ironic thing is that rich Filipinos like to go to Hong Kong to see what the trends are, when we ourselves look elsewhere!

So I am well aware that my trip was the sanitized version of Manila, and that we haven't even seen how the other side lives. But we managed to try a few trendy places in Poblacion, a red light district that is becoming more gentrified, and the food was not only delicious but very cheap compared to Hong Kong.

Therefore if someone has a decent-paying job, they can afford to eat relatively well.

The people are nice on the whole, but not very bright at times. And things do go on Philippine time -- ie. at least 30 minutes later. It requires a lot of patience and gentle pushing to get things done -- berating them does nothing.

Another thing is that during this conference, I saw a lot of women making high-level decisions. They seem to be the ones getting things done. A Filipina explained to me that it's because the Philippines is a matriarchal society, and so things are done from a practical standpoint because the men are too lazy, and also women make decisions behind the scenes, which is totally acceptable.

It's fascinating to watch these movers and shakers, and I wonder if I'll be back again to discover more of this city and its people.

Flies Caught in Xi's Anti-Corruption Trap

Was the two sessions the last time Li Keqiang will speak directly to the media?

When I met up with my two friends in Beijing, we talked about the "two sessions", the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and National People's Congress that ended recently.

One friend who reported on it, pointed out that when Premier Li Keqiang ended his annual press conference, he thanked the massive room of reporters, and said, "Maybe see you next year if I have the chance".

Many believe that Li may be shuffled out of his job next year, when five people will be replaced in the Standing Committee of the Politburo. There's also talk that Li and President Xi did not see eye-to-eye on things, possibly because the two were originally in the race for the top job which Xi won.

Xi Jinping seems to be amassing even more power

Not only did Xi take over more control of the economy, which is usually the duties of the premier, but also the two seemed to contradict each other in making announcements.

Then the conversation quickly shifted to Xi's anti-corruption campaign and how Wang Qishan who is spearheading this very long campaign should really be retiring at 68, but there is speculation Xi is keeping him on because Wang is doing such a good job.

That reporter friend said that the anti-corruption campaign hasn't just affected the big guys or "tigers", but even people her parents know. Her mother is a doctor who works in a hospital in her hometown of Lanzhou, and one of her friends was convicted of giving bribes of around 200,000 kuai (US$29,000), but in reality was more than that.

"He was sentenced to eight years in jail. Usually for sentences like this they do four years in prison and then they are let out, but he has to serve the entire eight years," she said.

The other friend said her mother works at a university in Shandong and her friend who was a dean of a department had misappropriated funds earmarked for the university and used it to set up a company instead.

Is Xi keeping on Wang Qishan to stamp out more corruption?

This dean was also sent to jail, but when I asked for how long, she said no one knew, but everyone knew this person was definitely in jail.

The second friend added that one of her husband's bosses committed suicide about a year ago in the office. He was one of the senior managers whose office had a shower in it and he hung himself from there...

While he wasn't the one in trouble, he was asked to give evidence and we speculated perhaps he knew too much, or would be implicated himself, or he didn't want to get his family into trouble.

Because once you kill yourself, the investigation into you ends, and then your family is safe.

It's just interesting that corruption cases used to be incidents that were reported in the news, but now they are affecting people at the ordinary level -- people who know others who were caught.

Many believe this exercise is a way for Xi to get rid of his enemies. Perhaps it's another kind of "cultural revolution", but an economic kind...

Donald Tsang Trial Finally Starts

Donald Tsang arrives at High Court this morning with his wife Selina

We are finally here -- the start of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's trial for corruption charges.

For the occasion he wore a suit and his signature bow tie with his wife Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei by his side and they arrived at the High Court in Admiralty at 8.15am, over an hour before his trial was supposed to start.

In court, Tsang pleaded not guilty in a firm voice in Cantonese to each of the three charges he faces related to a three-storey rental penthouse in Shenzhen.

Tsang allegedly had dealings with Bill Wong (above)

Two of the charges are for misconduct of public office and one of a chief executive accepting an advantage, which allegedly occurred during 2010 and 2012. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

The 72-year-old Tsang is the highest ranking official to ever face a criminal trial in Hong Kong's history.

In the first charge, Tsang is alleged as chief executive and head of the Executive Council, to engage in wilful misconduct by failing to disclose and conceal his dealings with businessman Bill Wong Cho-bau regarding the penthouse. Wong was a major shareholder of radio station Wave Media, which was later renamed Digital Broadcasting Corp, or DBC.

Tsang allegedly "approved in principle and formally granted" applications by Wong's company for a digital broadcasting license, the surrender of its AM radio license and the appointment of Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung as DBC director and board chairman without disclosing his dealings with Wong to Exco.

The second charge alleges Tsang recommended interior designer Barrie Ho Chow-lai for nomination under the city's honours and awards system between December 2010 and July 2011.

Tsang allegedly nominated Barrie Ho for a medal of honour

Under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, the corruption charge accuses Tsang of accepting an advantage -- namely the refurbishment and redecoration of the penthouse -- as an inducement or reward to perform an act as chief executive.

A jury of nine will decide Tsang's fate in this trial that is expected to last 20 days.

Two Cities, Two Trials

Ho Chio-meng will be facing 1,970 charges against him next month

Former Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will be facing three charges against him in a trial by jury that starts in January.

But that's nothing compared to Macau's former top prosecutor who will face almost 2,000 criminal charges when he appears in court next month.

Ho Chio-meng was prosecutor general, equivalent to Hong Kong's director of public prosecutions, from 1999 to 2014.

Former CE Donald Tsang will be going on trial in January

He was even tipped to become Macau's chief executive, but that possibility has been dashed, as Ho is accused of 1,970 charges, including initiating or founding a criminal syndicate, fraud, money laundering, unlawful economic advantage, abuse of power, and forging documents. He also faces a charge of "damaging goods under his domain".

An investigation into alleged corruption and kickbacks involving at least HK$44 million has led to the arrest of more than 70 suspects to date.

Ho and others will face trial on December 5.

Since his arrest in February when he tried to board a ferry to Hong Kong, Ho has been locked up in the same prison annexe as disgraced former public works secretary Ao Man-long, who is serving a 27-year term and is the highest ranking public official ever convicted of corruption in Macau. If convicted, Ho will be the second.

Rafael Hui is serving a 7 1/2 year sentence for taking bribes

There was a three-year investigation into Tsang's case, and he is the highest ranking government official in Hong Kong to face a corruption trial. His deputy Rafael Hui Si-yan was jailed for seven years in 2014 for taking bribes worth HK$34 million from Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen. Thomas Kwok is serving a five-year sentence.

No doubt residents in both Hong Kong and Macau will be watching both trials closely...

Too Much Cash to Stash

Imagine hiding US$31 million worth of cash in your home... where to put it?

Here's some jaw-dropping news -- a corrupt Chinese official was handed a suspended death sentence earlier this week after he was convicted of taking bribes from more than 200 companies worth US$31 million worth of cash.

The money was found in a sparsely furnished apartment in Beijing owned by Wei Pengyuan, a former deputy director in the coal department of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planning agency.

Wei Pengyuan received bribes while working at the NDRC

The 210 million yuan is the largest amount prosecutors have retrieved in cash from a corrupt official in a single operation since 1949, according to state media.

CCTV broadcast a news story showing how Wei was thought to be a modest official who cycled to work. But then it turned out he owned a black Audi (like every other Chinese official) and he would park it near the office and keep the folding bicycle in the trunk of the car.

The authorities raided his apartment, and only when they lifted the mattress of the bed did they find boxes and boxes, and suitcases full of 100 yuan notes bundled in bricks. There were also denominations in US dollars Hong Kong dollars, British pounds and Euros.

Apparently the cash had been sitting there for two years untouched after they were taken out of the bank.

He put the cash in suitcases, bags and boxes under his bed

The report added it took 14 hours for staff to count all the money, and four of the 16 counting machines broke down. News stories always like to add that these counting machines malfunctioned, or perhaps it was because they were made in China?

Wei managed to get all these bribes from conducting coal project reviews and bidding, and also helped others sell equipment illegally between 2000 and 2014, state media reported. He definitely didn't waste time trying to amass as much as he could.

Unfortunately the report doesn't say exactly how Wei was caught in the end, but for an NDRC official to cycle to work seems strange unless he really did live nearby.

If Wei's stash had all been in 100 yuan notes, it would have been over 2 million bills! That is so much cash taken out of circulation... wonder if the hoarding of so much cash by corrupt officials has contributed to China's economic slowdown...