Was the Three-Day Test Successful?

Lam says social media was checked if people did RAT tests

For the past three days, some of the 7.3 million Hong Kong residents have tested themselves using the government's distributed rapid antigen tests to see if they have Covid-19.

But of course it's voluntary, so not everyone did the exercise, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor admitted so.

The government-issued rapid antigen test

"Anecdotal evidence suggest that many have [done the RAT test]. We have been asking around, we surfed the Facebook of different groups and social media, and so on," she said.

"But naturally in a city like Hong Kong, I am sure there will be people who do not respond to the government's appeal."

Well... if you say it's voluntary and no need to report test results if they are negative, then what is the point?

It makes no sense.

Here were the numbers of positive cases from RAT tests:

Today: 1,033

Yesterday: 1,638

Friday: 1,265

The start of the line to vote in Kennedy Town

Nevertheless, she said the three-day exercise had no bearing on the government preparing to relax social-distancing measures from April 21, which would include allowing dinner for up to four people per table until 10pm, opening up gyms and entertainment venues.

"By now it's quite clear that we are trending down... By and large, unless there's an exponential surge, otherwise we will continue to implement the relaxation. But the relaxation will be gradual, it will take three stages over three months in order to remove most of the social distancing measures we have put in. But apparently, it will have no particular relevance to the RAT exercise," Lam said.

It's great to see Hong Kong tax dollars being spent for public health...

Meanwhile today was the start of voting for the Philippine elections and today on our walk along Victoria Road in Kennedy Town we saw thousands of domestic helpers lined up waiting to cast their ballots.

The end stretched to U of Chicago HK campus

The voting booths are at the Banyanihan Kennedy Town Centre which is at 55 Victoria Road, and the line snaked all the way up to 168 Victoria Road, around a 15-minute walk! It was shocking to see so many people having to wait in line for possibly hours and police were helpless to try to enforce social-distancing measures.

But at least these Filipinas can cast their votes in this election that will take one month to complete...

Suspending Mass Testing Gets Lam Praise and Condemnation

Yesterday Lam announced mass testing to be suspended

After Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced Hong Kong would put mass universal testing on hold indefinitely, mainlanders complained that the former British colony was "lying flat", a slang term meaning doing nothing.

However, Dr Liang Wannian, head of the National Health Commission's Covid Response Expert Team who had visited Hong Kong recently, came to Lam's defence today. He said postponing mass testing was based on a scientifically-based decision.

Liang said Hong Kong was not "lying flat"

He said the strategy of "three reductions" in minimising infections, severe cases and deaths, "three focuses" in identifying key groups, organisations and districts, and "one priority" in treating the elderly had yielded positive results.

"Therefore it cannot be said that epidemic control is relaxed without doing universal testing," Liang said. "Hong Kong is actually expanding its testing capacity... and allowing citizens to use rapid antigen tests at home so infections can be detected earlier and managed. I think the combination of these measures is of great significance to Hong Kong's epidemic prevention and control."

Despite the heavyweight endorsement from medical expert Liang, Hong Kong's leader is getting a salvo across the bow from pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, who is considering putting forward a non-confidence vote against her for flip-flopping on universal testing.

If his motion is tabled, it will be the first one initiated by a pro-Beijing legislator since the handover in 1997, in other words in almost 25 years.

But so far, none of his colleagues are publicly supporting his proposal, with one lawmaker calling it a "political stunt".

Isolation facilities are not 100 percent capacity

Isn't that what Ho is about? 

In any event, he blasted Lam for suspending the universal testing drive, saying preparation, including new quarantine facilities and laboratories supported by mainland Chinese authorities, had gone down the drain.

"We trust the [Hong Kong] government because we wholeheartedly trust the central government. But now you've told us things won't be carried out according to what you said... Tell us then, should we listen to you or not?" Ho said at a press conference today in support of small and medium enterprises struggling with the city's Covid-19 measures.

"There's only a spokesman for the government called the chief executive who seems to have a lot of spare time coming out everyday and talking hogwash as golden scripture... I feel disgusted seeing her face," he said, referring to her daily press briefings now in her second week.

Also he himself has experienced first hand what it's like to be in a quarantine camp in early February, but he is keen on making sure others have to go through what he did...

Ho when he was in his quarantine facilities

Ho accused the chief executive of a lack of overall planning, foresight, resolution and determination in the face of the fifth wave, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives. He urged residents to "hold Lam accountable" and push her to spell out a clear policy direction.

Interesting that he is taking this tack, though he and other pro-establishment lawmakers like Dominic Lee Tsz-king, Chan Hoi-yan and Michael Tian Puk-sun voiced their disappointment at the suspension of universal testing.

With Ho stirring the pot, he is creating yet another headache for Lam, but this is what happens when there is no more loyal opposition in the Legislative Council -- infighting within the pro-Beijing camp was bound to erupt eventually.

This is not the side show Lam needs right now, but for the rest of us desperate for any kind of entertainment since all cinemas, performing arts venues, and concerts are closed, we're socially distanced and watching this political diversion unfold with popcorn in hand.

Remembering June 4 in Precarious Position

The June Fourth Museum has updated its exhibition

The June Fourth Museum in Kowloon is facing more pressure from the authorities, now accusing the organizers of the place of running an entertainment venue that it does not have the proper license to do so.

Around 2pm this afternoon, officers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department showed up at the museum and left leaving their contacts as those in charge were not there at the time.

The visit from the FEHD officers comes days before the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, and the museum displays time lines, items from the historical event, and copies of news reports from that time among others.

Visitors laid flowers in tribute to the victims

"FEHD officers had never paid this place a visit before, and we have held similar exhibitions for 10 years... We still have to look into this, but we can't rule out that political reasons are involved," said Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, the secretary for the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.

In response to media inquiries, the FEHD said it has begun enforcement work after an investigation, responding to recent complaints.

The department said licenses were required for entertainment venues that are open to the public -- including those that are admission-free -- and that applies to exhibitions as well.

It said according to the law, no one can keep or use any place of public entertainment without a license.

The timing of this enforcement is interesting... why not sort this out earlier?

Those convicted of not having the proper license can face a fine of up to HK$25,000 and imprisonment for six months, and a further fine of HK$2,000 a day for each day the offense continues.

For now the museum remains open with a steady stream of visitors looking at the newest displays and laying down flowers against a background of Tiananmen Square with the Goddess of Democracy as a tribute to the victims.

Keeping count of attendance to 2019...

Tsoi has also said the group is not going to move the ceremony online on Friday, worried it may find itself in legal troubles and doesn't want to get members of the public in legal cross hairs either.

"We will not even ask people to turn on their lights at a specific time on Friday, but only call on them to commemorate the crackdown with their own ways at the time of their choice," he said.

Instead, Tsoi said, the alliance will only broadcast clips on Friday featuring its statement, and speeches by the Tiananmen Mothers, a group of parents who lost children in the Beijing crackdown 32 years ago.

He said so far about 500 people have made bookings to visit in the coming days. 

"We can understand that some people may have a sense of helplessness under the prevailing political sentiment. But we will continue our work," Tsoi said.

"We are facing huge pressure. But it is not the end of the world. Maybe what we need to do now is to consolidate our strength, instead of having a head-on confrontation [with the authorities]. We trust that Hong Kong people are not giving up June 4 so easily."

Hong Kong's Next Crisis: Unemployment

A mask-wearing father carrying his child in a pretty empty MTR train

As of today there are just over 2,000 deaths from the coronavirus, over 75,200 confirmed cases. Hong Kong recorded its second death today, a 70-year-old who visited the mainland for a day and then came back with symptoms later. He also had existing health conditions.

A big concern now is the economic fallout from the Wuhan coronavirus -- and it's going to be huge just in Hong Kong alone.

Hong Kong Airlines cutting costs and staff to stay alive

Cathay Pacific has had to cut back its capacity by 40 percent, meaning lots of flight crews, engineers and catering don't have much to do and have been asked to take unpaid leave. They even closed their first class and business lounges in the airport since hardly anyone is flying these days.

Today Hong Kong Airlines laid off 170 staff, which a reporter pointed out, was more than the number of passengers who flew on the airline today.

And in order to survive this crisis, Hong Kong Airlines has stopped all in-flight entertainment, meals, drinks and even blankets to cut costs.

The remaining staff (around 3,300), are taking no-pay leave from mid-February until the end of June, which is the equivalent of working part-time on half their salary for the next two months.

Cathay Pacific has had to cut flights, staff take unpaid leave

An ex-colleague contacted me last night asking if I knew of any freelance work available. The company he works for has notified staff that they will have to take no-pay leave for four months starting next week. For younger workers who don't have much saved up, or those with debt or other obligations, that's a big financial hit.

Meanwhile hotels are operating on a dire existence. The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, which has 86 owners running 200 hotels that employ 80,000 workers said today that occupancy percentage levels are in the single digits.

"So few rooms are taken up that our members no longer gauge occupancy by percentage, but by room numbers, said Michael Li Hon-shing, executive director of the federation.

"Now, many full-time hotel staff are taking no-pay leave. I would not be surprised to see businesses closing down next. February and March will be the critical period for their life and death."

Hotel occupancy is in the single digits all over town

Tourism contributed 4.5 percent to Hong Kong's GDP in 2018. Surely this year it's going to be down in the dumps, as there are only some 3,000 people arriving in the city daily, compared to 100,000 last month, and 200,000 in February last year.

Yesterday the Hong Kong Tourism Board said COVID-19 is worse than SARS 17 years ago, when there was an average of 10,000 visitors daily and hotel occupancy was in the double digits.

This time a lot of airline carriers have suspended flights to Hong Kong, and even immigration at Shun Tak ferry terminal, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau have stopped, resulting in drastically fewer visitors coming in.

That means less travelers injecting money into the local economy, in particular retail, and on top of that locals are too scared to dine out, resulting in restaurants and bars being very quiet. Even taxis are easy to flag down these days.

Shopping malls are pretty empty, retail taking a big hit

The only places that are busy are supermarkets and pharmacies to get essentials like masks, rice and toilet paper.

That said, today I noticed more people going to work, or going out in general on the MTR and the bus. They are tired of being cooped up in their flats and want a change of scenery. Or maybe their bosses have had enough of the work-at-home measure that has resulted in terrible productivity levels (what have you been watching on Netflix?).

While the government has suggested civil service staff work from home until February 23, we will find out soon if it will extend it for another week or ask more staff to come back to the office.

However, we are no where near containing the coronavirus to the point where the numbers are plateauing yet. It is considered highly contagious as demonstrated from the statistics and the links between some of the cases.

There may be a lot more restaurant closings in Hong Kong

Regardless, in the end, the economic cost of this virus will hurt a lot of people in Hong Kong, from layoffs to pay cuts. Will the city be able to rebuild itself again after this? It will take sheer determination, creativity and resourcefulness. As demonstrated the government has no leadership in this crisis. We're going to have to do this on our own.

香港人加油!!!!

Storm of the Year: Typhoon Hato

Trying to keep dry while Typhoon Hato lashes Lei Yue Mun waterfront

Hong Kong woke up to the strength of Typhoon Hato that was T8 around 5.30am and quickly went to T10 just after 9am.

My flat in Kennedy Town was very noisy thanks to the wind passing through the elevator shafts, howling louder than the wind outside. And at some points I could feel the building swaying -- not a lot, but enough to feel like things weren't quite steady.

Some storm watchers braved the severe weather conditions

I stayed home like most people, as buses, trams, ferries and outdoor MTR trains were stopped, including the Airport Express and hundreds of flights cancelled at the airport. Even the stock exchange was closed all day.

This was pretty much unprecedented, as us underlings have always had a theory that tycoons might have a hand in deciding the severity of the weather because they were in the business of making money.

Many typhoons have blown through overnight, or the T8 signal isn't raised until 5pm or 6pm when people were leaving work anyway.

But this time the typhoon really was severe, as there are videos on social media showing giant waves crashing into walls, flooded underground car parks, trucks tipping over, a revolving door spinning madly, and even hordes of cockroaches fleeing on a ledge.

There were many areas reporting extensive flooding

By around 5pm the signal was lowered to T3 and by 6.20 it was T1, and finally all signals lowered.

Some market analysts are calculating that the loss in business today was estimated between HK$4 billion to HK$8 billion. Those numbers include tourism, transportation, marine, financial services, agriculture, event organizing, entertainment, administration and import-export firms.

And even though some businesses managed to open, there were hardly any customers to serve because the weather conditions were so bad not many wanted to venture out.

I feel for shop owners and restaurants who lost a lot of business today, but this time the typhoon really was quite serious. The last time we had such a severe typhoon was in July 2012 when Typhoon Vincente hit.

Tonight Wan Chai MTR station was very quiet!

In any event all is calm again in Hong Kong and it's back to work and school for everyone tomorrow. But we'll all have stories about Typhoon Hato that we'll be telling for years to come.

Picture of the Day: Dal Richards

Dal Richards is a bright spot on an otherwise drab sidewalk

This afternoon I wandered around downtown Vancouver for a few hours and it was a gorgeous day, blue skies, 23 degrees. Vancouverites find the temperature hot, but for me coming from Hong Kong -- it was perfect summer conditions with a light breeze.

I walked down Alberni Street to meet a friend for dinner, and on the sidewalk where Hotel Vancouver is, I spotted this colourful mosaic of Dal Richards, the city's famous big band leader who died this past New Year's Eve. He was 97 years old.

He was a fixture at the hotel, ringing in every New Year's with big band tunes for nearly eight decades.

When he passed, I wrote a tribute to him, including the time when I interviewed him.

It was so wonderful to see this artistic remembrance to Richards and see that the city has definitely not forgotten him and his astonishing contribution to Vancouver's entertainment scene for some 80 years.

Knick Knack to Zootopia

Zootopia is the latest Pixar movie that takes animals to greater sophistication

Many moons ago -- in the late 80s in Vancouver, there used to be a movie theatre called The Ridge on Arbutus Street where it showed a balance of arty and blockbuster films. And it was also the place that hosted the Festival of Animation each year in the fall.

I was a fan already in senior high school and to be honest most of the cartoons were not the Walt Disney type. There was a really gory one called Lupo the Butcher who would be carving meat and mistakenly cutting up his digits and other body parts...

Toy Story was Lasseter's break out box office hit

These were perfect for the high school and university crowd looking for edgy stuff that was completely unconventional.

Oh yes, and Godzilla Meets Bambi...

But I digress.

One year a guy called John Lasseter designed the poster for the animation festival and was there signing autographs if you bought the poster. I got him to sign it and loved one of his first CGI cartoons called Knick Knack that was a lot of fun, and a precursor to Toy Story.

So every time a new Pixar movie comes out I'm reminded of briefly meeting Lasseter many moons ago in Vancouver and the latest one Zootopia is a feel-good movie that teaches the importance of perseverance, but also size doesn't matter as long as you use your brains.

John Lasseter continues to have fun on the job

Zootopia is a metropolis where animals all live together, and a determined rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) from a small town wants to make a name for herself as the first rabbit officer there.

She has 48 hours to crack a case that hasn't been solved in the past two weeks and she enlists the help of a con artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to find the clues.

Along the way some of the characters they come across are hilarious, like the sloth Flash and Mr. Big.

Looking at Zootopia and Lasseter's stuff in the 80s, you can see how far CGI has gone, and of course having a lot of resources behind you.

Apparently the animal hairs in each character in Zootopia are many times more than what was shown in Elsa's hair in Frozen.

Fans will never let go of Frozen...

We're glad to see the quirky and witty humour is still there, as there's one scene where Pixar pokes fun at itself.

Now where is that poster I had over 25 years ago? I could have sworn it's in my closet somewhere...

Ex-ICAC Chief Free from Prosecution

Ex-head of the anti-graft agency won't face further prosecution or investigation

Today there was finally an announcement of former ICAC chief Timothy Tong Hin-ming's fate -- that he would not be further prosecuted, nor further investigated.

Case closed.

What? Really?

When he was commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption from 2007-2012, Tong was found to have spent taxpayer money on lavish gifts and hosting dinners, for not only his mainland counterparts, but other Chinese officials too. He also invited his friends and relatives to dine at these dinners at taxpayers' expense.

For example, Tong hosted 206 meals that were listed as "official entertainment", and overspent on 77 of them. This compares with only two percent of the 460 meals hosted by other ICAC officers that overspent.

Apparently there isn't enough evidence to prosecute him -- or there is no law that he has broken.

ICAC's report says Tong didn't break rules in lavish spending

"With respect to the purchase of hard liquor, it is noted that there were neither regulations nor internal rules within the ICAC prohibiting the consumption or purchase of hard liquor, including Maotai during Mr Tong's tenure," the department for Justice said in a statement.

"It is also noted that even before his tenure, there had been occasions of serving hard liquor at official functions. It is unfortunately that the relevant rules and regulations in this regard at the time were not clear."

Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said applicable internal ICAC rules, that have since been revamped, made it difficult to prosecute Tong.

Yuen and current ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu denied the decision was politically motivated, though Tong was appointed a CPPCC official in 2013; it made some wonder if all that wining and dining he did was to help him get that political position.

It is very disappointing that Tong did not get prosecuted, based on the fact that there were no strict rules in place about entertaining or giving lavish gifts, that it was more based on the officials' sense of morality and responsibility.

Did Tong know that before he bought all that booze? Now that's a question worth asking.

Regardless, the optics of this whole fiasco make the ICAC and the justice department look bad.

Who is the public supposed to believe?

A former ICAC investigator as well as several lawmakers are calling for full disclosure of the legal advice given to the justice department to lead it to today's announcement.

We shall see how the request is received...

Meanwhile today Transparency International released its latest Corruption Perceptions Index, where Hong Kong was ranked 18th along with Ireland and Japan. Hong Kong's score was 75 for 2015, up one from 2014. It was at 75 for 2013, and 77 for 2012.

It's intriguing that Hong Kong is thought to have improved on becoming less corrupt, though the number of complaints about corruption increased by 20 percent last year.

Is it me, or is it coincidence that the announcement about Tong is the same day Transparency International's report comes out? Makes one wonder what's really going on...

Keeping Entertained at Sea

The sun peeking through the clouds on the way to Boston from Nova Scotia

This blog entry was written on October 6, but only uploaded now because I have internet access.

The nightly entertainment on the ship has been pretty good so far. As entertainment director Joanna Haley has arranged a jam-packed schedule of things going on – sometimes simultaneously which can make it hard to decide what to watch.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the first night featured Quebec singers and musicians performing folk songs and dances. We didn't know quite what to expect but they were fun to watch and provided a taste of Quebecois culture.

Last night was Broadway performer Jeri Sager. She made her mark in Fiddler on the Roof, played Fantine in Les Miserables, was Grizella in Cats and Evita in the title role.

The string quartet performing during afternoon tea service

Sager was not only a great singer belting out show tunes, but also funny, though at times talked a bit too much about herself – even singing a song about how people think her name is Teri not Jeri…

She gave a bit of insight into show business, how she made her break in dinner theatre in Maryland – "view and chew" people in the industry nicknamed it. Not only did she perform on stage, but had to wait on tables too. Talk about multi-tasking.

Then tonight we were treated to a show called "Viva Italia" put on by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers.

They sang or danced to anything Italian – from Galileo to Michelangelo, to Luciano Pavarotti to pasta, and Andrea Bocelli. Most humorous was the second number where they had almost all the dancers – men and women – wear long dark-haired wigs and carry picture frames so they looked like Mona Lisa. Then their bottoms were pulled off to reveal skimpy underwear or boxers.

The delectable fluffy scones we ate several times on the cruise

Some of the dancing was impressive, particularly involving some acrobatics, and the singing by the two men and two women were excellent. Some of the costumes were a bit on the tacky side, like the painting the Birth of Venus on a dress, or small lutes sewn onto ballerina dresses…

Today was a day at sea and we kept ourselves busy. We listened to a talk given by Sir Alan Collins, former British High Commissioner to Singapore and Taiwan, the Philippines and New York.

He talked about Queen Elizabeth II and how she has not only served her people well for over 60 years, but is also the best representative of the UK. Having worked closely with her on some occasions, Collins stressed many times how The Queen is down to earth, loves children and has a great sense of humour.

Standing ovation after the Viva Italia performance

One anecdote he recounted (though he was not there) was a meeting of the Privy Council that she presided over, and one of the members, a woman, had a large handbag and at one point her mobile phone rang.

Embarrassed, she tried to find it, but couldn't and resorted to dumping everything on the table before she answered the phone, by which point the person on the line had hung up.

"Oh dear," The Queen said. "I hope it wasn't anyone important."

And Collins also played the video of the opening of the 2012 London Games when James Bond picked up The Queen at Buckingham Palace to take her to the stadium where she jumped out of a helicopter to make her entrance.

The diplomat informed us that two dresses were made – one for her and one for her stunt double and this was top secret… uh sure.

We also caught the last half of classical guitarist Christopher Bundhun's recital. He played a variety of pieces by JS Bach, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Isaac Albeniz.

The highlight was afternoon tea in the Queens Room. We got there half an hour early to line up and were surprised to find we were the first in line. Time passed relatively quickly, though an Asian man – Japanese? walked in and out and then back in with another woman. Didn't they see we were standing in line?

When we were finally allowed in, they and a group of others were already seated. So strange. One wonders why the staff didn't shoo them out, and anyway didn't they see we all had to line up?

In any event, a four-piece string quartet played for us as we dined on finger sandwiches – OK just one for me – and those amazing scones topped with icing sugar. The scones were the fluffiest and lightest ones I have ever tried. So good.

The atmosphere in this room is so elegant even though we're in casual clothes. The staff wear white gloves and it's a treat to be there, though it's all over within an hour. We might just have to go back again the next day at sea to soak it all in – and savour another scone!

China's Entertaining White Paper

China likes to think its human rights record is improving every year

Every year China comes out with its white paper on the human rights situation in the country. And of course it's painted in a positive light.

This time, the paper contains some 21,000 Chinese characters and explains how economic and social development has helped improve China's human rights, particularly in entertainment.

In the report's first section, titled, "Right to Development", it says the people's cultural rights were better protected thanks to the country's burgeoning television, cartoon and film production.

Dissident Liu Xiaobo continues to languish in prison

Uh huh.

It says in 2014, China produced 429 television series, which equals to 15,983 episodes, while cartoon programming amounted to 138,496 minutes. [The accuracy of the minutes is impressive].

The report adds growth on the big screen, with China making 618 feature films, 36 of which earned more than 100 million yuan each, racking up a total of 26.9 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) last year. This, the white paper says, is a 36 percent increase from 2013.

But how is the production of TV shows, movies and cartoons related to human rights, let alone the improvement of human rights in China?

Maya Wong, Hong Kong-based China researcher for Human Rights Watch wasn't impressed by this year's report.

Ai Weiwei was detained for a period before being released

"The white paper has departed so much from reality that it claims that the government has made 'great achievements' on human rights are absurd," she said, noting that in 2013, the State Council's white paper cited car ownership in defense of its human rights record. "The government could have counted the number of pandas as a sign of rights progress," she said.

Ouch.

So what are we to make of this year's white paper on China's human rights?

Sounds like a lot of creative writing, and whoever wrote it should be commended for trying to paint a warm fuzzy picture of the country's human rights situation when in fact anyone who speaks out against the state is put through a sham trial and then locked up, like Liu Xiaobo, journalist Gao Yu, lawyers Xu Zhiyong and Gao Zhisheng, academic Ilham Tohti, and for a period of time Ai Weiwei.

Journalist Gao Yu was recently jailed for seven years

The recent sinking of the cruise ship in the Yangtze has led to state media being instructed to use Xinhua-approved stories, and barring everyone else from the site. The families are demanding an open investigation with the number of deaths climbing past 430, but so far their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Citing increased entertainment as a form of improved human rights seems such a bizarre connection, but then any way to frame China in a better light was the aim of the white paper.

What will they think of next?

Admiring the Horses in Cavalia

Cavalia showcases a combination of horses, acrobatics and aerialists

Last night I had the chance to watch the opening show of Cavalia in Hong Kong. It's created by Normand Latourelle, who was one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil. And while the acrobatic and dance elements are there, the addition of horses makes things more interesting and dramatic.

The show is located by Pier 10 in Central, where there are several white tents put up there, and that's where the entrance is, not across from City Hall, where we thought there was a short cut, but we were wrong.

Nevertheless, once we made our way inside, we realized we snagged excellent seats and on top of that sat next to the Canadian delegation that included the former Premier of Quebec Jean Charest and the Canadian Consul General to Hong Kong! Charest played a big role in bringing Cavalia to Hong Kong, and also helped bring it to Singapore last year.

Beautiful choreography with aerialists and horses

He explained that even though he has seen the show over 10 times, each time it's different, with slight variations with the acts. But also with horses, it's hard to know how they will perform that evening, with some equines choosing not to cooperate.

While the show is based around the male horses -- 40 of them in total -- there are acrobats from Morocco and Ghana, as well as aerialists, a lasso artist and a singer to keep the audience entertained.

Everyone was thrilled to see the horses running bareback around the "stage" -- they looked wild, but were tame, for the most part following the trainer's orders. We were later told that they would only listen to their trainer who may have taught them in either French or English.

Parts of the show involved only humans and some incorporated both. We loved the two aerialists who danced in the air while below two men rode bareback on two white horses in a circle going around and around. The moves were not intricate, but were beautifully presented.

Then there was lots of energy from the acrobats, who used a lot of speed, strength and agility to do numerous backflips and balances with several people together. They also had no problems warming up the crowd, getting people to clap in time with the music and encourage them as they did their stunts.

There was a poignant scene of a guy walking on a large ball, and then a black horse with a very long mane meets him. The horse sees he's eating an apple and wants some too. The interaction between them was very cute and emphasized the loving relationship between horse and man, a theme echoed through the show.

Horses spring straight ahead with rider in various poses

One daring stunt were two men and a woman, each having one foot on one horse -- in effect riding on two horses standing up at a relatively fast clip. Towards the end, the woman tried to handle two more horses running in front and jump over a bar, but twice the horses refused to keep going and she wasn't able to finish it.

Later on, some horses ran around according to their trainer's instructions, but a dappled gray one seemed to want to bully another horse, trying to bite the other's bottom. It was amusing for us, and the trainer took it in stride -- which they have to.

It also explains why there is a group of musicians above playing music, so that it can easily be adjusted in case an act finishes prematurely, or they need extra time to set the stunt up again.

This was the case when a man was standing on a horse as it ran around the ring and he attempted to do a flip, but both times he didn't land properly and fell off. As a result, there's a lot of tension for the audience, but that's what make Cavalia exciting too.

After the show some of us waited behind so that the horses could be showered and we could visit them in the stables. We were given antibacterial solution to clean our hands before entering. Many of the horses were busy eating hay and had their backsides to us! But a few were willing to poke their heads up to see who was around.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to pet them on the nose, and their stalls were designed so that they couldn't even poke their heads out, probably for safety reasons. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to be able to see these magnificent creatures up close.

Cavalia

Now until May 10, 2015

Tickets HK$395-HK$1,995

www.cavalia.com.hk

Hiding from Reality

Where is Leung Chai-yan? Does she want to be in show business or not?

The saga of the Hong Kong Chief Executive's daughter continues. Leung Chai-yan rebels against her traditional-sounding parents, apparently harms herself and broadcasts it on Facebook. Then she does a television interview, giving the audience a hint about life growing up in the Leung household.

But then Leung makes a 180-degree turn, saying how wonderful her father is, then goes back to her wayward ways.

She decides she doesn't want to pursue the boring profession of law and would rather be in show business instead and signs up to be one of the leads in a romantic comedy directed by Wynn Lau Chun-fai.

However, she doesn't show up for the press conference and disappears yet again.

The latest is that she hasn't shown up for work and the crew have lost contact with her for almost two weeks. Filming was supposed to start this past Sunday.

The "schedule has been made messy because of Chai-yan," Lau said. "We are fed up with her. If she fails to show up or give a concrete reply soon, we may have to consider legal action."

There had been rumours Leung wanted to quit the film so her parents forked out a lot of money to compensate the production company. But Lau said he never heard anything about her not wanting to do the romantic comedy anymore.

While Lau does not regret signing up Leung for the film tentatively titled Male Extreme Search Light, he admitted perhaps production would be smoother without her.

In a recent Ming Pao interview, Leung said her parents had no problem with her acting, but they had mixed opinions about Lau, who had produced or directed adult films. He worked on the erotic film Temptation Summary and its sequel, and several thrillers.

"Does making Category III movies make me a cheap director?" Lau asked. "Ang Lee has also directed Category III films. Is Ang Lee cheap?" Lau added, referring to Lee's award-winning Lust, Caution.

Ah the drama! Leung is obviously lacking a serious dose of professionalism -- does she want to be in show business or not? Why is she throwing away a decent opportunity to show off her acting chops?

That's what we're all dying to know.

Either someone behind the scenes is trying to do damage control, or Leung has some major personal issues to work out...

Macau's Reversal of Fortune?

Chief Executive Fernando Chui and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a toast

Today Chinese President Xi Jinping marked the 15th anniversary of the handover of Macau back to the motherland, but it may also signal the end of its free-wheeling days.

In his speech, Xi called on the Macanese government to find "greater courage and wisdom" to "strengthen and improve regulation and supervision over the gaming industry".

Seems the President is expanding his anti-corruption campaign to Macau, but is Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on the best person to deal with this? He doesn't seem to have a good grip on how discontented the Macanese are with his leadership, or rather his lack of authority.

Chui now has to come up with a concrete plan to shift Macau's economic model from one that currently sees more than 85 percent of taxes coming from casinos. When asked how he would go about doing this, he responded the government would "undertake a review" of the casino industry in spring of next year, ie the earliest would be after Chinese New Year.

Macau's dependency on gambling will have to change

In the last few weeks, Macau's casino takings have sharply fallen due to the anti-corruption campaign as well as the economic slowdown on the mainland.

China will also launch a crackdown on the flow of illicit funds through casinos, overseen by the Ministry of Public Security. This also means VIP junket operators, who bring in high rollers and arrange financial credit for them, will be closely monitored.

Many gamblers transfer funds through their UnionPay ATM and credit cards, and the security  ministry's Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau will be watching for suspicious transactions...

Xi also mentioned resisting "foreign interference", which could mean targeting specific casino operators who may have angered Beijing. Wonder who is on this hit list?

In the meantime, can someone please explain to Xi that it's not the casino operators' fault, but his own citizens who have this incredible urge to gamble?

These casino operators have tried desperately to diversify entertainment with shopping and shows, but mainland visitors aren't interested in fine dining restaurants, historic landmarks or entertainment -- they just want to have fun by throwing down wads of cash on the slim chance of winning big.

The other big question is, casino operators are currently spending millions building their next phases to incorporate more entertainment as well as gambling tables. Can they afford to have mainland visitors drop to a trickle?

Xi's edict also reveals Chui has not been an effective leader at all -- something the Macanese have known all along. But is Chui the man to fix things with an iron fist? Issues like housing and transportation are crying out for attention, but the government has been too busy counting money to tackle these problems.

Perhaps one good thing that may come out of Xi's anti-corruption campaign in Macau will be that the city will be cleared out of mainlanders and then Hong Kong people can enjoy it again without having to fight the crowds!

Who's Blaming Who?

Mainland Chinese flock to Macau for rest, relaxation and gambling! What else?

China has disciplined Macau, saying it needs to lessen its reliance on gambling revenue "in the interests of the whole nation".

Li Fei, in charge of Hong Kong and Macau affairs gave the warning yesterday to Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives to mark the 15th anniversary of the former Portuguese enclave's return to the mainland.

This past year has been a tough one for Macau, as Xi's anti-corruption campaign put a chill on many big rollers who usually go there to bet big... winning is another thing.

Li, who is also deputy secretary general of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, stressed that the "overwhelming dominance" of the gaming industry not only worked against the interests of Macau, but also the whole nation. Previous warnings were only focused on Macau.

The House of Dancing Water is a popular show...

"The overwhelming dominance of gambling in Macau is not in line with the overall interest of Macau and the fact that Macau's economy, especially gaming, is closely connected with the mainland determines that when one judges the overall interest of Macau, one cannot focus only on Macau's economic growth and tax revenue.

"One must take into account the socioeconomic safety, stability and developmental interest of the mainland and the whole nation," he said.

He added the mainland had give the city opportunities for development outside of gaming and it needed to explore these areas.

"The nation and the mainland provide Macau with many opportunities," Li said. "If the SAR can grab and fully utilize these conditions with good planning, scientific policy making and effective implementation, it is possible to explore a fresh development path of cooperation with the mainland in the nation's overall development framework."

So from that vague wording, what does Li mean? What opportunities has China given Macau in developing non-gaming areas? Could he please spell them out for us? Or do we have to play charades to get some clues?

The fact is, many of the casinos are building their new phases for the next two to three years and they are supposed to be more focused on more shopping and dining, and of course hotel rooms.

Melco Crown Entertainment has had one big hit, The House of Dancing Water, which is impressive and bizarre at the same time, but has struggled to capture the adult market with Taboo, that seems to undergo constant revamps without success.

... while Taboo leaves audiences squirming in their seats!

The show, which starts around 10pm, features scantily-clad dancers performing sexy routines, a singer and some acrobatic acts. For the most part the sexually-shy audience squirms when the dancers try to flirt with or tease them, and so most attendees only go once.

There are play areas for kids, but what other entertainment can these casinos come up with?

Actually the problem isn't entirely the fault of casinos not coming up with non-gaming options -- it's the mainland visitors who want to gamble.

They are the ones, up until recently, flooding the casinos and putting down bets, throwing coins into slot machines and trying their luck.

These visitors are shopping too, but it's really the gambling that they are in Macau for. They aren't really interested in the historical spots of the area, nor the food. They just want their dumplings and noodles and then continue playing baccarat or big/small.

Is it the fault of casinos for wanting to cater to their guests' needs and wants?

So perhaps Li is misplacing his blame somewhat and really it's Chinese residents he needs to berate for wanting to blow all their money against the odds?

Hong Kong's New Normal

Looking at Hong Kong from a new perspective...

Hong Kongers are still reeling from Sunday's news about so-called election reform set out by the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Many feel defeated and wonder how to move forward. There seems like there is no room for any negotiations. Take it or leave it.

Tonight I took the bus home after an early dinner and was surprised it was completely full. It got me thinking about each of these passengers, how we are all eking out a living on salaries that have not risen with inflation, rents and housing prices going through the roof, and with it the price of food in restaurants, new clothes and entertainment.

We are all in survival mode, thanks to the handful of tycoons who control the city, and a lame-duck government that carries out orders from Beijing.

Did Occupy Central push too much? Perhaps in China's eyes it did. There's confusion over whether there is still an appetite to commit civil disobedience now, and doing it on a public holiday seems useless.

In fact doing anything to protest now seems even more pathetic than what we did a few months ago.

What is going to happen to Hong Kong now? We are all just focused on trying to survive, instead of thinking outside the box and making Hong Kong grow and develop into a community and society we want to live in.

The city is fast losing its lustre with its "Lion Rock" spirit fast evaporating. It's not sheer hard work and determination that will get you far here -- it's who you know and have a pro-Beijing attitude.

The Hong Kong we used to know is fast disappearing before our eyes and we have to quickly adjust to the new normal...

Populist Underdog

We will have to wait and see what HKTV chairman Ricky Wong does next

Move over, Li Ka-shing, there's a new hero in town.

Hong Kongers have found a new underdog to support and it's Ricky Wong Wai-kay, 50, Hong Kong Television Network chairman whose application for a new free-to-air TV license was rejected by the government earlier this week.

Instead it was given to i-Cable's Fantastic Television and PCCW's HK Television Entertainment, both run by established tycoons, Peter Woo Kwong-ching and Richard Li Tzar-kai, son of Li Ka-shing respectively.

In 2009 Wong was encouraged to apply by a senior government official who he refuses to name, and was never told only two licenses would be handed out; nor was Wong's application considered the weakest of the three.

On Tuesday, about 15 minutes before the formal announcement, Wong received a call that his application was rejected without any proper explanation. He then held a press conference in which he voiced his anger, saying the whole decision-making process was opaque and is now seeking a possible judicial review.

After that he gave lay-off notices to 320 of 500 staff effective at the end of this month.

Many of the public were outraged by HKTV's rejected application, and they immediately setup a Facebook page supporting Wong and calling the government to issue HKTV a license. It was also a way for them to show their concern about the government's fairness in its decision. Some 400,000 people liked the page.

And then last night Wong showed up at an open-air forum at Chinese University -- his alma mater -- and was overwhelmed to see some 2,000 students and teachers eager to listen to him.

Reports described Wong as having tears in his eyes to see such strong support that it inspired him to continue to commit himself to creative industries.

Even though there is a protest march organized for this Sunday, Wong said he would not participate. "I can bring more benefits to people as a businessman," he said. "I am not a fighter for democracy."

He then displayed his dry sense of humour. When asked if he would buy ATV, one of the existing free-to-air stations, he replied his preference for buying flats. He said one had to worry about things not working and rats when buying a second-hand flat, which is why he preferred a clean, new one.

Wong also mocked the government, saying, "I don't understand how they do their public relations... they should provide a simple explanation for the rejection and start damage control."

Then a student asked him how he would deal with calls from "grandpa", a nickname for the central government, Wong replied that his grandfather had died many years ago.

When asked whether TVB, the other existing free-to-air station should worry about not having its license renewed, Wong sarcastically said, "TVB's news programs are so good. They shouldn't worry."

Some critics hypothesize Wong didn't get the license because the government feared he would not support it or the central government, while others worried about the erosion of the city's free market.

Nevertheless, Hong Kong people have propped up Wong as its new underdog to root for. To them he stands for justice, creativity and brashness. As long as he keeps fighting, the public will support him.

They are the ones who wanted better TV programs, but it seems the government would rather have more mindless entertainment on the airwaves.