Tiniest Subsidised Flats for Sale

The subsidised flats occupy the former airport at Kai Tak

The Hong Kong Housing Authority's mandate is to provide affordable rental housing to low-income families with housing needs, and to help low- to middle-income families gain access to subsidised home ownership.

That's what it says in its website.

However next year's batch of subsidised homes the authority will sell will be as small as 186 square feet -- the equivalent of one and a half car parking spaces, the tiniest flats to be offered since the start of the Home Ownership Scheme in 1978.

The smallest flats will be 186 sq ft

The 320 small units are on the site of the former airport at Kai Tak, among the 8,925 subsidised flats to be for sale in the first quarter of next year.

About 30 percent of the new batch are smaller than 322 sq ft. Such flats are increasingly making up a bigger portion of the authority's supply, accounting for 22 percent in 2020, and 15 percent in 2019.

Francis Lam Ka-fai, vice-president of the Institute of Surveyors and its spokesman on housing policy said that while he supported the 49 percent discounts on the units, he slammed the micro-flats on offer, saying they had "become a joke".

"That's really undesirable. Why did [the authority] go for such small units? I don't know what their rationale is," he said. "In terms of the design, [anything] less than 200 sq ft is really undesirable for anybody." 

We fully agree.

The tiny flats may look like this. Appealing to you?

And to even qualify for this scheme, a single person can have a monthly salary of no more than HK$34,730 and assets worth no more than HK$925,000, while for households of two or more people, they must earn no more than $69,740 and own assets worth less than HK$1.85 million.

Who wants to live in 186 sq ft discounted HK$1.24 million (US$158,900)? What can you even fit in there? Can someone really live happily in such a tiny place? And they would have to live in it for 15 years before being allowed to sell it. 

If the government wants to encourage a higher birthrate, it really needs to build bigger subsidised flats to start with. How can one even get married let alone have children in 186 sq ft? Have these housing officials even seen how tiny that space is? 

It boggles the mind...

Hike to Devil's Peak

A view of both Hong Kong and Kowloon at Devil's Peak

 

This morning I went over to Tiu King Leng to meet up with my friend who took me up to Devil's Peak!

She had showed it to me a few weeks ago when we were walking around Tseung Kwan O and sounded like it was worth checking out and was not disappointed.

Behind her building is a giant staircase -- 500 steps -- before we start the hike. We didn't realize that we forgot to start tracking our hike until about 1km in! When we got to the top of the stairs we saw many seniors doing lots of exercises.

Looking east at the passage at Lei Yue Mun

One time she said she saw a man probably in his 80s doing pull-ups on a bamboo bar held up by two trees and he even swung around the pole like a gymnast! Too bad she didn't have video evidence but I have to believe her...

The hike up to Devil's Peak wasn't too bad, very scenic and such a beautiful day with a breeze to keep us cool in the 25-degree heat. It's February!

We scrambled up to the top and it was quite amazing to be able to see practically a 180-degree view of Kowloon and Hong Kong. On Hong Kong Island you could see Siu Sai Wan all the way to Central, and from Kowloon the ICC Tower all the way to Kwun Tong.

And because of the view, my friend explained it was the lookout spot for pirates to control the passage of Lei Yue Mun, the eastern passage to Victoria Harbour. Later the British military chose the site for defense when it began colonizing Kowloon in 1898. 

Abandoned building taken over by a banyan tree

Also up there are the Gough Battery and Pottinger Battery used in World War II. I hear the sunset view from here is amazing too!

From there we walked down a set of stairs that led us to an abandoned area that she said locals jokingly referred to as "the Angkor Wat of Hong Kong" with banyan trees growing amid some ruins, but it was hardly even dramatic, nor were these ruins temples.

We continued down to Lei Yue Mun and checked out the Tin Hau temple -- a middle aged woman gruffly warned us not to take pictures inside the temple, but the views of the water crashing next to the building were beautiful to watch.

It's sad seeing the restaurants in the area shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, otherwise they would be busy with tourists, while, locals are not interested in entertaining exorbitant prices for fresh seafood. Only a few street stalls selling traditional Chinese snacks were open, and trying to get anyone passing by to buy something.

Tin Hau Temple right by the water at Lei Yue Mun

Just steps from those stalls is an industrial area and then we suddenly came across a luxury residential area with vertical gardens. It was really bizarre. Beyond that was the shopping mall connected to Yau Tong MTR station.

We had lunch there and then went on with the rest of our afternoon.

Hunt for the Virus in Lam Tin

Over 10 cases were found in Block 5 of Laguna City, Lam Tin

Hong Kong logged 73 new coronavirus cases today, and some are related to a colleague who lives in Laguna City in Lam Tin, Kowloon.

The developing has 38 towers with more than 8,000 residential units, and in Block 5 there are at least 10 cases, mostly in E flats on various floors. This led to a mass evacuation of all residents in the tower living in flat E. Those who tested negative were sent to quarantine camps, those with symptoms to hospital.

Yuen notes possible "chimney effect" virus spread

That's because microbiologist and government health advisor Professor Yuen Kwok-yung from the University of Hong Kong believes there is a "chimney effect" of vertically transmitting the virus.

It was also reported two security guards who were confirmed with the virus, one of whom lived in Reclamation Street in Yau Ma Tei where there have been some outbreaks.

That guard may have brought the virus to the apartment block.

Another possibility is that on January 9 a family of four on the 16th floor in Flat E had a gathering with all of them testing positive, which could be because one of the guests was positive.

My colleague has friends in that block living in flat E so they had to be evacuated today. It's worrying for her wondering if the virus has spread to other blocks like hers. 

Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day to be quiet

People were hoping the number of cases would go down by Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day, but that hardly looks likely at all at this rate.

As I said before the Year of the Ox is going to be a dull one... if people don't heed advice to not gather during the public holiday, there will be another spike in cases, and the chances of restaurants opening for dinner are going to be near impossible.

 

December Misery Covid-Style

Now you can pick up Covid-19 tests at a nearby MTR station

It looks like the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays are going to be really low-key this year after infectious disease experts warned the current fourth wave has yet to peak -- if people gather for festivities later this month then cases could surge.

Today 78 cases were reported.

Dr Ho Pak-leung, head of the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Infection, said it was "very worrying" to see an increasing number of untraceable cases, numerous local infections, and various clusters involving different venues.

Dr Ho says it's hard to control virus by Dec 31

He warned as temperatures drop, the situation could get worse and problems could rise if people flout social-distancing measures by gathering for Christmas.

"It's basically impossible to put the fourth wave under control by the end of the year," Ho said.

How depressing, not just for the city, which has cancelled the fireworks display, but also for hotels and restaurants, who can probably expect the current measures of two to a table to continues until at least the end of the year.

Meanwhile, getting tested for the coronavirus got easier, well sort of, with testing kits distributed in vending machines in 10 MTR stations.  They are: North Point, Wong Chuk Hang, Kowloon, Kwai Fong, Tsing Yi, Ngau Tau Kok, Tiu Keng Leng, Tai Wai, Tai Po Market, and Siu Hong.

People can use their Octopus card to get free test

The kits are free and people can get them by using their Octopus card, and then scan the QR code to find out where they can send the specimen bottles back to get test results. 

While each station distributes about 1,000 kits per day, the first day, by 11.30am over 6,500 kits were distributed and the machines ran out of kits very quickly, except for the machine at Wong Chuk Hang.

Are these people stocking up on free kits to use whenever they feel somewhat ill? Or are people trying to collect as many test kits as possible for hoarding? It's really bizarre. 

Let's see how many of these tests are actually returned with specimens in them...

Hong Kong's Police State

The police tried to preempt today's protest, but people came out anyway

Today would have been the right of over 3 million Hongkongers to vote in the Legislative Council elections, but that opportunity was taken away by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who claimed the coronavirus pandemic was the reason why the election could not be held.

Beijing had to do some political gymnastics to allow Legco to function for another year with the same lawmakers, and in the meantime the number of cases dropped from over 100 to single digits earlier this week.

The police threatened to arrest reporters on the scene too

So instead of being able to vote, people turned out in Kowloon to protest that as well as the implementation of the national security law, and some brought up the case of the 12 people who were caught fleeing to Taiwan and have not been heard from since.

Hong Kong police responded in force and so far 289 people were arrested for numerous offenses, including illegal assembly, disorderly conduct in a public place, unable to produce identity cards, assaulting police, and obstructing police.

There were about 30 journalists covering the incident, and police threatened them with arrest for taking part in illegal assembly. They cannot report on what is happening?

Most frightening was watching a clip of a 12-year-old girl terrified of the police and tries to run away from them, but then is taken down roughly by officers.

A 12yo girl scared, ran, and pushed down by riot police in Mong Kong via HKUST Radio News Reporting Team. @appledaily_hk interviewed her mum, said she only buying paint for schoolwork with her brother https://t.co/a5oUWQODLy #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/njtwZLs3ba

— Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) September 6, 2020

 

The force later claimed they used "the minimum force necessary" to subdue her, and ticketed her for social distancing violations.

Her mother claimed the girl was out buying art supplies.

A 63-year-old woman surnamed Yim was at the protest, unhappy about the postponement of the elections.

At least 289 people were arrested to day for various offenses

"Why not let me vote? You let people do mass virus testing, but why not let people participate in an election?" she said, referring to the Beijing-sponsored universal testing scheme. "If you are postponing the elections for one month, that would still be acceptable. But that's not the case now. Why does it have to be so?"

Other young people said they came out to protest, concerned about defending freedom of speech.

Among the arrested was a bus driver from New World Bus Company, who, according to news reports, was honking his horn at police officers who blocked the road in Yau Ma Tei.

The force said it arrested the driver for "dangerous driving" and about an hour ago a statement was issued saying a group of New World Bus drivers will protest tomorrow about one of their colleagues being arrested by driving strictly to the rules.

Wonder how that will drive the point across, but perhaps this is their way of showing solidarity.

What does the parent company have to say about one of its employees being arrested?

Over 1 Million Protest in the Streets

The entire Hennessy Road in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay filled with marchers

Last night at midnight I was watching for updates from San Francisco on the historic march in Hong Kong to protest against the proposed extradition bill.

Several of my friends and colleagues participated, and one told me about how hot it was, and how the police were making it difficult for them to march. I had to keep reminding her it was a tactic of the police to frustrate marchers by only allowing a trickle through an attempt to get protestors to give up and leave part way through the march so they wouldn't be counted; the best thing to do was to be patient. 

Before I went to sleep I read updates about how the MTR was clogged with people and some participants resorted in taking the Star Ferry from Kowloon to get over to the starting point in Victoria Park. Would there be 500,000 people like in 2003?

An aerial view of the protest march

It wasn't until the morning Pacific Standard Time that I was able to see the scale of the march from the pictures and it was amazing to see Hennessy Road and Queensway completely covered in people wearing white T-shirts with sprinkles of yellow umbrellas. Organizers say 1.03 million people came out, or one in seven Hongkongers.

My colleagues and friends marched for hours in the heat, and we impressed those relatively new to the city that the high temperatures and humidity are not enough to deter people from fighting for what they truly believe in.

We came out on the streets in 2014 and now five years later we were back again. Some lament that we haven't achieved much, but I'd like to think we are not afraid of holding the government accountable for its actions. We do not have a direct vote for our leader, so marches are the next best thing we can do.

Unfortunately there were a few scuffles with police -- some really wanted to restart the Occupy Movement again, while others clashed with police officers at the government headquarters at Tamar, marring what was practically a violent-free protest march hours earlier.

The government has pushed people too far again, inspiring some to test the police to see how far they will go -- some officers had no qualms using pepper spray again. Do we really need these kinds of confrontations? The more radical we are in our actions, the more the government (and Beijing) feel Hong Kong residents need to be put in their place.

People were marching for several hours in the heat

Nevertheless, this morning Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was unmoved by the unprecedented turnout for the march yesterday and vowed she would not quit and the bill would be passed on Wednesday.

"For those who have expressed their views, whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with us, I want to thank every one of you because... the scrutiny of our work is an important factor to enhance governance of Hong Kong," she said.

We have been scrutinizing your work, and we don't agree with it, Mrs Lam... what are you going to do about it?

She is willing to further water down the extradition bill, but this is not the point -- the bill was not given proper due process, making Hong Kong residents even more suspicious and untrusting of the government. Is this what she wants?

We shall see what happens on Wednesday...

Picture of the Day: Church for the Disabled

Located along a busy road in Kowloon is this church... for the disabled...

Yesterday I went to Homantin in Kowloon for an appointment and got there by taxi because it's not near the MTR station. Afterwards I walked along Princess Margaret Road and came across this Catholic church.

It's not just a church -- it's one for the disabled. But how is it accessible when it is located along a thoroughfare with no parking nearby and the only way to get there is by taxi or bus?

However more importantly, if God is inclusive, why a church specifically for the disabled? How are their services different from able-bodied parishioners?

I tried to find more information online and the only thing I could find was its address and times of services.

This place just brings up more questions than answers...

Shocking MTR Crash

Two MTR trains in opposite directions crashed in the same crossing

The MTR has suffered another incident, this time a pretty severe one -- two trains going in opposite directions on the Tsuen Wan-Central line crashed into each other in between the Central and Admiralty stations.

Thank goodness it happened overnight at 3am when they were testing the system, but the driver of one of the trains was injured and rushed to hospital.

The wreckage is horrific, and luckily there were no passengers

Pictures of the crash look horrific, which makes it even more lucky that there were no passengers at the time. One train practically mounts the other and one of the carriages is ripped open from the force of the crash, insulation spewing out, as well as gnarled metal pieces.

Rush hour this morning for many people was pretty hectic, though because it happened so early that buses and taxis were given advance warning that the morning commute would be busy and more buses were supplied.

The main thing was for people to get to Admiralty via the Island line or other means in order to go to Kowloon on the Tsuen Wan line.

It turns out there was a signalling software failure that allowed the two trains to go through the same crossing at the same time.

The software manufacturer, Thales is based in France, but testing in its Toronto laboratory has shown the same result.

How will the MTR explain itself to Legco on Wednesday?

Interestingly Thales will be at the Asia Pacific Rail 2019 show at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. They will probably be bombarded by reporters with questions tomorrow and Wednesday...

In the meantime, the MTR has said that the Tsuen Wan line between Central and Admiralty will be down another day to try to extricate the damaged trains from the track.

On Wednesday MTR officials will be grilled by the Legislative Council and again there will be questions about complacency and why is the public transport system raising fares with service like this... it's the same thing over and over and yet nothing definitive is done about it...

Property Market Finally Softening but Still Pricey

Some 96 percent of the units at Cullinan West II were sold this weekend

We never thought we would see this, but developers are starting to lower their prices because of rising interest rates, a slowing economy and a depreciating Chinese currency.

This past weekend Sun Hung Kai Properties dropped the prices of its flats to an average of HK$23,893 per square foot after discounts of up to 20 percent, about 10 percent lower than a previous batch that went on sale in December.

The 364 units ranged from 269 to 1,500 square feet

It's still shocking that people are paying over HK$20K per square foot, but the market was willing to shell out, as SHKP was able to see 96 percent or 350 out of 364 units at Cullinan West II at Nam Cheong MTR station in Kowloon.

"The good turnout means the market still has liquidity. Once developers are willing to lower their selling prices by 5 or 10 percent, it will encourage investors and buyers to quicken their purchase decisions," said Colliers International's deputy managing director Vincent Cheung Kiu-cho.

The developers also offered first-time mortgages of up to 80 percent of the flat's value, much higher than the standard mortgage ceiling of 60 percent of a property valued below HK$10 million (US$1.3 million), and 50 percent for those above HK$10 million.

That's a very good enticement for first-time buyers if they can't make a big down payment.

More than 4,800 prospective buyers bid for 364 units

The flats' areas ranged from 269 to 1,500 square feet, with prices starting at HK$6.28 million. Gulp.

For an indication of the demand, more than 4,800 prospective buyers signed up for the 364 units, an average of 13 bids for each available flat. However, Alfred Lau, an analyst with Bocom International, says the sales response was "satisfactory", and expects developers to offer even bigger discounts soon.

"There are only 364 units in this batch and the pricing was not aggressive in the first place, largely in line with nearby average selling prices," he said.

Some buyers bought more than one unit -- one bought six

"If these units had come in two weeks earlier, they would have sold at the full price. This further confirms the slowing momentum. Developers may need to offer a larger discount if they wish to push the volume."

Some buyers bought more than one flat. In one case, one splurged HK$156 million for six units, five for the family to live in, one to rent out. Another bought three units ranging from 1,200 to 1,500 square feet for a total of HK$120 million.

Still staggering for most of us, but there are others who have money to spend and are looking to snap up some good deals...

Picture of the Day: Rain

The view of Victoria Harbour for most of the day -- rain!

Today was particularly wet for most of the day -- the remnants of Typhoon Maria (that already landed in Fujian province in southeast China) are affecting us in Hong Kong.

Many people on social media took pictures of themselves, remorseful they forgot to bring an umbrella with them. Throughout the day it was torrential rains for several minutes and then it would stop for a while, then the heavy rains were back at it again.

I ventured out in the morning and just when I made it to the wet market, there was a downpour and it dried up by the time I got home.

Again in the early evening I caught a bus from Central to have dinner with my relatives in Kowloon. When the bus got to Wan Chai, there was heavy rain again and luckily I had an umbrella with me.

But this time the rain would not stop when I arrived at my stop in Tokwawan. To pass the time I popped into a grocery store to pick up a few things and when it wasn't so heavy, I made it to my relatives' home not too soaked.

The rains remind me of Singapore where it will pour for five to 10 minutes and then stop and even the sun makes an appearance.

Does this mean Hong Kong's weather is turning into something similar to the Lion City's?

It's definitely affected by global warming. I don't remember the weather being as crazy as this...

Fact of the Day: A Really Pricey Spot

Ultima has some expensive flats as well as parking spots that break the bank

Hong Kong can boast having the most expensive parking spot in the world.

One was recently sold for a staggering HK$6 million (US$760,000) in Ultima, a luxury residential complex in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon. In case your calculating, that's HK$44,444 per square foot.

The couple who sold the 16.4 feet by 8.2 feet spot made them a whopping HK$2.6 million profit, reselling the space only nine months after they bought it.

The parking spot is in a building where a four bedroom, 1,911 square foot flat costs a heart-stopping HK$98 million.

"The development is in a luxury residential area. The residents have a lot of cash and simply do not care about a few million dollars when a flat there costs about HK$100 million," said Sandia Lau, a director of Centaline Property Agency. "Their convenience is more important."

No kidding!

Except the rest of us plebeians have no idea what it's like to be so uber rich that HK$6 million is chump change...

Can You Live in 123 Sq Ft?

How small a space can you live in? One developer thinks it's 123 sq ft

We talked about incredible-shrinking flats yesterday and now they're getting smaller. A developer, Wing Kwok Enterprises, will be building a 27-storey residential block in Sham Shui Po where the smallest unit will be 123 square feet.

To put that into perspective, that's smaller than a 20-foot shipping container, or an American-sized parking space.

"At that size, the unit will most likely feature only an open kitchen, and a shower room, which typically add about 10 percent of the total area," said Victor Lai Kin-fai, a managing director of Centaline Surveyors.

Why so small?

"The average square footage price of smaller flats will be higher than larger apartments, which will further encourage developers to build ever smaller units," he said.

Is it no wonder then, that 27 percent of Hongkongers don't expect to ever afford a home, which "definitely deserves everyone's attention," said Nerida Conisbee, chief economist of REA Group, a digital advertising firm that specializes in property.

REA conducted a survey of 1,003 respondents that showed another 16 percent of people have no plan to buy property at all because prices are beyond their reach.

Has Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan actually seen a microflat? Has he spent the night in one to find out first hand what it's like to live in such cramped conditions?

Hong Kong government officials really have no idea what the average Hongkonger goes through on a daily basis...

Prince Edward and Sham Shui Po Stroll

Look! A bear! Colourful graffiti in Prince Edward

After dim sum at Fung Shing Restaurant on Sunday, my friend took us around Prince Edward and Sham Shui Po to walk off our meal.

An old school dry goods store with lots of merchandise

We saw some old school shops selling herbal drinks, and dry goods stores that were stocked with all kinds of sauces, noodles, dried tofu skins, dried dates, plastic containers of maltose, and ginger. These kinds of stores with such comprehensive stock are hard to find these days, but good to know they're still around in the depths of Kowloon!

Another place we hit was Sam Tai Tsz Temple and Pak Tai Temple that are attached and are like a mini version of Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road. Inside a few people were paying their respects and praying to the gods...

A traditional temple in Sham Shui Po

We also saw some graffiti -- nice ones -- that rejuvenated a few old buildings in the area. I'd seen many pictures of the one featuring a bear, but now I finally got to see it in person! It really does make the neighbourhood more interesting for residents and visitors.

It's located on a street that has many fabric and button wholesalers, but on Sundays they are closed, so the street is pretty much empty. My friend says this is where they filmed some scenes for the Transformer movie...

We also saw the School of Chinese Medicine run by Baptist University, an old shop building that has been re-purposed. Again I've seen it in pictures and not in person.

Some details of the building are still intact, like some old Chinese characters are faded on the ground floor walls, while glass windows have been installed as well as air conditioning.

A Chinese medicine clinic run by Baptist University

It was previously owned by the Liu family that owns Kowloon City Bus and there are some artifacts left behind from the 19th century. The place is usually closed on Sundays, but because there was an event going on, we were able to quickly look around the ground floor.

I asked my friend about seeing the shop where a man called Chan Cheuk-ming, better known as Ming Gor hands out rice boxes to the poor. He started doing this in 2013 out of his own pocket, and then when the media started reporting on him, he was flooded with donations, but at least it helped him keep his business afloat.

Ming Gor's relatively new shop

Last year he expanded to a nearby new space that features a slick-looking sign and space, and tries to keep prices low despite increased rents. That's because Chan has said he is in a working-class area and he can't just raise prices. He also knows if he does he'll soon have no customers.

It's tough having a business in Hong Kong, but if you have heart, people will help you out.

Dim Sum Treat

Some of our dim sum dishes, including a half eaten malai goh on the left

This morning a friend took us to a traditional place in Kowloon for dim sum. It's called Fung Shing Restaurant which is run by two brothers, with the original location in North Point, and the other in Prince Edward. Any other Fung Shing Restaurant is a "fake" one, according to my friend...

Deep-fried dumplings with chicken broth

We got there at 10.30am and we were very lucky to find a table for the three of us in the small dining area on the first floor of the building so we didn't have to share.

The clientele is middle aged, so we were the youngest ones there. No matter -- we were all there to enjoy the food.

The first dish to come out were deep-fried dumplings with a bowl of chicken broth. Even when dunked in the broth, the dumplings were still crispy and soft inside. Next came the steaming hot malai goh or Malaysian steamed cake, and it was stellar. The steamed cake was so fluffy and not too sweet that we enjoyed every bite.

The prized malai goh that was so fluffy and not too sweet

Then in quick succession came several dishes. Har gao, or steamed shrimp dumplings that were quite large and full of shrimp meat, though the skin was on the sticky side. The chicken feet were delicious, and weren't steamed too long, making them more flavourful, while the fluffy char siu baos were not cloyingly sweet.

An interesting dish we also tried was goose webs and taro wrapped with tofu skin. The skin was so thin, while the combination of the goose webs with the starchy taro was really interesting and not sitting in oil either.

We also ordered tripe in a light curry sauce, and the last dish to come was cheung fun, or pan fried rice rolls with scallions, in a thin mixture of peanut, sesame and sweet plum sauce with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.

We waited a long time for these pan-fried rice rolls

Needless to say we were so full afterwards and the bill was so reasonable too -- HK$263 for three!

My friend tells me dinner here is very good too and I hope we can try it sometime!

Fung Shing Restaurant

1/F-2/F, European Asian Bank Building

749 Nathan Road

Prince Edward
2381 5261

Picture of the Day: Hello Kitty Bling

Care for a Hello Kitty-themed necklace from Mikimoto? Only HK$2 million

Today I was out for a story and was at Elements mall at Kowloon City when I passed by the Mikimoto boutique and when I saw this necklace I couldn't help but laugh.

The 12-strand pearl necklace features the face of Hello Kitty, with her distinctive eyes, nose and bow on her left ear.

I couldn't make out what's on the left side of the necklace -- perhaps a cat that just went splat on the screen door?

But I did a bit of research and discovered this collaboration between Mikimoto and Hello Kitty was back in 2014, and the necklace I just described has a whopping HK$2 million price tag.

There's also a choker featuring the famous feline around the neck of the wearer.

How chic.

Who would be a Hello Kitty freak and have enough dough to buy these jewellery pieces?

Or is this a serious miscalculation on the part of Mikimoto that this would be a sure winner?

Hong Kong's Backward Ways

Some of the Uber cars that were impounded during a undercover operation

Earlier this week the Hong Kong police swooped down and arrested 22 Uber drivers for allegedly not having a hire car permit or third party insurance. Apparently it was the biggest raid of its kind, a three-week undercover operation.

It seems the government is intent on shutting the app-driven car service that offers clean vehicles, polite drivers and rides at a decent cost.

What happened to Hong Kong's hallmark of fair competition?

The taxi associations are threatened by Uber and claim they will improve drivers' service, help them learn more English and so on.

Hong Kong taxi associations wield a lot of political power

But that doesn't help replace the old vehicles they have with seats that sink a foot down as soon as you sit down, the smell of cigarette smoke and drivers looking like they just rolled out of bed five minutes before they picked you up.

It also doesn't fix the problem of them refusing cab fare because they will only roll down their window and ask where you're going -- this is illegal, but having to take down their license plate and driver name is too much of a hassle to bother to register with the police so you just give up and try to find another taxi.

There's also the issue of them not being available around 4pm, when they universally disappear because it's time to change drivers. Can't this exchange be staggered? It's outrageous and outdated.

And why not pay by credit card or Octopus at least? Again not with the times and doesn't work for the rest of us who are trying to keep up with Hong Kong's fast pace.

But the public likes the services Uber provides

Yet Hong Kong's taxi drivers refuse to move with the times. And the government is enabling them to stay the way they are.

That's because they have 42 taxi associations, 28 of which are in Hong Kong and Kowloon, the rest in the New Territories. They also have a big say when it comes to choosing the chief executive. So you can imagine the candidates wanted to make sure he or she got their vote...

Meanwhile the government likes to brand the city as supporting start-ups and especially ones that involve technology. Doesn't Uber fit the bill?

And yet authorities seem intent on suppressing the transport service that the public is demanding and for the most part enjoying. How ironic is that? People can place an order via their smartphone, pay remotely and even rate their driver.

How would Hong Kong taxi drivers fare if the same was done to them?

There's enough demand for hired car services since taxi driver seem to reject many potential customers. And this encourages people to work part time for extra money, thus stimulating the local economy.

So what's the problem?

We can only guess...

Picture of the Day: Merry Christmas to One and All!

Mr and Mrs Fox having a dapper Christmas at Elements Mall in Kowloon!

In the approach to Christmas, the shopping malls in Hong Kong fiercely compete to outdo each other in terms of decorations and installations.

This year of all the ones I've seen, my hands-down favourite is the Fantastic Mr Fox display at Elements mall above Kowloon Station.

Many of the main characters are seated along a long banquet table having a magnificent feast they bagged successfully from the three farmers.

The only thing missing from this installation is George Clooney's voice!

In any event, Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Two More MTR Stops

Passengers crowded into the new stations to check them out

Hong Kong now has two more MTR stops on the Kwun Tong or green line.

It used to start or end at Yau Ma Tei, but now Whampoa and Ho Man Tin have been added.

The two stops were supposed to open last August, but there were engineering problems, space constraints and limited construction hours to avoid disturbing residents.

A map on the train showing the new MTR stops

However, the over one year delay didn't deter excited commuters who were ready to ride the train at 6.10am yesterday, a Sunday morning.

Even before the shutters were barely raised, over 100 people rushed into Whampoa station and cheered as the train pulled away from the station.

However seconds later the train came to a sharp halt and Adi Lau Tin-shing, operations director at the MTR explained that with any new system, new equipment and operation, there will be teething problems that have to be resolved.

But the people on the new train didn't seem to mind -- they were just too excited to have consistent transportation in their neighbourhood, or they are MTR diehard fans.

Some people were really, really excited to be on the first train

Already 108,000 people used the new stations up until 5pm yesterday, but the station is designed for some 146,000 passengers a day.

It is hoped the new stations will relieve traffic congestion in Hung Hom district, while Ho Man Tin station will become the biggest interchange station on the MTR network as it will eventually connect with the Sha Tin to Central line.

While it's exciting to see more areas becoming easily accessible, it's also the sad reality they are becoming more gentrified too...

Hong Kong Casts a Romantic Spell

Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg in Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

Yesterday on the plane I watched Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong, an indie movie that has gotten more attention for its romantic images of the city it's set in, than the story line.

Ruby (Jamie Chung) is a Chinese-American toy designer who is in Hong Kong for her first time and gets lost trying to find Lan Kwai Fong. Josh (Bryan Greenberg) overhears her dilemma and offers to take her there.

Hong Kong is a romantic backdrop for the plot

But as many viewers from Hong Kong have noticed, they seem to take a really long time to get there, as they started off somewhere in Soho...

However, they needed that time to introduce themselves, -- Josh in finance in Hong Kong for the past 10 years but really wants to pen a novel, and Ruby a toy designer who once had dreams of being the next Vera Wang.

There is definitely chemistry between the two (they are a real-life husband and wife), and it's refreshing to see the female character holding her own, pretty independent but also mature and western in her values. But the dialogue can seem a bit hokey at times.

Josh tries to give her the lay of the land, impressing her with his awful Cantonese when visiting a tailor shop in Chungking Mansions, and takes her to some touristy spots like Ladies' Market and Temple Street to have their fortunes read.

Emily Ting wrote and directed the film

It's quite amazing the two never sweat walking outside so much and that she doesn't freeze when sitting in the back of a bus wearing a sleeveless top, skirt and heels...

The plot twists involving the pair are interesting, but the real star of the show is Hong Kong -- the filmmakers have created a colourful and happy-go-lucky view of the city that us locals may have taken for granted or haven't really noticed before. The Avenue of the Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui is the perfect backdrop for romantic conversation -- but isn't it closed for "renovation" at the moment?

Nevertheless, the ending of the movie makes you wonder will they, or won't they (get together), and it hopes that you will like Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong so much that the sequel will have to be made...

Don't hold your breath though...

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong

Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg

Written and directed by Emily Ting

www.alreadytomorrowfilm.com