Hiking Up and Down Mount Johnston

About to ascend Mt Johnston in Ap Lei Chau

This afternoon my friend and I went back to Ap Lei Chau -- and tackled Mount Johnston, and what a glorious day to do it. The sky was so blue, and we only saw one cloud in the distance. 

We started off at Kennedy Town again and walked up Victoria Road, and this time bypassed going down to Cyberport and kept walking along Victoria Road until we hit Pokfulam Road and then down to Aberdeen where we had a quick stop at McCafe to have coffee and snacks before crossing the bridge to Ap Lei Chau.

Going down the other side of the mountain

This time we were mentally prepared for climbing up the steep mountain that thankfully had ropes to help people up and they were very handy, though very dusty. My shorts and windbreaker were becoming dusty too from me holding up the rope waist level. 

Finally we reached the top (196m) and it's a very flat and has a fantastic 360-degree view of the south side of Hong Kong, Ocean Park, and Lamma Island in the distance.

Mount Johnston, also known as Yuk Kwai Shan is named after Alexander Robert Johnston (1812-1888), who was a British colonial officer who served twice as Acting Administrator of Hong Kong from 1841 to 1842.

After admiring the views we had to get down the mountain on the other side to a tombolo -- a small island attached with a narrow sandy beach. It was there, my friend said that we could catch a sampan back to Aberdeen...

Looking back up Mt Johnston from Ap Lei Pai

So we tried to descend on the other side. It didn't look difficult... Again we had to hold onto ropes to get down and my friend suggested walking backwards to avoid sliding too much. I dropped my water bottle twice! Next time need to carry a knapsack and wear gloves and better shoes.

We got onto the thin sandy strip and walked across to the "tied island" for a break. The water was so clear there. However, we didn't know if we could make it over the other side of this smaller island to catch a sampan which was supposedly HK$50 per person. So we decided to go back where we came.

Going back up wasn't too bad, and yes those ropes were very helpful again. There was less sliding. A mother and her son were in front of me and she kept encouraging him to keep going or to take a break if he needed. I told her it was my first time here and she said it was for them too.

For kids this hike is pretty tough if they are not fit! Using the rope definitely involved a bit of core and lots of balance.

Looking at Ocean Park and a new hotel there

Going back down the other side was a bit easier now that I had some experience for the past few hours! When we finally made it back down to Lei Tung Commercial Centre, my legs were kind of like jelly. We took the MTR back home and my socks, runners, windbreaker and shorts were covered in dust!

What a day!

No Inquiry into Worst Martime Disaster in 40 Years

The Lamma IV filled with water and sank, killing 39 people

On the evening of October 1, 2012, colourful fireworks exploded in the sky above Victoria Harbour to celebrate National Day. 

But about half an hour before the pyrotechnics display, the night went horribly wrong, as 39 people lost their lives in the water, including eight children after two ships collided, making it the worst maritime disaster in Hong Kong in 40 years.

At around 8.20pm, a regular ferry that goes between Central and Lamma, called Sea Smooth, crashed into Lamma IV, a Hongkong Electric Company vessel that was on its way to Central to watch the fireworks following a tour of the power station on Lamma, thus many families were on board.

Victims' families want an inquiry into collision

The crash ruptured two water-tight compartments on Lamma IV, causing the ship to quickly fill with water and sink. More than 100 of the 121 passengers were thrown overboard without wearing life vests, while the Sea Smooth continued on its way to Lamma Island, with some of its passengers including the captain were injured. In total 92 people were injured from both ships.

There was criticism of the captain of the Sea Smooth for leaving the site of the accident and not offering to help rescue Lamma IV passengers; others say there were concerns the Sea Smooth should quickly make its way to Lamma out of fears it might sink. After being discharged from the hospital, the captain was emotionally unstable. 

The Sea Smooth captain was sentenced to eight years in prison for the deaths, while the Lamma IV captain was acquitted of manslaughter, but found guilty of endangering the safety of others at sea.

A commission of inquiry was submitted to the government in 2013, which found there were "serious systemic failings" with the Marine Department that added to the tragedy.

James To is pushing for the Coroner to reconsider

But now eight years later, the Coroner's Court has told families of the victims it will not investigate into the tragedy but did not disclose the reasons publicly.

James To Kun-sun, a Democratic Party lawmaker, has been assisting the families, said he was shocked by the coroner's decision.

"As the Lamma ferry crash was an unprecedented marine accident in Hong Kong... an inquest should be opened to give family members and the public the truth."

He said the inquest would let the public know about the details of investigations by the police and the Marine Department, which were carried out after the commission of inquiry. 

To added it was unfair for the victims' family members to lose the right of cross-examination, which would have helped pursue the truth behind the accident.

Eight children died in the disaster in 2012

"An inquest is the only opportunity for victims' relatives to receive relevant [investigation] documents, make cross-examinations and seek the truth," To said.

The families were dealt another blow when the Department of Justice said earlier this month it would no longer initiate prosecutions over the crash.

As a result the victims' relatives may file private prosecutions against those responsible for the crash.

It is strange the Coroner's Court is not pursuing an inquiry -- the public needs to know what happened in this disaster and to prevent it from happening again. Perhaps the Marine Department feels enough punishment was meted out at the time, with 17 of its officers found guilty of misconduct and disciplined by the Civil Service Bureau. 

But this was the worst maritime disaster since 1971 -- and involved eight children.  Surely it deserves a comprehensive inquiry?

The horrific collision led to many families registering their children to learn how to swim -- eight years on, is this still a skill in demand?

Earth Day? More Like Plastic Day

How does this mountain of garbage make Hong Kong look beautiful?

Today is Earth Day and some 1,500 people took part in beach clean-ups in Hong Kong and collected over 3,000kg of junk, most of it plastic. It included plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, plastic packaging, children's toys and cigarette lighters.

"I would say about 80 percent of what we picked up were plastic items that were only used once... and most of it was local," said Dr Robert Lockyer, director of operations at the AquaMeridian Conservation and Education Foundation, one of the groups organizing the major citywide beach clean-up.

The clean-ups were at Sai Kung, Lamma Island, Discovery Bay, Tai Po, Central and Sham Tseng.

Mainly one-use plastic items were collected on beaches

In recent months, some restaurants owned by expats have announced they are not using plastic straws anymore, and instead either using paper or metal straws, or none at all.

There is also a Facebook page that encourages people to write to restaurants, shops and grocery stores to complain about their excessive use of plastic packaging, and then post the letter on the social media site.

It's called A letter a day keeps the plastic away, and many people are posting their letters and responses from companies, but the replies are usually standard corporate ones that seem mildly concerned, but not much concrete action to rectify the situation.

Most expats and local Hong Kong Chinese who have lived abroad and are environmentally conscious, know too much plastic is bad for the environment. The focus should be on educating locals, Chinese restaurants and cha chaan tengs that they need to change their habits.

My friend YTSL regularly organises beach clean-ups and sometimes she can be demoralized when she cleans up a beach one week and then returns the following week only to see it covered in trash again.

Hong Kong's waste problem is growing every year

I try to be conscious about my grocery shopping -- using my own bag and when I'm out, carrying a thermos of water so that I don't need to buy a water bottle. But there are some people -- mostly men I have to say through observation -- who don't do either and don't think twice about paying HK50 cents for a plastic bag or buying a bottle of water.

The Hong Kong government really isn't doing enough to get people to use less plastic or legislate companies to use less packaging because the authorities aren't serious about protecting the environment.

In 2016, 10,345 tonnes of municipal waste was sent to landfills every day -- 1.8 percent more than the year before, though most of it was commercial rather than residential. Of this waste, 20 percent or 3,132 tonnes was plastic.

This has to stop soon because it is unsustainable. Is there no one else who understands this? Or is it because people are so reliant on domestic helpers to clean and cook that they are completely unaware of how much garbage they create?

Another day, another Earth Day. But environmental NGOs have more work to do to get the public and companies to understand waste is everyone's responsibility.

White Slick HK Beaches

Clumps of congealed palm oil washed up on Hong Kong beaches

There are questions why it took two days for the mainland Chinese authorities to inform Hong Kong about a ship collision that resulted in the leaking of palm oil onto our city's shores.

Congealed palm oil that looked like solid white clumps, washed up on Hong Kong beaches and all 11 of them had to be closed on Sunday. They included Hung Shing Yeh Beach on Lamma Island to Upper and Lower Cheung Sha Beach, as well as those at Repulse Bay and Chung Hom Kok.

All 11 of Hong Kong's beaches were closed on Sunday

Beach workers tried to contain the palm oil with oil-absorbent felts and strips, while witnesses say the contaminated areas smelled like chemicals, or like the odours in alleyways behind fried snack shops.

Dr Tsang Po-keung, an associate professor of science and environmental studies at the Education University of Hong Kong and a member of the government's Advisory Council on the Environment, says a notification mechanism should be modified to specify how many days authorities should be given to report such incidents.

"This time they may think it's fine because it's just palm oil, but what if next time it is gasoline?" he said, but added for some marine life, two days is too late.

When pressed, the palm oil disintegrates like powder

City University chair professor of biology Paul Lam Kwan-sing says the spill did not amount to an environmental disaster, but was "not a good thing".

"Palm oil is a crystallized liquid... which will slowly be decomposed by micro-organisms. The problem is that it is a real eyesore for beachgoers," he said.

It's troubling that China doesn't seem to think this spill warrants any kind of immediate warning -- so much for its supposed priority on the environment, or do they not care about what happens to Hong Kong? Guess not...

Gritty Street Art = Fine Art

One of the posters that Vhils carved to reveal a face

I didn't have enough of an art fix at Art Basel, and after dim sum today at Lei Garden in IFC, I headed out to the ferry pier and noticed there was an art exhibition on the roof of Pier 4, where the ferry goes to Lamma Island.

The artist is Portuguese Alexandre Farto, best known as Vhils, who splits his time between here and Lisbon. "Debris" is his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong and it was presented by Hong Kong Contemporary Art (HKCA).

Striking portraits carved from styrofoam

The roof is an interesting space, and a temporary shelter was created for the show. It's not so large that the artist feel pressure to fill the space, but also large enough to hang big pieces, even multimedia work.

Vhils is a street artist who creatively uses discarded materials to make his art, mostly carving portraits into them to reveal layers that create depth and texture.

The first few pieces are of posters that have been layered on top of each other, and he paints the top with white paint before carving faces on them. The carving reveals the previous layers in colours and designs that are completely haphazard.

Fantastic multimedia piece using stencils on screens

When an artist goes with the flow, you can tell he or she is very confident to let things happen the way they do, or is curious to see what lies beneath.

He also does this with metal, using acid to eat into it to create his designs, or carving on discarded wooden doors. When I was photographing these pieces on my smartphone, the images seemed even clearer through the frame -- much like the Space Invader exhibition which was interesting.

The concept of "carving" extends to multimedia. In one large room, there are a series of TV monitors set up with shows going on in Chinese and English, and he places stencils of faces on top.

There are other impressive pieces of portraits carved out of styrofoam, but for me the more raw the material the better.

A collection of neon signs that are better seen at night!

Vhils also shows videos of portraits that are made from walls through controlled explosions which are fascinating to see, and it would be neat to see how he did that.

Exposed outside were some neon works, but obviously these were not as effective in the daytime, but the collection he assembled were an homage to Hong Kong.

And if you're lucky to catch the right tram, Vhils has decorated the outside of one, again putting layers of posters on there and then carving faces out of them.

Art doesn't have to be perfect -- but it should be executed well, and Vhils does just that. His striking images and creative use of materials will stay with me for a while.

Nothing wasted -- discarded doors are carved

Debris

A solo exhibition by Vhils

Until April 4

Central Ferry Pier 4

From noon-9pm daily

www.hoca.com

Shying from Public Interest

The Hong Kong government is trying to sweep this incident under the carpet

At the beginning of April I wrote about the Hong Kong government is doing a terrible job archiving documents and how it was criticized by Archives Action Group chairman William Waung Sik-ying.

Well, he's at it again -- this time blasting the government on not wanting to release the full report into the Lamma ferry disaster in 2012 that killed 39 people.

The government only issued a summary of the 430-page report and did not give names of who were responsible for the collision.

Waung, a retired High Court judge, believes the victims and relatives of those killed could demand the full release of the report that will put pressure on officials to give a full public account. He said it was a matter of public interest.

"The government is quite incredibly still trying to avoid the evil day and is desperate to minimize its responsibility into the whole affair," he said. "I am disturbed... the government is taking the extraordinary position of not releasing the report, which is of course a matter of public interest."

Last year as the head of Archives Action Group, he lodged a complaint with the ombudsman arguing for better management of Marine Department records, and criticized comments by Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, who stressed confidentiality.

"The government's excuse of trying not the jeopardize possible future proceedings against the civil servants just does not wash," Waung said.

The report identifies 17 marine officials, including those at the directorate level, could be guilty of misconduct and "suspected criminality". The report has been passed on to the police for further investigation, and it also criticized the Marine Department's management for "highly unsatisfactory" record keeping.

Nevertheless the summary did not reveal the names of those possibly liable. The relatives are asking lawmakers to invite the powers and privileges laws of the Legislative Council to demand full disclosure.

Waung said the relatives may possibly get the full report by seeking legal aid and then launching a civil law suit against the government.

It has taken almost two years for the government to come out with this 430-page report -- and yet the public doesn't get to know exactly what happened and who is to blame. It has completely downplayed this tragic incident because it is to blame. But we as taxpayers have the right to know.

Hopefully the relatives will take Waung's advice and push the government to force its hand and reveal why this report is so sensitive that the public does not need to know.

What was supposed to be a happy occasion -- watching the National Day fireworks on a boat in Victoria Harbour turned into a disaster. We read stories of how children and people died, unable to evacuate the ferry fast enough because it was sinking so fast.

We need to know what happened and who is responsible so that we can try to ensure this does not happen again.

Surely the government does not want this incident repeated?

An Anniversary of Grief

A year ago was the nightmare accident off Lamma Island where 39 people died

It's National Day in China, a one-week holiday on the mainland, but observed for one day in Hong Kong.

While we would typically have a fireworks display tonight, it is cancelled this year.

That's because it is a sad anniversary for the city, as it was a year ago today 39 people died in a tragic ferry accident off Lamma Island. Two boats collided, one full of Hongkong Electric employees, the other a ferry operated by Hongkong and Kowloon Ferry.

And we are still waiting for answers of who to blame, and victims' families are criticizing the government for not holding anyone responsible for the tragedy.

In an open letter released yesterday, the victims' families said the government had initially been eager to offer help but "today, [its] attitude has changed 180 degrees".

"On the causes of the incident and its responsibility, it only keeps silent or resorts to using the same official scripts that are full of cliches," the letter said, which was addressed to Marine Department director Francis Liu Hon-por. The families said Liu should not escape responsibility even though he will reach retirement age next year.

A commission of inquiry released a report in April harshly criticized the department, while an internal departmental probe is still ongoing.

The families are unhappy with how Liu and the department handled the aftermath of the incident.

"The government tried to cool down the matter, by keeping its mouth shut," said Ryan Tsui Chi-shing, who lost his brother and niece in the tragedy. "Government officials had helped victims' families, but turned cold after a commission of inquiry condemned the Marine Department."

Under pressure, Liu did apologize at a Legislative Council panel meeting in May. He bowed and apologized to the victims' families, survivors and others, and said that the apology came late because he sought legal advice.

To this Tsui was unforgiving, saying Liu's apology was "ridiculous", saying, "If he was sincere, why would he have to need to think so long and ask for legal advice?"

However from Liu's point of view, it is understandable he could not nor would not apologize immediately -- in doing so it would admit fault and he wanted the incident to be investigated first before having to say sorry.

Meanwhile a retired department officer requested a judicial review of the findings of the inquiry, but the Marine Department says this was done in a personal capacity.

The incident was a tragedy, no doubt, Hong Kong's worst maritime accident since 1971. But one would think a year later questions would be answered, responsibility taken and victims' families could move on.

For the sake of the relatives of the victims and the city, the government needs to finish what it started and be impartial when it comes to assigning blame. People died and their loved ones want answers.

It is the least the Leung administration can do to help the families find closure, 365 days later.