Li Ka-shing's Cryptic Message

Li Ka-shing spent a lot of money on advertising in newspapers today

Everyday there are so many things happening it can be hard to keep track. Today was no exception.

First was seeing Li Ka-shing buy full-page ads in several newspapers -- but not Apple Daily -- and wrote a cryptic message that readers were keen to solve.

In each paper he bought two full page ads facing each other. On one side was the word "violence" with a red circle and line through it, and it was flanked with slogans about loving China and Hong Kong. At the bottom it reads: "stop anger and violence in the name of love".

The left one refers to melons, the right against violence

The other page was more curious. The header reads: "the best of intentions can lead to the worst outcome" but he did not clarify what he meant or who he was referring to.

Then below were eight characters that literally translate as: "The melon of Huangtai cannot bear the picking again", referring to a Tang dynasty poem. It basically means something that has suffered so much, that any further attack would ruin it.

The poem was written by Li Xian, the crown prince of the Tang dynasty who lived between 654AD to 684AD. The sixth son of emperor Gaozong and the second son of empress Wu Zetian, Li Xian was an intelligent and capable prince.

His brothers were killed one by one by his ambitious mother until Li Xian was installed as the crown prince and heir apparent. She became suspicious of him and put Li Xian under house arrest. In desperation he wrote the poem to his mother as a subtle protest.

It basically translates as:

Growing melons beneath Huangtai,

Hanging heavily, many grow ripe,

Pick one, the others will be fine,

Pick two, fewer are left on the vine,

If you want to get yet another one,

That’s where we must draw the line,

For if there is any more reaping,

You will end up with an empty vine.

However, the poem did not move his mother and she sent him to exile, and in 684, forced him to commit suicide.

Alain Robert with his strange banner on Cheung Kong

As a result, melons have become a metaphor for suffering in the face of persecution.

On Friday Li issued a statement through his spokesman, saying Hong Kong's prosperity hinges on "one country, two systems", and the most important priorities now were to stop the violence and maintain rule of law.

"We need to cherish ourselves, our identity as Chinese and a Hong Kong citizen, just as we treasure freedom, empathy and rule of law," the statement said.

And then we also got a visit from "French Spider Man" Alain Robert climbed up Cheung Kong building -- Li's office -- to unfurl a banner that had the Chinese and Hong Kong flags along with a handshake below and a smiling sun.

Robert said he hoped the protests could be resolved with peace.

He seems to have a simplistic understanding of what's going on... but we're glad he didn't fall or injure himself as he doesn't climb with a harness. Please just stick to climbing buildings....

Former Cathay CEO Rupert Hogg resigned today

Then finally in a shock announcement in the late afternoon, Rupert Hogg resigned as CEO of Cathay Pacific, along with Paul Loo, the chief customer and commercial officer. Even more surprising was that it was first reported by Chinese state media CCTV and the airline hadn't yet issued a formal statement.

It appears they were taking the responsibility for the pressures China has imposed on the airline in the last week or so, from supplying lists of the crew flying over Chinese airspace, to state-owned companies ordered not to fly on Cathay, and the shut down of the airport on Monday and Tuesday that caused the cancellations of hundreds of flights on each day.

But it also seems they were forced to resign by Beijing, as Cathay chairman John Slosar said in a statement: "This is regrettable as we have always made safety and security our highest priority... We therefore think it is time to put a new management team in place who can reset confidence and lead the airline to new heights."

Did Cathay compromise its safety and security? Seems like that was a self-criticism there meant to appease the powers that be. At first the airline flip-flopped on its employees supporting the protests and now is "harmonized" to say they can't do any of that without the risk of being fired...

Hope that's enough to keep Beijing happy for now.

Thousands gathered at Chater Garden to Stand with HK

Tonight there was a rally at Chater Garden organized by the Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegation, made up of students from 12 local universities and colleges. Some of the speakers via video message included democracy academic Larry Diamond and Brian Leung Kai-ping, the only protester on July 1 who removed his mask in the Legislative Council after the protesters stormed the building.

Several thousand people attended the event that spilled out onto Chater Road and the cenotaph a few blocks away.

This weekend brings another round of protest marches and rallies. So much going on...

Hong Kong Activists Advised to be Strategic

As Hong Kong seems more polarized than ever before in the political arena, with localists gaining a larger voice, a democracy expert says separatism is "suicidal".

Professor Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University in the United States, says any attempt to advocate independence, or look at it as a way out of "one country, two systems" by 2047, will only push Beijing to crack down on Hong Kong, and further marginalize the already weak pro-democracy camp.

"I think it is suicidal," said Diamond who is visiting here. "It's not the way Hong Kong is going to achieve democracy and deeper or more meaningful autonomy. It is just going to play into the hands of the hardliners in China."

Hong Kong Indigenous' Edward Leung appeals to many

While localists like Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous managed to get over 60,000 votes in a recent by-election, putting him firmly in third place, it demonstrated he clearly appealed to a demographic that wanted their voices heard. But Diamond thinks this is not the way to go.

"When you have been victimized... and been treated unjustly, as the whole Hong Kong population has been, the natural reaction is anger, frustration and resentment," he said. "But being mad as hell and resolving that you are not going to take it anymore is an emotion but not a strategy."

He suggests this is why the 79-day Occupy protests failed in large part because the protesters should have been more empathetic and get into the minds of their political adversaries in a bid to neutralize the opposition.

At the same time Diamond stresses he is not telling activists to change their aspirations, but to act strategically with an analytical mind.

Diamond says Occupy protesters should have been empathetic

Definitely food for thought for the pan-democratic camp and of course the localists when they think about their strategy, particularly in the run-up to September's Legislative Council elections.

Intriguingly, he believes communism will be out of the picture by long before 2047, and that through painful transition, China will be governed with a federalist democracy system.

Beijing probably dismisses Diamond's theory as unthinkable, and out of spite will probably do anything it can to survive beyond 2047.

However, it's an interesting prediction he's making and China watchers will definitely try to read the tea leaves to see if that may come true...