Questions of Press Freedom during Pandemic

Lam continually thanks the central government for its help

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's daily press briefings have now become a concern for press freedom after a reporter's question led to pro-Beijing figures and media to accuse the journalist of spreading hate speech.

The Now TV reporter asked Lam how Covid-19 patients should lodge complaints over mainland Chinese medical professionals who are working in the city to help battle the fifth wave of the pandemic. The mainland medical staff are in Hong Kong to help alleviate healthcare staff shortages.

This is a legitimate question to ask as these temporary workers are exempted from obtaining local licences under an emergency regulation introduced last month. Typically, patients' complaints are handled through the Medical Council of Hong Kong, the industry's registering body, but it does not have the jurisdiction over these workers. The Hospital Authority said it bore ultimate responsibility for the mainland workers.

Lam greeting hundreds of Chinese healthcare staff

But the reporter's question led to a flurry of criticism from pro-Beijing groups and individuals. One association called Politihk Social Strategic launched an online petition that accused the reporter of spreading hate speech and questioning whether she breached the national security law.

Under Article 29, it is a crime for anyone to provoke hatred among residents "which is likely to cause serious consequences" towards the central or local governments.

The group even called for the reporter to be sacked, which led to fears that press freedom was further being eroded in Hong Kong.

Others who criticised the reporter include former chief executive Leung Chun-ying and pro-Beijing paper Ta Kung Pao.

This led to Now TV issuing an apology on Thursday, saying: "We are deeply sorry for the attention and frustration caused by a question asked by our reporter regarding mainland medical staff."

The company vowed to "humbly listen to" public criticisms and be subject to scrutiny, while continuing to provide updates on the pandemic.

Now TV apologised for the reporter's questions

Now TV even added: "With the fifth wave of the pandemic still raging, we are very grateful for the selfless help from the central government and mainland."

The news outlet is owned by Richard Li Tzar-kai, son of Li Ka-shing, and offered help to combat the pandemic during a meeting chaired by Luo Huining, director of the Beijing liaison office.

However, it should be pointed out the same accountability question of the mainland medical staff was also asked by lawmaker Tang Fei, of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers. 

Media lecturer Grace Leung Lai-kuen said the incident demonstrated the "cultural shock" journalists in Hong Kong were facing as the city became increasingly intertwined with the mainland on many levels.

She said journalists in Hong Kong have always questioned local officials over their responsibilities.

But the mainland side could be struggling to understand why it is still facing scrutiny while having taken the extra step to help the city," she said.

"I would say things are different now if you ask me whether it has undermined press freedom," she said.

Just what we needed -- another level of anxiety to add to our pandemic woes.

Hearing More of the Chinese Anthem

You'll be hearing more of the Chinese national anthem soon

The mainlandizing of Hong Kong continues as the city's three main radio stations will start to play the Chinese national anthem from November 16 to comply with the law that was enacted five months ago.

Hong Kong's licensed radio broadcasters are required to promote March of the Volunteers and anyone who insults the anthem can be punished by law.

Public broadcaster RTHK and privately-owned Commercial Radio will play the anthem before their 8am newscasts daily from November 16. Metro Radio owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing, will also air March of the Volunteers at the same time slot, but the starting date has yet to be decided.

RTHK will air the anthem before the 8am news

"It's a necessary move to fulfill the legal requirement," said Amen Ng Man-yee, a spokeswoman for RTHK. She added playing the national anthem was in line with the charter of the public broadcaster, which requires its programs to deepen Hong Kong people's understanding of "one country, two systems", and cultivate a sense of citizenship and national identity.

Ng added the practice of playing the anthem will be implemented across all six of RTHK's channels, after months of negotiations with Home Affairs Bureau officials.

Interestingly it has taken this long for radio stations to play the anthem -- since 2004 television stations including TVB and Cable TV have played the national anthem before evening newscasts. 

Anyone who publicly and intentionally insults the song faces up to three years in jail and a maximum fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,450).

US has no specific penalties for non compliance

This is in sharp contrast the United States Code, that says any person present during the playing or singing of the American anthem "should" stand at attention with their right hand over their heart. There are no penalties for non compliance. 

Has the airing of the national anthem on television in the past 15 years increased Hongkongers' sense of nationalism or patriotism?

This attempt at soft power is misguided. At the same time there are fewer and fewer people watching TV and listening to the radio. But the upside for radio producers is that it's one minute and 30 seconds less of programing to worry about everyday...

Wage Subsidies for Coupons? What a Deal

Lam announced more money will be doled out to keep the economy going

This morning Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced there will be a third round of financial aid for businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic -- including supermarket chains like ParknShop and Wellcome.

So far Lam said HK$290 billion has been doled out and resulted in the economy boosting by 5 percentage points.

The second round of the wage subsidy scheme of HK$81 billion will be available August 31 and last from September to November.

But why are these two supermarket giants eligible for the wage subsidy scheme?

ParknShop says prices have gone up because of the pandemic

Jardine Matheson-owned Dairy Farm operates supermarkets like Wellcome and Marketplace, as well as convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Mannings and Ikea. Dairy Farm received HK$399 million in the first round of the wage subsidy scheme, while ParknShop and Watson's got HK$161 million, both owned by AS Watson, controlled by Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings.

AS Watson has about 260 supermarkets, and Dairy Farm has over 200 in Hong Kong.

When Lam announced the two supermarket chains were eligible for the scheme, eyebrows went up, but she quickly added a caveat.

"During the past few months, supermarkets generally saw sales remain the same or did even a little bit better," she said. "I will demand two supermarket chains -- ParknShop and Wellcome -- offer discounts to the public and cash coupons to the underprivileged in return for receiving wage subsidies."

Wellcome can get subsidies in return for helping the poor

There is no way the supermarkets are only making the same or just a bit better -- with restaurants forced to shut at 6pm, the vast majority of Hongkongers are making dinner at home. And where do they buy it? In the supermarket!

Most people are spending more of their money on food these days, even if it's just buying milk, pasta and rice, and the numbers show it.

In June, supermarket sales rose 4.5 percent compared to last year, a 7.3 percent increase in May, 16.1 percent in March, and 11.1 percent in February and January combined. Surely these are decent steady increases when other sectors are "swatting flies"?

But perhaps most galling is the government demanding the supermarkets give out discounts in return for wage subsidies. How about not making these companies eligible for these subsidies since they are doing a brisk business every month? Why create more bureaucracy in adding this condition? Why not give that money to smaller companies that desperately need to stay afloat in the next few months?

Cheng questions subsidy to supermarkets

Even the pro-Beijing DAB or Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong wondered how effective it would be for supermarkets to hand out coupons to the disadvantaged. How would that be determined? How much would be given out?

"It's hard to say how much discount is a reasonable discount," said DAB lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun. "So, what we are suggesting is we put at least half of the resources to the public, not only giving discounts to fulfill this subsidy scheme."

Some careful shoppers noted prices of some goods had gone up. When queried by RTHK about this, ParknShop replied that the wholesale prices of many products, as well as transportation costs had gone up drastically because of the pandemic, but said it would do its best to contain costs and keep prices reasonable.

Labour and Welfare Secretary, Law Chi-kwong had to perform some political gymnastics this afternoon in justifying the supermarket chains in receiving subsidies.

"The employment support scheme is to help the employers to help the community, in particular employment," explained Law.

Law says some companies should give back to the community

"But there are definitely companies who obtained these subsidies, they are not seriously affected. So there is some need for them to... sort of, pay back to the community," he said.

So in return for subsidies that help conglomerates save money from paying part of their employee wages, they can just hand out a bunch of coupons to the underprivileged? What a deal!

Perhaps another hair-brained idea cooked up by Lam and no one in her cabinet dares to point out the inconsistencies and yet they have to defend the measures to the skeptical media and public.

Back to the drawing board?

Coalition of Politics, Not Pragmatism

Tung Chee-hwa (left) and Leung Chun-ying form a coalition for Hong Kong

Two of Hong Kong's former chief executives, Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying are keeping busy these days. They have formed a coalition banding together top business, political and academic elites to somehow revive the city's economy.

Called Hong Kong Coalition (how inspiring), the group has 1,500 members, including tycoons like Lee Shau-kee, Li Ka-shing, academics such as Chinese University President Rocky Tuan Sung-chi, former secretary for justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, and top epidemiologist Gabriel Leung.

Lee Shau-kee is part of the group to revive the economy

Not only will this alliance try to help contain the coronavirus epidemic, but also revive Hong Kong's economy and end the political stalemate between the government and protesters that had "shattered" the city since the anti-extradition protests began last June.

"The opposition has resorted to all means to seek mutual destruction, such as attacking the police with petrol bombs, and making remote bombs," Tung said.

"They damaged mutual interests of Hong Kong, and pushed the city to the edge of a cliff. If they want to destroy the future of Hong Kong, we won't let them succeed."

Some 1,500 members have signed up to the coalition

Tung doesn't seem to remember that it was Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who, wanting to gain brownie points with Beijing, proposed the extradition bill without thinking through the legal consequences, and more importantly, how Hong Kong people would feel about it.

And she did not care that 1 million people came out to peacefully protest against it; her lack of empathy led to escalated violence. "It was you who taught me that peaceful marches are useless", was spray painted on the walls of the Legislative Council when it was stormed by protesters on July 1.

Tung also accused opposition lawmakers of abusing their power by filibustering in the legislature. Can we remind him that because they are the opposition, it is their right to do that?

Will the pro-Beijing group help young protesters get jobs?

Meanwhile Leung Chun-ying claims the coalition will help young people find jobs, internships and volunteer positions so they won't "stay idle".

But which students will they choose? The ones towing the government line, or those who participated in the protests? When asked about this, Leung did not reply.

Just how this group of heavyweights -- many of them past their prime -- are going to somehow magically revive Hong Kong's economy back to where it was before is wishful thinking.

Or is this a make-work project to give the appearance that Hong Kong elites are trying to look like they are doing something for the economy?

Carrie Lam caused the protests last year that led to violence

Hong Kong needs creative leadership and new ideas, not stodgy people who join this group to be politically correct... guess that doesn't include disgraced CE Donald Tsang Yam-kuen...

Toilet Paper, Masks and Rice are Prized Commodities

Two women clutching their prized toilet paper packs in Hong Kong

Last night the shelves that were supposed to stock toilet paper were bare in a large supermarket in my neighbourhood. It was completely cleared out, and after seeing this in several stores over several days, it's worrying.

It's a sad indictment of the Hong Kong government when people are desperately searching for toilet paper even though supermarkets and distributors have tried to reassure the public there is more than enough bog roll to go around.

The largest supermarket in the district is empty of toilet paper

This morning I was in Central on my way to the gym when I spied someone carrying a pack of toilet paper, and she was coming from a supermarket nearby. I decided to check it out as I had never been to Food Le Parc, a bizarre name for a supermarket owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing.

And bingo! There were several shoppers there each with two packs of toilet paper in each of their carts. The price was more expensive than usual, but heck -- you need it, right?

I also got a roll of paper towels, as I was truly running out.

Afterwards, I clutched my toilet paper pack close to my chest and carried it to the gym where I stored it in my locker. Luckily I didn't get any strange looks.

Anthony Lam says there is more than enough rice for a month

However when I came back to Kennedy Town and went up the escalator to the wet market, one woman going down spied my prized possession and asked if I had gotten it from the pharmacy. "I got it in Central," I replied, much to her surprise.

Meanwhile it seems rice is still also a precious commodity, and Anthony Lam Sai-ho, a rice importer and member of the Trade and Industry Department's Customer Liaison Group for Rice, tried to tell the public there were no need to panic when it came to enough rice in the city.

He said the government's rice reserve as well as the industry's own stockpile would be enough to meet the city's demand for more than a month. But even if Hong Kong needed more rice, it could be imported within 10 days or less, as most of it is sourced from Thailand and Vietnam.

Most of Hong Kong's rice comes from Thailand and Vietnam

Lam said the city's 229 importers were required to set aside 17 percent of their monthly import for reserve, which at the end of January was at 13,000 tonnes, enough for about 15 days. And then there is another stockpile by importers that was about 14,000 tonnes, again enough for more than two weeks' consumption.

However, people are still stockpiling on rice, emptying shelves of the staple faster than shop staff can restock them.





My relatives who came back from northern Japan managed to secure enough masks for their family of three for three months. They scoured every pharmacy, supermarket and convenience shop for them. In some places they could only buy packs of three, in other places they managed to buy boxes of 60.

A lot of people are shopping for masks in Japan

On their flight back to Hong Kong this morning, they noticed elderly passengers had lots of luggage and assumed they too were hunting for masks, a more important concern than seeing the sights. They also saw many young families from Hong Kong who were also on holiday since school is still out until mid March.

One more thing about toilet paper -- the Consumer Council has also advised people not to hoard toilet paper, and that they should not store their numerous packs of toilet paper in the bathroom where it is more humid and germs often thrive. Better to stick them in a dry ventilated space.

People won't be needing to buy toilet paper for a while... right?



 

Absurdities Continue in Hong Kong

Reporters silently protest police violence against them during the protests

This past weekend's escalated tactics by the police in an attempt to subdue the protesters only further incensed the public who lost their faith in the force ages ago.

Journalists were particularly fed up with the police, as they have shot their colleagues with rubber bullets, fired pepper spray at them to clear the area while people are being arrested, pushed and shoved them so they can't get a good look at what is going on. Photographers have been arrested too and made to wear chains and handcuffs. Do we still want to bring up the fact that they don't have identification badges on? At most they will just have numbers indicating the detachment they are from, but no unique number for individual officers.

"Investigate police brutality, stop police lies" the sign says

When they are questioned at the daily press conferences about these issues by reporters, the police's answers don't even begin to address what was asked, resulting in utter gaslighting at the force's best.

Last week freelance journalist Amy Ip had enough and tried to vent her frustration at police representatives at the regular press briefing but they walked away and suspended the press conference for half an hour. Some reporters, like Apple Daily, walked out in protest of the police.

The numbers are growing.

This afternoon just as today's regular briefing by the police was just underway, six reporters put on hard hats, each with a Chinese character. Together they read: "查警暴 止警謊", "Investigate police brutality, stop police lies". The police representatives felt the reporters were hijacking the event in the police headquarters, that they should use public space to demonstrate, and were asked to leave many times.

The reporters, from Stand News, RTHK, Ming Pao, AM730, Initium and Inmedia, stood their ground and the police representatives left the room and even turned off the lights, while other reporters said the silent protest was not obstructing anyone and that the briefing should continue.

Instead at 5.30pm the police held a Facebook Live press conference without any media attending. As a result there were no challenges to the police's statements nor could any questions be asked.

HKJA ex-co member and @StandNewsHK Ronson Chan revealed outside police HQs that one journo received a call from newsroom senior, demanding him/her not to wear the helmet and join the protest. Chan appealed to editorial seniors to understand dangers faced by frontline journos. pic.twitter.com/2F2owNKInq

— Xinqi Su 蘇昕琪 (@XinqiSu) November 4, 2019

 

Outside police headquarters, Hong Kong Journalists' Association ex-co member and Stand News journalist Ronson Chan said one of the reporters who wore the hard hat in the room earlier received a call from a newsroom editor, demanding he/she not wear the helmet. Chan appealed to senior editorial staff to understand the dangers faced by frontline journalists every minute they are on the streets.

It was later reported that this phone call never happened.... but still it was important to draw attention to how difficult it has been to report on these increasingly dangerous protests.

The "press conference" continued without the media there

Today's events show how the relationship between reporters and police has completely disintegrated, and there are no signs the protests are going to end anytime soon.

Speaking of which, a Hong Kong businessman has come up with a brilliant idea of giving millions of dollars to the person who has the best solution to end the five months-long protests. 

Christopher Chuang is the CEO of a fin-tech company called TGM Group, and he's also a CPPCC member which should be a big hint. He said in a press conference that the top proposal would be awarded HK$1 million, while the best solution picked by a panel of judges will be given HK$7 million.

Chuang, who says he grew up in Hong Kong and loves the city, said the proposal should focus on livelihood issues, though he admits political conflicts are to blame for the current impasse, and that only Hong Kong residents can enter the contest.

Only 100 entries will be chosen, and the ideas cannot be political -- they won't even be considered, he says.

He claims to have gone to the protest sites and talked to many young people as well as the police.

Christopher Chuang will pay good money for a good solution

"I can see the love in the police eyes for these young people. But at the same time I can see the dream, the lost dream of teenagers," Chuang says.

Is he talking about a parallel universe? Last I checked, the police called everyone "cockroaches"...

Chuang means well, but the protests are a political problem. People want accountability, they want to protect whatever freedoms and rights they have left. And that means being able to directly vote for their own leader, not a committee of 1,200 people stacked with pro-Beijing elites.

But he is a pro-Beijing elite himself, so he is unaware of what's really at stake.

The government has tried to ease the housing issue, but that hasn't stopped the protests, neither has tycoon Li Ka-shing's donation of HK$1 billion (US$128 million) to help small- and medium-sized businesses helped calm down the protests either.

So obviously it's not about the money.

Escalated police tactics have resulted in lack of public trust

Chuang is barking up the wrong tree.

Whatever happened to former chief executive Leung Chun-ying's website purporting to give people money for reporting people who committed "crimes" like throwing the Chinese flag into Victoria Harbour? Has he paid anyone out for a successful conviction?

And a footnote to yesterday's crazy bloody attack in Taikoo Shing, where a man bit off district councillor Andrew Chiu Ka-yin's ear?

After hours of surgery today, surgeons managed to re-attach the ear back.

As for the assailant, he was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm rather than grievous bodily harm... to put that into perspective, last month the student who used a box cutter to make a 3cm slash into a policeman's neck in Kwun Tong was charged with attempted murder, wounding with intent and grievous bodily harm.

So it turns out the knife-wielding man speaking Mandarin randomly attacked people in the mall, including a couple, not a family. The attacker has undergone a psychiatric test and found to have
"violent tendencies"...

Hong Kong is getting crazier and crazier, with each week becoming the new normal.

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...

Fact of the Day: China has the Most Property Billionaires

Hui Ka-yan of Evergrande is the richest property billionaire in China

Perhaps not surprisingly, China has the largest number of property billionaires thanks to three decades of economic growth and people's pursuit of buying a home.

According to the 2019 Hurun Global Real Estate Rich List, China has 108 US dollar billionaires out of 239 around the world, while the United States has 26, the UK 17 and Hong Kong 25.

Li Ka-shing is among the top property tycoons in Hong Kong

China's economic development has fueled the boom of people leaving the countrysides and moving to the cities looking for work, which surged demand for housing.

"The urbanization mega trend in China has driven the biggest wealth explosion in the history of the world, with the result that most of the world's largest real estate developers today come from China," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report.

Housing used to be provided by the state during the early days of the Communist Party's centrally controlled planned economy. Private housing only emerged two decades ago as the government experimented with capitalism to allow homes to be sold for profit, with the very first land sale taking place in 1987.

Many of the biggest Chinese developers today -- including Country Garden Holdings, China Vanke Group, China Evergrande and Wanda Group -- owe their establishment to the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.

Another Hong Kong property tycoon is Lee Shau-kee

Seven of the world's top 10 property tycoons are Chinese, the wealthiest is Evergrande's chairman, Hui Ka-yan, who is also known as Xu Jiayin in his native Hunan province, with an estimated net worth of 250 billion yuan (US$37 billion).

Hong Kong has 25 billionaires, including Li Ka-shing and Lee Shau-kee. Shenzhen has 17 billionaires, and Beijing has 15, according to the Hurun Report.

Fintech Company Pays Through the Roof for Rent

Cheung Kong Center has office space if you're willing to pay through the roof

 Housing prices aren't the only real estate prices going up -- office space is too.

Today it was reported a cryptocurrency trading company has signed a lease to take over the 45th floor of Cheung Kong Center -- the headquarters of tycoon Li Ka-shing -- for a whopping HK$225 per square foot. For almost 20,000 square feet, that's almost US$600,000 a month.

The going rate in the building is HK$200 to HK$210, but BitMEX must have been keen to secure the entire floor which is why they were willing to shell out even more.

Cryptocurrency trader BitMEX is renting at Cheung Kong

This will have a knock-on effect on other companies renting in Central -- meaning they will have to pay more too.

Looks like cryptocurrency traders are the ones who can afford the outrageous rents in Central because everyone else is moving to places like Wong Chuk Hang and further east like Quarry Bay.

Managing director of Cushman and Wakefield John Siu made an intriguing comment on the news of BitMEX renting at Cheung Kong Center. "In the past half year, we've seen more digital currency or blockchain companies coming to look for spaces in Central. [Central] can polish the image of a company."

Does BitMEX, which was founded in 2014 need some embellishment? In an interview in July with one of the founders, the company is worth US$3.6 billion and its trading volume is US$3.3 billion in 24 hours, making it one of the largest trading platforms of bitcoin in the world.

Fintech companies like the prestigious Central address

Denis Ma of JLL or Jones Lang Lasalle believes fintech companies are going to be the ones looking for space in Central, as traditional financial institutions have slowed their expansion in Hong Kong.

Can you imagine paying US$600,000 a month in rent? In the United States, one can get a house for that -- every month. Li Ka-shing must be laughing in his retirement. While cryptocurrencies might be virtual, you still need an office to trade them...

The MTR's Bizarre Housing Solution

MTR Corp's Frederick Ma suggests a "Hong Kong Town" in Guangdong

The MTR Corporation is brilliant at thinking of how to make more money off us little guys.

The latest? To help ease the housing shortage, why not build a "Hong Kong town" across the border in China and so young people and the elderly can commute everyday (via the MTR of course)?

Frederick Ma Si-hang of the MTR says the company is already in talks with the state-run China Railway Corp to explore the feasibility in Nansha and Foshan and residents can use a high-speed rail to get back to Hong Kong to work everyday.

The complex would be near the high-speed train station

He brushed off concerns that this project would be a conflict of interest...

The "Hong Kong Town" would be located near the high-speed rail station in Guangzhou and the whole complex would have a "Hong Kong ambience" that would have residential, commercial and reliable healthcare facilities.

It would also mean governments on both sides would have to come up with a monthly pass to make the trips not only more affordable, but also help them go through immigration faster and allow people living on the mainland to pay Hong Kong tax because they work there.

Readers who have commented on this story point out the legal ramifications -- is a Hong Kong resident who lives in this "Hong Kong town" subject to Hong Kong or China laws? While the housing will be cheaper, the food and water quality on the mainland are questionable. And what does "Hong Kong ambience" mean anyway? Like Central or like Mongkok?

Container terminals in Hong Kong could be turned into flats

The main complaint from other readers was this sense of resignation of having failed at trying to find solutions to the housing issue in Hong Kong and just dumping people who cannot afford it to a compound across the border. How does that achieve anything except shift the problem -- literally?

It just shows there is not enough determination on the part of the government to really tackle the housing issue. The MTR is also looking at possibly snapping up container terminals in places like Nam Cheong and Mei Foo in Hong Kong to turn into housing.

And who would be laughing all the way to the bank?

Li Ka-shing who owns Hongkong International Terminals Limited.

Us little guys never get to win.

Li Ka-shing Exits Stage Right

This afternoon Li Ka-shing (centre) cozies up with reporters for pictures

This afternoon was the earth-shattering announcement we've been waiting for -- tycoon Li Ka-shing is retiring.

In a live broadcast from Cheung Kong Centre, the 89-year-old said after almost seven decades in business, he is stepping down from both CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings and passing the reins to his younger son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi.

This was no surprise, as the younger Li has been working with his father for over 33 years, while older son Richard Li Tzar-kai "has many other businesses".

In a letter to staff that Li addressed them as colleagues, he recalled escaping war-torn China when he was 12 years old and came to Hong Kong. The famous legend of Li selling plastic flowers gave the high school dropout the capital to expand into other businesses, in particular real estate.

Li takes his final bow with son Victor on his right

"Not long afterwards, I founded Cheung Kong, the predecessor of CK Hutchison and CK Asset. That was 1950," he writes. "By 1972 I was able to grow the firm into a publicly-listed company -- stock code 001HK."

Today the conglomerate includes media, hotels, shipping, grocery stores and oil that has dealings in 50 countries.

During his announcement, Li said he would devote time to philanthropy, including the KS-LK Foundation, especially in issues related to healthcare and education.

Li finished his tenure on a high, as the companies, including Power Assets and CKI recorded higher 2017 earnings that largely met market expectations.

However, the tycoon is stepping down at a time when his influence is already waning. In 2013, dock workers went on strike for 40 days, demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

The 2013 dockworkers' strike damaged Li's reputation

At one point they occupied the front entrance of Cheung Kong Centre with a giant picture of Li's face and devil horns coming out of his head. In the end the dockworkers got a 9.8 percent pay rise, but the public's admiration for Li had nosedived because his immense wealth was compared to the lowly dock worker.

Li's reputation further spiraled during the Umbrella Movement a year later when thousands of people occupied the streets in Admiralty, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok for 79 days. When it first started, the business elite were silent, and then Li finally spoke.

While he said he understood the protesters "passionate pursuits", he believed they should go home, warning them not to "let today's passion become tomorrow's regret". He knew people would be punished, but underestimated that people did not regret their actions, despite the legal challenges the protest leaders in particular faced.

Li was widely admired in China, but he cashed out anyway

And his relationship with China also soured. Despite pouring millions of yuan into the country, in 2015 Li decided to cash out, which angered Chinese state media and many mainlanders, who felt the businessman was being unpatriotic.

Nevertheless, Li won't be completely retiring. While he will continue to stay on as a senior adviser, it seems Li still wants to keep an active role in the businesses.

When a reporter tried to ask Victor Li a question about the company's future investments, his father interrupted as his son was getting the microphone. "I'll answer for him," Li said.

Ushering the Year of the Dog

In the late afternoon there were thousands of people in Victoria Park

Happy New Year of the Dog!

I just got back from Victoria Park where the largest flower market is, and it was pretty full of people. Lots of them were clutching large cushions shaped like dogs, or eating long bamboo skewers with strawberries covered in sugar. On the news we saw people selling cushions shaped like egg custards but we didn't see them. Too bad!

Pots of gorgeous orchids for sale

Students at the market hone their selling skills, as many schools rent booths and try to sell merchandise. Most of the time they break even selling plush toys or snarky items like canvas bags with a caricature of tycoon Li Ka-shing and it says, "Are you a man or are you a dog" with a picture of a canine.

Ouch!

Another canvas bag said "Error 404. Site not found". Sound familiar?

The snacks were pretty popular too. We saw one woman rolling globs of glutinous rice flour paste into an orangey nutty mixture and then cutting them up for people to eat. That was delicious, around HK$25, and dragon beard candy was only about HK$15.

Even HK$25 succulents could be snapped up

For many people eating these snacks are nostalgic -- you can't find them often around shops or street corners anymore, so now's the time to indulge. We also go a kind of wafer with desiccated coconut and sugar wrapped in a thin crepe that was HK$8 for two.

We also saw Occupy leaders Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chu Yiu-ming waving to people and smiling. They were soliciting donations and in return people could get fai chun or Chinese couplets with good wishes for the new year.

A friend remarked the pan-democrats trying to solicit donations weren't getting much love from the public this year, perhaps focusing instead on the holiday than political activism. With the Hong Kong government legally cracking down on civil disobedience, it tempers people's appetite to protest.

Nevertheless, visiting Victoria Park was not too stressful -- everyone was in a good mood and patiently making their way through the lanes.

Many picking up flowers for the start of the new year

新年快乐！恭喜发财！身体健康！ 万想如意！

Xi Urges Harmony in Hong Kong

Chinese President Xi Jinping gives a toast to Hong Kong on 20th anniversary

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was sworn in as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and she promised to work hard to bring harmony to the city.

It's a tall order to say the least, but we'll see what effort she makes.

During his speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated that the "one country, two systems" governing formula for Hong Kong had been a success, and Beijing would continue to implement it without it "being bent or distorted".

Really... but we feel it's been "bent" and "distorted"... maybe from his point of view it isn't.

Carrie Lam is sworn in as the next chief executive by Xi

"New situations have arisen in the implementation of 'one country, two systems' ... but we have to understand the complicated historical root and international background behind Hong Kong's many problems," he said.

"We must not generalize on the causes, nor must we respond emotionally. It is not scary to have problems -- the key is to find solutions."

Sounds like Xi was trying to sound more conciliatory towards critics, particularly localists in showing that he was sensitive to the unique issues Hong Kong has. But the localist groups won't be buying it.

He also had some words for business leaders in that they should support Lam, unite in safeguarding social harmony to create positive vibes, care about young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow, and promote cooperation with the mainland.

The President shakes hands with Li Ka-shing

Interesting that Xi is looking to them to keep Hong Kong on the straight and narrow, but the real problem is the close relationship the government has with the tycoons, swaying everything in their favour with no foresight or interest in setting the foundation for a better future for the next generation (except their own kin).

So we'll have to see if the billionaires really take Xi's words to heart or his words are just lip service to the rest of Hong Kong.

Meanwhile former governor Chris Patten believes the Chinese government isn't following the Joint Declaration -- that is tabled at the United Nations -- that "one country, two systems" has eroded in the past two decades.

A little too late, but at least Patten is bringing it up to remind people. At least that's what the rest of us in Hong Kong believed too...