Learning Cantopop 101

Each day of the year has a Cantopop milestone

 

I met up with a friend today for lunch and then afterwards we went to the fifth floor of Times Square in Causeway Bay where there is an exhibition called Cantopop 101.

Apparently there are three different shows tied to this, dividing Cantopop into different time periods from the 1980s to the 1990s, 1990s to the 2000s, and 2000s to 2010s.

On the exhibition boards made of particle board are clipboards, each with a piece of paper attached to it representing one day, so there are 365 of these sheets of paper, each hung by a clipboard. Each piece of paper meticulously charts what happened in the Hong Kong music scene on that day in different years.

Photos of Cantopop artist Joyce Cheng Yan-yee

It could be a particular singer was born, or a group was first formed, someone's first single was released, a concert was held, or someone died.

It's quite an impressive compilation of Cantopop trivia, but also I'm sure it evokes a lot of memories for people who grew up in these decades and listened to these artists.

There are a few Polaroid shots of artists today and they are signed. They aren't formal portraits, casual and fun.

In the middle of the room are some colourful stools. My friend told me that on specific days artists will come in and perform a "silent concert" where attendees wear headphones to listen. All the concerts have sold out already.

The curator of the show is Colin Mak, a DJ with 90.3FM. The exhibition includes a telephone booth-sized recording studio where attendees can record their feelings about the show and the best ones will be aired on his show.

The aforementioned compilation of the sheets of paper for every day of the year? They have also been made into a book, only 903 copies (the same number as the radio station 90.3), and they were sold out in minutes.

Cantopop memories in shape of tree

This shows how much people love Cantopop, how it has defined who they are, how much they want to preserve it, and worry about its future.

With the Communist Party recently bearing down on Hong Kong when it comes to movies and art, it won't be long before it impacts music, literature, plays, dance and operas.

There is also talk of encouraging more Mandarin to be used in Hong Kong... so what will happen to Cantopop?

A beautiful black and white graphic on the wall shows important musical milestones that start from 1931 and like rings on a tree, grow wider and wider, ending at around 2010. What will happen to this tree after 2021? Will it continue to grow or will it be chopped down soon?

Cantopop 101

Until July 1

Shop 5017-519, 5/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street

Causeway Bay

 

Word of the Day: Die Wei

Die wei can be applied to many different situations

I recently came across this Chinese word die(1) wei(4) 爹味, which is literally "daddy flavour" or slang for "mansplaining".

Many young people use this term now to describe anyone -- male or female -- who claim unwarranted authority and give unsolicited advice.

According to Lu Pin, a feminist activist, the term's popularity shows growing resistance from young people -- mostly women -- to patriarchal culture.

But she adds the term is mostly used online, as hierarchy in reality is not going to change anytime soon.

What a great word that can be applied in so many situations!

Awkwafina's Big Win for The Farewell

Big smile for Awkwafina for her Golden Globe win as Billi in The Farewell

So thrilled Chinese-American actress and rapper Awkwafina won Best Actress in a musical or comedy category in the Golden Globes for The Farewell, that I just watched on the plane the day before on the way back to Hong Kong.

I was going to write a review about the film today, but even better to have Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, be the first Chinese-American actress to win in a big category. Before The Farewell, Awkwafina became famous her comedic character in Crazy Rich Asians.

Zhao Shuzhen plays Billi's grandmother in the film

On stage she thanked her co-star Zhao Shuzhen, who plays her grandmother in the film, and director Lulu Wang, who she paid tribute to.

"You gave me this chance, the chance of a lifetime, and you taught me so much. And just filming this story, being with you, was incredible," Awkwafina said in her acceptance speech.

Then she dedicated the award to her father Wally, saying, "I told you I'd get a job, Dad."

The Farewell is called 别告诉她 or "Don't tell her" in Chinese, about a family distraught about the matriarch's terminal illness, but don't want to tell her. Instead they conjure up a wedding banquet as an excuse for the family to get together to say good-bye.

The movie starts with a message that the story is based on an actual lie that happened in Wang's family that she wrote into The Farewell.

Lulu Wang (left) based the film on her family's story

Awkwafina plays Billi, an aspiring writer from an immigrant family from Changchun, China. She is struggling to get her career started when she finds out from her parents that her paternal grandmother or nai nai is dying -- but no one is to tell her that.

When they arrive in Changchun, everyone struggles to be happy to see her and to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Billi's cousin, and grandmother can't understand why everyone has long faces. It also leads to some funny scenes that break up the sad atmosphere.

What I like about The Farewell is how it cleverly weaves things together. There are themes of identity, family, life and death, and the cultural differences between east and west. Through Billi, the viewers begin to understand Chinese culture, why the family is so adamant nai nai must not know the truth, while she, having grown up in America thinks this is outrageous.

In the film everyone struggles not to tell nai nai the truth

Billi speaks much like other immigrants who moved when they were very young, or second generation -- slowly and with a limited vocabulary. The film is mostly in Mandarin, but when she talks to her parents, it's in English, and her mother and father give context and explanations not only to Billi but to the audience too.

There are also scenes of how China has changed so much in the last few decades with better living standards, and people can quickly become millionaires, so why do the Chinese send their kids to study in the United States? It was interesting to see this issue addressed.

Some of my friends who have seen the film cried their eyes out because The Farewell touches on the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, especially when the grandparents raise the children in their first few years. They also felt The Farewell was their immigrant experience, portrayed accurately on the screen.

Awkwafina thanked Wang for the opportunity to be in the film

For me it was a thoughtful, sentimental look at the challenges families face in dealing with the impending death of an elder, and the different reactions to it. What also made it complex was the layers of lies -- nai nai also lied to her husband about his diagnosis -- does she really know what her situation is and is lying to others about what she knows?

Backstage after Awkwafina's big win, she admitted the role was very challenging for her, because she did not speak Chinese well. But she felt the script was too important to pass up.

I hope there are more films like The Farewell, that tell a more nuanced story about Chinese people and their immigrant experiences, or what it's like to grow up in the west. There are too many stories out there that need to be told.

Frankfurt's Insightful Sights

Cathedral of St Bartholomew was spared during the war

Today we had a private guide and driver to show us around Frankfurt and a bit beyond. Originally from Frankfurt, he gave us some interesting details about some landmarks in the city.

The original 15th century stained glass

One of our first stops was to Romer, in the old city square. It's a medieval building that dates back over 600 years from the Romer family that made its money as merchants. It later sold the building to the city in 1405 and was later known called the Kaisersaal, or "Emperor's Hall".

Today is the old city hall where people can have a civil wedding, and if the football team, Eintracht Frankfurt wins a major match, the players can be seen on the balcony.

What's interesting is that across from the Romer is a spring water fountain, one of 160 of them in the city, though many are not in use anymore. On top of the fountain is Lady Justice, but on closer examination, she is not blindfolded -- that's because she is looking straight at the King and hinting that she is watching him and he had better make a fair judgment.

A short distance away is Cathedral of St Bartholomew (Dom St Bartholomaus) that was built from the 14th to 15th centuries. Our guide asked us to think of the many artisans who worked on the cathedral over 100 years. Designs changed according to styles of the time, and also how much money could be rustled up by the parishioners.

This popular sausage shop has been around since 1954

During World War II, the allied forces specifically used fire bombs on Frankfurt because it is a living city -- that meant the bombs would burn down buildings, while some facades managed to continue standing.

They did not bomb churches -- our guide explains this is because the war was not about religion, but also because they used them as landmarks to know their positioning. So the church was not damaged per se, but the fires were so hot that they melted the designs on the stained glass.

Sausages with mustard and bread. So good!

However -- all was not completely lost. One panel happened to be taken down for restoration and subsequently kept in a safe place -- and we are now very privileged to see the stained glass from the 15th century. The other stained glass panels looks very modern and the colours are muted pastels.

The tower of the cathedral is also 100 metres high and for a few euros you can climb up to the top to have a good view of the city.

After the war, people in Frankfurt didn't have much if anything left. Some had bunkers that may have stored some food, but other than that no one had much to eat. They would meet at this marketplace called Kleinmarkethalle and exchange food or give away some food so that everyone had a bit of something to eat and it was also a morale booster that the community would rebuild the city again.

The carousel in Wilhelmsbad State Park

We visited that marketplace, which is quite small and indoors, and today houses stalls selling fresh vegetables, fruit, meats and pastries, as well as cooked foods. One of the stalls is called Schreiber that has been there since 1954 and hasn't changed since then.

It sells thick sausages that are boiled and served with a blob of mustard and a portion of bread for 2.30 euros each. We got there just in time before the line started, which our guide says goes all the way out the door everyday.

The wooden horses are beautifully made

Because it was rainy and chilly today, having a bite of the hot sausage hit the spot, and it wasn't salty, and very meaty. The owner, Ilse Schreiber, prepares the sausages using a family recipe from her grandfather-in-law who started the business on Metzgermeile or "butcher's mile".

Then we had a short drive on the autobahn to Hanau, where we visited the Wilhelmsbad State Park that was originally the hunting grounds for Prince Wilhelm IX of Hessen-Kassel. To make his visit there more fun, a carousel was built for him in 1780 by Franz Ludwig Cancrin, who used his mining engineering skills in this project.

The carousel is built on top of a mound and is decorated with wooden horses and carriages. But underneath it is actually pushed around by donkeys and horses who walk around in circles. How ironic is that?

Palmengarten is very lush and green (and wet today!)

After lunch of pork knuckle, sausages, sauerkraut, potato dumplings, and apple cider (very sour!) we went to check out the Palmengarten or Botannical Garden. It's near Bockenheimer Warte subway station and best if you can go on a sunny day. Unfortunately for us, all day it would rain lightly then suddenly get heavier, then light again.

When we arrived here (admission 7 euros/$7.85), it rained lightly then got heavier and we would go into the various indoor gardens to try to stay as dry as possible. The garden was started by landscape gardener Heinrich Siesmayer in 1869 for Frankfurt residents.

The gardens house plants from then inaccessible, distant parts of the world, and includes a lot different species of palm trees, even cocoa trees, orchids, cacti, lotus, and even pitfalls, plants that have giant bucket-like receptacles that trap insects inside.

School children playing inside one of the pavilions

There wasn't too much organization in terms of the groupings of the plants, but it was a nice respite from the weather and warm too because of the tropical temperatures these plants usually live in.

However, when we finished, the rains still wouldn't let up and we found our way to a cafe on the grounds called Siesmayer Cafehaus where we had pastries and coffee. It turn out our server was from Xian, China and spoke to us in Mandarin. It turns out he has been in Germany for 30 years.

In any event, we tried some desserts -- I sampled the apple pie that wasn't too sweet, but a bit on the bland side. The lime yogurt cake was delicious and the Black Forest cake was heavy on the cream, but also not too rich.

Apple pie with cafe au lait for an afternoon treat

When we made our way back to the hotel, the sun started to peek out behind the clouds. Why now when the day is over?! It seems the rain is following us...!

Early Morning Start in Rome

The Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna and Trinita dei Monti all in one picture

This morning I arrived at just after 7am in Rome and going through passport control was very fast, but then took a while to get our luggage.

Traffic was already heavy over an hour later coming into town. It had rained earlier, but despite the heavy clouds, the sun was determined to push its way through to create blue skies.

Inside the basilica that was so ornate

My hotel room wasn't ready yet so I took my colleague's suggestion of walking to the Spanish Steps and from there wander the streets that have many fashionable boutiques.

With the help of Google Maps I got there in over 20 minutes and there were already a few tourists at the top of the stairs where the Trinita dei Monti church stands over the Piazza di Spagna below. The staircase is said to have been designed by architect Pietro Bernini and his son Gian Lorenzo Bernini helped him.

At the bottom of the stairs is Via Condotti, where all the top fashion brands are located, Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Dolce and Gabbana, and Max Mara, along with non-Italian names like Tiffany & Co, Harry Winston, and Swarovski.

They all opened at 10am on the dot but hardly had any visitors; looking through the glass windows I could see Chinese staff in some of the boutiques to cater to the mainland customers. This morning there was one tour group but they didn't have time to shop there.

Nearby was the Basilica dei SS Ambrogio E Carlo that was built from 1612-1684. The door handle to go inside says "humility". Inside the church is very ornate, the ceilings covered in frescoes with a heavenly theme. Small naves to worship particular saints were on the sides. It was a beautiful quiet place for contemplation, even though shops like H&M were next door.

The "twin" churches at Piazza del Popolo

I wandered along Via del Babuino and there were more fashionable shops there, until I reached the end at Piazza del Popolo  or the "people's square". In the middle is an obelisk of Sety I. I haven't visited much of Rome, but have already seen a number of obelisks erected... the Romans really amassed a collection of them...

There are "twin" churches standing side by side, with Via del Corso separating them -- Santa Maria Montesanto on the left, and Santa Maria dei Miracoli on the right.

After a lunch of pizza, I tried to go find the Trevi Fountain, but instead found the Pantheon. It was a former Roman temple and is now a church. The dome is most impressive -- it is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
so when it rains, the water does fall down into the middle of the marbled floor -- but there are 22 holes in the ground that help drain the rainwater away. You can't help but keep looking at the dome that's so beautiful and the clouds are passing by. There are signs around the room asking visitors to be quiet as it is a church, but it was quite noisy...
I finally managed to find the Trevi Fountain and after it was carefully cleaned and restored by fashion company Fendi in 2015, the statues are very white! Most of the coins in the fountain are cleaned out. The area was crawling with tourists and the restaurants and cafes nearby were happy to cater to them.

One gelato shop had a guy who spoke a few words in Mandarin, "you want this?" pointing to a cup and then a cone. Every little bit helps.

A cleaned up Trevi Fountain with blue skies

I was concerned about gypsies in touristy areas, but each place had a squad of police there in army fatigues and their cars as a deterrent.

By this time it was 3.30pm and I wandered back to the hotel to finally check-in to my room for a long-awaited shower and nap...

Flashing the Cash in Macau

Beautiful blue skies this afternoon with a view of Galaxy Macau

Usually when I'm in Macau for work, I'm rushing to where I want to get to, and then rushing back to the ferry terminal to get back to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

This time I had an hour to kill before dinner and wandered around Galaxy's shopping mall area. It's very glitzy, much like Elements in West Kowloon, with practically every top luxury brand you can think of having a store there.

Everywhere you look there are luxury brands in the mall

However, unlike Harbour City and IFC mall in Hong Kong, they are not crawling with lots of mainland shoppers. Some stores were completely empty and desperate for anyone to at least walk in, others might have one or two people.

There are two types of mainland consumers these days -- the sophisticated ones who already have the brand name bags and designer clothes who act nonchalant, while the country bumpkins like to flash the cash, but don't have much style.

The latter ones I saw at Burberry, a group of women ranging from 20s to 50s who sat around couches in one room of the store and chatted loudly as they waited for a saleswoman to bring a bag out from the supply room.

One even took her foot that was wearing a dirty nylon sock out of her shoe and rested it on the coffee table. Classy. They spoke in a dialect I couldn't understand but it sounded like they were shouting at each other, but probably having an inane conversation.

Burberry is one of the stores that had some customers

Meanwhile the sales staff wore earpieces and would constantly report on customers' whereabouts -- "the young woman with the black bag is coming up stairs" or "they are still sitting there" in Cantonese.

The gaggle of women got so frustrating for one salesgirl to deal with that she vented her stress by stomping on the store's internal staircase as she walked up the stairs.

Burberry items may be cheaper than Louis Vuitton, but still considered luxury at over HK$10,000 for a handbag.

There's no choice but to try your best to please the rich -- no matter who they are -- because they're the ones paying your salary.

Eradicating a "Mental Illness"

Uighurs coming out of Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang

 The Chinese government is spinning the incarceration of Uighurs in detention centres in Xinjiang,  saying their belief in Islam needs to be treated as a mental illness. As a result they need to be treated multiple times, not just once, and for months at a time.

That's the latest report from The Atlantic, that also says some one million people are being sent to these "reeducation camps" where they are forced to sing propaganda songs and learn Mandarin, and some media reports have even talked about forcing these ethnic minority Muslims to eat pork and drink alcohol.

While the authorities describe the camps are "schools", they are also being described as "hospitals".

Women waking down the street in Kashgar

In a WeChat message to Uighurs, an excerpt of an official Communist Party audio recording says:

Members of the public who have been chosen for reeducation have been infected by an ideological illness. They have been infected with religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology, and therefore they must seek treatment from a hospital as an inpatient... The religious extremist ideology is a type of poisonous medicine, which confuses the mind of the people... If we do not eradicate religious extremism at its roots, the violent terrorist incidents will grow and spread all over like an incurable malignant tumour.

Sounds serious doesn't it? Except the message is making assumptions about people's devotion to their religion.

By calling religious extremism an "ideological illness", it gives the government (in its mind) the moral authority to lock people up for months at a time, and as many as it warrants is necessary.

Police officers have confirmed to Radio Free Asia that they have been ordered to meet specific population quotas in rounding up people for these camps. In one township, 40 percent of the local population was locked up.

"It's being treated as a mental illness that's never guaranteed to be completely cured, like addiction or depression," says Timothy Grose, a China expert at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. "There's something mentally wrong that needs to be diagnosed, treated -- and followed up with."

The above mentioned recording from the Communist Party justifies the need for continual treatment:

There is always a risk that the illness will manifest itself at any moment, which would cause serious harm to the public. that is why they must be admitted to a reeducation hospital in time to treat and cleanse the virus from their brain and restore their normal mind... Being infected by religious extremism and violent terrorist ideology and not seeking treatment is like being infected by a disease that has not been treated in time, or like taking toxic drugs... There is no guarantee that it will not trigger and affect you in the future.

There are intimidating police patrols around Xinjiang

Having gone through reeducation and recovered form the ideological disease doesn't mean that one is permanently cured... So, after completing the reeducation process in the hospital and returning home... they must remain vigilant, empower themselves with the correct knowledge, strengthen their ideological studies, and actively attend various public activities to bolster their immune system.

Adrian Zenz, a researcher at the European School of Culture and Theology in Germany equates what is going on in Xinjiang with how the government dealt with Falun Gong practitioners in the early 2000s by reeducating them in labour camps.

"Falun Gong was also treated like a dangerous addiction... But in Xinjiang this [rhetoric] is certainly being pushed to the next level," he says. "The explicit link with the addictive effect of religion is being emphasized possibly in an unprecedented way."

US-based Uighur academic from Xinjiang Tahir Imin isn't surprised by the government equating Islam with mental illness. He believes this is the authorities' way of eradicating ethnic Muslim minorities and forcing them to assimilate with the Han Chinese.

In the end this is the government's way of dealing with extremists -- by eradicating what it thinks is religious extremism through extreme power.

Hong Kong National Party Speaks

Andy Chan argues why Hong Kong should separate from China at the FCC

Hong Kong National Party convenor Andy Chan Ho-tin knew he would be the centre of attention today, giving a talk at the Foreign Correspondents Club and so he got himself into the building in Central hours before it started at 1pm.

In previous interviews he spoke in Cantonese, but this being the FCC the 27-year-old spoke with a slight British accent and his English was pretty good. He was also dressed in a suit to show he should be taken seriously by the much older adults in the room.

I caught the last half of his appearance on Facebook Live and he was composed, answering questions from the audience, mostly made up of journalists. He called China an "empire" and that Hong Kong being independent was the only way it could achieve democracy.

Chan leaves the FCC with police protection

During the Occupy protests in 2014, he explained he was not political at all, only concerned about his career after graduation. However the failure of the Umbrella Movement made him come to the conclusion that it wasn't the Hong Kong government that would grant the city democracy, but the Chinese government.

Hence the need for the city to separate from China and grant itself democracy.

However most people have problems with the part where he said they will use violence if necessary...

Nevertheless, Chan remained unflappable during his FCC talk and the question and answer period after, where the shouts of protesters -- those against him and those for protecting freedom of speech -- were heard inside the room.

"Time and again, our government has shown that whatever 'freedom' and 'democracy' they claim to be upholding are communist mirages," he said. Chan gave examples of the government's bid to stop him from running in the Legislative Council elections in 2016, the ban of the HKNP from registering as a company, and the police proposal to ban his party altogether.

He accused China of reneging on its promise in the Sino-British Joint Declaration that guarantees the "one country, two systems" guiding principle for Hong Kong, declaring the mainland "by its nature as an empire, a threat to all free peoples in the world".

There were protesters against Chan and his platform...

Chan added Hong Kong was suffering "national cleansing" thanks to the one-way permit scheme that allows 150 mainlanders to settle in the city each day.

"Local communities were shattered, because of the rapid influx of an incompatible culture... our very living space is taken from us," he said.

"Even our language, the words that shape our thoughts, are being demonized. Per China's orders, Hong Kong's future generations will now abandon Cantonese and switch entirely to Mandarin."

He is speaking out what many are thinking, which is very daring. Chan seems to be very aware of the consequences and continues to stick his neck out even though he is followed everyday and his family is harassed by people when they are at home.

As expected, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments condemned Chan for his speech and the FCC for giving him the platform to speak, even though the latter stressed the event was an exercise in free speech.

Beijing's Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong released a strongly worded statement.

...And there were those supporting freedom of speech

"FCC has already made its stance when it decided whom to invite for a talk. It would be hypocritical or fooling oneself to insist with sophistry that it does not hold a stance after doing something wrong," the statement read.

"We urge the FCC to reflect on itself and right the wrong, and follow the Chinese and SAR laws with its actions... any words and actions which attempt to break Hong Kong away from China would be punished, and no Chinese citizen would agree with anyone or group which backs the Hong Kong separatists."

The Hong Kong government was not as fiery in its tone:

"Providing a public platform for a speaker to openly advocate independence completely disregards Hong Kong's constitutional duty to uphold national sovereignty. It is totally unacceptable and deeply regrettable," it said.

Well... it was China who made such a big deal about it in the first place that led us to where we are today. If it had not called attention to his speaking engagement, then the whole event would have come and gone with hardly anyone noticing.

But Chan's talk turned into a referendum on freedom of speech and he willingly took the spotlight.

Now his party has to submit its defense to the police on September 4 in the hopes of avoiding a ban.

This talk has probably put another black mark against him, but Chan seems undeterred.

Singapore's Burgeoning Art Collection

Inside the National Gallery Singapore there is a lot of space to roam around

After an epic lunch at Odette, the contemporary French fine dining restaurant at the National Gallery Singapore, my friend and I walked around the museum.

I came here over two years ago and was very impressed by the renovation of the Supreme Court Building into a beautiful space that has a lot of room for people to wander and many restaurants and cafes. 

Georgette Cheng's Family Portrait

We checked out one exhibition in particular -- (Re) Collect: The Making of our Art Collection.

The museum went through its collection of over 8,600 pieces and showed almost 130 of them that demonstrate how it has evolved since the 1960s. In it there are works by various Asian artists not only from China like Zao Wou-ki, but also Indonesian, Malaysian and of course Singaporean.

One of the artists that caught my eye in particular was Georgette Chen (nee Chang Li Ying) (1906-1993), originally from Zhejiang province. Her father was an antiques dealer with businesses in Paris, London and New York. He was also a supporter of Dr Sun Yat-sen, which is why Chen and her 11 siblings -- yes a family of 12 children -- were encouraged to speak Mandarin at home and were sometimes taken on trips to China to see the revolutionary effort.

As she was born into a privileged household, she was allowed her to follow her interest in art and even went to Paris and New York to study. She eventually settled on Paris, where she met Eugene Chen, a Chinese diplomat and friend of Dr Sun. Chen was also an art and music lover who encouraged Georgette's art career. They married in 1930.

One of S. Sudjojono's sketches of daily life

However, during the Sino-Japanese war, they were imprisoned and her husband died in 1944 in Shanghai.

She moved to Singapore and her art focused on still lifes, landscapes, and the human figure. In the exhibition there are some of her works, including one called Family Portrait. It features the family of Chen Fa Shin, a long time family friend of the artist.

The description of the work explains the family was close to her as indicated by their relaxed postures. Each family member took turns posing for her, as she sketched them in charcoal and then she painted over the lines with oil.

Chen also became a teacher at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for many years.

Another interesting artist is Indonesian artist S. Sudjojono (1913-1986). The museum presents a series of ink and watercolour sketches that look like the precursor to infographics. The sketches are so intricate and include some text. They are observations of daily life as well as portraits and urban landscapes.

Stacks of old medicine bottles by Navin Rawanchaikul

One particularly intriguing work is by Thai artist Navin Rawanchaikul (b. 1971). His art installation, Asking for Nothingness looks like a massive collection of old medical bottles stacked up in several circular shelves.

But when you walk behind the stacks, the bottles aren't empty -- they are filled with black and white photographs of elderly people. You can't really see their faces and you're not meant to. The artist is shining a spotlight on how society neglects the elderly and illiiterate caused by rapid modernization.

This is Rawanchaikul's attempt to preserve the seniors' stories, reaffirming their cultural value in society. It's a pretty eerie piece, but it's provocative and forces you to think of all these people, shoved in the back of a cabinet and forgotten.

The National Gallery Singapore also has amazing views on its top floor. When you emerge from the elevator, the roof actually has water running on the glass ceiling and it creates a beautiful reflection of the urban landscape nearby. 

The bottles have pictures of elderly people in them

The rooftop area also provides great views of Marina Bay Sands, the exhibition centre and a massive grassy area for cricket. Of course there are restaurants and bars there for guests who want to eat and drink while taking in the view.

National Gallery Singapore

1 St Andrew's Road

Singapore

178957

Lam Seems to Sideline English

Chief Executive Carrie Lam at her media briefing earlier today

As if we need yet another sign that Hong Kong is becoming more of a Chinese city than an international one is that our own leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor would rather answer questions in Cantonese than English.

Today at a media briefing before her weekly meeting with the Executive Council, Lam thought she was asked the same question twice, once in Cantonese and moments later in English.

She replied she would answer the question in Cantonese and then in English.

Then Lam told Cathy Chu Man-ling, the director of information services, to consider "a better arrangement".

She should answer in English, Mandarin or Cantonese

"In future, we'd better arrange simultaneous interpretation for this media stand-up, because I [keep] on repeating the answers... I have answered exactly the same question in Cantonese, so I'm going to repeat what I said in Cantonese. But in future, the director of information services may consider a better arrangement so that we don't need to waste time," Lam said, before going on to answer the question in English.

The chief executive may have thought the questions were the same, but they are actually different. The first one in Cantonese asked if she would unveil plans for land reclamation during her policy address in October, while the question in English was whether she would take public opinion on the matter into account.

Later Eric Chan Kwok-ki, director of the chief executive's office, explained Lam had no intention of skipping questions in English in future briefings, and had tried to highlight the time-consuming nature of answering questions in several languages.

She was concerned this would prevent the media from having enough time to ask all the questions they had.

"The chief executive is always happy to speak English, and reply to media questions in English when asked in that language," Chan said. "It's only that in Hong Kong, reporters from different backgrounds can speak either Cantonese, Mandarin or English, so she thought that if she needed to repeat answers in all three, time for more questions would be limited."

How long is this question period? Surely it's more than five minutes. And the last we checked English is an official language in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Sounds like Lam was exasperated or was having a bad day -- giving instructions to her information services director in front of the media was downright awkward.

And Lam wasn't listening clearly to realize the two questions on land reclamation were different.

If a question is asked twice but slightly differently, that's because the reporter didn't think the answer was substantive enough the first time and wanted another more comprehensive reply. Surely Lam knows this from answering questions throughout her civil service career!

For Lam to win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers, she needs to answer the media's questions -- no matter what language they are in. We all have a right to ask them in whatever language we want. The way she handled questions today was hardly a step in the right direction in the politically-charged environment we are in...

Post script: After I wrote this blog post, Lam issued a statement in which she "apologized for any confusion thus caused".

Guess it's better late than never...

Celebrating the Canadian Way

Canadian Consul Jeff Nankivell says Canada is more welcoming than the US

This evening the Canadian Consulate hosted a Canada Day cocktail at the JW Marriott for Canadians to celebrate the 151st birthday of the country.

A Canadian singer performed both O Canada and The March of the Volunteers, the former in English and French, the latter in Mandarin. Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung was impressed by her "impeccable Putonghua".

Cheung Kong's Victor Li (fifth from left) cutting the cake

He was also impressed by Canadian Consul-General Jeff Nankivell's trilingual skills of English, French and Cantonese. He also speaks Mandarin, but tonight wasn't the right audience for it.

Nankivell gave an energetic speech off the bat, saying how Canada was a safe place to visit, how it was a welcoming country and was eager to do business with others in an indirect jab at the United States.

He continued about how it was a good place for education, and how it welcomes investment and listed the many trade agreements it has with other countries. He joked about how Canada hoped the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP would stay in place, as American President Donald Trump has threatened to abandon it.

At the end he said how Canadian food and drink were delicious -- mei sik, mei yum, ho mei. Do jie! 美吃， 美喝， 好妹。谢谢！

Inviting guests to try out their hockey skills

Cheung repeated Nankivell's mantra and added how his Cantonese was ho jeng. 好正！

Actually Cheung's spoken English is excellent. He observed of the many other national day ceremonies he had attended, never had he witnessed one that was so lively, as Nankivell even put a funny hat at one point, eliciting laughs from the audience in the ballroom.

Later on a large cake was rolled out, and the sponsors of the evening were invited to come on stage to assist. The biggest one was Cheung Kong Group, which meant Victor Li Tzar-kuoi was invited on stage, along with representatives from The Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Sun Wah Group and Delia School of Canada.

The other major announcement was that in September, there will be an exhibition game between the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames in Shenzhen in an effort to promote ice hockey in China. About time the NHL tried to shoot and score in the Middle Kingdom...