Stocked Public Fridges for the Poor

A public fridge where people can freely take what they need 

More and more people are starving in Hong Kong thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that has forced them to lose their jobs and businesses and scrounge for food.

Wong Wai-kit tried to help some by giving them his takeaway meal.

"I tried not to make them feel they were a bunch of poor and miserable people waiting for my almsgiving. They had their dignity," said Wong, 40, who has founded several social enterprises that help the underprivileged and unemployed.

He came up with the idea in August of setting up stocked-up fridges in various public locations for anyone in need, for free.

The growing number of poor rises each year

The "Gift n Take" fridge project began in places like Dragon Centre shopping centre in Sham Shui Po and Eaton HK hotel in Jordan. A group of 20 volunteers fill the fridges every two to three days with dry food and provisions donated by NGOs, individuals and retail outlets.

As soon as the project started the fridges were cleaned out as fast as the volunteers could fill them, and now there are fridges in 40 locations across Hong Kong, including restaurants, schools, shopping centres and retail stores.

"I noticed a rising number of people who suddenly lost their livelihoods because of the tough social-distancing curbs. They feel helpless without anyone to turn to," Wong said.

"I hope to let them know people do care and are willing to help."

He has also helped some people find part-time work.

Charities and NGOs are seeing a spike in people looking for free meals, including young people.

In 2020, 19,438 people sought help getting food, a 48 percent increase from 13,142 in 2019. The number rose to 21,987 last year.

One of Wong's partners is Martin China Ka-shun, founder of social enterprise Amity, which distributes provisions to the poor in Sheung Shui, including those staying in sub-divided flats and elderly people living alone.

A public fridge can be found at Eaton HK hotel

"Most don't want to apply for social welfare or support from food banks as the application takes at least eight weeks," he said. 

"They don't have the money to pay for food, so we hope to help them survive this difficult period."

Fifty-eight-year-old Tong Shing-choi lost his job as a casual cleaner and delivery worker in late January when the companies he worked for temporarily closed.

Divorced and living alone in Mongkok in a sub-divided room that costs HK$2,700 (US$344.83) a month in rent, Tong said he had to borrow money from friends to get by. For him the fridge project, along with meal coupons he received from NGOs have made him less miserable about his situation.

"I rely on free meals from a charity group for survival. I got to the fridge from time to time for some canned food, cakes and instant noodles to fill my stomach, but I don't want to ask for more as I feel ashamed," he said.

Tong said he didn't want to apply for welfare help, as he hoped he could get another job again.

"I really feel gloomy and depressed, but help from Brother Kit [Wong] and other NGOs let me know that at least I don't need to worry about my daily meals."

Where is Lam's compassion for those in need?

Thank goodness for these NGOs and social enterprises for stepping up and helping those who were living pay cheque to pay cheque and now the pandemic has made their lives a daily struggle for survival.

Meanwhile what is the government doing to help these people? They did not become poor out of choice - it's up to the authorities to give them the help they need. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has a background in social work and yet has no compassion for these people, whose population is growing by the day.

If Hong Kong is going to pull out of this pandemic -- and Lam will drag the city out if she has to -- she needs to also make sure people are not starving to death before then.

Have we really reverted to the real meaning of 吃饭了没有？

By the way the number of cases has gone down to below 8,000 at 7,860 today and 168 deaths, of which 143 are new, 25 backlogged.

Hongkongers React to Mandatory Tracing App

People using the app on their smartphones at govt buildings

As expected, the first day of making the Leave Home Safe app mandatory in many government buildings including wet markets, libraries, swimming pools did not go as smoothly as expected.

Even a man who had fallen, bloodied his head and rushed to emergency, had to use the app in order to enter the hospital.

And in a show of force, five people who work at Immigration Tower in Wan Chai were arrested for using a fake app. Two were immigration officers, one a member of staff at the Audit Commission and two contractors.

An injured man had to use app to go to hospital

And these people are working for the government...

Meanwhile for ordinary folk, this morning there were lots of people in front of the entrance of the Pei Ho Street Market in Sham Shui Po as many elderly people sought the help of others in installing or using the contact-tracing app.

One shopper, surnamed Wong, resorted to buying a new smartphone to use the app.

"It is too troublesome to fill in a form every time you enter a venue. I had no choice but to buy a new phone," said the 60-year-old.

The media also discovered there weren't enough security guards at all the wet market entrances to enforce use of the app so many snuck in without scanning the QR code.

At Sha Tin Public Library, people moaned about using the app.

"It's convenient for some of us, but not convenient for elderly people who don't have a smartphone... To be honest, many jobless people don't have a phone. What can they do?" asked a man surnamed Ng.

A woman who gave her name as Jenny said she had planned to go to the library but was not willing to use the app to go in.

"Since they require me to scan the QR code, I decided not to enter," she said.

A housewife surnamed Chan said she had been turned away from the Lok Fu Post Office because she didn't have a smartphone.

"It's disruptive. I don't understand why they have to do this. I just want to send some mail. It's unfair to those of us who don't have the app."

There is a big market for second-hand phones

It is evident there is a lot of mistrust of the government and why it is so anxious for residents to use the app.

If that wasn't enough, pro-establishment politicians, in a bid to show their patriotism, have suggested the government enforce using the app in other places too. Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun believes diners of B-type restaurants (four to a table and open until 10pm) will be forced to use the app by mid-November. 

And the University of Hong Kong's health expert Dr Ho Pak-leung, expects supermarkets and shopping malls will adopt the Leave Home Safe app as well. Currently the QR code is at the entrances but no one scans it.

If that wasn't enough, pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po's editorial said the government should proactively stop people from buying a spare phone specifically for the Leave Home Safe app as a passive tactic against the authorities.

But that only fueled the market for second-hand or cheap smartphones today. People flocked to second-hand electronic stores in places like Mongkok and Sham Shui Po to snap up phones that cost HK$800 (US$102). Most of the buyers were elderly people, according to salesmen.

Tien suggests using app in type B restaurants

"I installed [the app] for the elderly people if they didn't know how to... Some people really don't know how to use a smartphone, just like the customer I served just now. She has never used a smartphone," a seller surnamed Chan said.

This exact scenario was played out back in February when the government pushed residents to use the Leave Home Safe app. Lots of people rushed out to buy cheap smartphones just to use the app. And now it's happening again as it is becoming mandatory in so many places.

They are all buying a second phone for the same reason -- distrust of the government and a belief that the authorities will use the app to scan people's phones to extract personal data.

It's amusing how far each side will go -- the residents versus the government -- in trying to be one step ahead.

But for sure the government will keep pressing people to scan the app wherever they go, again in a bid to make Beijing happy. Because our fearless leader has one goal -- to open the border -- and she will do whatever it takes to get there.

Alliance Assets Frozen, Govt to Wind Down Next Digital

Cartoons of Szeto Wah (left) and Zhao Ziyang taken by police

Even though the group that used to organize the annual June 4 candlelight vigils had already decided to disband, the national security police has preempted the process by freezing all the assets, including bank accounts, property such as the June 4 museum which totals to about HK$2.2 million (US$282,000).

On Saturday the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China had voted to disband in a majority 41-4 vote. However, today (Wednesday), the alliance's secretary Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong who is handling the group's dissolution, was notified by the National Security department that it had frozen its assets, including the museum in Mongkok.

Tsoi says the alliance's assets have been frozen

In early September the police had already raided the museum, taking away documents, computers, cardboard presentations, and even large cartoon caricatures of the late Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang and the alliance's late co-founder Szeto Wah.

Tsoi said he would submit a letter to the National Security department asking it to unfreeze the bank accounts and museum as the group needed to process winding-up procedures.

The police accusing the alliance of acting as a "foreign agent", an offence under the national security law, and sent letters to 12 members of the group demanding for more information about its member list, financial reports and activities, a request they refused to comply with.

What will happen? Maybe the alliance can look to what is happening to Next Digital.

Lai's company will be wound up by the govt

The parent company that used to publish Apple Daily is in a similar situation: its HK$18 million in assets were frozen, and now the Hong Kong government is looking to wind up Next Digital for jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has filed a petition to the Court of First Instance to liquidate the 40-year old company under powers granted by the Companies Ordinance and a hearing is scheduled for December 15.

"After considering the interim report, the financial secretary took the view that it would be expedient in the public interest that Next Digital be wound up, and therefore decided to present a winding up petition to the court," the government said.

Market regulator the Securities and Futures Commission also believes it is in the public interest to wind up the company based on its information.

Next Digital's assets amount to HK$18 million

A source said no one was left at Next Digital to handle its assets after key management personnel had resigned.

While a former desk editor at Apple Daily said about 1,000 staff members were still owed salaries, she wondered whether the mandatory winding up would allow the authorities to gain access to sensitive staff information, such as emails and minutes of board meetings.

"If this happens, I don't think the government winding up is a good move as claimed," she said.

 

HK's Largest Teachers' Union Votes to Disband

PTU president Fung speaks during the extraordinary meeting

After 47 years, the Professional Teachers' Union voted to disband yesterday because of pressure from the authorities, claiming the professional group was openly involved in political activism, supported the 2019 anti-government protests. Chinese state media described the PTU as a "malignant tumour" that had to be eradicated.

On Saturday the union held an extraordinary general meeting after a previous meeting to change the constitution so that fewer people would be needed to pass the motion to formally disband.

Around 140 members attended, and more than 130 voted in favour of dissolving the union. Previously the union would have needed two-thirds of the 95,000 members to agree.

Members voted overwhelmingly to disband PTU

With the overwhelming majority in favour, the members have authorized the PTU executive committee to initiate liquidation procedures. After paying off debts, and staff salaries, proceeds of the sales of assets would be distributed equally among the members according to the constitution, and the rest donated to charities.

The PTU owns several properties, including two ground-floor shops in Causeway Bay, and five units in a building in Mongkok. It recently struck a deal with two companies to sell two floors with a combined area of 14,000 sq ft in Mongkok for HK$175 million (US$22.5 million).

During the meeting some members voluntarily got up and thanked the union for its work over the decades, others suggested helping staff find other jobs.

PTU president Fung Wai-wah said after the meeting he felt "heavy-hearted" about the union's dissolution.

The union owns this building in Mongkok

"The decision is grudging but necessary. We have to be able to control our emotions and go through with the process of disbandment rationally," he said.

Fung also said tenders for the other properties for sale would be done in a transparent manner and would not "dispose of any assets under a diminished valuation".

In other words these would not be quick sales, as the union is acting in the best interests of its members. But will the authorities allow the PTU's property sales drag on?

Nevertheless, several members said they felt sad about the disbandment, with one secondary school teacher who voted in favour of the motion saying she hoped the move could "protect other frontline teachers and [PTU] staff members".

"I feel heartbroken. It feels as if Hong Kong no longer has any freedom of speech nowadays," she said. "I am not afraid of the national security investigations, as [we] did not do anything wrong."

She may think that way, but the National Security Department will find something... 

Cranky Seniors Want their $5K

Seniors swarmed the voucher scheme office in Mongkok today

It is not a good idea to piss off elderly people in Hong Kong. They get very cranky.

And in this case understandably so.

They tried to apply for the HK$5,000 voucher scheme, and found out their applications failed when they tried to load their Octopus card.

They demanded an easier way to get the money

Today hundreds of them swarmed the spending voucher scheme office in Mongkok demanding answers.

"It's a mess! It's so crowded here and I've been waiting for hours. I almost fainted," said one woman. "Those who fail to get the vouchers are all elderly people. We are not youngsters who know how to use the internet. I deserve to get the money!"

Indeed. But it's the Hong Kong government that's trying to push everyone to go digital... but now there's major backlash from seniors.

One man who was shouting outside the office said poor elderly people were shortchanged by the government.

"Why make it so complicated? Just let us show our identity cards and get the money from the banks!"

If only it were that simple, but the government wants people to spend the HK$5,000, not leave it in their bank accounts. 

Not everyone knows how to apply online

The pro-Beijing DAB said more than 1,000 applicants, may of them elderly people, had sought help from the party. 

It said many people had missed text messages sent by the government telling them their application had been unsuccessful due to things like incorrect information and a lack of relevant documents. Some also missed the deadline for submitting additional documents.

DAB lawmaker Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan held talks with officials and later said the government agreed to extend the deadline for submitting additional documents by two weeks to September 15.

However the crush of hundreds of people today at the Mongkok office was overwhelming, with some seniors waiting an hour in the queue. 

Hong Kong wants people to spend the vouchers

"The arrangement is bad. Elderly people can't stand for too long. We easily feel tired," said an 87-year-old woman surnamed Li. 

Another man in the line said people should be able to redeem the money as long as they can prove their identity, even if they made mistakes on the application form.

"Everyone here is over 70 years old. The top officials should come and have a look!" he said.

Indeed! Would Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu care to come by to see the queue?

The End of Apple Daily, The End of Press Freedom

Wow Apple Daily even has a swimming pool on the rooftop!

 

As I write this, Apple Daily is putting to bed its final edition.

Earlier today it was announced the paper would continue operating until Friday, but this afternoon the board of directors issued a statement saying Apple Daily would cease to operate on Thursday morning and thanked its readers. 

It was later revealed that 1 million copies of the paper would be printed.

Might as well go out with a bang.

Right now there are supporters standing outside the Apple Daily offices in Tseung Kwan O and waving their mobile phones with their lights on and shouting, "Add oil Apple!"

Tomorrow's front page

Staffers inside and on the roof are waving back.

And there are people lining up at a newsstand in Mongkok waiting for the newspaper to arrive an hour from now at 1.30am. 

For people in Hong Kong the end of Apple Daily is the end of press freedom in Hong Kong, the end of free speech and freedom of expression.

An attack on one news outlet is an attack on all media in Hong Kong. The forced closure of Apple Daily will change the media landscape forever.

To the Apple Daily reporters past and present, thank you for your hard work and dedication to get the news out to your readers. It isn't easy to work for an organization like this, particularly in the last two years, which is why you are even more courageous.

Thank you for fighting to the end.

Two Apple Daily Executives Charged, Supporters Buy Paper

Law (left), Cheung (right) charged with national security law

Following the arrest of five Apple Daily executives on Thursday, two were charged with violating the national security law, while the other three were released on bail today.

Chief editor Ryan Law Wai-kwong and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung were charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces, while associate publisher Chan Pui-man, chief financial officer Chow Tat-kuen, and digital director Cheung Chi-wai were released after being detained for 40 hours, pending further investigation.

Chan praised Apple Daily staff for their hard work

Emerging from Tseung Kwan O police station after 10pm, Chan was sad that two of her colleagues were charged, but that she would go to court tomorrow morning to support them.

"Over the past 40 hours when I was detained, I know my colleagues in Apple Daily have been standing fast professionally," she said. "They continue to cover and report the news. I am very proud of them. I am touched. We will do our best."

Around 12.15am last night Apple Daily had a Facebook live video filming vans being filled with stacks of the Friday edition of the paper and they fanned out across the city distributing the paper to news vendors. 

The reporter explained to some 2,000 viewers that the vans would have to do several rounds to send out 500,000 copies of the paper.

A man buys some 20 copies to show his support

Then around 12.30am the first stacks of the paper arrived at a news stand in Mongkok and already there was a line of people waiting to buy the paper. The vendor had to assemble the pages together before selling them. Some people bought one or two, but there were others who bought, 10 or 20 copies each.

A reporter asked why they bought so many, and they said it was to support Apple Daily. When asked if he had some words for the newspaper's staff, a young man said: "You usually 'add oil' when people are not trying hard enough. Everyone at the paper is doing their best, so it would be unethical to 'add oil'."

Another man said he bought the paper to support press freedom. When asked for his surname, he thought for a second and said, "Poon, my name is Poon." 

Sure.

Interestingly government adviser and senior council Ronny Tong Ka-wah clarified that buying a copy of Apple Daily did not violate the national security law. 

Why did he even say that?

"The core issue was [the articles] calling for foreign forces to impose sanctions or take hostile action against Hong Kong and the central government. Any other acts that do not touch on this would not offend the law, such as buying copies of the newspaper," Tong said during a Friday morning radio show.

However, Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, chair of public law of the University of Hong Kong's law department, disagreed, noting police had also frozen HK$18 million (US$2.32 million) in assets of the three affiliated Apple Daily companies.

"If the arrests only [targeted] the senior staff... why did [police] not freeze the assets of the five senior staff members instead?" he said on another radio program.

But everyone is wondering how much longer Apple Daily will continue as there are rumours it could be shut down by July 1...

 

Agnes Chow Released from Prison

Former Demosisto Agnes Chow released from prison today

A bit of good news this morning -- Agnes Chow Ting was released from prison after serving almost seven months for her role in a 15-hours siege of the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21, 2019 during the anti-government protests.

At around 10am the 24-year-old emerged from Tai Lam Centre for Women in Tuen Mun and was mobbed by almost 100 reporters while a small group of supporters shouted, "Chow Ting add oil!" before getting into a white van.

There was a media frenzy of about 100 reporters 

Reporters noted Chow was much thinner than before and she admitted so in her Instagram post a few hours later.

"The pain that lasted for six months and 20 days has come to an end. What comes next is some good rest and recovery for the body. That's because my body has become really weak and slim during this period of time," she said, adding her comment should be read with a bitter smile.

She was originally jailed last December for 10 months for illegal assembly over the siege of the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21, 2019. Her early release was due to her good behaviour. She was initially sent to Lo Wu Correctional Institution, but was later transferred to an isolation cell at the Tai Lam facility.

Chow pleaded guilty to charges of incitement and taking part in an unauthorized assembly. Her colleagues, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, 24, and Ivan Lam Long-yin, 26, were also imprisoned over the gathering. 

Chow, Lam, Wong convicted of illegal assembly

The only one among the trio without a previous criminal record, Chow burst into tears in the dock on learning the community service order her lawyers were seeking had been rejected. She has been in custody since entering her guilty plea on November 23.

However Chow is not completely free -- she was also charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces on the same day Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was arrested for colluding with foreign forces by calling for sanctions.

So far the police have granted Chow bail and not yet charged her, they still have her passport.

Meanwhile this evening part of the city was crawling with police, with the second anniversary of June 12, 2019, when protesters surrounded the Legislative Council in a bid to prevent the second reading of the now withdrawn extradition bill.  

Protesters at Wan Chai police station June 21, 2019

At least 2,000 officers were on the streets, at one point blocking the Cross Harbour Tunnel to check cars heading to Hong Kong island, and and some even entered two shopping malls, one in Mongkok, the other in Causeway Bay.

Anniversaries will not be forgotten but at the same time the police show up in force creating more tension... never ending...

 

Justice Served in Toilet Paper Heist

 

Today there were 24 new coronavirus cases, and tonight there are lockdowns in several buildings near Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun where the latest cluster has evolved to 109 so far. If the gym cluster continues to expand, Hong Kong could be in its fifth wave.

But way back when the pandemic first began last January, there was an unfounded rumour that the border between China and Hong Kong would shut down and what did people really need? Toilet paper!

Then the hoarding began, with people fighting over bog rolls in the supermarket and soon retail establishments had to set a limit of two packs per person.

Toilet paper were stolen from this Wellcome

And then the heist happened -- at 6am on February 17 last year, 600 rolls of Virjoy toilet paper worth HK$1,695 (US$217) were stolen at knife point by three masked men at at Wellcome supermarket in Mongkok.

The delivery driver who was threatened with the knife later called the police, who managed to recover all 600 rolls the same day in two locations near the supermarket. The three men were arrested soon after.

Fast forward to March 11, and the trio were sentenced to 40 months in jail each for robbery. 

Warehouse worker Ho Chi-leung, 27, transport worker Lee Yan-to, 34, and steel bender Lee Yip-tong, 30, pleaded guilty and in mitigation expressed remorse. Ho apologized to the delivery man.

The stolen goods were quickly recovered by police

While their defense lawyers said the robbery was not elaborate and did not involve valuables, and the stolen goods were recovered, Deputy District Judge David Cheung Chi-wai said the stolen goods could not be valued by their nominal price because of the circumstances at the time.

The judge also noted the three worked together and were equipped, which suggested they had a plan, albeit a simple one.

Justice served.

Covid Patient on the Lam

Li was taken back to hospital after he was caught in Mongkok

 

There was a sigh of relief in Hong Kong after a 63-year-old man who is infected with the coronavirus was caught on Sunday evening after he escaped the hospital on Friday.

Li Wan-keung was found near Shanghai Street and Changsha Street in Mongkok late on Sunday evening and taken back to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by officers wearing protective gear.

Li Wan-keung was on the lam for 54 hrs

The man was out on the lam for 54 hours and refused to tell the authorities where he went, which will make contract tracing next to impossible. There are concerns he might have visited some brothels which are near where he was arrested, which makes this already scary story sound seedier.

"We will check security camera footage from shops, dash cameras of vehicles and buildings to find out where he had been during the period he was missing," a source said yesterday.

It is expected Li will be discharged from the hospital on January 18 and then he will be formally arrested. It is illegal for anyone who is in quarantine or isolated in hospital to flee. If convicted, people can face a fine of up to HK$5,000 and two months' imprisonment.

This was not the first time Li tried to flee the hospital. He had tried to leave the day before and it was reported medical staff found him very uncooperative; it took some convincing for him to cooperate with treatments and tests. 

Apparently on Friday the medical staff, dressed in full protective gear claimed Li "moved too quickly" for them to catch him.

Security will be beefed up at all hospitals now

Now the Hospital Authority is looking into beefing up its security following this incident, and Li's ward will have security guards watching the entrance and security will be stepped up in other hospitals.

Li seems to be an anomaly, as most patients just want to get well as quickly as possible so that they can leave the hospital and so they are willing to take whatever medication or treatment necessary.

Hopefully Li will be out of action as it were for the next few weeks, gets better and cooperates with the authorities and healthcare workers. We all need to work together to fight this virus!

Oh did I just parrot a government slogan?!

Police Drop Fine on Tackled Girl

12-year-old girl tackled by police in September in Mong Kok

 

Remember back on the evening of September 7 when a 12-year-old girl was tackled to the ground in Mong Kok when she went out to buy school supplies?

In the footage she looked nervous and ran from the officers, who then chased her and pinned her to the ground while there was a protest happening against the one year postponement of elections for the Legislative Council. 

She nervously flees the police who later tackle her

The girl and her brother were both fined for violating social-distancing rules. 

At the time Police Commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung had claimed the girl acted "suspiciously" as she ran away from officers and that prompted the police to react and use "minimum force" to subdue her.

There was outrage at the police for being so rough with the girl, and now it seems the force may have realized its actions were overboard.

Today the police dropped the fine, though no explanation was given in the notice from the police.

However Civic Party councillor Andy Yu Tak-po said the U-turn showed the police had made a mistake.

Will Tang apologize to the girl about the incident?

He will help the girl and her brother to file a complaint against the police and demand an apology from the police chief.

Good luck getting the apology from Tang, but at least the police finally rescinded the fine that was outrageous. Nevertheless the psychological scars from the incident will probably remain.

Authentic Northern Vietnamese Dishes

Pho bo, featuring diced raw beef, meatballs and rice noodles

 

Today my colleague who is Vietnamese-Australian, took me to a small shop in Yau Ma Tei that serves northern Vietnamese food.

While he was not born in Vietnam, he has traveled there a few times. Here he is tired of the many Vietnamese restaurants that are more Hong Kong-style Vietnamese, and his girlfriend managed to find this place and he was pleasantly surprised. It is run by Vietnamese people.

Deep-fried spring rolls that are wrapped in lettuce

The place, called Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine has many devotees, and my colleague warned we had to get there early to get in line as the shop is quite small. If you don't get seated in the first round, it will be a while to wait for a table.

So we got there just before noon and were the first ones to line up -- a few minutes later there were a some people behind us. 

The woman behind us said she liked eating the broken rice dish, featuring pork with a slice of omelette and rice that are mixed together. It was her second time there.

On Google it says the shop opens at 12.30, but the sign on the door says 12pm to 3.30pm. Luckily we got there early and within a few minutes the server lifted the metal roll top gate and let us in, but not before giving us hand sanitizer and taking our temperatures. He also insisted we keep our masks on until our food arrived. Very strict, but understandable.

The menu is very short for lunch, 19 items. We ordered three items, and I had a passion fruit soda, and my colleague an iced Vietnamese coffee.

bun cha Hanoi, a sour soup with grilled pork

The deep-fried spring rolls (HK$65) arrived first, three of the rolls accompanied with strips of Romaine lettuce, basil and mint, and fish sauce. The spring rolls were piping hot and a delicious start, filled with pork, carrot and vermicelli. 

Next came bun cha Hanoi (HK$76), where there was a soup bowl with what looked like a soup, with strips of grilled pork, and thinly sliced carrot and turnip in a broth that was sour and savoury. Also with the dish was a bamboo basket of balls of rice vermicelli and herbs.

My colleague instructed me to put a ball of the cold vermicelli in my bowl and then spoon some of the broth along with some pork on top of it. This was delicious and meaty. I liked the sour taste and interesting together with the thin slices of grilled pork. I had never eaten anything like this before.

Finally our bowl of pho bo (HK$79) came, and it's a large bowl! In it is the wide rice noodles, along with beef meatballs that were halved, and bits of raw beef. We mixed the beef into the steaming hot broth that had lots of scallions and herbs in it. A side dish had a wedge of lime and fresh chillis.

The bun cha has cold rice vermicelli in bunches

A guest next to us had ordered the same thing and asked the waiter why there were no beansprouts. He explained this was northern Vietnamese style. There were no slices of onions either.

The bits of beef were very tender, not chewy or sinewy. Amazing. It was definitely a comforting bowl of noodles, but I don't think I could have eaten it all on my own!

As we ate, some tables turned twice. Another guest next to us ordered takeaway. The server asked why so many, and she sheepishly said it was for her children. "Oh are they still asleep?" he asked. She was surprised he was so smart. "They are all night owls," she said. Luckily to have a mom bring delicious food for them.

When we left the bill came to HK$302 and well sated. 

Hope to visit again, maybe for dinner? But good to know this legit place exists if I get there early enough...

Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine

G/F, 99 Portland Street, Mongkok (Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit A1)

6884 8898

Worries of Surge in Post-Halloween Cases

People were partying in various "masks" for Halloween...

On Halloween night there were lots of people out on the streets, particularly in Lan Kwai Fong, and Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee was worried looking at the footage that the large groups of people may lead to a spike in coronavirus infections.

But it was the government that eased restrictions just in time for Halloween... we may find out if there really is a surge in positive cases in the next two weeks.

A positive case was in Mongkok Police station

However there are other local infections to worry about, including a  26-year-old man who works for Cable TV and stayed in a holiday hotel in Mui Wo on Lantau with friends, and a 42-year-old mainland woman who was allegedly a prostitute arrested in a vice operation and the origins of her infection are unknown.

She came into contact with at least 23 officers as she was arrested in a hotel in Mongkok, then transferred to Mongkok Police Station for three days before she was moved to Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre, then finally Ma Tau Kok Detention Centre.

It's interesting that anyone arrested these days is not tested for Covid-19 right away. So far four officers are in quarantine, and the police station was disinfected. While she was in detention, she shared a cell with six others; luckily they have all tested negative.

Another case stayed at this hotel in Mui Wo

Meanwhile the man shared a hotpot meal with 10 people at a friend's home, seven of them also worked at Cable TV. A woman who stayed with him in the holiday hotel in Silvermine Bay also tested positive along with a 15-year-old related to her.

While the number of daily local infections is less than five, it is apparently not low enough for the mainland to be confident enough to open the border with Hong Kong. 

A commentary in People's Daily on Saturday used Macau as an example, and said the borders were reopened after the casino hub had the virus under control.

"The top priority for Hong Kong is to effectively control the epidemic, strictly prevent cases from rebounding, and stamp out local infections," the commentary said.

It said the central government had supported Hong Kong by sending a team of medical staff to help with the city's mass testing program in September.

As I blogged earlier, China doesn't even count its positive cases according to everyone else's definition; it only counts positive cases as ones with symptoms and not the asymptomatic ones according to the WHO standard. 

Restaurants like Caprice are easier to book now

But that's fine if the mainland doesn't want to reopen the border with us.

Many Hongkongers are very happy to get reservations at Michelin-starred restaurants more easily and malls are much less crowded, along with public transportation.

That's the one upside of living in a pandemic...

 

Justice for the Crimes Committed?

The street scene in Mongkok on December 16 last year

Today a woman was sentenced to 80 hours of community service after she was convicted of throwing a water bottle at a police car during last year's anti-government protests.

Michelle Lai Hoi-ching, 27, had pleaded guilty to one count of attempted criminal damage even though the police vehicle was not damaged.

Police has not been made accountable for actions

Her defense lawyer told West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday that a probation report on Lai was favourable and that the probation officer had recommended 80 hours of community service as an appropriate sentence.

The report also said Lai was seeking psychiatric help, and has learned to control her anger and impulses. She also felt sincere regret for her actions.

The incident happened at 1am on December 16 last year in Mongkok, when police had used tear gas on protesters in the area.

Lai was at the scene and as she was leaving she threw her water bottle at the police car that even though sustained no damage, officers arrested her anyway.

The police have inflicted a lot more pain and physically injured protesters last year -- did they get prosecuted for roughly handling them? And firing thousands of canisters of tear gas at people, protesters and those who happened to be in the area, that can cause serious respiratory illnesses? 

Numerous incidents of police brutality last year

Because the five-member panel from overseas was never able to properly investigate the officers because of limited powers, the so-called Independent Police Complaints Council instead issued a report that did not criticize the police at all, saying the use of force was only responding to violence during the protests.

When compared against that, it seems trivial for Lai to even be arrested and then sentenced for what she did.

But this is the new normal for Hong Kong, where everything can be criminalized...

One piece of good news is one of the senior protesters known as "Grandma Wong" has safely returned to Hong Kong. 

The 63-year-old Alexandra Wong was frequently spotted at anti-government protests waving a large flag with a Union Jack. However, she was last seen August 11 when she was surrounded by police in front of Tai Koo MTR station. 

Alexandra Wong taken away August 14, 2019

She later told the media that she was detained in Shenzhen last year where she lives and was awaiting trial.

Wong said she was detained August 14 at a detention centre in Futian for "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", a common charge against dissidents on the mainland. 

In any event she released a short video sent to lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick. While clutching a duck painted with the Union Jack on it, Wong said she was back safely, but lamented that Hong Kong had changed already.

That's for sure.