Picture of the Day: Crystal Jade Encourages Mask-Wearing

The mask holder at Crystal Jade shows a dumpling with mask

Tropical storm Rai threatened to bring in heavy rains today, but they never materialised and instead brought clear blue skies that haven't been seen for a few days.

However, yesterday was a washout in terms of trying to get some exercise done.

My friend and I had hoped to do some walking after work, but by the time we started, the rain drops increased and we quickly gave up and took the bus to Central where we walked around each floor of IFC mall twice. 

Then I tempted my friend with the suggestion of eating dinner at Crystal Jade which is in the mall.

We waited for about 15 minutes before getting a table, not bad considering it is the dinner rush.

As soon as we sat down I spied the mask holder -- actually a sheet of paper folded in half. 

On it was this cute cartoon drawing of a dumpling man?! Mr Dumpling wearing a mask!

"Together we fight Covid-19" it says. 

Love it!

While there are zero Covid-19 cases in the city for the past 74 days, there are 28 imported Omicron cases.

Who knows when this pandemic will end or if it will ever end...

But in the meantime, wear your mask! Mr Dumpling will thank you!

Scaffolding Collapse from Typhoon Kills One

Thirty floors of bamboo scaffolding collapsed in Happy Valley

Around dinner time last night the rain started to fall and it continued to rain all day today as Tropical Storm Lionrock approached the city. The Hong Kong Observatory put up the T3 signal and in the morning the heavy rains resulted in a black rainstorm warning around 11.45am, which means people should shelter indoors as quickly as possible.

But that came too late for one 55-year-old woman who was working on the renovations of a high rise building in Happy Valley, as 30 floors worth of bamboo scaffolding collapsed from the heavy rain and strong winds. She and another female construction worker were taken to hospital, but the former died on arrival. 

Rescuers found two women, but one died later

Another male worker was rescued safely from the scaffolding wreckage while two drivers managed to get out before firefighters arrived.

Assistant divisional officer Wong Ka-ho of the Fire Services Department said 18 fire engines and eight ambulances were sent to the scene after receiving a report at 10.16am.

He said firefighters spent an hour and 20 minutes trying to rescue the woman, who was unconscious when they finally reached her.

Wong said the sheer number of bamboo poles and the amount of debris "hampered our efforts to find and rescue her and the passage to reach her was narrow", adding the operation was compounded by the bad weather, with firefighters under threat from further collapse of scaffolding.

One homeowner said the black rainstorm warning should have been issued earlier to suspend building work before people were on-site.

There will be more heavy rain this weekend

"The company concerned should have really cancelled the work day for its staff under these conditions," he said.

Some residents said the scaffolding had been in place for a year to renovate the facades, lobbies and recreational facilities.  

On Twitter there were lots of video clips of flooded streets, a bus driver plowing through flooded roads resulting in dirty water coming into the bus, and water dripping from the ceiling of an MTR carriage.

It's midnight now but Lionrock is expected to be closest to Hong Kong in the morning which means more heavy rains this weekend.

There's another typhoon coming on Wednesday...

Apple Daily Thanks its Readers

People lined up in the rainy weather to buy copies of the paper

 

After a late night absorbing the news that Apple Daily was closing for good, I could only sleep a few hours and woke up at 5.30am.

So I got up and went downstairs and across the street to buy the last edition of Apple Daily. The convenience store had a massive stack by the entrance. I grabbed several, paid for them and went back home. 

As expected there were highlights of stories they had done over the years, and a nice editorial summing up Apple Daily's 26 years' of existence.

The paper highlights its top stories in its 26 years

From June 20, 1995, "Our first editorial made our stance clear: 'What we need to be is a newspaper for Hongkongers.'"

One of its first editors was Tang Kwong-kit, who set up a breaking news team of 100 bikers trained in photography and journalism and zipped around town to cover the latest car accident or fire.

"People look down on social news. They think we are stirring up trouble by reporting on a chopped finger or a duck run over by a car. But the smallest incidents reflect a wider picture of society and its development," Tang said. "I am really proud of being a journalist."

The editorial ends by saying:

Apple Daily is not perfect, but what will a Hong Kong that cannot permit Apple Daily's existence look like? It is hard to be hopeful or optimistic as we look at the seemingly insurmountable mountain before us, but please trust that darkness comes before dawn. Being able to walk with you for 26 years has been priceless. Although our steps have faltered, in fighting this good fight, there is beauty still -- even in its cessation. We thank every reader of Apple Daily; this last chapter was written in conjunction with all of you. From this vantage point, we can perhaps say we have no regrets. Let's keep fighting -- together.

Before people went to work this morning they went to newsstands to pick up a copy of the paper. Some lined up for hours around the block, or became worried when all the copies were sold out. 

I came to work with those extra copies and gave them to colleagues who desperately wanted it and couldn't find it. It was my good deed of the day.

@surrealhk's image of apples all over Tamar...

Associate publisher Chan Pui-man wrote a farewell letter in the last edition of the paper.

"When an apple is buried beneath the soil, its seed will become a tree filled with bigger and more beautiful apples."

Was this what she had in mind?

 

Raining Down our Walk

Kowloon side (left) was raining, while HK Island was sunny

I have been doing weekly walks with a colleague and we decided to head off late this morning. However, about 15 minutes after I started walking eastwards, I could see dark clouds ahead and didn't have an umbrella with me.

Undaunted, I kept going and we met halfway at Tamar in Admiralty before continuing to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and then turned around and made our way back towards Kennedy Town.

However when we were at Admiralty, we could see dark clouds hovering over the Peak and felt it was going to rain soon. We jogged (with masks on) to the Central ferry piers and made it just in time under the covered walkway before the wet onslaught began.

 

We retreated to nearby Jardine House, where in the basement there is a glorified food court and had an early lunch of laksa and chicken lemak washed down with fresh coconut.

But afterwards it was still raining and we grabbed a drink at Starbucks. I suggested we continue by power walking in the mall, and thanks to the developer Hong Kong Land, we were able to make it to the IFC mall by a covered walkway completely dry and then did loops around practically every floor of the shopping mall.

We even walked the covered walkway to Shun Tak in Sheung Wan, but when we got there, it was pouring again and we retreated back to IFC mall. 

Eventually we went back to Sheung Wan again and as it was still raining we abandoned our walk and took the MTR home.

But by the time I emerged from the Kennedy Town station, the rain had stopped for the rest of the day!

Wonder what tomorrow's weather will be like...!

The Bizarre Case of Stolen Saliva Samples

The outpatient clinic where the elderly man took the box of saliva samples

On Thursday a box of saliva samples disappeared from a general outpatient clinic in Tseung Kwan O in the early afternoon.

It strangely turns out an 82-year-old man took the box to use as a shield as it was raining heavily at the time.

The box contained these bags

The box, which contained of saliva samples people had left there to be tested, was reported missing around 1pm.

After reviewing the security camera footage, it was found that an elderly man had taken the box to protect himself from the rain.

He told the clinic where he left the box, and the police managed to retrieve it within 15 minutes at 7.45pm that evening.

The man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft.

Why would he use a box filled with saliva samples as an umbrella over his head??? Did he know what was in the box? Or did he think no one would notice?

I have seen this collection box before in an outpatient clinic, and it was placed on the floor by the door. But still... why would you use this box? It is clearly marked that it is holding saliva samples that even says "biohazard" in English and Chinese on the plastic bags!

Now the clinic is contacting those who had placed their samples in the box to re-do the test again...

As for stepped up security, will they hire someone to watch a cardboard box? But maybe the clinic could provide extra umbrellas for people to "borrow" next time there's heavy rain...

Starting the New Year in the Forest

A nice way to start 2020 with a walk through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

Last night New Year's Eve was a complete washout non-stop heavy rain forced several local mountains to cancel special events planned.
 However, by around 10pm the rain had stopped, though we were expecting more rain this morning for the start of 2020.

But the weather cooperated and we woke up to fantastic blue skies and warm weather -- up to 11 degrees, perfect for a walk outside.

In the late morning we headed out to Pacific Spirit Regional Park and enjoyed the fresh air, and immersed ourselves in the forest. The latest trend is "forest bathing", to be in nature and appreciate the beauty, inhale the clean oxygen and relax.

The new trend is to call this "forest bathing"

There were lots of puddles though from the heavy rain, which my younger nephew particularly enjoyed, walking through them in his yellow boots.  

We went walking for about an hour, encountering many others on their regular walks with their dogs and children, wishing each other a Happy New Year. What a nice way to start 2020 in Vancouver -- no rain!

Picture of the Day: Rain Residue

Puddles from the rain create beautiful reflections of the city

The weather in Hong Kong has been so erratic that you never know if it's going to pour or just have light showers.

That said the temperatures aren't as hot and humid.

Last night I finished dinner with a friend early and went for a walk in the neighbourhood. I was worried the rain would come down so I carried an umbrella with me. Turns out I didn't need it at all thankfully, but... you never know.

The weather for the next few days? More showers and thunderstorms... have the umbrella handy!

Breakfast at The Pen

Scrambled eggs in between thick slices of bread for breakfast at The Peninsula

Ah breakfast. The essential meal to start of the day.

What better place to indulge in breakfast than the Lobby of the Peninsula Hong Kong.

A relative was staying at the Sheraton and I suggested we meet across the street at the iconic hotel with 90 years of history.

The breakfast menu has a lot of choice, but can be expensive, with a full breakfast costing over HK$300! You could also have congee with pork spare ribs and preserved vegetables, granola, instant noodles with meats -- a kind of glorified cha chaan teng dish.

French toast using brioche bread was on the menu -- I should try that next time!

In the end I settled for New Zealand scrambled eggs sandwich. It arrived, with the crusts cut -- please don't! -- and very yellow eggs in between the white bread that had butter slathered on them.

The egg sandwich also came with three slices of cucumber and two of tomato...

This was definitely an indulging egg sandwich -- how many eggs were used to make it?! Nevertheless the bread was soft and buttery, the eggs quite fluffy too. Needless to say with a cup of latte it was a nice breakfast to catch up and enjoy the moment.

However, when we walked outside, it was pouring rain! Luckily I had a small umbrella and escorted my relative across the street to her hotel and then went on my way.

Hong Kong's Last Stand

Thousands of people are gathered at Tamar in Admiralty, a repeat of 2014

There are dramatic scenes unfolding at the government headquarters at Tamar in Admiralty as we speak as thousands of protesters have gathered there and are clashing with police, who have retaliated with tear gas.

Some protesters have dug up bricks from sidewalks to literally build a wall for protection, others stole metal barricades to stop police from advancing. Many of them are wearing face masks, goggles, and protective gear as well as umbrellas to shelter from the rain but also the tear gas.

This feels like a repeat of 2014, and it's a sad state of affairs to see history repeating itself.

While the one good thing is that the debate on the extradition bill has been delayed until further notice, the police are having a difficult time breaking up the protesters and telling them to go home.

They won't listen because this is the last stand.

Hongkongers have not been given a say at all about the extradition bill and the government has made a serious miscalculation in trying to force the bill through instead of the proper due process.

A friend from New York emailed me, asking if there was any hope, and I replied there isn't, which is why Hongkongers are out on the streets, fighting to the bitter end.

Picture of the Day: Blue Skies

A cool (and blue sky) Monday afternoon from Admiralty looking at Kowloon

Last week was a wet and depressing one weather-wise... I was armed with an umbrella everyday, just in case the rain comes down and for the most part it did.

This morning I woke up to see the sky completely gray and showers coming down. Oh great. Another wet start to the week.

However, by noon the rain had cleared and during lunchtime the sun peeked out through the clouds.

This was the view from the 56th floor of the Island Shangri-La's Petrus Restaurant.

Here's hoping tomorrow night the rain will hold off for us to gather in Victoria Park...

Picture of the Day: Lots of Rain

The view outside my window this morning at 8.19am...

These last few days have been... very wet, and there isn't much sign it will let up anytime soon.

This morning the weather looked overcast, and then soon the dark clouds started rolling in when I took this picture.

It looked so ominous!

And then the rain started to fall.

The good thing is that I was able to wear my boots to work.

The bad thing? It was dry by mid afternoon and I had to lug my boots home this evening.

It looks like we're in for heavy showers again tomorrow and the next day, and the next day, and well into next week...

Keep those umbrellas by your sides... you're going to need them!

A Dark and Rainy Day

This mid-afternoon became very dark and very wet

This spring in Hong Kong weather-wise has been very strange. We've had a prolonged spring which started off great, but now as summer is approaching, the weather has become more humid and unstable.

The aftermath of flooding in Tai Hang

Today was particularly dramatic. As I headed to Central for a haircut it was very humid and afterwards I made it to the gym just as raindrops were starting to fall.

It got so bad that around 2.40pm the sky turned black, turning day into night with lots of thunder and lightning. The Hong Kong Observatory raised the Amber rainstorm warning, that quickly turned to Red.

Many people were holed up at the gym and the food counter there made a killing today with people snapping up sandwiches and drinks to wait for the rain to subside.

Restaurants and hotels around town must have had good sales too, as the storm hit just as the lunch hour was ending with people lingering and ordering more, though staff must have missed having a decent break.

By the time I left Central at around 3pm the rain wasn't too bad but there were lots of big puddles. A friend in Tai Hang showed me a picture of massive flooding there and that earlier it was a severe windstorm where he was, claiming it was like being in a typhoon.

The skies cleared up for the rest of the afternoon and evening

Later in the afternoon the weather actually cleared up and people starting emerging and rushing out to do shopping or other errands, though the supermarket and wet market near my home weren't too busy.

Wonder what tomorrow brings...!

Fact of the Day: August had Lots of Rain

Yesterday morning's rainstorm over Victoria Harbour

Dear weather gods, we've had enough of the rain, thank you very much.

We've had so much rain in fact, in August there were 11 amber rainstorm warnings and above, making the highest total since June 2001, when there were 12 such warnings.

Hmmmm I was in Hong Kong at the time... how come I don't remember this?!

We really haven't had a scorching hot day since August 9. After that it was downhill in terms of temperatures and rain. All 607.9mm of precipitation, which makes up 38 percent of the total rainfall for eight months.

So how about a little less rain for September?

With Rain Comes Umbrellas and Plastic

The view of Victoria Harbour this morning from Kennedy Town

In the last few weeks we have had cloudy skies and intermittent rain storms throughout the day so you never know when you'll need an umbrella. The other day we even had a red rainstorm warning, but the heavy rains were in the New Territories and not on Hong Kong island or Kowloon.

Nevertheless, the reality is that with rain comes plastic in the form of umbrella covers so that there is less water on the floor, less mess to mop, and less chance of people slipping.

But it does create a lot of one-use plastic.

Make your umbrella less wet with this

A local environmental group called Greens Action shamed the Hong Kong government for encouraging people to use the plastic umbrella covers at 60 of its 83 buildings managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

"We are very disappointed that while the government has been encouraging citizens to adopt a greener lifestyle, some departments have failed to follow their own environmentally friendly policies," Greeners Action's Yip Chui-man said.

We have to agree. Even the MTR, which services millions of commuters everyday, doesn't give out plastic covers for umbrellas when it rains, but employs the use of industrial fans to blow dry the floor.

I recently wandered into Pacific Place in Admiralty and they had an interesting contraption to get rid of most of the water off umbrellas.

I haven't actually tried it, but basically you stick the umbrella in the slot and move it up and down to wipe off as much water as possible. The only downside is that you can't stick folded umbrellas in the contraption.

Nevertheless it's a start. The less plastic we use the better -- even if it means having wet floors.

Picture of the Day: Rain

The view of Victoria Harbour for most of the day -- rain!

Today was particularly wet for most of the day -- the remnants of Typhoon Maria (that already landed in Fujian province in southeast China) are affecting us in Hong Kong.

Many people on social media took pictures of themselves, remorseful they forgot to bring an umbrella with them. Throughout the day it was torrential rains for several minutes and then it would stop for a while, then the heavy rains were back at it again.

I ventured out in the morning and just when I made it to the wet market, there was a downpour and it dried up by the time I got home.

Again in the early evening I caught a bus from Central to have dinner with my relatives in Kowloon. When the bus got to Wan Chai, there was heavy rain again and luckily I had an umbrella with me.

But this time the rain would not stop when I arrived at my stop in Tokwawan. To pass the time I popped into a grocery store to pick up a few things and when it wasn't so heavy, I made it to my relatives' home not too soaked.

The rains remind me of Singapore where it will pour for five to 10 minutes and then stop and even the sun makes an appearance.

Does this mean Hong Kong's weather is turning into something similar to the Lion City's?

It's definitely affected by global warming. I don't remember the weather being as crazy as this...

Picture of the Day: XX Shades of Grey

It's not a black and white picture -- it just turned out that way!

This morning I woke up and saw this picture outside.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a thunderstorm warning with a few intermittent showers. Luckily by the time I left for work it wasn't raining because by lunchtime it was pouring down. Later there was an amber rainstorm warning that wasn't cancelled until 6.15pm.

What's neat about this picture is that I didn't use a black and white filter -- it was just several shades ranging from white to black.

The next few days will continue to have showers and thunderstorms.... and it's only the beginning of summer.

Number of the Day: 14 Million Umbrella Bags

When it rains, umbrella bags are quickly distributed and end up in the trash

All this rain in Hong Kong this summer has led to green groups to estimate how many of those plastic umbrella sleeves are distributed everyday, and they have come up with the number of 14 million from June to September.

According to Greeners Action, around 90 percent of the 53 shopping malls, commercial buildings, and government facilities around town distributed the plastic covers during the rain because they wanted to keep the floors dry and prevent people from slipping.

The environmental group calculated on average 288 of these long narrow plastic bags were given out every 45 minutes. Around 7 percent of the venues had staff specifically handing out the bags even if tenants or shoppers didn't want them.

"People use these bags only when they enter the property and discard them when they leave. Time of use is short but the waste they generate is serious," says Greeners Action assistant project manager Yip Chui-man.

"Whether it's the property [management] or the public, both sides need to take a further step and reduce the use of these bags."

Yip said the buildings could either have umbrella racks, floor mats, or recycling bins available, or even use a different floor material to prevent slipping.

The last point is definitely true. Landlords like to have shiny floors, but they are the hardest to maintain. A lot of manpower is used to clean them, especially marble floors and polish them. Why not be practical and safe by using alternative floor materials?

When it comes to these umbrella covers, there is pretty much no choice but to use them especially when building staff are standing by and expecting you to use them. In this case I use them and keep the bag until I get home... but then what? It still ends up in the trash.

There has to be another way to deal with this situation -- to balance out the need to keep floors relatively dry and concerns about the environment...

Enough Rain Already!

July's rainfall beats records from 30 years ago -- blame it on global warming?

July isn't over yet but Hong Kong has seen record rainfall. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded more than 500mm of rain in the first three weeks of this month, more than the average 376mm for the past 30 years.

The rainfall for July also exceeds the averages for June at 476mm and 432mm for August.

Johnny Chan Chung-leung, chair professor of atmospheric science at City University says global warming will result in more water vapour in the atmosphere, and so the frequency of heavy rain will only get higher.

Last Monday evening when I was caught in the red rainstorm warning, the observatory recorded 184.6mm of rain, the third-highest amount recorded in one day in July over the past 20 years.

We might have a respite from the rain this week -- overall sunny with a few showers for the next few days.

All I can say is -- thank goodness I finally invested in rubber boots!

28 Years On

Some 110,000 people turned out tonight in Victoria Park

A few days ago the weather forecast for Sunday didn't look good for the 28th candlelight vigil for June 4 -- the Hong Kong Observatory said there would be heavy rain.

While it was very humid over the weekend, it didn't pour -- in fact today the clouds cleared and we saw bits of blue skies.

Thank goodness the weather cooperated, but that didn't persuade thousands of other people to show up to Victoria Park this evening.

The crowd looked promising before the event started

Organizers say 110,000 people attended, making it the lowest turnout since 2008, and it is the second year in a row that the Hong Kong Federation of Students did not participate.

Nevertheless we are glad we came to show Beijing and the world we still remember, 28 years on.

At 7pm a few of us gathered to head to Victoria Park and there were already a number of people heading in the same direction, which looked promising.

The usual political groups were out in force along the road towards Victoria Park, loudly soliciting donations. Leung Kwok-hung or "Long Hair" was the loudest, demanding people donate to the collection boxes on the right. He said "donate" and "on the right" so fast and loud he sounded like a slot machine that hit the jackpot.

Everyone was out in force, including Lee Cheuk-yan, who isn't a lawmaker anymore, as well as Emily Lau Wai-hing. Guess you need to trot out the old guard for the mostly older demographic at the candlelight vigil.

The Goddess of Democracy is a big draw

However, organizers tried very hard to make it look like they were still relevant to young people, or that students still cared about what happened before they were born.

They practically hosted the event, leading everyone in singing (the same) songs, shouting slogans and even talking to high school students on stage about why it was important to know about June 4.

But perhaps most compelling was Lam Yiu-keung, who witnessed the massacre on June 4. He was there to support the students when things got very ugly. He remembers trying to carry someone, but when they tried to prop him up, blood was gushing out of him like a river. It took six or seven people to carry this person.

Then four or five of the Chinese students surrounded him as if to protect him and said that as a Hong Kong person, he had to go back and tell everyone what had happened.

Meanwhile one of the Tiananemen Mothers Ge Guirong, 83, said she spent the last 28 years living in guilt for not stopping her son, Du Guanxue from leaving home that night, and questioned why the government would not admit wrong and bear the responsibility of its actions. She also thanked Hong Kong people for remembering what happened.

This year was marked with the curious trip of a bottle of liquor that has a label that commemorates June 4 and was taken out of China and traveled to several countries before arriving in Hong Kong.

Remembering the Tiananmen Mothers and their cause

Apparently a sympathetic official was able to take the bottle out of the country without detection and then passed it to democracy activists in Europe and the liquor was then carried to a few places before its final destination here.

While we didn't see the actual bottle on stage, the people who made the liquor were arrested last May, and their family members gave verbal testimonies that we heard.

It's sad that this was the lowest turnout in nine years, and silly of the students not to realize there is strength in numbers, particularly for this vigil. It is the same thing every year, that's true, but it's just one day to remember the possibly thousands of people -- not just students, but ordinary people of all ages -- who died senselessly. Why can't we all stop for a few hours to pay tribute to them?

Pictures of the Day: Black Rain

Water rushing down two gulleys and flows to the ground

Today the weather did not look good. There were thunderstorms, lightning, and then amber rainstorm warning, followed by red and the black!

I called my contact if we were still having lunch at 12.30pm. He said, "It's inside!" But I was thinking that we still had to get there.

Dressing for the rain calls for wearing clothes that will look fine even in a downpour. That means cotton is out of the question, but polyester is definitely in. And wearing old shoes you don't mind getting wet.

Water spewing out of these holes in the wall!

But every time it gets this wet I think I should invest in rubber boots, but then the practical side of me thinks what's the point of wearing these boots three times a year?

In any event I ventured out into the rain and went to the MTR station. Right at the entrance there were two holes with water pouring out of them!

And at the other part of the entrance there was a slope with a concrete passage for water to flow down and it was coming down at a really fast pace. Turns out later in the day it was so bad that the water started flowing down onto the floor of the entrance to the MTR, creating a flood!

In the end I made it to the appointment but very wet, and after the lunch rushed to my next appointment. Luckily I managed to catch a bus that took me quickly to my destination, and after that appointment, the rain stopped for the rest of the day.

Now the sky is so clear I can see the Kowloon side very clearly. Or is it because my windows got a good wash?!