Another Record Number of Cases

Large numbers of people being tested in Yuen Long today

Things are not looking good in Hong Kong at the moment with another record 342 infections reported today, yesterday having 351 cases.

Most concerning are 320 untraceable cases (so far), 80 percent of which involve the Omicron variant, said Director of Health Dr Ronald Lam Man-kin at today's press briefing, and warns of a potential super-spreader event.

"We could not track how many generations of transmission were spread," he said. "We could not make an accurate estimation on when the peak would arrive but we are certain that the number has not peaked yet."

Lam is concerned about 320 untraceable cases

Lam said because the Omicron variant is very contagious, 320 untraceable cases meant at least 320 other people had been infected as well...

Health authorities observed that "a lot" of the latest patients had been to Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island and Che Kung Temple on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first two days of the Lunar New Year. Some infected people had also been to Yuen Long Plaza, where 13 employees were among the confirmed cases.

Sogo department store in Causeway Bay also shut on Saturday and Sunday after two employees there tested positive. 

Lam has advised people to avoid shopping malls and for organisers to hold off having events for the time being.

Some banks have temporarily closed some branches, and retailers Ikea and Citistore have shut some outlets for disinfection after preliminary positive cases were found there. 

Sogo in Causeway Bay closed over the weekend

Meanwhile patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport have complained about not being allowed to leave despite being given their discharge notice and having to wait two or three days more.

There are also horror stories of the toilets not being clean with the rubbish bins overflowing with tissues. Also just as bad is no hand soap for three days for people to wash their hands after going to the washroom. 

The government is completely overwhelmed with the logistics of running a health treatment centre, barely keeping the place hygienic which is crucial when a virus can spread so easily.

Is the problem understaffing or underpaying? This is work that should not be undervalued. And we all know the government has money to pay...

Massive Peaceful Protest

An aerial fish-eye shot of what 1.7 million people look like in Causeway Bay

Into 11 weeks of protests, Hongkongers have not given up... yet.

Organizers say 1.7 million people came out this afternoon to gather for a peaceful demonstration, not only asking for their five demands to be met, including withdrawing the extradition bill, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to resign, and an independent inquiry into police brutality.

Around 3pm the rain came down in buckets

To get an idea of how many people were there, I met my friends outside Tin Hau MTR, but it took me 15 minutes just to get out of the station! There was a massive traffic jam of people from the platform to the escalators that were deliberately turned off so people had to climb up them to get to the exit.

We waited until around 3pm for one more friend but couldn't wait any longer because there were so many people trying to get into Victoria Park (or near impossible at this point). I saw other protesters marching down King's Road so we followed them.

Not long afterwards it started to pour -- like torrential downpour! We immediately put up our umbrellas and could feel the rain quickly seeping into our socks and shoes, while rain from umbrellas dripped onto our backs and arms... I didn't come prepared for that, but luckily wore a quick-dry T-shirt. It was windy too! Who knew it would be hot and then suddenly cool?

The sign says: Hongkongers' spirit will not die!

It pretty much rained for the rest of the day. We literally inched our way towards Sogo again (walk two to three steps then wait several minutes), and then realized that other people were trying to cross horizonally from us to get into Victoria Park. We had to push our way through that massive intersection before we could eventually start walking at a decent pace.

Along the way I saw a couple with their baby, elderly couples, and even people in wheelchairs. The crowd kept going with chants of "Hongkongers add oil!" and "Down with black cops!" Perhaps they had given up on trying to get Carrie Lam to step down...

In the eastbound lane were scores of people in black waiting to get into Victoria Park! Either they had arrived late, or had already done one round walking to Central already and came back to march another round. That's stamina... All those people waited patiently to get to Causeway Bay. The line went as far back as Wan Chai.

Want to check out the fire sale at HMV?

A few shops were open too, like Maxim's Cakes in case someone wanted an afternoon tea break, or how about something more substantial at Michelin-starred Kam's Roast Goose? There was also the bankruptcy sale of HMV going on in an upstairs building.

I forgot to turn on my timer so it took us about 3.5 hours to walk over 4km from Tin Hau to Chater Garden in Central at 6.40pm.

When I got home I was relieved to see on Twitter there weren't any serious incidents happening -- everyone pretty much agreed to be as peaceful as possible to show everyone good will.

The government seems... somewhat pleased.

Walking along Queensway with Pacific Place on the left

In a press release issued at 11pm tonight, it said: "The Government will begin a sincere dialogue with the public, mend social rifts and rebuild social harmony when everything has calmed down."

What does that mean? Lam makes us sound like children again... nevertheless everyone should be pleased no tear gas was fired at all this weekend.

And yes I had to wring out my socks!

Late NIght Shopping

There's a lot of people out shopping in Causeway Bay for Christmas

This evening after work I headed out to do some Christmas shopping in Causeway Bay.

I prefer shopping in the evenings because in general there are fewer people in the stores, though with Christmas less than two weeks away there were quite a lot of people with the same idea.

When I headed to Sogo department store there were fewer and fewer people the higher up the floors I went, which was a good thing. In the kids' section there were discounts, but for shops like Ferrari, Kenzo, Gucci and Paul Smith -- since when did he do kids' clothes, the prices were over HK$1,000.

Cute Paul Smith clothes for kids that I want to wear!

And Gucci even had those loafers lined with fake fur... really? At that age?

I went to one boutique for adult sportswear and was interested in buying some items when I looked at the time and it was 10.10pm.

I apologized to the saleswoman for keeping her late.

"Oh don't worry about it. We're open until 11.30pm today," she replied, explaining if Sogo wants to be open until 11.30pm, all the shops inside must stay open too.

I was shocked. "Who actually buys things at 11.30pm?" I asked incredulously.

Check out these Gucci loafers with fake fur

She replied she didn't know, but perhaps she wanted to prevent herself from complaining.

However, she did let it slip that from December 22-24 they would be open until midnight.

"Midnight!" I gasped. "Are there really people buying at that time?"

Again she and her colleague held back from giving their opinion on the matter. They had a job to do, and it was for however long they were expected to work.

So when you go shopping this holiday season, think of all the sales people who have to stand around until the wee hours to serve you. They deserve a break too.

Where's the Hope?

Many young people are stuck in retail jobs, like the ones in Sogo

Last night I had dinner with some friends and talked about a perennial hot button issue -- housing prices.

One has been keeping track of her home evaluation and while she's pleased to see the price of her flat increasing quickly, at the same time she is dismayed that buying a home is even more impossible for young people in Hong Kong.

Most customers are mainlanders, but are we catering to them?

I had that in mind after dinner I went to the Sogo department store to see what I could buy for myself for Chinese New Year. The place wasn't very busy, with shoppers split between mainlanders and locals, the majority the former.

At one shop space selling sneakers, I was mortified to hear the young female shop assistant's Mandarin was atrocious. It was more Cantonese than Mandarin. Another shoe shop was the same. Another spoke in a tone that was laced with condescension.

Were they high school dropouts? Or they were unable to get into university? It was hard for me to tell, but on the whole most shop assistants' Mandarin skills were not good. Not only that, but their attitude towards their job was hardly enthusiastic.

Young people can't even afford one of these flats in the city

I know retail is not a career path many people aspire to, but surely it would be a motivator to find a way to get out? Or are they resigned to the possibility that this is their job forever? There wasn't any interest in trying to be a cheerful person, nor trying to improve their Mandarin skills.

Is this the generation the Hong Kong government claims it wants to foster? If so it's no wonder mainlanders feel a sense of ambivalence in the city; they want to enjoy it, and yet they are not welcome.

Why?

Preventing Agnes Chow Ting from running in the by-election, scorning the nomination of Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang and the Umbrella Movement for the Nobel Peace Prize, and making no efforts to rein in housing prices and creating more job opportunities for young people shows the government doesn't care about the next generation.

The rift between young people and government grows wider

My friend pointed out the government has been pushing for closer links to China, which has resulted in young people retaliating by becoming "localists", focusing more on Cantonese -- which has resulted in English being left by the wayside.

How can Hong Kong call itself international anymore?

Beijing and the Hong Kong government have a lot to do to heal the rift -- they are the ones who have the power to change things for the better. Giving people hope makes the world go round instead of now, stagnant and bitter.

Superficial Economic Progress

This picture in Times Square was taken last year but still applies today

A local newspaper asked Hong Kong documentary filmmaker Ruby Yang her thoughts on the last 20 years since the handover in 1997.

She said it was superficial progress, that it was all focused on the economy and asked, what about people's livelihoods?

Yang really hit the nail on the head -- superficial progress. The government doesn't like to admit there are serious problems, in particular with the economy. However, the wealth gap between the rich and poor has gotten even worse, with the Gini Co-efficient at a record 0.539, up from 0.537 in 2011.

This means the city's wealthiest make 44 times more than the poorest. Interestingly Hong Kong is behind New York as the second-most unequal city in terms of income.

So while we have people who are uber rich and at the other end of the scale people barely scraping a living, the economy is faltering, but the government doesn't seem to notice.

Around dinnertime today I went to Sogo department store in Causeway Bay to buy a few things and was shocked to see how empty it was. The place is usually packed with shoppers and you'd have to elbow your way through the crowds.

But tonight there were none.

A friend had made this observation to me a few days earlier and I was very surprised, but this time I saw it for myself.

Granted the mad summer sales ended a few weeks earlier, but individual brands still had discounts though they weren't enough to entice people to buy.

People cannot afford to shop in Hong Kong -- heck they can't afford to spend much money except for basic expenses. People may be looking, but not many are actually getting their wallets out.

The only place that was busy was the basement grocery store, but while there were customers there buying food, the cashier line was empty.

There were mainlanders in the department store, some were buying -- saw one woman with her suitcase open on the floor and she was literally filling it up with her purchases like a jigsaw puzzle, while others were conducting a Sunday afternoon window shopping exercise with the emphasis on exercise.

Meanwhile most locals were empty handed.

As my friend said to me, this economy is unsustainable with housing prices through the roof and people priced out of the market.

So yes, Ruby Yang is right -- we are experiencing superficial progress -- to the benefit of whom?