Star Ferry is Drowning in Debt

How much longer can the Star Ferry continue to operate?

Another victim of the pandemic is the Star Ferry, one of the best known icons of Hong Kong which is now in dire financial straits.

Painted green and white, and chugs across Victoria Harbour between Central Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai, the Star Ferry is having trouble covering employees' salaries and paying down debts, and it even projects it will still be in the red in 2047 after two years of losses totalling a whopping HK$70 million (US$8.9 million).

Passengers have dropped off since 2021

It was affected by the 2019 protests -- though there were a few nights during the occupation of Hong Kong Polytechnic University when tons of people crowded onto the Star Ferries to get across to Hong Kong Island -- and now the pandemic into its third year.

David Chow Cheuk-yin, the Star Ferry company's general manager, said in a statement on Monday that the firm had accumulated losses of more than HK$70 million over the past two years, saying ridership in the first two months of 2022 had plunged by 73 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

Last year the Star Ferry carried only 9.57 million passengers, a sharp drop of 46 percent from 17.97 million passengers in 2019.

"It is disheartening to see our iconic Star Ferry is now a company with negative equity," he said. "In view of the threats posed by the current environment, I am afraid I can't be optimistic, as much as I would love to be, for Star Ferry to survive this wave."

The company is now borrowing to pay its daily expenses, as monthly revenue isn't even enough to cover employees' salaries.

"Enormous losses have far exceeded the company's total assets. The Star Ferry has struggled with negative equity for a long time and now counts completely on loans to cover daily operating expenses," said Chow.

Central ferry pier was at Edinburgh Place

He even hinted the company may not even be able to repay its loans even after 2047.

When a company as famous as the Star Ferry is in negative equity that's tragic. Even worse the government has done nothing to save this traditional form of public transport that has made Hong Kong famous.

If anything some of the budget from the Hong Kong Tourism Board could be funnelled into keeping the Star Ferry literally afloat, as everyone associates the city with the boats crossing the harbour.

It would be an absolute travesty if the government lets this company die because no other company or tycoon would bother taking over a money-losing business.

But let's face it -- the Star Ferry already began dying its slow death back in 2006 when its pier was moved from Edinburgh Place to another 500 metres away on reclaimed land to Man Kwong Street. It used to be so convenient to cross the harbour by Star Ferry, just past the Mandarin Oriental and the Central Post Office. 

Original steamboat from the 1880s

Now it's a commitment to want to take the Star Ferry from either Central or Wan Chai -- where the pier is not close to anything at all.

How can the Star Ferry survive with the odds stacked against it, and yet it is everyone's favourite ride crossing Victoria Harbour. It is the closest people can feel to taking transport back in 1880, when Parsi cook Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala acquired a steamboat to ferry his baked goods across between Kowloon and Central.

Anyone want to start crowdfunding for the Star Ferry? Or is that considered to be violating the national security law?

Covid-19 Cases Climb past the 55K Mark

Times Square shopping mall is devoid of customers

Hong Kong has yet another record of 55,353 positive cases today -- reaching over 50,000, one day before the modelling anticipated it. And it doesn't include all those who used their own rapid antigen tests to discover they are positive... some estimate there could be hundreds of thousands of cases in the community now.

There were 160 deaths reported, of which 117 were in the past 24 hours, 43 were backlogged. Of the 117 deaths, 95 were unvaccinated with an age range of 58 to 100 years old.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor again reiterated there would be no full citywide lockdown, as there weren't enough isolation facilities to house all the positive cases, but had no further details. 

That led to another day of panic buying in the city, and food suppliers were exasperated in trying to explain that the food is coming, but everyone is freaking out and buying whatever they can get their hands on.

Meanwhile businessman Allan Zeman who started out in textiles and owns most of Lan Kwai Fong, and used to head Ocean Park and turn it around, wrote an open letter to Lam, saying Hong Kong residents need clarity on how the government is going to take control of the fifth wave, as rumours are scaring people and it is not good for their mental health.

"There are too many rumours floating around and such a feeling of uncertainty, we need very clear messaging giving people hope and direction for an end to this nightmare," he wrote. "People feel they are getting punished for being infected."

Zeman is saying what all of us are thinking throughout the letter.

In the end he also reminded Lam that many people have lost their jobs and businesses shut down due to the restrictive measures and that subsidies were needed to keep everyone alive.

Will she listen?

A colleague thinks the national security police may come knocking on Zeman's door...

So many restaurants, cafes, stores, banks, post offices, and even convenience stores like 7-Eleven are closed because they have had infections or they are worried for their staff and limit services even more.

Even the MTR is affected, having fewer trains in service than before, especially in the evenings. The Star Ferry in Wan Chai stops service at 9pm. Shopping malls are dead by 6pm.

Island Beverly mall in Causeway Bay

"There is absolutely no one here [in the mall], not even on weekends. Most shops are closed," said Chloe Cheung, who owns a small boutique in Island Beverly mall. She planned to shut down when the lease expired in June.

"The lockdown is not that necessary. It is a ghost town now."

Indeed. Anyone who is out and about near dinner time are rushing to get back home with dinner in takeaway bags.

It is painful to see Hong Kong deserted like this. The only other time no one is around and everything is shut is when there is a typhoon. But the fears of a lockdown and the sheer exponential rise in the number of cases has already made people uneasy and not want to go out.

How people and businesses will make it out alive -- and sane -- from this latest wave will be nothing short of a miracle. And we badly need one.

Henderson Land Clinches Prime Harbourfront Plot

Henderson's blueprint presents lots of green spaces in Central

Developer Henderson Land Development is bullish on Hong Kong -- specifically Central district.

It had the winning bid of HK$50.8 billion (US$6.5 billion) for the New Central Harbourfront Commercial Site 3, beating out five other developers.

This plot of land was sold for HK$50.8 billion

Henderson will spend another HK$63 billion to develop the site which is the plot of land in front of the Hong Kong General Office and City Hall. The winning bid will feature three main buildings, the one closest to the waterfront will be multifunctional, while the other two will be office towers. Most of the land will have greenery in mind as well as public spaces. 

The old Star Ferry clock will be reconstructed in around the same spot as a visual landmark and showcase the city's maritime heritage.

According to Knight Frank, the Central Site 3 ranks as the second most expensive land transaction worldwide of all time, after a 861,120 sq ft site in Seoul's Gangnam district was bought by a Hyundai Motor-led consortium in 2014 for 10.5 trillion won (US$10 billion).

Market observers said the record price for the prime plot will boost the city's commercial property market and reinforce Hong Kong's position as a world class global financial hub.

Plowing that much money into Central means a big vote of confidence for the district even though the Lam administration has plans to develop the area near the border with the mainland.

Three buildings will be on the site, two are offices

"Although there are other large-scale developments such as Northern Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow Vision in the pipeline, it would take 15 to 20 years for these projects to be fully completed and at least another decade for other areas to mature," said Martin Wong, head of research and consultancy of Greater China at Knight Frank.

"Central will remain the financial centre for Hong Kong in the foreseeable future," he added.

As we said earlier, Lam's vision of people sleeping better will have to wait at least 15 years... 

Picture of the Day: Green Star Ferry

Another gorgeous evening from the Star Ferry pier

Last night I took the Star Ferry home from Tsim Sha Tsui and noticed a sign inside the vessel.

This sign caught my eye boarding the Star Ferry

It said:”Green Star Ferry. You have boarded the first low-emission Green Ferry running daily service in Hong Kong, equipped with diesel-electric propulsion system.”

Indeed! Gone were the big puffs of black smoke from the chimney, and hearing the motor lumbering along, like a tired work horse.

Instead Morning Star was quiet and smooth, and environmentally friendly!

Morning Star was retrofitted with the diesel-electric propulsion system and relaunched back into service in July 2020. 

Great to see another green initiative in HK

The diesel powered generators supply electricity to drive through propulsion engine. There are two smaller generators that power the lighting and ventilation.

Hope more of the Star Ferries will switch to this system to be more sustainable in the long run.

Central Post Office's Days are Numbered

The Post Office in Central will most probably be demolished

 

The General Post Office in Hong Kong's Central district may face the wrecking ball soon.

The government is putting out a tender for developers to use the land the post office is on as well as a giant patch of land north of it that could be worth HK$40 billion (US$5.12 billion) to HK$60 billion.

The previous GPO was knocked down in 1976

However, for many people, the GPO is a building worth saving, as they are tired and frustrated of seeing old buildings knocked down without much public discussion.

The GPO was built in 1976 to replace the old colonial-style post office that was also knocked down the same year to make way for the Central MTR station. At the time the new GPO had state-of-the-art mailing facilities, and heritage enthusiasts say the building has a unique post-war modernist design.

There have been repeated calls to save the post office over the past few years, but the government claims preservation would undermine the overall development potential of the site. The government has even said demolishing the building is a condition of the sale.

This is a bizarre reason when compared to Singapore's Fullerton Hotel, that was previously the city state's post office too. Admittedly the former Fullerton Building is much more grand than the GPO, but it was still repurposed to good use.

Meanwhile a few Hong Kong-based architects have proposed a number of ways to reuse the post office building, as it is only a small part of the total plot of land. 

Some architects suggest making it a cultural space

Others suggest keeping the building as a main connection point between the harbourfront areas and MTR station, the Star Ferry and other buildings, or to turn it into a cultural space.

Ivan Ho Man-yiu, an architect appointed to be the technical adviser for the land bid, was not keen on the ideas for conservation that have been proposed so far.

"It seems that nowadays when we think of preserving anything, we think of converting it to a museum," he said. "But with technology nowadays, actually many museums are going virtual... For physical museums, I am not sure what it will end up like in the future."

Ho's dismissive attitude isn't reflective of what many Hongkongers want. The government made a terrible mistake in how it handled the closure of Queen's Pier in 2007 and moved it hundreds of metres away. In fact the bid demands that the future developer will have to reconstruct the old Star Ferry Clock Tower close to its original location, to become the focal point of the new harbourfront and have a visual connection with the harbour.

The grassy land plot is included in the bid

It's a pathetic attempt to go back to right a wrong but build a completely new one, in other words construct a "new antique" much like the reconstructed traditional Chinese buildings in China.

Many people are expecting a monstrosity of a shopping mall there -- but why compete with the giant ifc mall right across the street? The easiest would be to build more offices, though the coronavirus pandemic has changed employees' and employers' minds about going back to the office and needing so much space.

It will be interesting to see what bids come in by the deadline this Friday June 18, and which development plan the government decides to choose in the end. Maybe no one's bids will pique the authorities' interest. 

One thing's for sure though -- the public's opinions don't count. Period.

Walking on the Colourful Side

Colourful ribbons shimmering in the wind

My walk along the harbourfront has become more interesting.

Today we saw a lot of new additions, some of which make us question where our taxpayer dollars are going.

Near the PLA dock in Central is a cordoned off space called Design District HK and there is a giant undulating net tied with 18,000 colourful ribbons. It looks like a rainbow-coloured rectangular carpet waving in the breeze.

Swings anchored to the ground

It happened to be the first day today of the event, and we had to use our LeaveHomeSafe app and take our temperature before going into the space free of charge. Inside there are a number of large green (fake grass) circles on the ground, presumably for social distancing.

It was nice to lie under this art installation called River of Light by artist Patrick Shearn, but after a few minutes of admiring it and taking pictures, then what? We walked back to the entrance nearby and they politely told us we had to walk to the far end of the grounds to exit. 

With no signage saying so it was annoying to have to walk all the way to the end.

Nevertheless we continued on our way eastward and saw the water barriers were removed just past the Wan Chai Star Ferry pier. The area near the pier is covered in fake pink roses, and it's pathetic to see this cheesy floral theme is still used and now with some seating in pink complete with flamingos, or decorated with more fake flowers.

In the distance we saw some rubber tire swings (with fake pink grass) seating and thought we could have some fun on it. But when we sat on them, they didn't move! The rubber tire swings were anchored at the bottom with chains.

Why? WHY?

The letters "V" and "H" for Victoria Harbour

Why can't we swing on these swings?! The authorities are probably terrified someone is going to get hurt.

That was really infuriating.

And to complete the area, there was a "V" and "H" to denote "Victoria Harbour" that people could pose with. Whoohoo.

When we finally arrived at the Wan Chai Harbourfront Promenade, there were what looked like giant bendy straws at the end. When we went around them, they made different percussion sounds like synthesizer bells or xylophone which was interesting. 

It's called Sky Castle designed by Australian multimedia design studio Eness in collaboration with Hattrick Creative.  

So we ran around and around these giant archways where senors triggered them to release sounds and would probably make more "music" if more people went around them.

Giant tubes that make sounds! Great for kids

Perhaps the Hong Kong government realizes people need some things to keep them occupied, and this public art will get them out and about discovering the harbourfront. It also helps that there are giant green arrows on the ground pointing to where people should go...

However at the same time each of the sections have wildly different design elements that aren't very consistent or cohesive. It seems no thought was put to having a consistent theme and each section was determined by a singular group or individual. 

This does not work well. The High Line in New York works so well because the overall look is very consistent, even though the plantings may be different. The benches are quite similar or site specific, but still keep with the same kind of minimalist design. 

Instead on the Hong Kong waterfront it's a hodgepodge of different things for different people, which is understandable to a degree, but they vary so much in terms of their overall look that it's hard to believe they are all connected by one path.

But really, can something be done about those swings?

Picture of the Day: Star Ferry

 

Love this view from the Star Ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui!

After watching Minari my friend YTSL and I had dinner -- Korean! And then I walked to the Star Ferry.

I just missed the ferry, but managed record it sailing off to Central. The sky was so clear, the colours so vibrant on Hong Kong island.

 

This is one of the things I love so much about the city.

PIcture of the Day: Wan Chai Waterfront Promenade

A giant "frame" that acts as a shelter and seating area

 

Aside from the Hong Kong government dismantling the city's institutions, most recently the electoral system, the city is actually trying to make its waterfront more accessible and look better, and yesterday I saw its latest effort.

A neon sign that doubles as a park bench

Past the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre going east towards the Wan Chai Star Ferry is a new addition called the "Wan Chai Temporary Promenade". Hope it isn't going to be temporary because it's a good mix of seating and shade, as well as a homage to the area.

There are some mini seating areas with neon signs that say, "Ship Street", "Stone Nullah Lane" and "Johnston Road" in Chinese and English. 

Further along there are larger "patio" kind of spaces that offer shade and seating. They look like giant frames which gives opportunities for photos. 

While the area is only about 150 to 200 metres long, it's a nice place to stop and rest or hang out with friends.

A nice public space created with shelter

I saw it again this evening and it's fun to see the neon signs lit up -- another reason to visit at night.

Picture of the Day: Wan Chai Waterfront Extension

Boxing Day views of the Convention Centre and beyond

 

The Victoria Harbour water front on Hong Kong island is becoming more and more accessible. In mid-October the Belcher Bay harbourfront opened in Kennedy Town, and now a patch in between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay has opened to the public, east of the bus terminus by the Wan Chai Star Ferry.

Chocolate Rain has painted fun characters

A friend had posted a picture on social media the other day so we went to check it out.

It's a small area right now, but it's very colourful with lots of illustrations by local design brand Chocolate Rain. Instead of steel gates lined by the water to prevent people from falling in, instead there are relatively thin steel cables hung between posts to allow more view of the water.

There's even a maze painted on the ground as well as other drawings, making it another version of "Instagram Pier" -- the latter being a real working port complete with cranes and well-worn shipping containers and stacks of pallets, making it industrial and edgy. This new area is perfect for young children to hang about, though if the skaters find out about it, they'll be all over this new concrete space...

With the pandemic children have taken to playing with scooters, while teenagers and young people are showing off their tricks on their skateboards. 

Steel cables prevent people from going into water

Nevertheless, we're liking these new extensions every few months. They add a few more kms to our walks!

Protests Return, Police Attack

Protesters raise their hand representing the "five demands" in Tsim Sha Tsui

Mother's Day 2020 will be hard to forget in Hong Kong.

Now that the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down considerably here, the protests have returned as expected.

Hundreds of protesters gathering in shopping malls in Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok and Taikoo Shing demonstrates a lot of people are still very angry at the government.

A child pinned down by a police officer

At the same time the police are handling the situation like they always have -- with excessive force and shouting at people who just want to express themselves in a peaceful manner.

This afternoon before 2pm at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, the police seemed itching for a fight, shoving people around and lots of screaming and shouting could be heard in video clips posted in Twitter.
Around this time protesters gathered in nearby Harbour City and began singing the anthem Glory to Hong Kong and shouted slogans with their hand raised to signify the five demands.

Police didn't storm into the shopping mall right away, but when they did, they tried to force people to leave on the regulation that groups could only be as big as eight people for social-distancing measures because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It seems the protesters went deep into the mall, as they went as far down as City Super, a high-end supermarket which is at the furthest end of Harbour City on Canton Road. There the police terrorized customers who were grocery shopping.

One scene in particular was shocking. Among the press corps covering the protest was a 13-year-old boy who was a volunteer student journalist for Student Depth Media.

The police singled him out and demanded to see his credentials and he calmly showed them his ID.

Police harass & threaten 13 yo journalist from Student Depth Media to "go back home & die!"

1700 |Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour City

Riot police also mocked his height by gesturing how short he is.

He was arrested & taken into a police van pic.twitter.com/PDGxihcoMQ

— Hong Kong - Be Water (@BeWaterHKG) May 10, 2020

 

"How old are you?" they shouted at him.

"Thirteen years old."

"How old?" the police asked again. He repeated.

The boy's mother saying she supported her son in reporting

One officer told him to "drop dead", another accused him of being "a child labourer", mocked him about his height, and then they walked away, but not long after they arrested the kid!

What had he done wrong?

After interrogating him for a while they finally released him, his mother by his side.

She said her son was scared after the police threatened to fine her if they saw him again.

When the media asked the young teen what he had to say to his mom, he thought for a moment, choked up and said, "Happy Mother's Day... I"m sorry."

Apparently the boy respected what journalists were doing and wanted to do some reporting himself, which his mother supported, saying it was a good learning experience for him.

A police officer aims to shoot a pepper ball into the mall

Meanwhile at Moko Mall in Mongkok East, police fired two pepper balls in the shopping mall, causing everyone from adults to young children complain of itchy eyes.

Another child was pinned down on the floor of a restaurant by a police officer who put his knee on the child's neck. What had these people done wrong? Many of them were there celebrating Mother's Day with a bite to eat.

The police are obviously trying to intimidate people, protesters or not -- but it's not working. Their presence only makes people angrier and less willing to cooperate.

As for the 13-year-old, he was grace under pressure in dealing with aggressive cops. Does someone need an intern this summer?

79 Days

Last night protesters fought police around parts of Kowloon

Today is the 79th day of protests starting from June 9 when 1 million people came out to protest against the then proposed extradition bill.

That is the same number of days the Occupy Protests, or Umbrella Movement back in 2014.

Five years ago several main roads were shut down in Admiralty, Central, Causeway Bay and Mongkok for 79 days straight. Now it's every weekend and the odd weekday where traffic is temporarily suspended, the protesters constantly on the move all over the city.

Many have suffered health effects from too much tear gas

This evening two people who call themselves frontline protesters gave a press conference in Chinese and English so there was no mistaking their message.

One of them was a man, Mr Chan, who spoke in Cantonese and was translated by a Miss Wong. Both were covered up with a helmet, goggles and face mask and even gloves.

The man gave a bit of insight into what it's like to be a frontline protester. He talked about how paranoia set in when they discovered some black-clad people were actually undercover police.

There was one incident where he and his friend were accused of being spies and were beaten by some other protesters. But the matter was soon cleared up and both sides reconciled.

"We cannot deny that the pervasive neurosis of catching spies has sown distrust, and has to a certain extent, driven a wedge between not only frontliners, but between frontliners and other citizens. We do not want spy catching to become an epidemic. Frontline protesters are themselves citizens. And if citizens begin to fight among themselves, the anti-extradition movement will be over," Chan says in a prepared speech as Wong translated.

The protesters question why the police were not in Yuen Long

"Infighting between citizens has only produced one winner -- the politicians and the government," he continues. "Infighting between protesters will spell the death of the movement. Infighting between citizens will spell the death of Hong Kong itself. We cannot allow the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to succeed in their divide and conquer strategy."

He questions why the police did not infiltrate the triads when there were already early warnings something may happen in Yuen Long on July 21 and in Tsuen Wan North Point as well.

"Why are the police shooting at the heads of pro-democracy protesters with rifles yet readily seen sharing drinks with white-clad terrorists on park benches? The situation we find ourselves in is absurd," Chan says.

They say Carrie Lam ignored pleas to keep Queens Pier...

"The police and the government aren't even trying to hide their affinity with the triads. The collusion between them is both seamless and shameless. As a frontliner we are always at the front line of battle and always the last to bow out of them."

Chan went on to describe the effects of tear gas on his health. Despite washing his clothes and showering, he still smells or believe he smells tear gas, and suffers from diarrhea, dry mouth, sore throat and rashes on the skin.

These protesters do not think Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is sincere at all, remembering she did not listen to the people when they protested in 2007 about the demolition of Queen's Pier to make way for Central reclamation, as well as "Wedding Card Street" in 2005 that has now become a luxury residential project in Wan Chai with shops and restaurants.

... and Wedding Card Street in Wan Chai

"These [Queen's Pier and Wedding Card Street] were both demolished behind Hongkongers' backs, causing irreparable damage, irreparable damage to Hong Kong's heritage. All but one of the student leaders in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution were imprisoned after accepting her offers for dialogue.

"Her government specializes in spreading white terror, whether it be through AI surveillance lamp posts, or police pretending to be protesters. But we will not allow to let this government to succeed in encouraging infighting, betrayal.. within ourselves. We hope Hongkongers will continue to stand up to our mistreatment by maintaining a unified and undivided voice."

One reporter asked Chan about his biggest concern. Other than admitting he was scared, Chan said the biggest problem he faced was his family, who he described as very "blue" or pro-police. They believe protesters are paid to go out to demonstrate, but even if he tries to explain this is false, they do not accept it so he would rather not talk about it at all.

Students debated the government during the 2014 protests

So these young people are very clear minded and do not trust Lam or Beijing at all. They believe her offers for dialogue are just a ruse after having seen what happened after the Occupy protests. They do not want to fall into the same trap.

These protesters are literally willing to die for their cause. A friend who is goes to most of the violent protests to monitor the young people says these young people are completely fearless.

Does Lam know what she is up against? It's been 79 days and these protesters are far from giving up.

Over 1 Million Protest in the Streets

The entire Hennessy Road in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay filled with marchers

Last night at midnight I was watching for updates from San Francisco on the historic march in Hong Kong to protest against the proposed extradition bill.

Several of my friends and colleagues participated, and one told me about how hot it was, and how the police were making it difficult for them to march. I had to keep reminding her it was a tactic of the police to frustrate marchers by only allowing a trickle through an attempt to get protestors to give up and leave part way through the march so they wouldn't be counted; the best thing to do was to be patient. 

Before I went to sleep I read updates about how the MTR was clogged with people and some participants resorted in taking the Star Ferry from Kowloon to get over to the starting point in Victoria Park. Would there be 500,000 people like in 2003?

An aerial view of the protest march

It wasn't until the morning Pacific Standard Time that I was able to see the scale of the march from the pictures and it was amazing to see Hennessy Road and Queensway completely covered in people wearing white T-shirts with sprinkles of yellow umbrellas. Organizers say 1.03 million people came out, or one in seven Hongkongers.

My colleagues and friends marched for hours in the heat, and we impressed those relatively new to the city that the high temperatures and humidity are not enough to deter people from fighting for what they truly believe in.

We came out on the streets in 2014 and now five years later we were back again. Some lament that we haven't achieved much, but I'd like to think we are not afraid of holding the government accountable for its actions. We do not have a direct vote for our leader, so marches are the next best thing we can do.

Unfortunately there were a few scuffles with police -- some really wanted to restart the Occupy Movement again, while others clashed with police officers at the government headquarters at Tamar, marring what was practically a violent-free protest march hours earlier.

The government has pushed people too far again, inspiring some to test the police to see how far they will go -- some officers had no qualms using pepper spray again. Do we really need these kinds of confrontations? The more radical we are in our actions, the more the government (and Beijing) feel Hong Kong residents need to be put in their place.

People were marching for several hours in the heat

Nevertheless, this morning Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was unmoved by the unprecedented turnout for the march yesterday and vowed she would not quit and the bill would be passed on Wednesday.

"For those who have expressed their views, whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with us, I want to thank every one of you because... the scrutiny of our work is an important factor to enhance governance of Hong Kong," she said.

We have been scrutinizing your work, and we don't agree with it, Mrs Lam... what are you going to do about it?

She is willing to further water down the extradition bill, but this is not the point -- the bill was not given proper due process, making Hong Kong residents even more suspicious and untrusting of the government. Is this what she wants?

We shall see what happens on Wednesday...

No Singing Please

One singer has moved to the Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry pier for an audience

Some people like to think they are artists and want to express themselves by singing or dancing in public -- in the hopes of earning a few dollars too.

They used to hang out in Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mongkok, wearing outlandish costumes and belting out karaoke tunes, or young people who think they are the Hong Kong version of Ed Sheeran, or dancing aunties wanting to show off their dance moves.

But after that street was shut down to performers last year, they carried on, spreading out all over Hong Kong. Some could be found by the Central ferry piers, or at the Star Ferry pier in Tsim Sha Tsui -- well the ones that I have seen.

One street performer who showed off his skills in Mongkok

But it seems the Hong Kong government has had enough of these performers' antics and want them out -- well at least the bad ones weeded out.

Those who repeatedly cause a noise nuisance could be blacklisted, and retired policemen could be recruited to enforce the possible measures.

Lawmakers on the home affairs panel passed a non-binding motion to urge the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) to review the rules to mitigate noise nuisance in parks, eliminate cash rewards for performers and increase penalties.

It doesn't seem like lawmakers have done much research on buskers and street entertainers.

Edward Lau Kwok-fan of the DAB, said the current punishment for offenders is too lenient. He seemed to think performers could earn more than HK$1,000 a day busking, so a fine of HK$1,200 was not high enough to deter them from coming back.

LCSD director Michelle Li admitted it was not illegal to give money to performers, but perhaps repeat offenders could be blacklisted.

This guy is quite well known for his Waldo look...

The department is also going to make it easier for people to be witnesses, including nearby residents and park keepers, which basically means parks are going to be very quiet very fast as soon as complaints start piling in.


However Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong Chun-yu had a good point -- would there be enough manpower to handle all these complaints and enforce the rules?

Li replied training would be provided to park managers and even retired policemen would be hired  to handle the situation. Glad to know the government is thinking about employing seniors...

But who gets to decide what sounds good and what sounds horrific?

That's what a performer called Ling asked.

"What may be music to our ears may seem loud to someone else, and now that nearby residents and park managers are free to file complaints as witnesses, it has made it easier to prosecute us," she said.

Ling regularly performs at Tuen Mun park and felt the government should define the level at which noise was considered a nuisance.

Good point!

"We're just having fun, enjoying a good time with our friends and it's not against the law," she added. "I don't understand why people are trying to drive us away."

Does this mean the LCSD has to go back to the drawing board and figure out the definition of noise nuisance? But what the performers are doing is exercising their freedom of expression. Bureaucracy can't silence that.

Serious Coffee in Kennedy Town

Spanish latte (top) and matcha latte at Arabica

The Year of the Pig started with a video call with family back home before heading out for dim sum with relatives here.

Afterwards we wandered around IFC mall checking out a few boutiques -- even Hong Kong architect Andre Fu's new furniture line in Lane Crawford before heading back to Kennedy Town.

I remembered a coffee shop was going to open by the water and we took a look -- there was a crowd of people on the corner and it was.

The sleek Japanese interior is clean and soothing

The shop is called Arabica, but is known by its logo, a % symbol.

I didn't know this but it was started in Discovery Bay in 2013 by Kenneth Shoji, who has a coffee farm in Hawaii. The company also has locations in IFC mall, the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui, Taikoo and now in Kennedy Town.

The newly-opened shop has two floors, the second floor just for seating -- it's quite neat as it overlooks Victoria Harbour so you practically feel next to the water even though it's across the street.

Somehow everyone found out the shop was open today and we had to wait 15 minutes for coffee here, and it's not cheap either -- a short matcha latte cost HK$50, a Spanish latte HK$45.

There was a small dedicated army of people making the drinks non stop -- was this a menial task for them or a labour of love?

Outside the shop admiring our drinks

Finally we got our drinks and they were very nicely presented. Outside the shop the window ledge was low and wide enough for us to sit down with our cups. The matcha latte was nice, not too bitter and creamy, while the Spanish latte was very smooth and well blended. Now I can see why coffee nerds rave about this place.

Lots of people with dogs passed by us, while others walked by to check out why so many people were hanging out here.

Looks like the coffee wars will be breaking out soon -- with Arabica now open, the convenient Cofftea will have even stiffer competition along with Winston's that not only offers cups of java, but also alcoholic drinks too.

Never knew Kennedy Town to be such a coffee neighbourhood, but there you have it -- probably more people will be drawn to the area particularly on the weekends to check out Arabica's latest location.

% Arabica
Shop 4, 1 Davis Street
Kennedy Town
2326 4578

Heritage Lost: General Post Office

The General Post Office was opened in 1976, but will be demolished soon

I have fond memories of the Central Post Office, when Queen's Pier used to be nearby to take the Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. When I first arrived in Hong Kong to work in the mid-1990s, I used to mail letters and large envelopes of newspaper clippings to my parents. The staff were so efficient and nice.

These days the place isn't as busy, people aren't queuing up to buy sheets of stamps, but mostly packages and the odd bulk mailing.

Notice the large marble slabs used as counter space

Last year there was a news story announcing the General Post Office in Central would be demolished to make way for A-grade office buildings. The post office would move its operations to an eight-storey building in Kowloon Bay, near the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal at a cost of HK$1.7 billion.

But there are hopes to protect some aspects of the building, though there haven't been any updates on this or when exactly the building will be knocked down.

I told my visiting architect cousin about this and so he wanted to check out the building. He was amazed by the beautiful marble slabs on the counters and wondered if they would be salvaged before the demolition.

We also saw a wooden arch that was probably saved from the previous General Post Office. It reads: "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country". Below it is a black plaque that says the current building was opened on August 11, 1976 by Sir Murray Maclehose, then Governor of Hong Kong.

"As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country"

When we wandered in before 1pm on a Saturday, the counters were almost all empty, with staff chatting among each other. What will happen to all the people who have GPO boxes in Central? 

It's a shame the building has to be torn down -- it's a major landmark in Central and is an important walkway to get to IFC and the ferry piers, or vice versa to City Hall and office buildings like Jardine House.

But with land prices being so high, the government seems to think it needs to make more money (how much more does it need?) by selling prime land.

If anyone needs an education about heritage, it's the government. It has no understanding or appreciation of the importance of preserving old buildings, and then it wonders why it has no more heritage to promote to tourists...