Smashing Preconceptions

An article in the Japan Times says more than 150 mainland Chinese reporters went to Sendai to report on the earthquake and tsunami on March 11 and the experience ended any prejudice they had towards the Japanese.

 

Many Chinese still hold grudges against the Japanese for what happened during the Sino-Japanese war and in particular the Nanking massacre in 1937. The Chinese government likes to trot out these anniversaries not only to fan the flames of patriotism, but also encourage the Chinese, particularly young people to hate the Japanese.

 

One of my ex-colleagues in Beijing who is in her late 30s, well traveled and educated, told me she specifically avoided buying a Japanese car after what the Japanese did to her family.

 

These prejudices are further enforced in textbooks and in schools, so the hatred towards the Japanese is fully ingrained by the time young Chinese become adults.

 

However, for this handful of young Chinese, their perceptions have been changed forever.

 

In the Japan Times story, the reporters were particularly impressed by the orderly and patient behaviour of the survivors and the relative transparency of the information that was given. In the end many said they felt greater respect towards the Japanese.

 

Thirty-eight-year-old Chen Jie, a cameraman from Beijing News admitted he originally felt distrust and resentment towards the Japanese for a long time. But "the prejudice that I felt gradually disappeared while I was there, trying to cover the disaster damage," he said. "In the 14 days I spent on the assignment, I learned much more than I would have done if I read books for 10 years," he added.

 

For Chen, his strongest impression of the Japanese was "the cool and collected" manner of the people in the devastated areas, including the direct survivors in the disaster. He was moved seeing the people wait patiently in line in front of shops and that shop owners didn't raise prices to gouge people, and even family members trying to restrain themselves from crying openly during burials.

 

"I was surprised that I was given priority treatment at a gas station, as I had an emergency pass," he added. Other Chinese reporters made similar observations.

 

The dramatic change in the reporters' long-held beliefs reveals how outdated young Chinese people's perceptions are of Japan and how manipulated they are into believing the Japanese are still their enemy.

 

It is understandable for their parents and grandparents to continue to harbour resentment towards the Japanese for the unspeakable acts that happened to them over 60 years ago, but for today's generation who are living a better life, what right do they have to continue to have such prejudices? Can they not see for themselves what the world is really like?

 

Giving Chinese reporters opportunities to see the world as it really is only makes them realize what kind of country they are living in...

Yum Candy Fun

Sticky candies with intricate designs and yummy flavours

Yesterday after work I wandered through a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui called K11 which houses the Hyatt Regency hotel. Anyway in the basement floor which connects to the passageway between Tsim Sha Tsui station and Tsim Sha Tsui East, there's a candy shop called Sticky.

It's an Australian company that prides itself on being "highly skilled and dedicated confectioners" who create what look like cute little candies that taste good too.

Rolling some slabs of candy out

At the store you can watch two guys at work wearing gloves, pulling and rolling giant slabs of coloured candy on a heated table.

They weren't doing much when I was there except cutting giant thick strips of candy and putting them on top of each other.

If you watch the video on the website, they make a gigantic roll with several layers and then roll and pull it at the same time to make it a very thin roll that they then cut into long sticks and then chop into bite-sized pieces. Pretty amazing.

What's neat is that there are all different kinds of flavours and designs within the candies, making them great for birthdays, corporate events but also weddings where the newlyweds can give away either candies with hearts in them or even the double happiness Chinese character xi(3) 囍.

Preparing to manipulate some candy on a heated counter

Customers can buy a bag of one flavour, or mixed bag, but they aren't that cheap. A bag of 70 grams is HK$48 ($6.17), while 150 grams is HK$98 ($12.61).

Nevertheless, the taste is not too sweet, though it is 100 percent glucose.

The best part about Sticky? It's tagline is "Love your lollies".

Will do.

Sticky
Shop B201, B2/F, K11 Mall
18 Hanoi Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowloon
3170 0228
www.sticky.com.hk

Where's the Copywriter? No. 2

HKUST may have one of the world's best MBA programs, but not in copywriting...

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is one of the youngest of nine tertiary institutions in the city as it was started in 1991. However in that short time its MBA program has been ranked sixth in the world by the Financial Times this year.

The campus all the way out in Clearwater Bay, but that only makes the environment more conducive to studying rather than having other distractions close by.

So this year HKUST celebrates its 20th anniversary and is making this fact known by shelling out for a bunch of street pole banners like these along Queensway in Admiralty.

The tagline? "HKUST 20th anniversary celebrations: Our Miracle Continues".

Is it supposed to be a miracle the university is still in existence?

Or is it a miracle the underdog university is one of the best in the world?

Either way it makes HKUST sound more like a fluke than a post-secondary institution destined for greatness.

Projecting Disgust

Who's afraid of Ai Weiwei? Apparently the PLA is...

The amusement over the Ai Weiwei images around Hong Kong continues as an artist who goes by the name Cpak Ming projected images of Ai Weiwei on government buildings including the police headquarters in Admiralty, City Hall, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin and even the People's Liberation Army barracks in Admiralty.

And now the PLA in Hong Kong is not happy about being taunted. It usually keeps a low key in the city, but after the release of the Ai Weiwei images, the PLA said it "reserves its legal right" to act over what it claims was a breach of Hong Kong law when the images were projected on the PLA barracks wall.

While Hong Kong police say projecting images is not illegal, a spokesman for the PLA said: "Military facilities of the garrison and walls are not usual public areas but military restricted zones or protected areas according to the Hong Kong law. No one can paint or project images onto the outer wall of the barracks without the garrison's permission. Such an offence is a breach of Hong Kong law. The PLA reserves its legal rights," he said.

Meanwhile the Garrison Law states that no person, vehicle, ship or aircraft other than ones belonging to the garrison shall enter the military restricted zones. Garrison guards have the right to stop any act "which damages or endangers military facilities." There is nothing in there about projecting images.

Also Hong Kong politicians, some of whom are lawyers also say what Cpak Ming has done is not illegal however, one did think it was possible the Chinese government may amend the Garrison Law if projecting images was a huge issue.

Political commentator Ma Ngok of Chinese University said the PLA's response revealed how it was "politically embarrassed".

"It is technically very easy to make such projection and no one can prevent it. The army cannot say which ordinance was breached. More people will challenge them if they continue to make such a big reaction."

And in keeping with his cheekiness Cpak Ming has also uploaded onto Facebook a tutorial on how to make the flash projector using cardboard and a camera magnifier that can be bought on the popular mainland auction website for HK$200 ($25.75).

The PLA are riled up that they can't punish anyone for expressing their support for Ai Weiwei. Welcome to Hong Kong where we practice freedom of speech, expression, press and protest.

It's very simple folks -- let Ai go and those artists will stop the graffiti and projecting images.

While the government's detention of him is illegal, projecting images of him is completely above board.

The score: Chinese government 0, Hong Kong artists 2.