Downpour Mars Candlelight Vigil

Candles lit minutes before the deluge of rain

I just came back from the Tiananmen candlelight vigil to mark the 24th anniversary completely soaked after a giant rainstorm hit us before the event started.

YTSL and I arrived early, around 6.15pm and while there were many people making their way to Victoria Park, the streets weren't blocked off by police yet.

Posters and slogans of what happened 24 years ago

It had rained in the morning so we hoped the weather would hold in the evening and it had cooled off a bit too.

The usual democratic parties were out in force, "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung was there, as well as Albert Ho Chun-yan, the Falun Gong were trying to raise money as well as others selling T-shirts, including one with a graphic of Li Wangyang, who died of mysterious causes just before June 4 last year.

We sat quite close to the stage on the right hand side, next to the giant map of Beijing and waited for the event to begin.

To keep the crowds interested, people on stage took turns singing songs that would be performed during the service and periodically notified people about how many football pitches were filled.

By around 7.25pm all the pitches were filled and people coming in had to go to the grassy area. Soon we were instructed to light our candles and in minutes the area was filled with glowing candles.

This year we were quite close to the stage

The crowd was getting revved up with the candles and the songs, but then the rain came.

It started with a few drops, along with what looked like giant wisps of cotton, and then it started to rain. People pulled out their umbrellas and so did we.

But it kept coming, pouring down in fact and people around us began to stand up and eventually we followed. There was thunder and lightning and the more it poured, the more we shouted, "Vindicate June 4!"

Either the sound system didn't work because of the heavy rain or the organizers didn't know what to do but there was nothing coming from the stage.

To fill the vacuum, a group of students behind us started singing a Cantonese song about keeping the spirit and hanging in there. But after that nothing happened. They sang again and again nothing from the stage.

By now the rain had subsided a bit, but the thunder and lightning were still quite menacing.

Many young people took part again in the vigil

YTSL didn't want to leave, but I was already pretty much soaked and eventually I persuaded her to go. Many others decided the same too and we found refuge in the nearby Din Tai Fung restaurant.

After a bite to eat, she went back to catch the last few minutes.

It will be interesting to hear what the organizers claim are the numbers this year with the horrible weather conditions. It's just too bad it was pouring down and it seemed like organizers didn't quite know what to say or do.

We still think it was a relatively healthy turnout, but probably not as many as the record 180,000 last year.

The Goddess of Democracy stands tall

Some people chose not to go because of the public spat between the organizers in the last few days, which is a pity because this event should not be political, but about remembering those who died 24 years ago.

As for the rain, was it orchestrated by Beijing? Or just a coincidence?

By coincidence, it was announced today that former Beijing mayor Chen Xitong, believed to be one of the masterminds behind the Tiananmen Square massacre had died on Sunday.

Former Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang blames Chen for the tragedy in his memoir, and former Premier Li Peng claimed in his diary Chen was director of the headquarters in charge of the crackdown. 

Chen denied any responsibility and claimed he was kept in the dark, adding the tragedy could have been avoided.

While China continues to suppress anything related to June 4, it cannot cover up everything because in the end the truth will prevail.

Vindicate June 4!

Clinging to Childish Pleasures

The giant Rubber Duck hanging out in Victoria Harbour delighting fans

Yesterday on the Peak, YTSL and I could clearly see the duck, though it's anchored at its spot and doesn't move. We could even see the outdoor exhibition called INFLATION! by Mobile M+ featuring a life-size inflated version of Stonehenge, a giant Chinese-style roast pork and some giant dark brown poo by Paul McCarthy. I hear he's a renowned artist, but giant turds?

Even a shopping mall -- Harbour City to be exact -- came up with an even better piece of inflatable art -- Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman's giant Rubber Duck.

This bird beat a bunch of poo hands down.

Taking pictures with smaller ducks nearby

The big yellow duck bobbing in front of Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui has been an endless source of entertainment for Hong Kong people in the past month. First there was lots of anticipation about the 16.5-metre tall inflated duck's arrival and then when it did come, pulled by a tugboat from Tsing Yi, the toy duck was headline news. People even took time off work to see it.

Really? It's just a duck.

But then it mysteriously started to deflate, falling on its side and the duck was then described as a fried egg or omelet floating on the water. The shopping mall claimed the bird was undergoing health checks, which made people wonder if it died from the air pollution or from mainlanders flicking their cigarette butts at it.

Finally over a week ago it was back in action and delighting crowds again.

A shot of the duck at Harbour City from the Star Ferry

After the hike on the Peak, I went home, showered and then was just in time to see the Rubber Duck at sunset. Going by Star Ferry was the best way to see the duck from the water, though there were still tons of people at dinnertime.

Young and old -- mostly young people were eager to have pictures with the duck on their phones and cameras, while the babies of enthusiastic parents didn't seem to have much interest in the giant inflatable duck.

I finally managed to get close to the duck and it does look better far away because it has "wrinkles" near its beak, wings and tail. Nevertheless, seeing it one can't help but smile because it seems to be smiling too.

Many locals believe the duck has been such a hit because of all the scandals plaguing the city at the moment, like the former ICAC chief caught with overspending for entertaining mainland officials, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's administration passively standing by as housing prices continue to rise, mainlanders continuing to display their worst tourist behaviour, and rising store rents closing decades-old family-run businesses.

The duck looks like it's smiling, no?

Is this a sign Hong Kong people are regressing to their childhoods for comfort? However the bigger question is -- while the Rubber Duck has brought temporary relief to locals, what's going to happen when it leaves us on June 9?

Crystal Clear Panoramas

A rare postcard picture view of Hong Kong with blue skies

My friend YTSL was keen on taking advantage of the blue skies today and going up the Peak so I agreed to join her. Blue skies in Hong Kong are few and far between these days thanks to the smog generated within the city, and not -- as former Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen wanted us to believe -- from the mainland and so there was nothing we could do about it.

The clouds at High West create a shadow over the hill

It was 33 degrees today and needless to say we were quite sweaty! We were amazed by the crystal clear views of the city down below and took lots of pictures. We couldn't believe how far we could see -- various parts of Kowloon from Kai Tak and Sham Shui Po all the way into the New Territories like Ma On Shan.

One of the view butterflies we managed to take photos of

YTSL persuaded me to hike up to High West, a little known path up a hill that she says is on the map but doesn't have any signage, perhaps because the path is very narrow and steep in some parts without any railings.

As we were about to climb up the stairs, a Chinese man holding an umbrella was walking back down and said the views from the top were amazing. For me it was a bit of a hike, as I don't usually climb up stairs nor do I do Stairmaster at the gym! But I just went up slowly and surely like a tortoise and eventually made it up.

We were duly rewarded with yet another stunning view of Hong Kong -- a 360-degree view that overlooked the western and southern side of Hong Kong Island. From here we could see Lamma, Lantau, and Mui Wo in the distance, and my flat down in Kennedy Town.

Overlooking Pokfulam Reservoir, Wah Fu Estate and Cyberport

The other part of the walk involved YTSL checking everywhere for insects -- spiders, dragonflies, butterflies and any other creatures lurking about. We had a hard time taking pictures of butterflies because I put on a lot of insect repellant and butterflies don't like the citronella smell. Nevertheless we did manage to get s few shots of some that were willing to pose for us.

After we got down from this point, it was a gentle slope down to Kotewall Road, which also intersects with Conduit Road. We got on the No. 3 green minibus and within minutes we were down on Pedder Street in Central.

I don't think I'll be hiking again anytime soon, but was glad to have a relatively short one seeing some really cool views of the city. We have so many overcast days or smoggy ones that when it's a clear day, you sometimes wonder if you should get your eyes checked because everything seems so much in focus!

The view from High West overlooking Western and Kowloon

Word of the Day: 本土 Bentu

Locals want to protect what's left of Hong Kong's identity and institutions

In the past week the word 本土 (ben3tu3) has been used when a row erupted between one of the organizers of the upcoming June 4 candlelight vigil in Hong Kong and the founder of the Tiananmen Mothers group.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China decided to use the slogan, "love the country, love the people, that's the Hong Kong spirit; vindication of June 4; never give up".

However, Professor Ding Zilin, whose son died in the crackdown 24 years ago criticized the slogan as "stupid" and not in sync with mainland people's thinking.

Then Tsui Hon-kwong of the Hong Kong alliance retorted, accusing Ding of not understanding the situation in Hong Kong and that she had developed "Stockholm Syndrome" in becoming more sympathetic towards the Communist Party.

Ding warned this row could split the movement and could affect her group's cooperation with the one in Hong Kong.

Subsequently Tsui resigned and Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the alliance apologized to Ding in a phone call and said the slogan was now: "Vindicating June 4; Never Give Up".

It seems bizarre that the alliance would choose "love the country, love the people", but to the group it was about not loving the Chinese government, but fighting for democracy.

However, for many locals, this slogan would not do -- they do not want to have anything to do with China except to remember the victims of June 4 and the fact that they can do that in Hong Kong is what makes the city so special.

And so the word 本土 has been used lately to describe the invasion of mainlanders in Hong Kong and how their strong buying power has literally changed the landscape of the city: snapping up luxury goods and eating expensive foods like shark's fin and abalone, greedy landlords seeing dollar signs and kicking out mom-and-pop shops and replacing them with jewellery and watch shops paying astronomical rents.

The result is that Hong Kong people feel like they are second-class citizens in their own city and so they are calling for 本土, or what has been translated into English at "nativism", but basically trying to hold onto the Hong Kong identity and values to distinguish themselves from mainlanders.

At the same time, Hong Kong people are seeing their own institutions fall apart around them. First it is their disgust with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, but really it's the system that's to blame.

Of course Beijing wants to make sure it wins every time and so whoever becomes CE will have to kowtow to his mainland bosses if he wants to keep his job no matter how much Hong Kongers hate him/her. The other is that the Hong Kong government is too weak or lacks any kind of integrity to make decisions on its own without consulting Beijing.

And now we are watching the latest saga unfold -- the former head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption forced to explain why he spent more than HK$724,000 on wining and dining as well as giving gifts to mainland officials.

Why is this institution -- which is supposed to crack down on corruption -- currying favour with the mainland?! And former chief Timothy Tong Hin-ming believes he has done nothing wrong and that his actions will not affect the integrity of the ICAC. May we also add he was appointed a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference after he retired from the ICAC?

So basically this has been a s***y week for Hong Kong and the only bright spot is the large rubber duck cheering people up in Victoria Harbour -- but only for one more week.

We hope Tuesday's candlelight vigil will put aside squabbles and everyone can join together for the main reason of the event -- to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre and openly challenge Beijing to vindicate them.

We don't want this Hong Kong institution to end and neither should it be politicized either.