Reversal of Fortune

Cameron tries to use the charm offensive in Beijing... but is it enough?

Back in the 1800s, the British plundered China with opium, draining the country of its silver and taking along with it precious antiques, paintings and jewellery.

And now over 200 years later China is like a dog, smelling fear and terrorizing British Prime Minister David Cameron into submission.

He is currently in China with the largest ever British trade mission to the country, with deals worth $5.6 billion signed so far.

However Cameron has had to suffer some humiliation to get the business the UK desperately needs at the moment.

For example, the nationalist paper the Global Times had a commentary with the headline "China won't fall for Cameron's 'sincerity'", and it said Britain should realize that it is not a major power but "just an old European country apt for travel and study".

But that wasn't the worst of it.

Just days before his China trip Cameron set up his Sina Weibo account and already had more than 230,000 followers by Wednesday. He invited netizens to ask questions, saying he would try to rely during his visit.

One of the most popular questions? It was asked by Chinese think tank the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, which is headed by former vice-premier Zeng Peiyan, and members include top government officials and leading economists.

"When will Britain return the illegally plundered artefacts?" the organization asked, referring to the 23,000 items in the British Museum that it claims were stolen by the British Army that put down the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the 19th century.

For the Chinese, the ransacking of the Summer Palace in Beijing by foreigners has always been taught in schools as the ultimate humiliation of the country and the Communist Party constantly refers to this event to prove in recent years how the Party has immensely improved the country's economic and political power in the world.

How Cameron will worm his way out of that one will definitely reveal his political skills. His answer will indicate how much Cameron kowtows to Beijing...

A Sad Ending

The picture of the six-month-old baby that was released to the public

Several days ago on November 23 Hong Kong people were worried about the abduction of a six-month old baby in Kowloon City.

The mother claimed she was giving directions to a middle-aged woman with a mainland accent how to get to Wong Tai Sin MTR station when a man hurried past and apparently took the child. She said she continued for a while before she realized the baby was gone.

In the CCTV footage from the entrance to San Po Kong Mansion, about 45 minutes before the "abduction", there's a woman pushing a stroller, but the cover is down even though it is night time.

Also, there was no footage of the child from the surveillance cameras in the previous few days.

However last night the mother was arrested for illegal burial of a body.

The Hong Kong media was all over the abduction story

The mother allegedly told the authorities that she found the baby dead in her home, possibly from suffocation. She apparently disposed of the body in a violin case and then put it in the rubbish bin.

Not knowing how to tell the baby's father (who is already married and has three children), the mother then allegedly made up the story the child was abducted...

Tomorrow there are plans for the police to take on the grisly task of finding the child's body that was dumped in the massive Tsueng Kwan O landfill site. Not only do they have to figure out where exactly it was dumped, but also if it is a possible safety hazard for investigators to search the area.

More will be revealed about what exactly happened in the coming days, but the story has such a sad ending for everyone involved.

Finally Coming Clean

Zhang Yimou and his wife finally admit to having more than one child

There were rumours back in May that superstar Chinese director Zhang Yimou had fathered seven children by four women.

After that story came out, there was no word of the 62-year-old Zhang until now. He has come out and admitted he has four children -- three with his current wife, and another from his first.

His office issued an open letter through its verified Sina weibo account late on Sunday saying the director and his wife Chen Ting have two sons and a daughter, which violates the one-child policy.

Zhang and his wife "expressed their sincere apology to the public for the negative social impact that this has created," the letter said.

When the rumours came out in May, the People's Daily reported the director could face a fine of up to 160 million yuan ($26 million). When people are caught flouting the one-child policy, they must pay a "social compensation fee" based on their annual income.

The letter added Zhang and his wife were willing to be investigated by the family planning committee in Chen's hometown in the eastern city of Wuxi and would accept whatever penalties they would have to face.

It was unsure how the couple had managed to evade the family planning authorities until now. The family planning office in Wuxi's Binhu district confirmed Zhang and Chen had sent representatives to accept the investigation and that it was underway.

The public will soon discover how the director and his wife hid the exact number of children they had for so long. Each had to be registered in order to get their hukou or residency permit. Or perhaps they paid bribes? Or bought the hukou in different places? Or they were born in Hong Kong or elsewhere?

The investigation will surely uncover some loopholes the government will promptly seal up -- just as they are loosening the one-child policy only so slightly to allow couples with one parent who is an only child to have more than one baby.

Or is Zhang's star fading in political circles? Even having kids is political in China.

Ambling Up the Peak

Clear views of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and beyond

Today the weather was chilly in the morning but warmed up towards lunchtime.

My cousins took me up a path from their place in Sai Ying Pun up to Bonham Road then to the intersection of Kotewall and Hatton roads where we began the incline up to the Peak.

My heart was already working hard just to get to that point -- and we had yet to reach the top! I soon realized this was the same path YTSL took me on back in June, but we went down it, and so it wasn't all that unfamiliar.

We soon came upon a group of people lined along the railing wearing army fatigues and steadying cameras with very long (and expensive) lenses. Just what they were waiting for we had no idea (they were still there when we came back down), but that's the first time I've seen many serious bird watchers flocked together. 

What are these avid bird watchers waiting for?

Our hike up was good -- I somehow managed to pick up the pace and caught my second wind -- or was it my cousin's piece of delicious cheesecake that was kicking in? Just under an hour later we arrived at Peak Galleria and we had lunch at Tsui Wah outside because we had a dog with us. We were lucky because there was a massive line waiting for tables inside.

Another two women later shared our table with us and they each had a dog. It's interesting how dog owners quickly strike up conversations just because they have a canine pet...

The view today was fantastic -- quite clear and a cloudless blue sky.

After we walked down I even walked all the way back home! What a workout!