Fact of the Day: Hong Kong's Most Expensive Real Estate

The homes at 12 Kellett Road on The Peak -- who will buy the first one?

Looking for a place to live? Hong Kong's most expensive real estate to date has come on the market.

It's the 12 houses at Twelve Peaks on 12 Mount Kellett Road on The Peak for a record HK$175,735 ($22,672) per square foot. The first house, No. 1 is the most expensive, selling for HK$819.1 million.

"The decoration cost of No. 1 is nearly equivalent to 10 percent of the selling price. It will probably be the most expensive house in the world per square foot if it fetches that amount," says Victor Lui Ting, deputy managing director at Sun Hung Kai Properties, the company selling the dozen homes.

On paper, it doesn't seem like Hong Kong's economy has any problems, does it?

Cautious Freedom

Free at last -- but how much freedom with Gao Zhisheng really have?

We are thrilled to hear activist lawyer Gao Zhisheng was released earlier today after three years in jail in Shaya, in remote northwest China.

His brother went to pick him up and then travel to Urumqi with minders following them. They went to Gao's sister-in-law's home and it was there that the lawyer was able to call his wife in San Francisco and speak to her for the first time in four years.

"I spoke to Gao Zhisheng, I spoke to him," his wife Geng He said, her voice filled with emotion. "I ask him how his health was, and all he was able to say was, 'My teeth are in bad shape,'" she said.

Geng could hear unfamiliar voices in the room, and deduced they were minders. Her sister told her that half a dozen of Gao's teeth were loose and he had to tear his prison servings of steamed buns into tiny pieces in order to eat.

"Can you imagine the kind of ill treatment he was facing in there?" she asked.

His release was a stark change from the two visits from relatives he was allowed in three years, while his wife and two children fled China in 2009 and were accepted as refugees in the US.

What did Gao do to deserve this horrific treatment?

Previously he was a leading human rights lawyer, self-taught and praised by the Chinese government. But then he began defending the rights of Falun Gong members and farmers with land disputes which Beijing frowned upon. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

This isn't the first time Gao was jailed. He was convicted of subversion in 2006 and sentenced to three years in prison. Three years later he was released on probation, and then disappeared a few times.

The last time he was released he recounted in graphic detail to the media how he was physically tortured, kept awake, beaten, his genitals prodded and violated. Soon afterwards he was disappeared again... and then it was later revealed he was in this remote prison for violating the terms of his probation, according to Xinhua.

"Among all the rights lawyers, he has endured the most suffering and we are happy that he was able to come out today," said Beijing rights lawyer Li Fangping. "But we feel very pessimistic about the days ahead. In the past, he was always in either illegal detention or being tortured. We are very worried about whether he will be able to regain full freedom."

We worry too about what will happen to Gao. But more importantly what is his mental state after all he has been through? Has he completely given up the fight to preserve his sanity or is he still the fiery advocate? Will Gao be able to see his family again?

There are too many questions and hopefully they will be answered with time.

Nevertheless, the constant stream on Twitter about his release proves Gao has not been forgotten. We hope he is feeling our love and support from around the world.

Chasing Out Foreign Devils

The coffee shop the Garratts own in Dandong, Liaoning province

It is worrying to see China becoming aggressive again in its stance on foreigners and foreign companies in the country.

Officers from the National Development and Reform Commission raided the Shanghai office of Mercedes-Benz on Monday morning, looking for evidence the German luxury car maker, along with BMW, Audi and Chrysler were engaged in monopoly practices in charging high prices for spare parts and after sales services.

It is believed the NDRC probe is meant to force foreign car makers to slash prices of their vehicles which are selling for three times the price of other markets, like the United States.

But why, if people can afford them? And the cut in prices will affect wages of locals who are in joint ventures building these vehicles. Sounds like shooting oneself in the foot, does it not?

Do the wealthy care what the prices are? As the saying goes, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

And in China, where status symbols reign supreme, the uber rich really want to prove how wealthy they are by what they drive.

Julia and Kevin Garratt are accused of spying in China

The other worry is a Canadian couple who own a coffee shop on the border between China and North Korea. They were detained over allegation of spying, according to Beijing authorities.

Kevin and Julia Garratt are under investigation for "suspected theft of state secrets about China's military and national defense research:, according to a Xinhua report.

The couple are originally from Vancouver and run a coffee house in Dandong, Liaoning province. They have lived in China for about 30 years and are Christian activists. Notice the "t" in "Peter" looks more like a cross...

Their son Peter says the charges are ridiculous, saying the coffee house is popular with expats because of the Western food they serve, while locals like to come here to practice their English.

Peter said he was questioned by police about what his parents did other than run the coffee shop and he replied his mother used to teach English at the university and his father works for North Star Aid, which helps the elderly in North Korea.

He added his parents were not trying to proselytize anyone and that they were obeying the law. Peter has no idea where these accusations of espionage come from and believes his parents will be cleared of the charges.

Does he have any understanding of the Chinese legal system? When they trump up charges like these, they will bend over backwards to find any shred of evidence to prove their accusations.

Just look at infamous web celebrity Guo Meimei.

Guo Meimei showed off inexplicable wealth on weibo

The 23-year-old cause outrage back in 2011 when she claimed to work for a subsidiary of the Red Cross Society of China, and at the same time flaunted pictures of her posing next to luxury sports cars and carrying luxury bags on her weibo account.

Last month she was detained on gambling-related charges and she confessed on television the other day, apologizing for her luxurious lifestyle and damaging the reputation of the charity.

"I like to show off. I have the vain mindset of a little girl," said Guo.

In a CCTV report, Guo admitted to operating a gambling venue in Beijing, and had sex with various men for no less than 100,000 yuan per encounter. Her personal assistant revealed how Guo was a compulsive gambler and would frequent Macau's casinos...

Did she really set up an illegal gambling den in Beijing? She's 23 years old and it seems more probable she made money prostituting her body to pay for her high life than to have the ability to set up an illegal business.

So the Garratts have to be careful -- they may think they are innocent, but not when the Chinese government seems to have an anti-foreigner agenda in mind...

Trying to Discredit Jimmy Lai

Jimmy Lai may have donated millions to pro-democracy politicians and groups

Someone or a group is out to take down media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying with the leak of his emails showing how much he has donated to pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong.

Two weeks ago there were leaked emails showing he donated millions of dollars to pan-democratic politicians such as Civic Party's Claudia Mo Man-ching, Democrat James To Kun-sun, and ex-lawmaker Tanya Chan, as well as Anson Chan Fang On-sang, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, and Martin Lee Chu-ming.

Donations ranged from HK$200,000 to HK$6 million (over two years).

And now the latest revelation from more leaked emails is that Lai helped fund the referendum that Occupy Central held in June.

Exchanges between the founder of Next Media and his top aide Mark Simon show Lai has spent between HK$3 million to HK$3.5 million on the plebiscite, though it is not clear what exactly the money was used for.

While Lai gave extensive advice to the pro-democracy group, he privately described Occupy Central as "idealist scholars" who "couldn't make the cut without help".

He added they had "no strategy", not to mention any organized plans or steps for actions". They "could accomplish nothing if there was no help".

While Lai and Simon would not comment, one of the Occupy Central organizers, Chinese University academic Dr Chan Kin-man dismissed the notion that Lai was the main force behind the campaign.

"Occupy Central has its own flow and schedule which are very transparent," he said.

He also condemned the leak as a smear campaign.

It is interesting these leaks have come out now as well as the contents of them. It should be no surprise that Lai would possibly support pro-democracy groups because of his critical stance towards the mainland.

And what he does with his money is his own business. Surely other tycoons are donating money to pro-Beijing camps, perhaps even the anti-Occupy Central group that's collecting signatures now, and the total has far surpassed 1 million.

Lai is an outsider -- like Li Ka-shing he has built his riches from the bottom up -- but instead Lai focuses on his media projects and uses them as his bullhorn to express his disapproval of China.

As a result, it is alleged by Simon that banks such as HSBC and Standard Chartered stopped advertising with Lai's popular Apple Daily thanks to an order from the Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

This hit Lai's Next Media hard financially, but he still manages to do OK.

Which is maybe perhaps most locals don't really care about these email leaks on Lai in terms of how much he's spending on pro-democracy groups and activities...

He's on their side.