Pictures of the Day: Monkeying Around

A monkey having fun swinging a handbag

People who decorate malls for Chinese New Year must have the hardest time coming up with interesting displays around a different animal.

Luckily this year is a bit fun with the monkey, and I love this window display from Tod's with monkeys carrying handbags and having mischievous expressions.

Monkeys playing among the flowers at Landmark Atrium

The Landmark has a beautiful floral display with over 2,088 flowers and over 50 golden simians. They look a bit lifelike, each with a different look, but it's their "fur" that makes them not so cuddly-looking...

Looking for a Deal

Property is a big economic mover in Hong Kong, but prices are astronomical

For people who want to buy a flat in Hong Kong, the slump in property prices is a good thing.

But has it bottomed out yet?

January property sales was just 3,123, the lowest January figure since 1991. It was a 41-percent decline month-on-month, and 62-percent dive year-on-year, and property agents are not expecting things to get better anytime soon.

Analysts say some factors include the withdrawals of government land sales, interest rate hikes, and the return of negative equity owners.

There were only 2,025 residential properties sold, down 50 percent month-on-month, and 68 percent year-on-year, according to the Land Registry.

As a result, developers are slowing the launches of their latest flat offerings, and with Chinese New Year coming up, there won't be much movement in the next week or so.

There is talk that some developers may cut prices to below the market price of second-hand homes to stimulate sales.

The property industry makes it sound like doom and gloom, but perhaps prices are too inflated? Potential buyers are poised to strike as soon as they think the market has bottomed out.

Everyone's looking for a good deal, and if the price is right...

The Must-Have Item for Chinese New Year

Massive crowds descend on Victoria Park to check out Chinese New Year items

Today is the start of the Chinese New Year fair at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and the stalls are typically selling decorations, home ware, toys, silly items, flowers, and food.

But this year's must-have item is a copy of the so-called banned books from Causeway Bay Books that is still closed and its five booksellers still missing and presumed on the mainland.

Political parties use the fair as a chance to meet the public and solicit for donations, and this time the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China has stocked its stall with more than 1,000 copies of titles from the bookstore, that specializes in politically sensitive titles banned on the mainland.

Albert Ho's party is selling books from Causeway Bay Books

"These kinds of books have been sold in Hong Kong for decades... The free flow of information is a vital part of the city's way of life... We have to defend this freedom. Localist sentiment has been gaining prominence in Hong Kong, but it's still important to understand the mainland's political landscape," explained Alliance chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan.

He said the alliance decided to sell the books because the store's warehouse was being forced to relocate and the books would have been thrown away if they weren't sold.

It's very interesting how the political party got access to the books. Who gave them permission to sell them? Nevertheless, the books will probably sell well as a symbol of support for the missing booksellers.

Perhaps someone across the border thinks that as time goes by, the story of the five will fade, but not for Hong Kong people. As each day passes, their hopes fade a bit more and worries about their own safety increase.

Hong Kong Video Plea goes Viral

Agnes Chow in a screen grab from the video posted on her Facebook page

A month ago, Agnes Chow Ting sent out a video plea on Facebook. Called "An urgent cry from Hong Kong" the video shows her reading out a letter in English, talking about the disappearance of the five booksellers, and how it was important to find out what happened to them.

That video went viral and was seen by over 1 million times and shared 13,000 times.
"I was quite surprised [when the video went viral]. It shows that people all over the world care about what is happening in Hong Kong -- they are shocked by it. I hope people will lean about the political situation and keep their eye on Hong Kong. I am really happy that everyone is showing their support," the Baptist University student and core member of Scholarism said.

"This is the first time that we are aware of Hong Kong people being taken to the mainland because of political feelings about Chinese President Xi Jinping."

Over a week ago Gui Minhai made a strange confession on state television, admitting to killing a young woman in a drunk driving accident in Zhejiang province in 2003, while Lee Po's wife was able to see her husband over a week ago in an undisclosed location on the mainland.

The other three associates have not been heard from since they disappeared.

Chow says more protests need to be organized to further pressure the Chinese government to reveal what has happened to the five people.

"I hope people will start to care more about the booksellers. This case shows we do not have the kind of freedoms we should," she said.

In her video, Chow talks about how Hong Kong people believed that with "one country, two systems", their rights and freedoms would be upheld.

"In the past, we were safe because we lived in Hong Kong instead of mainland China. However, the circumstances have changed with the abduction which was suspected to be done by the police in China towards this bookseller who kept being low profile before."

As a result, in the video, Chow says she fears for her safety too.

"I hope everyone in the world who believes in universal values of freedom and human rights could stand up and speak for this incident to stop the political suppression," she says.

"Even I am afraid of my personal safety after this incident. I still believe we should continuously fight for freedom from fear because it is an important core value that we should uphold."

In the end Chow quotes from German pastor Martin Niemöller, who became an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler and voiced his regret for not doing enough for the victims of Nazi rule.

First they came for the activists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not an activist.

Then they came for the journalists and I did not speak out. Because I was not a journalist.

Then they came for the bookseller, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a bookseller.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.