Will #MeToo Take Off in China?

A handful of women in China who have spoken out about their experiences

The #metoo movement may be gaining momentum in North America with women speaking out about experiences of being sexually harassed by men, but in China it's barely on the radar.

However, journalist Huang Xueqin wants to do something about that.

She was working for a state-owned news agency when her boss tried to force himself on her in a hotel room. She quit and last year went public with the story, making her one of the first in China to speak out about her unwanted encounter.

Huang is now conducting an online survey of women journalists on the mainland to find out the extent of sexual harassment in the country. Of the more than 250 women polled, 80 percent reported being sexually harassed.

Huang Xueqin is trying to document cases in the media field

Most of the victims suffered in silence, 3.3 percent resigned and less than 1 percent filed a complaint with the police.

"I know I've opened a floodgate," Huang said. "Journalists are supposed to be more resourceful and skilful advocates than others. If they don't know how to speak out for themselves, what about the rest of the women in this country?"

She has set up a social media platform called Anti Sexual Harassment, to show women how to protect themselves, gather evidence and confront perpetrators.

I really hope she is able to help other women in the future. I immediately thought of my friend in Beijing who committed suicide three years ago because she was sexually harassed by her boss, also in state media.

If only she knew this movement existed now and that women are now trying to say Stop!

Cultural attitudes need to change around sexual harassment

She would probably be pleased to know that Huang was trying to get more information from other journalists and probably would have participated in the survey.

It will be interesting to find out how many cases Huang is able to collect so that we know the extent of the situation. I'm sure the number is very high.

But attitudes need to change -- there is still a lot of blaming the victim, claiming they were asking for it because of their clothes or attitude, or the woman is too embarrassed to come forward, or there are no laws to convict perpetrators so victims suffer in silence.

The central government needs to know this is happening not just to female journalists, but to women in all kinds of work. And the authorities need to take these cases seriously.

This horrific treatment of women is unacceptable in any society and the more these incidents are reported, the strong their voices will be.

Taxis vs Government

Taxi groups threaten to sue the government if it allows Uber to operate in HK

We're not surprised by two taxi associations up in arms about a recent Consumer Council report that recommended the government relax regulations to allow car-hailing apps like Uber to operate in Hong Kong.

What we are surprised about is the delayed response from the two associations -- this report came out a week ago.

People want more choice of how to get from A to B

The Association for the Rights of Liberty Taxi Drivers and Association for Taxi Industry Development are threatening to sue the government if goes ahead with the council's recommendations.

They do have a good point though -- taxi operators need to pay HK$7 million (US$896,000) for a taxi license, whereas ride-hailing operators don't need to do that.

The Consumer Council had recommended the government make car-hailing services more available in Hong Kong after so many complaints about taxi services being rude, cars are old, overcharging customers and denying passengers rides.

In the report the council also suggested cabbies could take part in the car-hailing industry by setting up their own groups, thus giving consumers more choice in how to get from A to B.

Carrie Lam may side with the taxis groups for political support

Up until now taxi groups had vowed to reform themselves with some chosen drivers to provide better service. But how are we supposed to know which ones they are, and how can we request them?

There were a few other initiatives but I'm not hearing anyone remarking how they had an impressive taxi ride recently.

So this showdown between the taxi associations and the government should be interesting. The government will probably back down as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor depends on them for support, leaving the rest of Hong Kong grumbling even more about state of taxi services in the city.

Or will she figure out some kind of compromise? Miracles can happen...

Fact of the Day: Over HK$16B in Cost Overruns

The Sha Tin to Central rail link is still being built and going to cost much more

Hong Kong's taxpayers are reeling from the total cost of the MTR rail link being built between Sha Tin and Central, as it will cost a whopping HK$87.32 billion, making it the most expensive in the city's history.

The 17 kilometre cross-harbour rail line is HK$16.5 billion above the original HK$70.82 billion budget, and when it's finally completed, it could cost more than HK$97 billion.

The link that will be shown later on the MTR map

An MTR Corporation source denied there was a miscalculation regarding the overrun, saying it was caused by numerous factors, including unfavourable ground conditions, and the requirement for additional work.

"Engineers are not God. They can't predict everything," the source said. "The complexity of the underground work is not something that can be fully controlled."

The unforeseen extra costs include preserving heritage sites uncovered near the new Sung Wong Toi station, labour shortages, poor ground conditions and design tweaks, like the need for more bridges and elevators.

Doesn't sound like the project was well thought out from the beginning...

Artifacts dug up added to unforeseen costs of the link

Jeremy Tam Man-ho of the Civic Party criticized the government for its failure to foresee that the city had insufficient manpower to handle its multiple ongoing large-scale infrastructure projects, resulting in surging labour costs as firms tried to lure workers.

This is what happens when bureaucrats have no clue of the economic pressures in Hong Kong and think throwing money at problems will solve them. When it's said and done, this 20-minute ride into town better be worth its weight in gold.

China = CCP?

Wang Zhenmin gives his best legal reasons why China and the CCP are one

China continues to drag Hong Kong kicking and screaming closer to the motherland.

This time it's Wang Zhenmin, the legal head of Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong. He said yesterday that Hongkongers cannot say the city is a part of China and yet reject the Chinese Communist Party.

"From the angle of the world's political map, Hong Kong's political colour had been undoubtedly changed to red since its return to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. That meant it had become part of red China."

He says since '97 Hong Kong must accept the CCP and China

He said some Hongkongers had asked if they could accept the city was part of the country, but reject the leadership of the CCP.

"I think there is no way to separate China from the Chinese Communist Party, as the nation was led and established by the Chinese Communist Party," he said.

Therefore, the fate of Hong Kong is closely linked with that of the CCP, just as relations between Hong Kong and China are inextricably linked.

Is he insinuating that China was only established since 1949? What happened to the country's purported 5,000 years of history? Where did they go?

Sounds like US President Donald Trump isn't the only one engaged in revisionist history.

Chinese refugees settling into Tiu King Leng in the 1940s

Wang seems to be completely tone deaf to Hongkongers' opinions about China -- and he doesn't seem to understand that a good chunk of the population escaped the mainland to get away from the communists.

He also seems to think (or wants us to think) China and the CCP are one. The leadership believes the more they say it the more we'll believe it.

Sorry to say we're a cynical bunch, Mr Wang. China and the CCP are two different things to Hongkongers. Taiwan would also agree...