Official: Barbecues Worse than Tear Gas

Over 10,000 canisters of tear gas has been fired since early June

The Hong Kong government -- the institution that we pay our tax dollars to govern us -- continues to leave us flabbergasted.

A few weeks ago the Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee claimed there was no evidence to prove claims that tear gas poses a major threat to public health and environmental risks.

Sophia Chan brushes off the toxicity of tear gas

"We have conducted internal studies on whether tear gas will produce dioxin or cyanide," she told the Legislative Council at a Q&A session on November 20. "We found no evidence based on existing research and academic literature that tear gas will generate dioxin."

The police have fired over 10,000 canisters of tear gas which has prompted public health concerns. Those rose sharply after a Stand News journalist who has frequently reported on the front lines, said he had been diagnosed with chloracne, a skin condition that has been linked directly to exposure to dioxin-like substances.

Then Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing trotted out to say the major causes of dioxin globally were hill fires and waste burning in the open air. He suggested that perhaps the source of Hong Kong's air pollution was from the protesters, who threw Molotov cocktails, burned projectiles and set fires to stores and cars.

Law Chi-kwong says barbecues are dangerous than tear gas

And today it's Welfare Secretary Law Chi-kwong's turn to give an explanation. He said tear gas only causes mild respiratory and skin irritation, and that it was the protesters who were burning plastic barriers that were causing dioxins to be released in the air.

"For the dioxins resulting from tear gas, I think it has been found from literature that it is minimal or even non-existent. In fact when compared with dioxins resulting from our barbecue activities, I think the level is indeed very minimal," Law said.

Are we really barbecuing that much? He's really grasping at straws, or in this case skewers.

We actually pay these people really good salaries to say these things to us.

They are obviously the minority in Hong Kong who have yet to experience a "tear gas buffet". They have not felt first hand what it is like to breathe in these noxious chemicals that leave your eyes and throat burning. Some people have such strong reactions to the tear gas that they vomit and have skin irritations.

Over 80 percent of Hongkongers have had a "tear gas buffet"

And in case these officials didn't know, dioxin is a known cancer-causing substance.

So basically the Hong Kong government, and by extension Beijing, is killing us. Slowly.

In 10, 15, or 20 years' time we will have a barrage of cancer cases coming up and many will blame it on the tear gas they were exposed to in 2019.

For the government to shirk responsibility is a crime against humanity.

Never-ending Crisis

Carrie Lam has not offered any new solutions to the crisis, six months on

Every day in the media there is commentary from all kinds of people dispensing free advice to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her bosses in Beijing on how to end the crisis that has ripped Hong Kong apart for almost half a year.

One of the latest ones was an opinion piece written by Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights and former president of Chile. She urged Lam to take the opportunity post-District Council elections to reach out to Hongkongers and start having meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, in particular young people.

The UN's Michelle Bachelet has urged Lam to start dialogues

She said also urged Lam to hold an independent inquiry into the police force's handling of the protests, and that having an objective inquiry would be good for everyone. It would also signal that Lam was willing to have a fresh start and was earnestly listening to the people.

Beijing was unhappy about her article and slammed her for interfering in "Hong Kong's internal affairs".

Many others have echoed the same kind of ideas, mainly that Lam needs to engage with residents and stop condemning the violence as it is not productive. They have all said, either for or against the protesters, that an independent inquiry is needed.

Even the head of the five-member panel appointed to oversee the Independent Police Complaints Council has said the police watchdog lacks the powers and resources to deal with barrage of complaints in an objective manner.

Protests continued again this past weekend in Tsim Sha Tsui

Panel chairman Denis O'Connor, the former British chief inspector of constabulary said: "[The IPCC] lacks the independent investigative capacity as we would expect to find in a body seeking to exercise oversight of the police.

"In the absence of establishing some facts that people can actually relate to, then rumours or innuendos or fake news are likely to continue and proliferate. I can't imagine that is good for Hong Kong."

Yet week after week in her regular press conferences, Lam continues to condemn the protesters as rioters and radicals and refuses to do anything until the violence is stopped.

Last week she even suggested setting up an inquiry into finding out the source of the protests.

District Council election was a referendum on the government

Does she really think it's something other than her?

After O'Connor's comments, Lam still insists on waiting until the report from his panel is completed before doing anything. So we're just going to wait another few months while the protests and violence continue?

Lam is hardly being helpful in getting Hong Kong back on its feet.

Her lack of engagement is completely baffling, no matter what side you are on.

Some think she is the fall guy and has to stay there until China comes up with another plan. They don't want to sack her right away otherwise it will be admitting that Lam was the wrong choice from the beginning.

But how long can we wait? We all want changes to happen for the better, not procrastinate until god knows when.

Will liaison office head Wang Zhimin keep his job?

In the meantime in Beijing there is speculation that Wang Zhimin, the current head of the liaison office will be removed because of the complete miscalculation on how badly the pro-establishment political parties would do in the November 24 District Council elections.

While the intelligence the liaison office got was totally wrong this time, it's surprising that his predecessor Zhang Xiaoming didn't get into trouble for what happened five years earlier in the Umbrella Movement. While the pan-democrats didn't win a landslide victory in 2015, they still made major gains.

There are so many things wrong with how Hong Kong is governed and everyone is giving their opinions on what Lam should do -- go away!

But what do you do when your boss doesn't let you leave, and you think it's beneath you to meet with people who despise you?

Zhang Xiaoming escaped punishment for 2014 protests

You do what Lam does and hides in Government House, and once a week gives stern messages that people don't take seriously because she has lost all integrity. She is basically a paper tiger who has lost her mandate to govern Hong Kong and yet Beijing continues to prop her up.

It's a sad state of affairs in Hong Kong, no wonder the economy is falling into recession.

And yet Lam blames the protesters. At this rate, things will never end...

Northern Dishes in Macau

Guests can watch their food being prepared in Beijing Kitchen

Beijing Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt Macau is a consistent restaurant in terms of food quality, pity about the service being sporadic. Nevertheless we had a good lunch here sampling several dishes before I went back to Hong Kong.

Green bean noodle with shredded chicken and sesame sauce

Some highlights: The jellyfish with sliced cucumber, grated garlic and aged malt vinegar was crunchy and refreshing, and we quite liked the green bean noodle with shredded chicken, chilli and sesame sauce, or at least I liked it and finished the leftovers.

The main event, the Peking Duck was presented table side and the chef immediately launched into carving it. He first gave us a small plate of just the skin that you dip into sugar and boy does that melt in the mouth! Quite amazing to try, but one piece is enough.

Then came the duck slices, some with a bit of the skin with visible fat underneath, some just meat. The steamed pancakes were thin, but stuck together and required some dexterity with the chopsticks to be able to daintily extract them from the bamboo steamer without ripping them.

Deep-fried chicken with chillis and peanuts

Condiments included pureed garlic, thinly sliced scallions and cucumbers with the sweet plum sauce. But overall the verdict was the duck was "too ducky", a bit too gamey for some people's tastes. I felt it didn't have much taste and needed the condiments to perk it up.

I suggested we order the panfried pork dumplings with yellow chives and they arrived in a delicate formation, bottom up with a web-like connection holding them all together. The dumplings themselves were crispy on the outside, and very juicy inside. So good.

Pretty presentation of panfried dumplings with yellow chives

For a spicy kick, the deep-fried chicken with chilli and peanut hit the spot. This is not gong bao ji ding, but small pieces of chicken that are deep-fried and then stir-fried again with dried chillis and Sichuan peppercorns for that numbing feeling.

Another impressive-looking dish is the crispy mandarin fish in sweet and sour sauce. It was covered in small mango cubes that were a nice complement to the thick sauce. The fish was very meaty, but didn't have much flavour, hence the sweet and slightly tart sauce. We really did finish every part of the fish in the end.

The last time I ate here was a year ago for a quick lunch just before the announcement of who got stars in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau. I just might do the same thing again in a few weeks' time. And having just eaten here, I already have in mind what I'd like to eat next time.

Peking duck, anyone?

Beijing Kitchen
1/F, Grand Hyatt Macau
City of Dreams
Estrada do Istmo, Cotai
Macau
(853) 8868 1930

Burmese Noodles in Old Macau

A bowl of Burmese rice noodles with fish balls in Macau's old district

When I met my Singapore friend who used to work in Macau, her husband's first order of business was to go to the Three Lamps District in old Macau. It's called "Three Lamps" because there's a roundabout with three lamp posts there.

On one side is a mini open wet market where you can buy flowers, get keys cut, or simple electronic gadgets fixed, and of course buy food. There's fresh produce like vegetables, homemade tofu and noodles, lemongrass and chillis, and also snacks like banh mi, and large chunks of char siu and roast goose ready to be taken home and eaten.

Soy chickens and quails for sale at this shop in the wet market

Directly opposite the wet market area and going up a few steps from the roundabout is Resturante Birmanes Nga Heong, a Burmese noodle shop.

There are apparently a few thousand Burmese living in the former Portuguese enclave and there are a handful of Burmese restaurants in Macau. Restaurante Birmanes Nga Heong is cheap, though the staff aren't very cheerful.

We got there just before the lunchtime rush and perused through the menu. My friend and her husband both got noodles marinated in a soy sauce and topped with shredded roast chicken and chopped scallions. They also ordered a dish of pork chop that came in a thin slice and cut up into strips.

Thin strips of pork chop that are slightly sweet

I ordered a spicy and sour noodle soup that has fish cakes in it, but I asked them to substitute them with fish balls instead.

Soon my order arrived piping hot and thank goodness not too spicy though it looks quite red! I enjoyed the sourness of the soup base, the rice noodles soaking in the flavour along with the springy fish balls.

We also ordered a plate of choi sum, the vegetables very tender and in season.

Despite us enjoying the meal, it was a bit of a challenge dealing with a waitress who was hardly patient with us. But really we came for the food.

The Burmese noodle shop at Three Lamps District

Apparently this place is also known for its creamy chicken curry and black soy bean milk.

Restaurante Birmanes Nga Heong
27F-GF Rua de Fernao Mendes Pinto R/C
Macau
(853) 2852 8129