New District Councillors Get to Work

Yuen Long District councillors held their first meeting since being elected

Hong Kong's newly-elected district councillors have already started working for their constituents, with those in Yuen Long district setting up a task force to look into the white-shirted men who attacked MTR passengers in Yuen Long station on July 21.

However, the police opted not to attend this meeting, despite being invited, which caused some pro-democracy councillors to accuse the force of having "zero respect" to the council.

They have set up a task force to look into the July 21 attack

"It's ridiculous," said the Democratic Party's Roy Kwong Chun-yu. "The police's absence demonstrates their zero respect -- if not disregard -- for the district council, which formally requested their attendance."

In a written statement, the police said 37 people have been arrested for their roles in the July 21 incident, with seven of those charged with rioting.

"It is not appropriate for us to comment further as the incident has entered judicial proceedings," the force said.

The motion to create the task force was backed by 33 pro-democracy councillors, though rural councillors and pro-establishment members did not vote.  

Democratic Alliance councillor Shek King-ching was at the station when the attack happened. He saw two passengers with head wounds from being attacked by the mob.

Roy Kwong blasted the police for not attending the meeting

"A task force is what voters had asked for," he said. "I hope more citizens will come out and share their experiences so we can reconstruct the truth."

While the pro-establishment rural councillors did not oppose the idea of a task force, they felt the scope of the inquiry should expand beyond the July 21 incident.

"Some citizens have been attacked on the streets, while protesters have also vandalized shops," said councillor Shum Ho-kit. "I hope the task force will also look into the violent incidents in Yuen Long."

But that suggestion was dismissed by the council, which instead passed a motion to call on the government to have an independent inquiry into the police's handling of the protests since last June.

Will Carrie Lam take the district councillors seriously?

Also today other district councils had their first meetings today, including Kwai Tsing, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Wan Chai North, and Yau Tsim Mong. They all passed motions to press the government to respond to the five core demands of protesters.

Now that residents have representation at the grassroots level, will Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor finally listen to district council grievances? Or do we have to wait until September this year for the legislative council elections to have more weight?

Hong Kong's New Minder

Luo Huining met the media this morning in the liaison office in Hong Kong

The liaison office in Hong Kong has a new man in charge. Wang Zhimin has been replaced with Luo Huining, and the 65-year-old spoke to the media this morning.

Well the media had to wait -- an hour -- before he showed up in the foyer to give a five-minute speech and didn't take any questions.

Hopefully this will not be the norm, even though assistants offered bottles of water to reporters waiting around. What was the hold up?

Luo came to Hong Kong in December 2018 and met Lam

One RTHK reporter noted on Twitter that Luo's leg was shaking as he spoke. Was this is nervous tic or some other sign?

In any event, what's interesting is that Luo is at retirement age, but was pulled out from impending pasture to look after a jurisdiction he doesn't have much experience let alone understanding of the city. Why was he chosen?

Luo was previously party leader of Shanxi province, and seems to have lots of experience fighting corruption, and has a PhD in economics. It is expected he will do his best to stimulate the economy, but he gave no outline of a plan in his speech.

"In the past six months, the situation in Hong Kong has been heart-wrenching. We earnestly hope Hong Kong can return to the right track," he said, while also quoting President Xi Jinping as saying in his new year remarks that there would not be a peaceful home without a harmonious, stable environment.

How will Luo get the city back on track? He can't do that without a strong strategy that he didn't disclose, while reiterating the central government's support of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

"It is believed that with the efforts of Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the government and various sectors in society, the constitution and Basic Law can be fully implemented," he said. "One country, two systems" will be implemented steadily in the long-term, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong can be maintained. I'm fully confident in this," he said to reporters.

So while the government continues to back Lam, what is the plan to get Hong Kong out of this political conundrum despite not knowing the city well? Seems like Luo is more than qualified for a different problem, but we shall see how the protests are treated from now on.
 Meanwhile, Wang has been sent back to Beijing and shunted off to a job to be deputy chief of the Central Institute for Party History and Literature Research. He must be relieved to be pulled out of the hot seat...

Awkwafina's Big Win for The Farewell

Big smile for Awkwafina for her Golden Globe win as Billi in The Farewell

So thrilled Chinese-American actress and rapper Awkwafina won Best Actress in a musical or comedy category in the Golden Globes for The Farewell, that I just watched on the plane the day before on the way back to Hong Kong.

I was going to write a review about the film today, but even better to have Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, be the first Chinese-American actress to win in a big category. Before The Farewell, Awkwafina became famous her comedic character in Crazy Rich Asians.

Zhao Shuzhen plays Billi's grandmother in the film

On stage she thanked her co-star Zhao Shuzhen, who plays her grandmother in the film, and director Lulu Wang, who she paid tribute to.

"You gave me this chance, the chance of a lifetime, and you taught me so much. And just filming this story, being with you, was incredible," Awkwafina said in her acceptance speech.

Then she dedicated the award to her father Wally, saying, "I told you I'd get a job, Dad."

The Farewell is called 别告诉她 or "Don't tell her" in Chinese, about a family distraught about the matriarch's terminal illness, but don't want to tell her. Instead they conjure up a wedding banquet as an excuse for the family to get together to say good-bye.

The movie starts with a message that the story is based on an actual lie that happened in Wang's family that she wrote into The Farewell.

Lulu Wang (left) based the film on her family's story

Awkwafina plays Billi, an aspiring writer from an immigrant family from Changchun, China. She is struggling to get her career started when she finds out from her parents that her paternal grandmother or nai nai is dying -- but no one is to tell her that.

When they arrive in Changchun, everyone struggles to be happy to see her and to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of Billi's cousin, and grandmother can't understand why everyone has long faces. It also leads to some funny scenes that break up the sad atmosphere.

What I like about The Farewell is how it cleverly weaves things together. There are themes of identity, family, life and death, and the cultural differences between east and west. Through Billi, the viewers begin to understand Chinese culture, why the family is so adamant nai nai must not know the truth, while she, having grown up in America thinks this is outrageous.

In the film everyone struggles not to tell nai nai the truth

Billi speaks much like other immigrants who moved when they were very young, or second generation -- slowly and with a limited vocabulary. The film is mostly in Mandarin, but when she talks to her parents, it's in English, and her mother and father give context and explanations not only to Billi but to the audience too.

There are also scenes of how China has changed so much in the last few decades with better living standards, and people can quickly become millionaires, so why do the Chinese send their kids to study in the United States? It was interesting to see this issue addressed.

Some of my friends who have seen the film cried their eyes out because The Farewell touches on the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, especially when the grandparents raise the children in their first few years. They also felt The Farewell was their immigrant experience, portrayed accurately on the screen.

Awkwafina thanked Wang for the opportunity to be in the film

For me it was a thoughtful, sentimental look at the challenges families face in dealing with the impending death of an elder, and the different reactions to it. What also made it complex was the layers of lies -- nai nai also lied to her husband about his diagnosis -- does she really know what her situation is and is lying to others about what she knows?

Backstage after Awkwafina's big win, she admitted the role was very challenging for her, because she did not speak Chinese well. But she felt the script was too important to pass up.

I hope there are more films like The Farewell, that tell a more nuanced story about Chinese people and their immigrant experiences, or what it's like to grow up in the west. There are too many stories out there that need to be told.

Luggage Crisis Diverted

Boarding AC7 on a sunny day at Vancouver International Airport

Today, Saturday, was a busy traveling day for many passengers, getting home before starting work and school. The flights to Asia were very full, including those to Taiwan, with the elections on January 11. Anyone who was born there, even if they haven't lived there for a long time are eligible to vote.

In any event I had trouble checking in online with Air Canada the day before, so I decided to go to the airport a bit earlier. I tried again at the airport kiosk and it still didn't work so I had to wait in line for the counter. Luckily the line went relatively fast and I finally checked in. Or so I thought I did.

I was unable to check-in using the kiosks and had to line up

The ground staff had already put the luggage tag on my suitcase and sent it off when I walked away and looked at my boarding pass. It didn't have my name on it, but someone else's!

I ran back to her and showed her the boarding pass and my passport. She showed a colleague the error who didn't have any decent suggestions, so she contacted her supervisor who was all the way in the domestic departure area.

It turns out this is some technical glitch they have been having since installing new software three months ago.

They had to stop and locate my baggage -- which had a luggage tag going to Manila! They reassured me my suitcase was not going there, but to Hong Kong.

Then they had to issue me a new boarding pass and luggage tag. Once that was sorted I had to go down to the arrivals area and pick up my suitcase at the area where oversized luggage is usually sent. The metal shutters were down, but a few minutes later they came up and I saw a guy on a cart with my luggage!

Then I had to pick up my luggage at a place similar to this one

I grabbed it and went back up to where the supervisor was in the domestic departure area where she stuck on the new luggage tag and then I had to go back to the Air Canada international departures area to drop off my suitcase there! I spent pretty much an hour checking in after all that hassle, which made security look like a breeze.

Next time you travel, check to make sure your name is on the boarding pass! And yes I did get my luggage back in Hong Kong!