Don't Look Down, Look Up

Praying for good luck at Che Kung Temple may not necessarily come true...

Yesterday over 50,000 people went to Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin to pray for good luck and prosperity in the Year of the Monkey.

However it seems that all that praying isn't going to help much this year.

Today the Hang Seng Index fell to its lowest point since 1994 on the first day of trading after Chinese New Year, dropping 3.9 percent or 742.37 points to end the day at 18,545.80.

Analysts predicted a red start to the year, with declining commodity prices, capital outflows due to currency fluctuations and the impact of China's economic slowdown.

Even the first race day at Sha Tin had a betting turnover of HK$1.47 billion, down from last year's record HK$1.7 billion.

But sentiment was bad probably due to the added downer of the "riots" in Mongkok added to the pessimism.

Over 60 people were arrested, with ages ranging from 15 to 70. Thirty-seven of them appeared in court today, some charged with inciting riots.

It's not a good start and signs of a challenging year ahead economically.

But hopefully instead of radical localists, there should be grassroots movements to actively create a better Hong Kong, whether it be helping groups of underprivileged people, preserving the environment, or lobbying lawmakers to create change.

There are already many groups that do these things, but perhaps now is time to create a groundswell of support for them.

If we can't make gobs of money, can we at least establish the foundations for a better place for the next generation?

Making Hong Kong better doesn't start with government. It starts with us.

And since the government won't listen to us, we should take ownership of the city, creating a civil society that takes the high road. Not the ugly one down to violence.

Hong Kong Culture = Hong Kong Identity

Food stalls selling street food are a part of Hong Kong culture

People are still talking about what happened on Monday night in Mongkok and it turns out a group of people was also trying to clear out illegal hawkers in Tuen Mun last night. There were some violent clashes, but not on the scale of Mongkok.

Some wonder why the authorities are being so heavy handed with these hawkers, who were carrying on a tradition that's been going on for practically a century, operating only on the first three days of Chinese New Year.

Why make such a big fuss about this now? Has some bigwig complained and so the government is responding with a hard line? Or is there an underlying message that the Leung Chun-ying administration will not tolerate any kind of illegal activities?

A food hawker selling stinky tofu in Mongkok

If that is the case, then why not crack down on subdivided flats, illegal building structures in the New Territories and money laundering? Aren't those more serious than some food vendors trying to make some extra money to feed themselves and their families?

In Leung King housing estate in Tuen Mun, apparently a self-proclaimed hawker control team clashed with illegal street food vendors and their supporters last night. The conflict began simmering around January 21 when a renovated wet market, run by the controversial company Link Reit, opened at the estate.

One of the hawkers explained that Link Reit increased the rent after the renovation and promised the cooked food stalls there would not be any hawkers.

Supposed hawker control group clearing stalls in Tuen Mun

Link Reit, the police, nor the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department would vouch for the self-proclaimed hawker control group so it is unclear who the members are.

Nevertheless, the hawkers in Tuen Mun seem determined to continue their trade, though traditionally tonight would be the last night to do so before most restaurants and eateries reopen tomorrow.

Both incidents seem to spark more concerns about Hong Kong's culture eroding, and it directly relates to people's identity as Hongkongers. They feel that with the government clamping down on these hawkers, it is like an attack on themselves, and so they are doing whatever they can to preserve whatever is left.

So this may lead to something positive -- people might be more conscious about supporting local eateries and shops as a kind of protest against big corporations and multinationals that have monopolized Hong Kong.

This idea has been happening in the last few years due to mom-and-pop shops closing due to high rents, but perhaps this time will be the tipping point?

Tense Night in Mongkok

A "riot" broke out in Mongkok after the authorities tried to clear out hawkers

The start of the second day of the Year of the Monkey did not go well.

I woke up this morning to find my Facebook page plastered with videos showing protesters clashing with police in Mongkok that started last night around 2am for several hours.

Apparently during Chinese New Year, unlicensed hawkers do a decent business in the area selling street food to hungry revelers. Previously the authorities would not bother with them much, except this year health inspectors decided to crack down on them and demanded the illegal hawkers, one of which was selling fish balls, to leave.

However they would not and people in the area began supporting them. By 10pm there were lots of people protesting what they perceived to be heavy handedness by the authorities, and at around 2am "riots" began.

At one point police pointed their guns at the protesters

There is footage of a group of policemen being surrounded by protesters who threw anything they had at hand -- garbage cans, rocks and later bricks ripped out from the sidewalk -- which may have caused one police officer to whip out his pistol and fire two warning shots in the air because nearby one of his men was on the ground injured.

Reporters who were there felt the atmosphere was even more tense than during the Occupy protests in the fall of 2014. Some felt the warning shots were excessive, and there are pictures of police pointing their guns at people.

That seems to demonstrate the authorities have lost their cool, but also the protesters seemed organized, many wearing helmets and masks. By the same token the violence the police inflicted on others seemed out of order, with a video clip of one women being beaten and fallen to the ground and she was bleeding profusely.

The government immediately branded the incident a "riot" and things did not calm down until around 8am this morning. Fifty-four people were arrested and prosecutors will definitely put them through the rigors of the legal system.

Protesters were violent too, throwing garbage cans at police

It was shocking and disappointing to find Hong Kong has become such an ugly place. Obviously there is residual anger from the Umbrella Movement that has not been resolved at all, and the polarization between the two camps is even more divisive.

When Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was asked today at a press conference if the fireworks would go ahead tonight, he said yes -- to give the impression that everything is fine and well in the city. But in reality there is a lot economically at stake -- so many companies benefit from the fireworks display, such as restaurants and hotels, that it would be un-Hong Kong not to go ahead with it.

However, one wonders how many people were really in the mood for an HK$8 million fireworks display after what happened last night?

Some Facebook posts were very angry at Leung for what they described as his poor leadership, and that he seems to have plans to run again for chief executive in next year's election.

As the fortune tellers have predicted, the Year of the Monkey will be a challenging one. And we've already had a taste of it.

However, the #fishballrevolution may catch on -- and if anything the sales of fish balls will probably go up!

Blue Skies for Chinese New Year

It was so clear today from the Peak you could see for miles, and miles...

My cousin and I walked up to the Peak this morning and it was a fantastic day to be out and about, blue skies with temperatures as high as 19 degrees!

We thought most people would be busy visiting relatives for the first day of Chinese New Year, but by the time we made it up to the main path, there were lots of tourists and locals taking advantage of the good weather too.

Down by the water near Dr Sun Yat-sen Park in Sai Ying Pun

It's not often the skies are clear, and probably thanks to strong winds and factories closed across the border, we had deep blue skies and hardly any clouds in sight.

Afterwards we came back to Central via minibus and I decided to walk home and try to be as close to the water as possible.

This was relatively easy from the Central ferry piers all the way to Dr Sun Yat-sen Park in Sai Ying Pun, and then I had no choice but to double back and get onto the pedestrian overpass that was a block from the harbour because of the highway overpasses for cars.

It wasn't until after I passed the Western Wholesale Fruit Market that I could again walk close to the water. By the time I hit Kennedy Town's bus terminus, an elderly man had just pulled up his trap from the water to have a bountiful harvest of small fish about the size of the palm of my hand.

An elderly man's catch of lots of small fish

He poured them into his bucket and some onlookers were impressed that he'd caught enough for a decent meal.

The trap that lured them in had a large piece of bread in it, which had become a soggy piece of mush.

Nevertheless, it was a fun finish to a wonderful day -- 19-degree weather (though not warm enough just to wear T-shirts!).