Pokemon Debate

You can capture Pokemon anywhere, even on the MTR...

There are so many Pokemon Go stories in Hong Kong these days, with the tram being inundated with riders keen on catching as many monsters as they can on their way home, or on the weekends they gather with friends, or how people discover new places in their neighbourhood they never knew about before.

But now there's a new debate brewing among Christians in Hong Kong -- is the game satanic, addictive or conducive to spreading the gospel.

After the game was launched in the city on July 25, an anonymous message circulated around social media, asking Protestants to pray for those who was addicted to the augmented reality game.

The tram is the best way to catch Pokemon safely + efficiently

It said Pokemon images were partly inspired by figurines in Japanese shrines, and suggested "the game would guide people to play with evil spirits".

"There are Christians talking about not playing the game... and I agree that you can choose not to play it to avoid getting addicted," said Reverend Sam Chung Shu-sum, senior pastor at Assemblies of God West Post Church.

"But while new [trends] are always attractive or even potentially addictive, Christians could also make good use of them."

Last month Chung had written on his blog questioning whether Christians with weak wills might find the game addictive.

However Alliance Bible Seminary assistant professor John Chan suggested on Facebook that churches could have "lures" to attract rare Pokemon, and that might attract some potential church-goers.

Hundreds of Pokemon hunters gather in Tin Shui Wai

While the game is about catching monsters, how is the game satanic in any way? It's just a game! There are many people addicted to it at the moment, and the trend could fizzle as fast as it came, as it's virtually impossible to catch all the Pokemon, unless you're like American Nick Johnson who has literally traveled around the world to catch practically every single one, even the regional creatures.

Although I'm not religious, I like Chan's suggestion that Pokemon Go could result in more people going to church. It's just a matter of getting them through the door, right?

The game is a time waster -- there's no doubt about that. But some people admit to walking their dogs longer than usual or even meeting new friends to catch Pokemon. That's a good thing too, right?

Weather Woes

An umbrella is a must these days, and wearing rubber boots is even better...

This morning the weather looked... fine. It looked muggy and hazy, and when I left for work, the Hong Kong Observatory's weather report said there could be isolated thunderstorms so I packed the umbrella.

By 11am in Taipo, the trees were swaying in the strong winds and then the sky got noticeably darker. Then the downpours came, so much so in the olden days, people would have started building an ark.

There was thunder and lightning too. The Hong Kong Observatory says there were almost 5,000 lightning strikes within three hours of thunderstorms.

Li Yuet-sim, acting senior scientific officer at the observatory says the exact number was 4,884 times between 11am and 1.59pm. Of that, 3,916 of the lightning strikes were in New Territories East, where our office is.

This is not considered the highest concentration -- that was on September 9, 2010 when there were 13,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

I'm trying to remember where I was that day, and I think I was probably in the office.

We're supposed to get similar weather tomorrow...

Picture of the Day: Labyrinth

For a short meditative walk, go to the labyrinth at St John's Cathedral

I inadvertently discovered a labyrinth in Hong Kong near the Star Ferry several months ago, though I have yet to actually walk it.

Then I found a second one on the weekend at St John's Cathedral in Central. It's quite small, but in a quiet area that's conducive to having a meditative walk.

I tried walking it, but the midday sun proved too hot and so I rushed through it. However, you can't exactly rush either, if you want to walk between the lines and go through all four quadrants, which some believe is like going through the four quadrants of the brain.

When the weather gets cooler, I'll have to try it again sometime, with a question or issue in my heart, and hopefully it may lead to some answers, or at least calm my mind. Who doesn't need to get their brain to relax?

Rocky Cross-Border Marriages

In cross-border marriages, the reality soon sets in, and arguments flare up

In the past week Hong Kong has seen two cases of domestic disputes involving a Hong Kong husband and mainland wife, both ending in death.

A 60 year-old man was suspected of strangling his wife, 41, after an argument they had as they were in the midst of divorce proceedings.

Their 18-year-old daughter found her mother alone and unconscious in the Tokwawan flat and called police, but the woman was declared dead in the hospital.

He meanwhile jumped into Victoria Harbour and was picked up by police, with minor injuries.

This incident follows another last Saturday when a 52-year-old woman attacked her 87-year-old husband with a knife, and then jumped from the window of the Tsuen Wan flat to her death.

It is believed they were having marital problems after the mainland wife moved to Hong Kong a few years ago. They were separated but still living together in the flat.

Hong Kong has seen many older men marrying younger mainland women, hoping she will look after him in old age, while she looks to him as a way to get residency in the city.

Perhaps when reality sets in, it's not what both parties had expected and the quarrels begin...

This is only the basic storyline... it's probably even more complicated with money (or the lack thereof) that makes it even more stressful. And Hong Kong is left dealing with the mess afterwards.

When the disputes involve children, particularly young ones, it's even more complicated, especially when the mother takes the children back to the mainland and are near impossible to find again.

It's a sad state of affairs, and social workers here have a hard time trying to build relationships with the mainland authorities in the hopes of tracking down disgruntled spouses and children who miss their other parent.

Perhaps the good thing is that the marriages between locals and mainlanders has dropped in recent years. It peaked in 2006 at 28,145 and was 16,154 last year. The last thing we need is more conflict in the city that leads to heartache and in extreme cases, death.