When I first moved to China in the early 1990's China was becoming a freer place. Under the leadership Dung Xiaoping and then Jang Xiamin China it looked like that China would make the transition from a dictatorship to something approaching a free nation. Hu JingTao has reversed that process
This kind of thing actually makes me nervous. It seems that they have reclaimed the position of the old Empire that they are "The Middle Kingdom" and the true rulers of the whole Earth. It could also be that they are still assuming the eventual inevitable triumph of dictatorship, err, I mean Communism.
There has been a noticeable increase in the uneasiness I feel over the actions of the Chinese government over the past several years.
This is a scary time to live in China
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who hopes for a free China
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Hold on to your Hats
I thought that I was the only one who could see this coming.
The Chinese boom is actually a Chinese bubble. Not only for the reasons listed in the article but because of the one child policy which will mean there are fewer workers to work in the coming years thus each worker will be worth more; but also the fact that 1/2 the smokers in the world live in China and what is going to happen when those 30 year-old smokers become 50 year-old cancer stricken coughers?
This is actually a huge oportunity for Hong Kong if the government and people here are smart enough to see it.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who still lives in China
The Chinese boom is actually a Chinese bubble. Not only for the reasons listed in the article but because of the one child policy which will mean there are fewer workers to work in the coming years thus each worker will be worth more; but also the fact that 1/2 the smokers in the world live in China and what is going to happen when those 30 year-old smokers become 50 year-old cancer stricken coughers?
This is actually a huge oportunity for Hong Kong if the government and people here are smart enough to see it.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who still lives in China
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Cyber-attack on U.S. firms, Google traced to Chinese
And the PRC is going to put several Rio Tinto employees in jail for asking the executives of Chinese steel makers how much they could produce?
Geez, I thought this level of hypocrisy only occurred in Barak Obama's administration. I guess it just goes to show you that the political left is corrupt regardless of continent.
I was also wondering today how long it will be before we get letters in the SCMP that say the pollution from the sand storms in China are caused by Global Warming rather than poor agricultural practices? Maybe I should look, they are probably already there.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who does not work for Rio Tinto
Geez, I thought this level of hypocrisy only occurred in Barak Obama's administration. I guess it just goes to show you that the political left is corrupt regardless of continent.
I was also wondering today how long it will be before we get letters in the SCMP that say the pollution from the sand storms in China are caused by Global Warming rather than poor agricultural practices? Maybe I should look, they are probably already there.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who does not work for Rio Tinto
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Google shuts up shop in China in row over state censorship
I am not a fan of Google. They scare me with their reach and ability to monopolize the flow of information. But, good for them on this issue!
This is a move more companies should make. And yes, it just means that it is harder for the citizens of the PRC to get actual information and not Baidu propaganda. However, the situation will never change until the people in China want it to change. If it gets so that the business in China cannot access their customers or markets then the government will have relax the censorship rules.
Rio Tinto should say: "Sorry President Hu, asking about the production capacity of a private company is not a matter of national security and isn’t spying. If you are going to arrest our employees for asking basic business questions then we won't play. Mine your own iron ore from your own damn mine; assuming you can keep them from caving in.
I don't think the Chinese realize how evil they look to most people who are not from China. It isn't just the government. The Chinese are the only people I know of who will enslave their others of their own nationality. If you go into a large Chinese restaurant in the US or Europe then employees who are not family members are illegal’s who live in dormitories and are paid less than 1/2 minimum wage. I grew up in an area of Texas that was heavily Hispanic. The local Hispanics didn't hire "Wet-backs" and generally despised them as being the criminal element of Mexican society. However, they didn't go out of their way to enslave them either. We did hire migrant workers, often Hispanics to help on the farm but we didn't treat them as slaves. The propensity of the Chinese to take advantage of other Chinese is absolutely astounding.
The stereotype of the Ugly American tourist is often over played but has some at least mythological basis in actual behavior. The ugly Chinese has overtaken the US in this area. Not even other Chinese like the mainland tourist. They'll take their money but are glad when they leave. Hong Kongers used to snicker at the boys from up North. They were naive and innocent country bumpkins. Now they all dress like gangsters, smoke like freight trains and spit and curse and go out of their way to insult and throw their money around.
Notice, I believe that the corruption in the government goes hand in hand with the corruption of the individual. The PRC will never clean up the corruption in the government until it cleans up the corruption in its society.
I think I will go make a search using Google and click on a couple of adds.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still thinks that in 15 years the PRC will be freer tha Obama's US
This is a move more companies should make. And yes, it just means that it is harder for the citizens of the PRC to get actual information and not Baidu propaganda. However, the situation will never change until the people in China want it to change. If it gets so that the business in China cannot access their customers or markets then the government will have relax the censorship rules.
Rio Tinto should say: "Sorry President Hu, asking about the production capacity of a private company is not a matter of national security and isn’t spying. If you are going to arrest our employees for asking basic business questions then we won't play. Mine your own iron ore from your own damn mine; assuming you can keep them from caving in.
I don't think the Chinese realize how evil they look to most people who are not from China. It isn't just the government. The Chinese are the only people I know of who will enslave their others of their own nationality. If you go into a large Chinese restaurant in the US or Europe then employees who are not family members are illegal’s who live in dormitories and are paid less than 1/2 minimum wage. I grew up in an area of Texas that was heavily Hispanic. The local Hispanics didn't hire "Wet-backs" and generally despised them as being the criminal element of Mexican society. However, they didn't go out of their way to enslave them either. We did hire migrant workers, often Hispanics to help on the farm but we didn't treat them as slaves. The propensity of the Chinese to take advantage of other Chinese is absolutely astounding.
The stereotype of the Ugly American tourist is often over played but has some at least mythological basis in actual behavior. The ugly Chinese has overtaken the US in this area. Not even other Chinese like the mainland tourist. They'll take their money but are glad when they leave. Hong Kongers used to snicker at the boys from up North. They were naive and innocent country bumpkins. Now they all dress like gangsters, smoke like freight trains and spit and curse and go out of their way to insult and throw their money around.
Notice, I believe that the corruption in the government goes hand in hand with the corruption of the individual. The PRC will never clean up the corruption in the government until it cleans up the corruption in its society.
I think I will go make a search using Google and click on a couple of adds.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still thinks that in 15 years the PRC will be freer tha Obama's US
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Rock and a Hard Place
I have harped pretty incessantly about the way the HK government is continually knuckling under to the overlords in the Beijing. However, I am not sure that I can be critical of the local officials in this case.
The guy was traveling under fraudulent documents which makes him a criminal.
Now, if he'd been living in the UK or the US or France or Taiwan and the PRC had kidnapped him back to China or poisoned him then he'd have my sympathy. If he'd used his forged documents to go into China to try and start a revolution and then got caught and died like a man then he'd have my respect.
As it is, he comes across looking like a sneaky little wimp rather than a person working for a freer China. Whatever the family issues were they should have taken a back seat to making China a freer place.
How dumb is it to try and sneak into China to see your family if you are wanted by the Chinese government?
There are all sorts of ways he could have contacted his family. I'm sorry, I don't see that the local athorities had much choice in this.
He should have stayed away if he was not prepared to pay the cost of getting caught.
But maybe the Hong Kong Standard misrepresents what happened.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who doesn't use a fake passport
The guy was traveling under fraudulent documents which makes him a criminal.
Now, if he'd been living in the UK or the US or France or Taiwan and the PRC had kidnapped him back to China or poisoned him then he'd have my sympathy. If he'd used his forged documents to go into China to try and start a revolution and then got caught and died like a man then he'd have my respect.
As it is, he comes across looking like a sneaky little wimp rather than a person working for a freer China. Whatever the family issues were they should have taken a back seat to making China a freer place.
How dumb is it to try and sneak into China to see your family if you are wanted by the Chinese government?
There are all sorts of ways he could have contacted his family. I'm sorry, I don't see that the local athorities had much choice in this.
He should have stayed away if he was not prepared to pay the cost of getting caught.
But maybe the Hong Kong Standard misrepresents what happened.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who doesn't use a fake passport
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
I'm back!
The really pretty-looks-25-years-younger-than-she-is-smart-and-loving wife and I just got back from an early summer vacation in Thailand. Thailand is a really interesting place. It has a great climate, friendly natives, good beer, cool things to see, nice beaches, a fair amount English and Chinese speakers, and low prices. It is probably my favorite place in Asia outside of Hong Kong and one of the few Asian countries I can see myself retiring to at some point. If they could just get their political shenanigans under control.
However, give me the doofi in yellow shirts who were upset that a man won an election with a bare 70% of the vote any day. I'd also take what is happening in Honduras any day to what we have happening in Hong Kong today.
Today is "Repatriation Day" in Hong Kong. We've been officially a part of China again for 12 years. This morning we had the paid, rent-a-mob parade in support of the government. I know many of the marchers were not from Hong Kong because they were all speaking Mandarin rather than Cantonese. This afternoon we will have the various 800 groups that want to protest that the government isn't giving out enough handouts or are upset at this or that or something else. They are probably locals and will be marching the same route under the mistaken hope that someone in the government will care. I think that both groups have missed the point. Neither one see the real benefit Hong Kong could be to China or the real threat facing Hong Kong from China.
Don't misunderstand. The Chinese in general and Hong Kongers in particular are reasonably unbothered from the government. While the odious British were here they were their normal alcoholic, antisemitic, pompous, racist, elitist, atheist, snobby selves. So I am not yearning for a return to British rule and laws that prevented Chinese from owning land or housing in certain neighborhoods and such. We are freer now than when the Bloody British were here. Indeed, the Chinese are, on the whole, as non-threatened by their government as any Western nation. I know there are some ideologues that will dispute that but it is really true.
I am, however; upset that the British didn't do a better job preparing Hong Kongers for self government. One need look no farther than the remaining corps of "civil servants" the British left us with to know that they didn't want anyone with tilted eyes and a bridgeless nose to ever think for themselves. Tung Che Wa, our first CE was incompetent because he was an out and out toadie for Beijing. He had no governmental experience. Since he inherited his money he had no real business experience either. He was the son of a wealthy tycoon and the civil servants and the PRC played him like a tin fiddle. When he lost his usefulness they discarded him. Probably the worst thing you can say about him was that he was outsmarted by Anson Chan. My God, how embarrassing is that? But, just when we thought it couldn't get worse it did. Donald Tsang, The Human Bow Tie (THBT) is worse. He is not only an obsequious toadie but if possible more incompetent than Tung ever was. He is also to stupid to know what an obsequious toad he is and to arrogant to admit it if he did. With Tung Che Wa I always got the impression that he knew he was a figure head and in over his depth. In that regard Tung Che Wa was a tragic figure. THBT thinks he is man for the job. I would agree if he believed his calling was to be a circus clown.
Yet, THBT is also a tragic figure. He is a product of the "Yes Sir," "No thank you" British colonial system that removed any ability to think from his psyche. That fact means that unless he is replaced with a PLA general the next Hong Kong CE will probably be as bad or worse and can only be marginally better. A PLA general could at least get the water pipes fixed and building codes enforced. Holy Cow; THBT's Tai-Tai still manages the family finances and makes him take a bag lunch to work. The guy can't decide what color tie to wear on his own.
That brings me to the link on my title. Martin Freeberg had a brilliant post on his blog titled:“We Are Under the Thumb of Idiots”(Scroll Down) All I can say is, Martin, try living in Hong Kong! We've got lots of experience being ruled by those who still need to be told what to do.
That is a shame. Hong Kong could be the greatest gift ever received by the Chinese people. Hong Kongers could have taught the Chinese what it means to be free. Not free in the sense of choosing your career or little things like being able to own your property (In some ways China is freer in those things than Hong Kong.) but free. Freedom is not simply a lack of rules but the ability to challenge rules. Hong Kong could have taught China that the mark of a civilized society is not having a "Harmonious Society" but one where people can respectfully disagree each other and the government. Freedom and harmony are mutually exclusive in this sense. When the PRC says "Harmony" it means control. Instead we whine that the government isn't giving us enough cash to cover our poor financial decisions.
Yet, there does not appear to be any serious opposition to the governmental group think. If the best we can do is keep trotting out Long Hair Leung to curse and throw fruit at other legislators we are doomed.
Thailand is looking better all the time. I hope yellow or red shirted protesters don't close the Bangkok airport when it is time for me to leave.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who really does like Hong Kong despite how it seems
However, give me the doofi in yellow shirts who were upset that a man won an election with a bare 70% of the vote any day. I'd also take what is happening in Honduras any day to what we have happening in Hong Kong today.
Today is "Repatriation Day" in Hong Kong. We've been officially a part of China again for 12 years. This morning we had the paid, rent-a-mob parade in support of the government. I know many of the marchers were not from Hong Kong because they were all speaking Mandarin rather than Cantonese. This afternoon we will have the various 800 groups that want to protest that the government isn't giving out enough handouts or are upset at this or that or something else. They are probably locals and will be marching the same route under the mistaken hope that someone in the government will care. I think that both groups have missed the point. Neither one see the real benefit Hong Kong could be to China or the real threat facing Hong Kong from China.
Don't misunderstand. The Chinese in general and Hong Kongers in particular are reasonably unbothered from the government. While the odious British were here they were their normal alcoholic, antisemitic, pompous, racist, elitist, atheist, snobby selves. So I am not yearning for a return to British rule and laws that prevented Chinese from owning land or housing in certain neighborhoods and such. We are freer now than when the Bloody British were here. Indeed, the Chinese are, on the whole, as non-threatened by their government as any Western nation. I know there are some ideologues that will dispute that but it is really true.
I am, however; upset that the British didn't do a better job preparing Hong Kongers for self government. One need look no farther than the remaining corps of "civil servants" the British left us with to know that they didn't want anyone with tilted eyes and a bridgeless nose to ever think for themselves. Tung Che Wa, our first CE was incompetent because he was an out and out toadie for Beijing. He had no governmental experience. Since he inherited his money he had no real business experience either. He was the son of a wealthy tycoon and the civil servants and the PRC played him like a tin fiddle. When he lost his usefulness they discarded him. Probably the worst thing you can say about him was that he was outsmarted by Anson Chan. My God, how embarrassing is that? But, just when we thought it couldn't get worse it did. Donald Tsang, The Human Bow Tie (THBT) is worse. He is not only an obsequious toadie but if possible more incompetent than Tung ever was. He is also to stupid to know what an obsequious toad he is and to arrogant to admit it if he did. With Tung Che Wa I always got the impression that he knew he was a figure head and in over his depth. In that regard Tung Che Wa was a tragic figure. THBT thinks he is man for the job. I would agree if he believed his calling was to be a circus clown.
Yet, THBT is also a tragic figure. He is a product of the "Yes Sir," "No thank you" British colonial system that removed any ability to think from his psyche. That fact means that unless he is replaced with a PLA general the next Hong Kong CE will probably be as bad or worse and can only be marginally better. A PLA general could at least get the water pipes fixed and building codes enforced. Holy Cow; THBT's Tai-Tai still manages the family finances and makes him take a bag lunch to work. The guy can't decide what color tie to wear on his own.
That brings me to the link on my title. Martin Freeberg had a brilliant post on his blog titled:“We Are Under the Thumb of Idiots”(Scroll Down) All I can say is, Martin, try living in Hong Kong! We've got lots of experience being ruled by those who still need to be told what to do.
That is a shame. Hong Kong could be the greatest gift ever received by the Chinese people. Hong Kongers could have taught the Chinese what it means to be free. Not free in the sense of choosing your career or little things like being able to own your property (In some ways China is freer in those things than Hong Kong.) but free. Freedom is not simply a lack of rules but the ability to challenge rules. Hong Kong could have taught China that the mark of a civilized society is not having a "Harmonious Society" but one where people can respectfully disagree each other and the government. Freedom and harmony are mutually exclusive in this sense. When the PRC says "Harmony" it means control. Instead we whine that the government isn't giving us enough cash to cover our poor financial decisions.
The greatest threat to Hong Kong is that it is populated by officials like THBT who cannot think for themselves and only do as they are told. If THBT politely stood up to Beijing just once, even if it meant loosing his USD $40,000 a MONTH salary and said: "I am not less patriotic because I think you are wrong and I want you to reconsider your position and live up to the Chinese constitution" to his Beijing puppet masters then I would donate money to have his statue erected in Chatter Garden. That is the lesson that the PRC needs to learn. That citizens can disagree and still be loyal citizens. It is a lesson that the British should have prepared Hong Kong to teach to greater China. The Britdogs couldn't see past their beer and bank accounts and Hong Kong and China are worse for it. I am worried that next year, or the year after, the DAB won't have to rent a mainland crowd.
Yet, there does not appear to be any serious opposition to the governmental group think. If the best we can do is keep trotting out Long Hair Leung to curse and throw fruit at other legislators we are doomed.
Thailand is looking better all the time. I hope yellow or red shirted protesters don't close the Bangkok airport when it is time for me to leave.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who really does like Hong Kong despite how it seems
Thursday, June 04, 2009
That Day so Long Ago
Today is an infamous day in Chinese history. If you don't know why then you probably live in China. I am not going to write about that event directly today because I don't want there to be any possibility that some knuckle-dragging-aparatchnik can say "See that event which really didn't happen is only a lie to discredit China in the eyes of Westerners. Despite the fact that China is now my country too, this is a fight that needs to be fought by those with bridgeless noses and almond shaped eyes.
HOW MANY TEARS by Mark Heard.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who saw his wife shed some of those tears
Gunmetal gray for golden rules
White hot steel for the comfort of fools
Molten wills in iron hands
Forge new sons for the Motherland
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How much blood will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
Hidden mounds in jungle dust
Youthful voices forever lie hushed
Poets and peasants know the truth
But what in the world can one man do
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How much blood will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
A mother’s eyes ache with her hatred
Her lips they are crippled with fear
She waits for the news that she don’t want to hear
How many tears
How many tears
How many tears must fall down
Ain’t no funerals
Ain’t no prayers
Ain’t no blood in the Government Square
Reign of terror
True and tried
Dries the eyes before they’ve cried
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How many tears will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
How many tears
How many tears will fall down
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who saw his wife shed some of those tears
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I agree with Jackie!
Jackie Chan has taken a lot of flak over his statement.
My question is "Why?" Is he not entitled to his opinions? More than that, I agree with him though for different reasons.
The Chinese, especially those on the Mainland need to be controlled. They cannot be free because they have had a government for 60 years that has told them that there is no such thing as morality, and that ethics are a ploy by the establishment to keep the poor poor. Therefore, is it any wonder that that there are now hundreds of millions of Chinese who have no qualms about cheating, robbing stealing and behaving as if there is nothing important except them personally getting rich?
Freedom only works in a moral or at least ethical society. Chinese society is neither. Maybe it will not always be so.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still hopes for a free China
My question is "Why?" Is he not entitled to his opinions? More than that, I agree with him though for different reasons.
The Chinese, especially those on the Mainland need to be controlled. They cannot be free because they have had a government for 60 years that has told them that there is no such thing as morality, and that ethics are a ploy by the establishment to keep the poor poor. Therefore, is it any wonder that that there are now hundreds of millions of Chinese who have no qualms about cheating, robbing stealing and behaving as if there is nothing important except them personally getting rich?
Freedom only works in a moral or at least ethical society. Chinese society is neither. Maybe it will not always be so.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still hopes for a free China
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Help I'm Trapped in China or What I did on My Christmas Vacation or My Life in a Dingy Hotel
Note: I posted this from Shenzhen. I was able to hack around the PRC censors and see the blog and post to it but could not make any corrections to the spelling or grammar
The very pretty, looks twenty-years younger than she is, really smart and loving wife and I were robbed in Shenzhen on Christmas eve while returning from a week-end excursion to a Hot-Spring. The robbers took almost everything we had except for my Hong Kong ID and my Visa. They stole all of my wife's ID including her Visa, ATM, Insurance cards, HKID, Chinese ID and my US Passport. They also took most of the clothing we were not wearing a digital camera, MP3 most of our cash and things like family photos in my wife's wallet that were precious to her. We were simply cleaned out. This suddenly turned what had been a rather pleasant trip to a Hot-Spring into a 15 day nightmare.
The only thing that kept it from being unimaginably worse was that the thieves didn't get my visa card. There were two reasons this was extremely fortunate.
First; we were able to borrow a phone and call the emergency number provided by the bank and that was printed on the back of my card that allowed us to cancel Kim's Visa card and ATM card and leave a message with the branch manager of the bank where our primary accounts are to not let anyone withdraw money unless they were in person at the University of Hong Kong Branch and approved by her. Since they had all of my wife's ID it was theoretically possible that a middle-aged Chinese woman could go to a branch of the bank, submit all the required ID's and look enough like my wife to make a huge withdrawal since it would not be difficult to look enough like an ID photo to fool a bank teller. We were able to avoid this because we could call the emergency number and called it within 15 minutes of the theft so neither the visa or ATM could be used.
Second; we were in sudden need of a hotel. Not all Chinese hotels take a non-Chinese Visa but most now do and we were able to find a fairly clean if ragged hotel that didn't cost an arm-and-leg a night. The Visa saved our bacon and kept us off the street that night.
First; we were able to borrow a phone and call the emergency number provided by the bank and that was printed on the back of my card that allowed us to cancel Kim's Visa card and ATM card and leave a message with the branch manager of the bank where our primary accounts are to not let anyone withdraw money unless they were in person at the University of Hong Kong Branch and approved by her. Since they had all of my wife's ID it was theoretically possible that a middle-aged Chinese woman could go to a branch of the bank, submit all the required ID's and look enough like my wife to make a huge withdrawal since it would not be difficult to look enough like an ID photo to fool a bank teller. We were able to avoid this because we could call the emergency number and called it within 15 minutes of the theft so neither the visa or ATM could be used.
Second; we were in sudden need of a hotel. Not all Chinese hotels take a non-Chinese Visa but most now do and we were able to find a fairly clean if ragged hotel that didn't cost an arm-and-leg a night. The Visa saved our bacon and kept us off the street that night.
We borrowed a cellphone and called my wife's sister in Hong Kong. She came up the next day and loaned us 3000 Yuan, a cell phone, a couple of canvas bags and various other small items that proved as useful as the cash in some ways. The night before the manager of the restaurant "Man Xin Fat Food" (No that isn't a typo their sign is misspelled) where the robbery occurred had given us an additional 200 yuan. I cannot thank the man enough for his generosity. It wasn't much but it was incredibly kind.
The cash that Ping brought us enabled us to pay the fees that the PRC requires to get our travel document replaced. Otherwise I guess we'd have had to have gotten jobs or hit the street as beggars. It is one of the cruelest of truths that you need money to get out of the PRC if you are the victim of a crime. The catch 22 of not having any money because you've just been robbed does not seem to register on the officials in China.
The next step after filing the police report and getting some cash was to go to the Bureau of Internal Security on Christmas day (Not a Holiday in China) and fill out the paper work to get our exist visas replaced. We were odd ducks in that my wife needed one document and I needed another. It turned out that my wife was able to fill out a form, pay about 500 Yuan and then get a stamped, initialed and dated form that allowed her to re-enter Hong Kong the next day after a 24 hour wait. Because I'd come into Shenzhen with a US passport I couldn't do that. I had to go to Guangzhou and get my passport replaced before I could get an exit Visa. This was frustrating because while I am still technically a US citizen I live in Hong Kong and have permanent residency there. I can even vote in Hong Kong elections. I could produce a valid Hong Kong ID and only needed to get past the Chinese Immigration booth and walk 500 meters or so. Anyway, the PRC is the PRC and despite the fact that the only thing that either my or my wife's paperwork needed at this time was to be stamped and initialed by a supervisor we were told to leave and come back the next day. So we did.
We were first in line on December 26 to pick up our now "Processed" paperwork. After giving us a bit of run around to make some photocopies, get some photographs and the like everything was stamped, initialed and glued. Kim could go back to Hong Kong and I had permission to Guangzhou to get my passport replaced. This is where the frustration really began to kick in. The only thing the paperwork needed was to be signed by another clerk. They could have done it the day before but didn't.
Well, we rushed to the train station and hopped on the bullet train to Guangzhou. We arrived at the US consulate which is across the street from the train station at about 11:20 only to find that it had closed at 11:00 that day. Growl! Curse! Throw things! Yell at the security guard! Growl, curse throw a few more things and growl some more!
Well, we rushed to the train station and hopped on the bullet train to Guangzhou. We arrived at the US consulate which is across the street from the train station at about 11:20 only to find that it had closed at 11:00 that day. Growl! Curse! Throw things! Yell at the security guard! Growl, curse throw a few more things and growl some more!
We found an inexpensive hotel (The Ping-An Hotel) and settled in for the week-end. It didn't help that the emergency number listed for US citizens in need of help was answered by an answering machine in Putongwah and that the message was said so fast and with such a bad accent that my Putongwah speaking wife could not understand what was being said. However, we spent the next couple of days doing walking tours of Guangzhou. This helped to take the edge off some of my frustration by Sunday. I was still upset at the embassy for closing early on the 26th. However this ended up not making but one day's difference.
On December 29th we got to the embassy at about 8:30. I was a little irritated at this point because I found that they open for immigration, tourist and student visas at 8:00 but for US citizens at 9:00. However, I was the first in line. I went to the window, submitted my documents, paid the USD $100.00 and then had them tell me the photos made in Shenzhen were the wrong size and had the wrong background. Growl! Curse, stomp back down stairs get more photos with the proper background and dimensions, stomp back up the stairs, cut in line turn everything in and wait for the processing to be finished. By starting at 9:00 AM I had my new emergency passport in hand by 11:45. We then ran across the street and bought tickets for the bullet train back to Shenzhen and thought: "This is almost over!"
It wasn't!
Not by 8 days it wasn't
Since the Bureau of Internal Security is closed for a whopping two hours for lunch from 12:00 until 14:00 and our train arrived in Shenzhen at 12:47 we checked back into the Railroad Hotel and grabbed some quick lunch ourselves before taking the metro three stops to turn in my passport. We got there just after 14:00 took a number and waited until after 4:00 before we were called. The clerk gave me the make a few photocopies, get a receipt from a window upstairs and three new signatures run around again and then I was given a bill for 980 Yuan which I promptly went upstairs and paid. After running back down stairs and pushing the next number out of the way the officer-clerk-sadist-paper pushing-party apparachnik stamped the bill and said my visa would be ready in five working days. But since there was week-end and New Years day in between those five days it would be 7 days. Because we had not turned the paperwork in before lunch that day didn't count so 5 becomes 8.
The wife had a conference to go to and had to leave after this point. I spent the next 8 days in a dingy hotel and window shopping.
One interesting thing I discovered is that I can see my blog in the PRC but cannot post to it from China.
This was not a good Christmas break.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who will staple his travel documents to his chest the next time he goes to Shenzhen
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who will staple his travel documents to his chest the next time he goes to Shenzhen
Monday, October 27, 2008
Which came first?
Now we have melamine tainted eggs as well as milk. These may just be the tip of the iceberg.
What is really scary is that in the last several years I remember these other food related scandals as well:
1. A year or so ago a distributor in Hong Kong was caught selling rice that had gone moldy and been re-polished. It caused hallucinations and liver damage.
2. Fake soy sauce made out of human hair.
3. Fake fungus that looks like hair that may have actually been less dangerous than the real vegetable
4. Cancerous fish tainted with something called "Malachite Green"
5. Baby formula mixed with corn starch
6. Anti-freeze in tooth paste.
7. Moon Cake filling that was kept for years and was covered with mold
8. Poisonous fish sold as cod
9. Pesticides in dumplings
10. Antibiotics that were anything but.
11. Cooking oil that was sold as new but was really filtered cooking oil that had been discarded by restaurants
12. Halal cookies made with lard.
The story BBQ pork made from cardboard and industrial cleaners however was not true. But, can you blame people for believing it?
These are just the one's I can remember off the top of my head.
I have a friend up North who warned us about eating the freshwater crabs that come from China. Crabs are scavengers and he said that the people who raise them have been caught feeding them dead rats and dogs as well as plain old garbage. I don't like crab so they were easy for me to avoid.
There was a story on ATV this weekend about what are known as "Cancer Villages" in China where the water is so polluted with heavy metals and other toxins that the cancer rate is hundreds of times higher than normal. Question, do they water vegetables with that water and if so, are those vegetables sold in Hong Kong?
If I went into product recalls this list could get really long.
If I wanted to write about working conditions I could write a book.
China may be about to reach a point of no-return. There are enough people, even those who live in China who are afraid of the goods being produced here that they simply will not buy them. They'll either source those products elsewhere or do without them. I think this is kind of analogous to the situation US automobile manufacturers caused for themselves in the late 1970's. At that time the quality standard of US cars was absolutely horrific. We called them 50,000 mile throwaways. They were ugly, poorly designed vehicles. What a shame. The 1950's & 1960's were, in many ways the golden age of the American automobile and they fell off that pedestal really fast. It was at that time that the Japanese cars improved their quality and many US consumers decided that they were better off with a Toyota, Nissan (Called Datsun at that time) or Honda. Once that happened it became very difficult to regain those customers unless the Japanese makers pulled a similar stunt and only Subaru obliged. Now 30 years later, the US automobiles are actually a pretty good product but can't get those loyal Toyota buyers back.
Now suppose it wasn't just GM, Ford and Chrysler? Suppose it was all the wheat, all the apples, all the oranges, all the beer, wine, whiskey, bottled water and soft drinks, all clothing, machinery and services combined? This is where the Chinese are headed if they are not careful. What happens if the "Made in China" label has been so tarnished that it has the same cache as "Made in Detroit." What if people are willing, as happen to the American auto industry, to spend MORE for a Toyota made overseas than they are for a Chinese Ford?
If that happens, Hong Kong might not be such a great place to live.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't normally given to economic fear mongering
What is really scary is that in the last several years I remember these other food related scandals as well:
1. A year or so ago a distributor in Hong Kong was caught selling rice that had gone moldy and been re-polished. It caused hallucinations and liver damage.
2. Fake soy sauce made out of human hair.
3. Fake fungus that looks like hair that may have actually been less dangerous than the real vegetable
4. Cancerous fish tainted with something called "Malachite Green"
5. Baby formula mixed with corn starch
6. Anti-freeze in tooth paste.
7. Moon Cake filling that was kept for years and was covered with mold
8. Poisonous fish sold as cod
9. Pesticides in dumplings
10. Antibiotics that were anything but.
11. Cooking oil that was sold as new but was really filtered cooking oil that had been discarded by restaurants
12. Halal cookies made with lard.
The story BBQ pork made from cardboard and industrial cleaners however was not true. But, can you blame people for believing it?
These are just the one's I can remember off the top of my head.
I have a friend up North who warned us about eating the freshwater crabs that come from China. Crabs are scavengers and he said that the people who raise them have been caught feeding them dead rats and dogs as well as plain old garbage. I don't like crab so they were easy for me to avoid.
There was a story on ATV this weekend about what are known as "Cancer Villages" in China where the water is so polluted with heavy metals and other toxins that the cancer rate is hundreds of times higher than normal. Question, do they water vegetables with that water and if so, are those vegetables sold in Hong Kong?
If I went into product recalls this list could get really long.
If I wanted to write about working conditions I could write a book.
China may be about to reach a point of no-return. There are enough people, even those who live in China who are afraid of the goods being produced here that they simply will not buy them. They'll either source those products elsewhere or do without them. I think this is kind of analogous to the situation US automobile manufacturers caused for themselves in the late 1970's. At that time the quality standard of US cars was absolutely horrific. We called them 50,000 mile throwaways. They were ugly, poorly designed vehicles. What a shame. The 1950's & 1960's were, in many ways the golden age of the American automobile and they fell off that pedestal really fast. It was at that time that the Japanese cars improved their quality and many US consumers decided that they were better off with a Toyota, Nissan (Called Datsun at that time) or Honda. Once that happened it became very difficult to regain those customers unless the Japanese makers pulled a similar stunt and only Subaru obliged. Now 30 years later, the US automobiles are actually a pretty good product but can't get those loyal Toyota buyers back.
Now suppose it wasn't just GM, Ford and Chrysler? Suppose it was all the wheat, all the apples, all the oranges, all the beer, wine, whiskey, bottled water and soft drinks, all clothing, machinery and services combined? This is where the Chinese are headed if they are not careful. What happens if the "Made in China" label has been so tarnished that it has the same cache as "Made in Detroit." What if people are willing, as happen to the American auto industry, to spend MORE for a Toyota made overseas than they are for a Chinese Ford?
If that happens, Hong Kong might not be such a great place to live.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't normally given to economic fear mongering
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Flat Hunting
The ever lovely, looks twenty-five years younger than she is, really smart and pretty wife and I want to move. She is changing jobs and will be working in the far wilderness of Tai Po starting in July and I already work in City One. She finds Causeway bay to be "convenient" where I just find it, crowded and undesirable. However, it is now too far away from where either of us work to live there so we are looking for a new flat. Yesterday was the third round of flat hunting. How frustrating.
Housing in Hong Kong is way, way, way over priced. That fact doesn't seem to register with anybody in the government here though which probably has something to do with the property developer's cartel that actually runs the place. It also seems that the government is oblivious to the way that the high cost of housing reduces Hong Kong's competitiveness; but that is another post for another time.
We decided to look a little farther North than Kowloon and have been looking in the Tai Po, Tai Wu areas. It is frustrating because the concept of farther out is cheaper does not really seem to apply anymore.
So, yesterday was Shenzhen which has become a real possibility. I think that Shenzhen is also over priced but it is a matter of degree. The same flat in Tai Po market that cost 4.5 million will cost a measly 1 million in Shenzhen. Shenzhen has come a long way in 10 years. It is clean, has done a good job of reducing crime, has wide sidewalks, tree lined streets and a Wal-Mart grocery store. Believe me, Americans may hate Wal-Mart in the US but they'll love it in China. All in all, Shenzhen has a lot going for it. But I don't know if I want to live there.
The real issues are more complex
The disadvantages
1. The commute time would be greater and I don't like the train.
2. Traveling outside China would be problematic
3. The unpredictability of the PRC government is another issue.
4. The almost non-existent sense of building maintenance exhibited by the people in China.
5. Having to carry two different currencies
6. While an SAR like Hong Kong it is still far more like China than Hong Kong.
The advantages
1. Much more space
2.Much less expensive
3. Better grocery stores
4. Less crowded
5. The mainland tourist all go to Hong Kong or Macao
6. traveling in China would be easier
7. I could own a Chevrolet
8. THBT is not the CE of Shenzhen
9. Long Hair Leung doesn't live there
It is really a tough call. The flats are much nicer and larger and cheaper. The issue is that do the disadvantages of living there out way the cost.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is house hunting
Housing in Hong Kong is way, way, way over priced. That fact doesn't seem to register with anybody in the government here though which probably has something to do with the property developer's cartel that actually runs the place. It also seems that the government is oblivious to the way that the high cost of housing reduces Hong Kong's competitiveness; but that is another post for another time.
We decided to look a little farther North than Kowloon and have been looking in the Tai Po, Tai Wu areas. It is frustrating because the concept of farther out is cheaper does not really seem to apply anymore.
So, yesterday was Shenzhen which has become a real possibility. I think that Shenzhen is also over priced but it is a matter of degree. The same flat in Tai Po market that cost 4.5 million will cost a measly 1 million in Shenzhen. Shenzhen has come a long way in 10 years. It is clean, has done a good job of reducing crime, has wide sidewalks, tree lined streets and a Wal-Mart grocery store. Believe me, Americans may hate Wal-Mart in the US but they'll love it in China. All in all, Shenzhen has a lot going for it. But I don't know if I want to live there.
The real issues are more complex
The disadvantages
1. The commute time would be greater and I don't like the train.
2. Traveling outside China would be problematic
3. The unpredictability of the PRC government is another issue.
4. The almost non-existent sense of building maintenance exhibited by the people in China.
5. Having to carry two different currencies
6. While an SAR like Hong Kong it is still far more like China than Hong Kong.
The advantages
1. Much more space
2.Much less expensive
3. Better grocery stores
4. Less crowded
5. The mainland tourist all go to Hong Kong or Macao
6. traveling in China would be easier
7. I could own a Chevrolet
8. THBT is not the CE of Shenzhen
9. Long Hair Leung doesn't live there
It is really a tough call. The flats are much nicer and larger and cheaper. The issue is that do the disadvantages of living there out way the cost.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is house hunting
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Standing up to bullies
Interesting article.
In a strange way this another reason that I support the PRC position in Tibet. When the human rights crowd in the West will not let people tell the truth, or express unpopular opinions then they are no longer supporting human rights but a political agenda. When that agenda creates institutions or laws that allow thugs to use the law against people speaking the truth about the thugs then the pursuit of human rights has become something evil. Evil, politically correct Westerners have no right to tell the PRC what to do.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who rather see human freedom than human rights
In a strange way this another reason that I support the PRC position in Tibet. When the human rights crowd in the West will not let people tell the truth, or express unpopular opinions then they are no longer supporting human rights but a political agenda. When that agenda creates institutions or laws that allow thugs to use the law against people speaking the truth about the thugs then the pursuit of human rights has become something evil. Evil, politically correct Westerners have no right to tell the PRC what to do.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who rather see human freedom than human rights
Saturday, April 26, 2008
China Rents Pro-Olympic Crowd
Why does this not surprise me?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who couldn't careless about the Olympics
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who couldn't careless about the Olympics
Monday, March 17, 2008
You can't do this if you are Chinese
I am not a fan of this woman's music. Couldn't careless about her most of the time. I also think think this was an empty gesture that may even have been counter-productive. The leadership in China are all paranoid and think everybody is out to get them. Giving them reason to believe their fears are justified doesn't really help the situation.
Besides Tibet isn't the issue in China, or at least not the whole issue. The real issue is that the entire nation groans under the imperial heel of the jackbooted, Ex-communist cum Neo-Nazi party that controls my nation. It isn't just the people in Tibet who are oppressed in China it is everybody. To single Tibet out because the somewhat charismatic Dalli Lama makes them an issue and to ignore the rest of the country is not right. She should have yelled. "Freedom, Freedom, Freedom" not "Tibet, Tibet Tibet" Better yet, she should could have yelled; "Live up to your Constitution and obey the laws you claim to respect; you slimly pieces excrement and black hair dye!"
The Chinese constitution promises, freedom of speech and religion and a whole host of rights that the Chinese people are routinely denied. The government of the PRC needs to live up to its own creeds which were adopted in the 1980's. But doing so would threaten the party and the party, in the eyes of its members must never fail. Chairman Mao forbid (Since they are officially Atheist I can't say God forbid) that the party should ever be shown to be guilty of a crime! It can't be. They are the progressive and compassionate leaders of the proletariat revolution. I think they need to read Karl Popper's critique of Socialism.
But, at some level, I've got to admire what this singer did. Especially since the central government just declared a "People's War" against Tibet yesterday because of the protest going on there. I asked around a bit to find out what a "People's War" is. The definition provided by the nearly always unreliable Wikipedia is evidently somewhat incorrect or at least in this case less than complete. It appears that in this case the government has declared a state of overt Martial Law, as opposed to the somewhat more discreet version that is the norm in China. It also means that the police, military and other security forces in Tibet are probably going to simply machine gun the protesters after putting a media blackout in effect.
I've printed these lyrics before. But they deserve to be printed again
How Many Tears
Gunmetal grey for golden rules
White hot steel for the comfort of fools
Molten wills in iron hands
Forge new sons for the Motherland
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who wants all of China to be Free
Besides Tibet isn't the issue in China, or at least not the whole issue. The real issue is that the entire nation groans under the imperial heel of the jackbooted, Ex-communist cum Neo-Nazi party that controls my nation. It isn't just the people in Tibet who are oppressed in China it is everybody. To single Tibet out because the somewhat charismatic Dalli Lama makes them an issue and to ignore the rest of the country is not right. She should have yelled. "Freedom, Freedom, Freedom" not "Tibet, Tibet Tibet" Better yet, she should could have yelled; "Live up to your Constitution and obey the laws you claim to respect; you slimly pieces excrement and black hair dye!"
The Chinese constitution promises, freedom of speech and religion and a whole host of rights that the Chinese people are routinely denied. The government of the PRC needs to live up to its own creeds which were adopted in the 1980's. But doing so would threaten the party and the party, in the eyes of its members must never fail. Chairman Mao forbid (Since they are officially Atheist I can't say God forbid) that the party should ever be shown to be guilty of a crime! It can't be. They are the progressive and compassionate leaders of the proletariat revolution. I think they need to read Karl Popper's critique of Socialism.
But, at some level, I've got to admire what this singer did. Especially since the central government just declared a "People's War" against Tibet yesterday because of the protest going on there. I asked around a bit to find out what a "People's War" is. The definition provided by the nearly always unreliable Wikipedia is evidently somewhat incorrect or at least in this case less than complete. It appears that in this case the government has declared a state of overt Martial Law, as opposed to the somewhat more discreet version that is the norm in China. It also means that the police, military and other security forces in Tibet are probably going to simply machine gun the protesters after putting a media blackout in effect.
I've printed these lyrics before. But they deserve to be printed again
How Many Tears
Gunmetal grey for golden rules
White hot steel for the comfort of fools
Molten wills in iron hands
Forge new sons for the Motherland
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How many tears will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
Hidden mounds in jungle dust
Youthful voices forever lie hushed
Poets and peasants know the truth
But what in the world can one man do
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How many tears will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
A mother’s eyes ache with her hatred
Her lips they are crippled with fear
She waits for the news that she don’t want to hear
How many tears
How many tears
How many tears must fall down
Ain’t no funerals
Ain’t no prayers
Ain’t no blood in the Government Square
Reign of terror
True and tried
Dries the eyes before they’ve cried
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How many tears will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
How many tears
How many tears will fall down
From Dry Bones Dance
Back to The Mark Heard Lyric Project
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who wants all of China to be Free
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Revolution of Culture
I watched our fearless bureaucrat the Human Bow-Tie (THBT), Donald Tsang on the ATV program Newsline last night. I was astonished that when asked "Are you a leader?" His reply was "I am a faithful son of Hong Kong" What does that mean?
I've actually come to like Newsline since Michael Chugani took over the job as host from the reflexively pro Beijing, anti-American, old Chinese guy who never smiled and who always looked as though he just sat on a vertical corncob. Michael Ghungani appears to be a very competent interviewer. He is pleasant without asking to many softball questions. But last night I was disappointed.
It appeared that THBT knew the questions in advance and had his replies written out. You could see him turning pages as he read his answers to the questions. As is usual THBT was able to use enough slimy words to avoid some direct answers and spent the rest of the time in a state of active self promotion.
I did almost agree with one thing that THBT said however, what is the good of preserving old building and the cultural heritage of Hong Kong if people don't use those buildings. He used the example of the Western market which was saved and renovated and to which nobody much goes as an example. Now, he didn't talk about the huge tunnel vents for the MTR that block the best views of the building or the other problems in the area that might prevent people from going there. But it is still sort of a valid point.
He also had another point that was a lie but contains just enough truth to make it look like a fair thought. When he talks about universal suffrage in Hong Kong he is fond of pointing out that he thinks that the real issue is good government and that universal suffrage does not necessary equate to good government. Assuming that you are talking about the governments that have Manila or Mexico City as their capital he might be right. But, since Hong Kong does not resemble either of those places is it a fair comparison to say that good government and no universal suffrage is better than a corrupt government with universal suffrage? Are we really so stupid that we cannot be trusted to elect our own mayor?
Tell us again Donald how asking for Universal Suffrage could cause us to set off a Cultural Revolution in Hong Kong like the one that happened in the PRC in the 1960's. Are you saying that if we persist in petitioning the government to honor the rights we are guaranteed under the Basic Law then the government will be forced to suppress dissident expression by force and send the leaders to re-education camps in the Gobi Dessert? Make no mistake. Suppressing dissident views was was the purpose of the Cultural Revolution.
Lastly, Michael Chugani asked THBT about the Anson Chan versus Regina Ip cat fight for the vacant Legco seat. I found the question rather than the answer interesting because Michael ask THBT to comment on the fact that it had been reported that some people didn't see a great deal of difference between the two. I wonder if Michael had read my post on that race? Probably not but I can always hope.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still watches TV
I've actually come to like Newsline since Michael Chugani took over the job as host from the reflexively pro Beijing, anti-American, old Chinese guy who never smiled and who always looked as though he just sat on a vertical corncob. Michael Ghungani appears to be a very competent interviewer. He is pleasant without asking to many softball questions. But last night I was disappointed.
It appeared that THBT knew the questions in advance and had his replies written out. You could see him turning pages as he read his answers to the questions. As is usual THBT was able to use enough slimy words to avoid some direct answers and spent the rest of the time in a state of active self promotion.
I did almost agree with one thing that THBT said however, what is the good of preserving old building and the cultural heritage of Hong Kong if people don't use those buildings. He used the example of the Western market which was saved and renovated and to which nobody much goes as an example. Now, he didn't talk about the huge tunnel vents for the MTR that block the best views of the building or the other problems in the area that might prevent people from going there. But it is still sort of a valid point.
He also had another point that was a lie but contains just enough truth to make it look like a fair thought. When he talks about universal suffrage in Hong Kong he is fond of pointing out that he thinks that the real issue is good government and that universal suffrage does not necessary equate to good government. Assuming that you are talking about the governments that have Manila or Mexico City as their capital he might be right. But, since Hong Kong does not resemble either of those places is it a fair comparison to say that good government and no universal suffrage is better than a corrupt government with universal suffrage? Are we really so stupid that we cannot be trusted to elect our own mayor?
Tell us again Donald how asking for Universal Suffrage could cause us to set off a Cultural Revolution in Hong Kong like the one that happened in the PRC in the 1960's. Are you saying that if we persist in petitioning the government to honor the rights we are guaranteed under the Basic Law then the government will be forced to suppress dissident expression by force and send the leaders to re-education camps in the Gobi Dessert? Make no mistake. Suppressing dissident views was was the purpose of the Cultural Revolution.
Lastly, Michael Chugani asked THBT about the Anson Chan versus Regina Ip cat fight for the vacant Legco seat. I found the question rather than the answer interesting because Michael ask THBT to comment on the fact that it had been reported that some people didn't see a great deal of difference between the two. I wonder if Michael had read my post on that race? Probably not but I can always hope.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still watches TV
Friday, October 12, 2007
This is a Dam Distaster
I really would not want to live down river from the Three Gorges dam.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who grew up in the Desert South West
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who grew up in the Desert South West
Saturday, October 06, 2007
10 reasons NOT to vote either one
The Legco election coming up in Hong Kong between Anson (Got her Fangs on) Chan and Regina (Broom-Head) Yip to replace the un-mourned Ma Lik who died this summer is getting close. As is the norm in political campaigns they are each doing their best to gain the votes needed to win the election. Strangely, I've not heard either of them give any really solid reason why people should vote for one of them over the other. They appear to me to be kind of two-peas-in-a- pod though Anson is a little more wrinkly pea.
Well be that as it may; here are the ten reasons in rank order why I don't think Hong Kongers should vote for either of them.
1. Neither one believes in a democratic Hong Kong
Regina Yip was in favor of Article 23 While most sins are forgivable, this one isn't in a political sense. No one, not one person in Hong Kong except hard core DAB members should vote for the Broom Head simply because of her involvement in supporting this issue.
Anson Chan was a high ranking Civil Servant for decades under the British government and never to my knowledge was very vocal about anything but advancing her career. Can you really say you are pro democracy when you willingly worked for a government that was determined to not allow it?
We need leaders in Hong Kong who long for a government of the people and by the people not of the party and for the Motherland.
2. They are both Running Dogs
Old Anson was almost the private lap dog for the British Imperial government for many years. I'm not sure a lap dog isn't a lower animal in this case than a running dog. Regina seems to want to be Hu Jintau's personal poodle in Hong Kong. Both of them are tied to powers outside Hong Kong that would like to either regain or establish an inordinate amount of influence over Hong Kong.
We do not need officials in Hong Kong who are excessively tied to either Beijing or London
3. Neither one knows the difference between an "Administrator" and a "Bureaucrat"
I'm sorry, but Anson Chan's assertion, taken as a compliment by Regina that both of them have many years of administrative experience is a horrific example of the wrong mentality exhibited by officials here. Governments don't administrate anything. Most of the time the best that a government can do is to mismanage anything. More to the point I think that most locals here feel that the Hong Kong government is what we'd have called in Texas, a "good - ol'- boy club." It may not be, but it certainly looks to me as though the main purpose of a Hong Kong 's bureaucrat's existence is to simply ensure that their extremely highly paid, cushy, more benefits than Bruce Wayne on a good day job remains their job.
We need fewer officials who want to grow our government by greasing the bureaucratic skids
4. Neither seem to have clear understanding of economics
At best they see a social problem and throw money at it to make themselves feel better. I've not heard either of them speak about how the mortgage defaults in the US will affect Hong Kong, problems with the dollar peg and currency rate. Taxation issues; or anything that deals with the dollars and cents of governance.
We need leaders who have and who can communicate a clear and coherent monetary policy.
5. Both come from wealthy, pampered backgrounds and have never really known what it is like to live as a normal person in Hong Kong
This one is pretty self explanatory. Not that being wealthy is a sin in and of itself. But some wealthy people do a better job connecting with normal people. Warren Buffett, for example, sent his kids to public school and lives in a house that is worth about USD $150,000. He drives a low-end luxury car. Neither Miss Broom or Mrs Fangs On have ever lived anywhere except in the lap of luxury. Even the time Regina spent at Standford in a small apartment would be a luxuriously high life to many university students.
We need leaders who understand what the average person who lives here experiences.
6. Neither, to my knowledge has ever had a job except in government
This is kind of the same thing as number 6 except that how can we expect either one of these two to have clue about what the working conditions are like in Hong Kong when they've never done anything that would give them a clue? Oh sure, they hobnob with the odd billionaire tycoon now and again or other (un)Civil Servants but that doesn't give them a great deal of insight into work-a-day Hong Kong.
We need leaders who know how to work not, to borrow Anson's misappropriated term, "administrate."
7. Arrogance and Condescension
Both of these two ladies just drip with a holier-than-thou attitude. God, it makes my skin crawl! I just want to hit the mute button anytime either of them speaks on TV. Perhaps it is because I grew up in the US which is a lot less class conscious society than either the UK or the PRC but the attitude of "I'm the great and glorious one so far above you plebs." makes me nauseous. I'll say this about them. They've given me a whole new level of understanding of the causes of the French Revolution.
We need leaders who do not talk down to us. The Noble's Obligation is a French thing and shouldn't be a Hong K0ng thing.
8. Both view this election as stepping stone to the CE office in 2012.
I'm not sure that this necessarily a bad thing but excessive political ambition will mean that either of them will be more concerned about the next step in their career path than the job at hand. More than that, it appears to me that both of these women view the CE's (Mayor's or Governor's) office as their entitlement, something they deserve because of who they are. They've lost sight of the function of of elected officials. They believe they are Royals.
We need leaders today not in 2012 and we need elected leaders not Queens or Kings
9. Neither one has shown the ability to think creatively.
There is certainly a place in government, as in all professions for the clerk who follows the rules and grinds it out. But leaders should have a vision, a guiding star or a moral compass that they use to set their political direction and guide their approach to policy. Both these ladies appear to simply be opportunist.
Hong Kong needs leaders who lead through inspiration and because of their ideas, not a bureaucratic compromise artist.
10. The Hair.
Anson looks like she buys shoe polish to color her hair from the same place Jang Zhamin did and Regina really used to deserves the nickname "Broom head" given to her during the article 23 protest marches. Since her return from Stanford she's gotten even worse and her current hair cut makes her look more like wet-mop-head. Perhaps this is trite but appearances matter. Is it too much to ask of either of them to go to the Beauty shop and buy clothing that is neither for a twenty-something Wan Chai shop girl or a frump?
We need leaders who don't look like clowns on TV.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who'd like to run against these two frauds
Well be that as it may; here are the ten reasons in rank order why I don't think Hong Kongers should vote for either of them.
1. Neither one believes in a democratic Hong Kong
Regina Yip was in favor of Article 23 While most sins are forgivable, this one isn't in a political sense. No one, not one person in Hong Kong except hard core DAB members should vote for the Broom Head simply because of her involvement in supporting this issue.
Anson Chan was a high ranking Civil Servant for decades under the British government and never to my knowledge was very vocal about anything but advancing her career. Can you really say you are pro democracy when you willingly worked for a government that was determined to not allow it?
We need leaders in Hong Kong who long for a government of the people and by the people not of the party and for the Motherland.
2. They are both Running Dogs
Old Anson was almost the private lap dog for the British Imperial government for many years. I'm not sure a lap dog isn't a lower animal in this case than a running dog. Regina seems to want to be Hu Jintau's personal poodle in Hong Kong. Both of them are tied to powers outside Hong Kong that would like to either regain or establish an inordinate amount of influence over Hong Kong.
We do not need officials in Hong Kong who are excessively tied to either Beijing or London
3. Neither one knows the difference between an "Administrator" and a "Bureaucrat"
I'm sorry, but Anson Chan's assertion, taken as a compliment by Regina that both of them have many years of administrative experience is a horrific example of the wrong mentality exhibited by officials here. Governments don't administrate anything. Most of the time the best that a government can do is to mismanage anything. More to the point I think that most locals here feel that the Hong Kong government is what we'd have called in Texas, a "good - ol'- boy club." It may not be, but it certainly looks to me as though the main purpose of a Hong Kong 's bureaucrat's existence is to simply ensure that their extremely highly paid, cushy, more benefits than Bruce Wayne on a good day job remains their job.
We need fewer officials who want to grow our government by greasing the bureaucratic skids
4. Neither seem to have clear understanding of economics
At best they see a social problem and throw money at it to make themselves feel better. I've not heard either of them speak about how the mortgage defaults in the US will affect Hong Kong, problems with the dollar peg and currency rate. Taxation issues; or anything that deals with the dollars and cents of governance.
We need leaders who have and who can communicate a clear and coherent monetary policy.
5. Both come from wealthy, pampered backgrounds and have never really known what it is like to live as a normal person in Hong Kong
This one is pretty self explanatory. Not that being wealthy is a sin in and of itself. But some wealthy people do a better job connecting with normal people. Warren Buffett, for example, sent his kids to public school and lives in a house that is worth about USD $150,000. He drives a low-end luxury car. Neither Miss Broom or Mrs Fangs On have ever lived anywhere except in the lap of luxury. Even the time Regina spent at Standford in a small apartment would be a luxuriously high life to many university students.
We need leaders who understand what the average person who lives here experiences.
6. Neither, to my knowledge has ever had a job except in government
This is kind of the same thing as number 6 except that how can we expect either one of these two to have clue about what the working conditions are like in Hong Kong when they've never done anything that would give them a clue? Oh sure, they hobnob with the odd billionaire tycoon now and again or other (un)Civil Servants but that doesn't give them a great deal of insight into work-a-day Hong Kong.
We need leaders who know how to work not, to borrow Anson's misappropriated term, "administrate."
7. Arrogance and Condescension
Both of these two ladies just drip with a holier-than-thou attitude. God, it makes my skin crawl! I just want to hit the mute button anytime either of them speaks on TV. Perhaps it is because I grew up in the US which is a lot less class conscious society than either the UK or the PRC but the attitude of "I'm the great and glorious one so far above you plebs." makes me nauseous. I'll say this about them. They've given me a whole new level of understanding of the causes of the French Revolution.
We need leaders who do not talk down to us. The Noble's Obligation is a French thing and shouldn't be a Hong K0ng thing.
8. Both view this election as stepping stone to the CE office in 2012.
I'm not sure that this necessarily a bad thing but excessive political ambition will mean that either of them will be more concerned about the next step in their career path than the job at hand. More than that, it appears to me that both of these women view the CE's (Mayor's or Governor's) office as their entitlement, something they deserve because of who they are. They've lost sight of the function of of elected officials. They believe they are Royals.
We need leaders today not in 2012 and we need elected leaders not Queens or Kings
9. Neither one has shown the ability to think creatively.
There is certainly a place in government, as in all professions for the clerk who follows the rules and grinds it out. But leaders should have a vision, a guiding star or a moral compass that they use to set their political direction and guide their approach to policy. Both these ladies appear to simply be opportunist.
Hong Kong needs leaders who lead through inspiration and because of their ideas, not a bureaucratic compromise artist.
10. The Hair.
Anson looks like she buys shoe polish to color her hair from the same place Jang Zhamin did and Regina really used to deserves the nickname "Broom head" given to her during the article 23 protest marches. Since her return from Stanford she's gotten even worse and her current hair cut makes her look more like wet-mop-head. Perhaps this is trite but appearances matter. Is it too much to ask of either of them to go to the Beauty shop and buy clothing that is neither for a twenty-something Wan Chai shop girl or a frump?
We need leaders who don't look like clowns on TV.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who'd like to run against these two frauds
Friday, October 05, 2007
Said better than I could
An article that you should see in the main stream media but will not.
The Chinese in Myanmar should hang their heads and weep.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Chinese in Myanmar should hang their heads and weep.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
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