Tomato War

1 May 2010 - My family used to go to Italy for holidays in the 1960s and 1970s. I have many fond memories of The Mediterranean, and I remember the sun-laden taste of peaches, oranges and tomatoes. I did not like the Dutch tomatoes at the time, but I learned to love the Italian ones. In the 1990s a Tomato War broke out in Germany, as the Germans labeled the Dutch tomatoes "water-bombs" and massively started importing fruits from Italy and Spain. The Dutch have learned their lesson, and started to diversify and to put taste in their water-bombs: cherry tomatoes, meat tomatoes, organic tomatoes, etc. It worked, because Dutch tomatoes are back on the German lunch and dinner tables. I learned that 56% of tomatoes in Germany are again imported from Holland. By the way, is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?

Back to the Future (2)

1 May 2010 - So today's newspaper are applauding the dazzling display during the opening of the Shanghai Expo, but one should not forget that thousands were removed from the Expo site by force. Also, many activists, dissidents and petitioners were kept at a distance or even told to leave the city. One activist, Feng Zhenghu, had planned to set up a 'Shanghai Expo for Unjust Court Cases', but was asked to frequently report to the police. Another activist confirmed that she was repeatedly invited for 'tea' by the police. Amnesty International's Roseanne Rife said: "Chinese authorities are again taking extreme steps to ensure that Shanghai activists don't protest, don't interact with visitors, or speak with journalists during the World Expo. The construction of the expo cannot hide the ill-treatment of those who were forcibly evicted.".

Generation Y

1 May 2010 - With all the attention for Shanghai this week, there is a great article in the SCMP about the mainlands' Generation Y. Today's teenagers and twenty-somethings (about 240 million people) will one day be the pillar of the workforce, but most elderly don't think much of the young generation. There is an interview with a fashion store manager, who complaints that it is difficult to communicate with the youngsters, as he is in near constant culture-shock. Many of his staff communicate almost silently most of the time, through short messaging or by computer. Their needs go beyond money, and they resign with the change of the wind. At one stage he planned a "motivation-tour" to Hong Kong, but nobody was interested as most had already been there before. He says "Fewer and fewer young people want to work in the shop. They don't have to worry about earning a living because their parents have worked hard and earned enough for them."

Quote of the Day (6)

1 May 2010 - "The Mind is a Cage of Birds" - Plato

Back to The Future

1 Mei 2010 - Yesterday the Shanghai Expo 2010 was officially opened. The opening ceremony was billed as "bigger & better than the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony", and maybe that was mistake, because it was a disappointment. I am sure many Chinese l.o.v.e.d. it, but is was all a bit too old-fashioned, scripted and robotic. The Chinese organizational minds put up a massive display of fireworks extravaganza, color and laser-lights, but more is not necessarily always better, The Expo is very much about the future of cities, so I was a bit suprised to see old-school ballet, and to hear "Die Schone Blaue Donau" (what was that?). The Beijing Olympics were Chinese party for the world, and the Shanghai's Expo is the world's party for China. Round 1 goes to Beijing - now let the Expo begin.

Orange

30 April 2010 - It is that special day of the year: Koninginnedag. For the non-Dutch speakers: it is the day my home-country celebrates the birthday of Dutch Queen Beatrix. I believe most people know that the Queen shares her birthday with me (in January), but 30 April is the day that the country turns orange and gets a little bit crazier than usual. Sadly its only 13 degrees in the motherland, and I read online that some children had to see the doctor because the wet cold got hold of them. The police advised people to bundle up. I remember a similar day when I was eight or nine years old. I really really really wanted to see the parade, but was sick for a week afterwards. Time to buy stock in BAYER?

Flower Boats

30 April 2010 - I was in Guangzhou today. The office is not far from the Lai Wan (Liwan in pinyin) area. The name derives from the series of bays in the Pearl River, which were famed for their lychee orchards. The place was also well know for its "flower boats". The riverfront was home to dozens of highly luxurious floating brothels. The "flowers" were - of course - the prostitutes working on the boats, and "picking flowers" was a way to describe a visit to one of the brothels. Gone are the lychee orchards and flower boats, but one can still find delicious fruits on the markets and, no doubt, pick some flowers too.

Down Down and Down

29 April 2010 - Seven years ago, when I arrived in Hong Kong in times of SARS and political chaos, I needed to pay USD 0.85 for EUR 1. The Euro started its magnificent rise soon after and two years ago, I had to pay almost USD 1,60 for the Euro. The Hong Kong Dollar is pegged to the USD, and I still have expenses in Euro, so it is not difficult to understand that poor little me got only poorer and poorer. Recently however, the Euro dipped (it's now at about USD 1,32). And of course I hope it will go down, down, and down even further. Until recently, everything went well, because the stock market shot up, so my few humble saving increased in value. But now everything has changed again: the Hang Seng is going down, down and down again. Maybe I will soon have to sleep under the bridge.

The Little Professors

29 April 2010 - Every morning a silent army of little bespectacled professors moves into the Kowloon Tong area, where I live. It is the army of Hong Kong's school kids, all neatly dressed in their 1950s school uniforms. No make up, no sneakers, no punky hair. These kids don't smoke, they don't rebel, and at least 50% of them seem sunken in their own world of video-games and MP3s. The sad thing is that they also don't smile. The general impression on their faces is one of concern combined with fatigue. Life weighs already very heavy on them and I believe many of them will not look much different when 50+. What is Hong Kong doing to their kids? Why do Hong Kong kids have to live like little grown-ups?

The Lily

28 April 2010 - Repulse Bay is one of the most beautiful - and most expensive - bays in Hong Kong. When I came to Hong Kong in 2003 ChinaChem had just finished constructing a lily-shaped apartment block, designed by Lord Norman Foster (also responsible for the HK airport and the HSBC building). It took til 2007 to complete the interiors, and the late Nina Wang never saw her lily blossom. I heard that apartments in the building will now go on sale, which is good news because it is rather sad to have such a huge empty (dead) building in one of the most stunning sites of Hong Kong. There is, of course, a lot more to say about the topic, but this cartoon from Harry/SCMP sums it all up.

Round and Around and Around

28 April 2010 - One of the things I will take with me from Hong Kong to new pastures is my love for round dinner tables. It is so much more enjoyable to see all your dinner mates in the face. Everybody is able to reach for the delicacies in the centre of the table, which are - in turn - placed on a rotating smaller circle. The biggest advantage is that nobody is the "table-head', but that all come together to equally enjoy the food. And now that I am on the topic ... I like chopsticks too.

From Holland with Love

27 April 2010 - More than 50 police officers searched an area around Ta Kwun Ling village in the New Territories for the body of a Dutch-Chinese man who had allegedly been dealing in cocaine. The man had not been seen after he left last Friday for the area by taxi, and he had asked his wife to inform the police if he did not return by 10 pm on the same day. The police did not find the body, but they did find 372 kgs of cocaine, with a street value of HKD 337 mio. The shipment was reportedly sent from Holland to Hong Kong by mistake, and the Dutch-Chinese man was thought to have been sent to re-collect the cargo. The police said the haul was the largest single police seizure of cocaine on record. From Holland - with love. The Dutch-Chinese man is still missing ...

Old Continent

27 April 2010 - I have a little black book, which I use to dot down sudden thoughts, ideas and brainwaves. When I took out the book to scribble something down while waiting in line for the bus, I could see some eyebrows being raised. Everybody around me was living in their own bubble facilitated by MP3-players, Iphones, ear-pieces and head-sets, and I did not look funky or modern at all. You could see people think "old" as in "old continent". I tried to type my thoughts into my mobile phone (it has a 'memo' apllication), but it took me twice as long. I got a bit annoyed. And isn't time money?

No Violence!

26 April 2010 - Next month elections for 5 seats in Hong Kong's Legislative Council will be held. The first posters, billboards and slogans are already hung up in the MTR stations and at bus stops. Today I saw the slogan "Hong Kong needs civilized democracy, no violence" as the main credo for one of the candidates. Huh? Although the text by itself may be correct, it made me wonder if I was in Bangkok or in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not known as a particularly violent city, and its democracy (??? - to be honest the word does not really represent Hong Kong's political system) is a haven of calm and quiet compared to Thailand, Taiwan or The Philippines. In fact, it seems rather stupid to put up such a slogan at a time that people die in fights between red shirts and yellow shirts and multi-colered shirts and green barets. We should be proud that we don't need slogans like that.

Will The Flower Market Blossom?

26 April 2010 - Mong Kok's Flower Market is a great place to stroll around and buy peonies, orange trees and orchids. The SCMP reported on the concerns of the Flower Market's merchants now the Government has launched redevelopment plans for the area. In hidden words, the article makes the point that one should get worried as soon as the HK Urban Renewal Authority gets involved. As we have seen before, it is sometimes dubious if the Authority has its priorities and interests right, and if its connections with other layers in society do not blur objectivity and good (I won't dare to use the word 'transparent') decision-making. There are concerns that "disneyfication" of the Flower Market may further increase rents pushing out the markets' small businesses. One merchant says that the plans won't help them, as the people who come to buy flowers are locals, but the redevlopment plans are only good for tourists. And tourists don't buy flowers. It is sad to see that people start to get worried as soon as the Hong Kong Government gets involved - a Government they did not even elect themselves.

Quote of the Day (5)

26 April 2010 - This quote is from the book "Emergency Sex", which is written by three (former) UN workers. The title is a bit unfortunate, as it it does not really cover the content of the book. "Doctors are not omnipotent. To practice medicine you have to accept that there will always be disease. But because of what I saw on that operating table, I could not accept that there will always be war."

Quote of the Day (4)

25 April 2010 - Do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will bring worries of its own.

Pigs and The City

25 April 2010 - For the fourth time in a relatively short time Hong Kongers on the island were confronted with a wild pig roaming around. This time it was a 50 kg male boar which allegedly came down from Tai Tam Country Park to find food. It is not a good idea, because the macho male did not survive his outing. Earlier this week two pigs showed up in Fortress Hill and in February a boar was strolling in the streets of North Point. Its an amazing though that these wild pigs run around in middle class areas like Tai Hang or Mid Levels, and it seems that the officials see little other solution but to chase and tranquilize the poor animals. That may be fair enough, as these can be dangerous animals, but unfortunately it does not appear so easy to catch a stressed and shocked pig. Three out of four did not survive their trip to downtown Hong Kong - not a good result. It can be dangerous to go on a food trip.