Lai See

7 Aug 2010 - I read the dreadful account of a pregnant woman in a Shenzhen hospital who woke up after giving birth to her baby and found her ass stitched up by the doctor. The doctor decided on his needle work, because the woman's stingy husband left him only 100 RMB in lai see. The doctor had wished for more. The hospital promised an "investigation", but paying a few extra dollars in a red pocket (lai see) to the doctors or nurses is common practice in Chinese hospitals. The Shenzhen incident is a example of terrible abuse of power. It is a great responsibility to have knowledge, to lead or to be in control. Sadly, too often power is abused at the cost of vulnerable or marginalized people. The "have's" rule the "have not's". That is not typical for China, but happens in countries all over the world. However I have some concerns that China's rise goes so fast that its might may easily be (further) corrupted and abused. It could have disastrous results for the rest of the world and millions of people.

Evelyn Waugh

7 Aug 2010 - One of my favorite books is Evelyn's Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, and probably most people from my generation will remember the fabulous BBC TV series. But long before travel-writing descended into what seems the work of cynical comedians, Waugh already excelled in the genre. I enjoyed his book Labels, about a cruise on the Mediterranean Sea, but there are also other books like Remote People, 92 Days and Waugh in Abyssinia. Although Waugh was being accused of racism, it seems that he was forgiven because of his humor, satire and wit about his countries' doing in Africa. I read that some of Waugh travel-writing is now being re-published in the book When The Going was Good. The book is published by penguin, and hopefully available in the better bookshops in Hong Kong

Hiroshima 6 AUG 1945

6 Aug 2010 - A few weeks ago I was in Hiroshima. Today it is 65 years ago that the atomic bomb was dropped on the city, killing more than 140,000 people. Over 70,000 perished a few days later as a result of the Nagasaki attack. People all over the world will (hopefully) remember this moment that defined the dawn of the atomic era and the end of World War II. Surprisingly, it is only for the first time that an US Government official will join the events on site in Hiroshima. When walking around in the city it is difficult to see that everything was completely destroyed, as Hiroshima has been completely rebuilt. In one of the new sparkling shopping centers I spotted a Starbucks' and decided to grab a coffee. Not so much because I wanted my coffee-shot, but because there is such great symbolic value in the fact that one of the American symbols of modern time is now present in the city that only 65 years ago was destroyed by its Government's forces. I enjoyed my coffee - no bitter taste this time. Please remember this day - never again.

Kopi Luwak

6 Aug 2010 -Those who know me a bit better know that I love my coffee, but I would probably have a hesitation with kopi luwak, which comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The area is also the home of a civet like animals, called the luwak (see picture). These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red coffee cherry. They eat these cherries - bean and all - and the substance is fermented in their stomachs. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system and out it comes. These beans are then collected from the forest floor, cleaned, roasted and ground into the most delicious coffee (they say). I cannot help but think of the circumstances that led to the first cup of kopi luwak - because who roasted the little civets poo and made coffee out of it? 

Great Picture (11)

6 Aug 2010 - Hong Kong is famous for its skyline over Victoria Harbor, and I really love the landscape of skyscrapers, double-deck trams and neon. But what is little less known is that nature is never far away. Sadly, many Hong Kong people shy away from nature or, worse, simply do not care about it. This picture was taken from The Peak on Hong Kong island. Can you imagine this is just 10 minutes away from one of the most dense, dynamic urban jungles in the world?

Sandwich Generation

5 Aug 2010 - The "sandwich generation" is the generation caught between competing demands of caring both for their parents and children. Hong Kong's "sandwich generation" are feeling the most financial pressure from taking care of their parents and children among those group accross Asia, research by the Economist Intelligence Unit has found. A report written by the EIU says 53%  of Hong Kong's "sandwich generation" said they were struggling to cope with the financial burden, compared to 45% on the mainland and 42% in Taiwan. South Korea scored 26% and Singapore only 21%. The study estimated that about 1,5 million people in Hong Kong - or 27% of the 5.5 million people in the working-age population - belong to the group. It said that school fees are a considerable burden even on those in the middle and high income groups. So, being sandwiched between kids and parents: blessing or burden?

Happy Holiday

5 Aug 2010 - Eurotunnel is investigating after passengers were taken from the UK to France and back again without being able to get off the train. The incident happened when seven vehicles were left on the train on Saturday, because staff forgot to offload one of the wagons. The error happened after a fuel spill left one of the wagons empty. Staff in Calais, who unloaded the front cars, did not realize there were more cars behind the empty wagon. Train crew realized what had happened when the train was already on its return journey, but it was too late and nothing could have been done for the unfortunate holiday makers. They were given a refund and a free ticket for the next trip with Eurostar. Not sure if they will ever use the train services again though ...

Jenny Evans is Late

4 Aug 2010 - Complaints about a UK television advertisement by Marie Stopes International have been rejected by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad triggered 1,054 complaints, saying that the campaign on unplanned pregnancy was misleading, offensive and harmful.  Viewers complained that it promoted abortion, offended their religious beliefs, and was sexist for implying that pregnancy was solely a woman's responsibility. The ASA did not agree and pointed out that abortion was never mentioned or advocated in the ad. Marie Stopes took a similar line and explained that the campaign was aimed to draw attention to an advice line for women concerned about a missed period or unplanned pregnancy. It also said it received an "overwhelmingly positive" response from the public during the campaign, and - most important - significantly more calls were received on the advice line.

Digital Wave

4 Aug 2010 - A digital revolution is overthrowing China's traditional reading habits. The total value of digital publications - on the internet, mobile phones, e-books and computer based reading software - overtook that of traditional print publications on the mainland for the first time last year, according to a report by the General Administration of Press and Publication. At the same time, a recent nation wide survey found that nearly a quarter of the more than 20,000 people it surveyed, aged between 18 and 70, now read primarily in digital forms. Note, that 50% of those under 29 read digital content. One of the casualties is a well known bookshop in Guangzhou, Joint Publishing (HK), which announced it would shut its flagship store, citing high rent, a lack of customers and changing reading habits. Sadly, it is also one of the few bookstores in the mainland with a wide collection of foreign books.

Celery

4 Aug. 2010 - This may not rock your world, but I just found out that celery has so called "negative calories", that is eating it burns more energy than the vegetable contains. Now how about that? Unfortunately, I am not too keen on celery. When raw, the high-fibre vegetable has a bright, fresh and distinctive crunch, but strong taste. When cooked, the flovor becomes milder and the texture softer. Celery maybe goes best into a Waldorf salad, because the flavor mixes well with the slices of apple, halved grapes, walnuts and raisins. It can be delicious, especially if the mayonnaise is lightened by mixing in some yoghurt. One could even add slices of poaches chicken.

HK Flasher?

3 Aug 2010 - Life in Hong Kong is always full of surprises. The SCMP published an article on Saturday about a married businessman (note: his full name was provided, but let's leave it out here) who did not think anyone was watching when he stripped naked in his car and photographed his genitals adorned with a hairband and plastic clips. But a neighbor did spot him, called the police and the poor man ended up in court charged with indecency. He pleaded guilty, but sentencing was adjourned. "I am not a flasher" he said. I cannot help but feeling sympathetic for the guy - and is there anything we can do about spying neighbors?

Cheese Fair

3 Aug 2010 - Think "cheese" and one would not automatically think "England". However, these days one of the biggest cheese fairs in Europe takes place in Nantwich, Chesshire. Everywhere you look it is Brie, Gouda, Stilton, Gruyere and Cheddar. Teams of stern, white-coated judges make their way through this array - fingering, touching, sniffing and of course tasting each sample. Behind the stalls, the producers anxiously look on. Here, cheese is a very serious business indeed. In total more than 3,000 entrants from 24 countries have submitted their products for inspection. Moreover, on the first day of the fair more than 30,000 enthusiastic Britons attended the fair. Gone are the days that a slice of cheddar is good for a sandwich, people now have great culinary expectations and talk a complicated gastronomic language. The word 'cheese revolution' comes to mind and could England lead the way?

Pet Gardens

2 Aug. 2010 - Hong Kong folks love their dogs. But in a city with more than 7 million people, it is not always easy to find space where the doggies can roam freely. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has now embarked on a plan to set up urban spaces with pet accessibility, known as pet gardens. Nineteen pet gardens have been established so far, in places ranging from Victoria Park to Tung Chung North park. More pet-friendly places are likely to follow. The pet owners are required to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the places, and so far this works well. They are also expected to take good care of their dogs and not allow them to foul indiscriminately, run wild, attack or cause a nuisance to others. So it is good news, but maybe not such good news for the dogs, because although they have their own gardens, they are asked to behave like Hong Kong tai-tai's.

Xu Bing

2 Aug 2010 - Yesterday I learned about the amazing work of Chinese artist Xu Bing. Born in Chongqing in 1955, Xu grew up in Beijing. At the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1975 he was sent to the countryside. Xu invented about 4,000 characters and hand carved them into wooden blocks. He then prints them on scrolls, creating an illusion of ancient Chinese art, but in fact using variations of the western alphabet. Please have a look at the attached work FEAR NOT and try to discover the words, and the signature of the artist on the right. Xu aims to demonstrate how the meaning of written text can easily be manipulated and challenges preconceptions of written art. Great artist!

World Heritage Site

1 Aug 2010 - World culture body UNESCO has decided to place the picturesque canals of Amsterdam on the world's heritage list. The UNESCO world heritage label is often sought after by countries as it boosts tourism and brings in money, but others oppose the label as they feel their homes will be changed into open-air museums with bus-loads of tourists for twelve months per year. UNESCO chose a number of new sites, also in Iran, China, Australia and other countries, in their meeting in Brazil. They also updated their list with endangered beauty spots, and added Florida's Everglades and Madagascar's tropical forests to the 31 sites already on the list. Earlier controversy arose, as the Galapagos islands were removed from that same list, while experts warned that it is far too early to declare the islands free from external threats, including overfishing. 

Broke on Beans

1 Aug. 2010 - Imagine being in Beijing with about RMB 50 (approx. USD 7) - what could you buy? Believe it or not, but you can just buy a cup of coffee. Beijing tops a recently published list of Asian cities with the 20 most expensive cups of coffee. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul are also high on the list (more than USD 5). Urbanization and the arrival of chains like Starbucks have helped to open the market for coffee drinkers, but prices are still relatively high as consumption per capita is still relatively low. It is expected that China will follow Japan, where the first Starbucks was opened in 2001, but has now more than 10,000 coffee shops all over the country.  Coffee is more widely available in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, where Dutch and French settlers introduced the drink much earlier.

Sora Aoi

1 Aug 2010 - Aoi Sola (aka Sora Aoi) is a Japanese AV girl (that is adult video girl) famous for her large breasts. A few months ago Ms. Sola started twittering and her tweets were picked up by netizens in mainland China. They caused an immediate sensation. Many mainland men and boys tried - and succeeded - to access the blocked Twitter website. The number of messages on Ms. Sola's Twitter account using simplified Chinese characters - and thus from the mainland - left many observers puzzled as people so openly managed to "scale the wall". Ms. Sola was also taken by surprise and reportedly has committed to learn Chinese as her newly found name and fame sells, and one never wants to miss an opportunity. She also made her first trip to China, which caused another stir on the internet. Now all of this is not so relevant, but recently Ms. Sola was nicknamed "the mother of China's internet freedom". Now how is that for a Japanese porn star? One wonders what the leadership in Beijing thinks of all of this?

Quote of the Day (18)

1 Aug 2010 - A friend of mine posted this on his Facebook page. I like the quote: "You see things as they are and ask: why? I dream things that never were and ask: why not?".