September 29, 2006
Singapore bans FEER

Now the IMF/World Bank roadshow has moved on, Singapore's continued attempts to clamp down on foreign media not to its liking reach a new low. While the domestic media appropriately cowed and under control, the paranoid Singaporean government has required all foreign publications distributed there to appoint a legal representative and pay a bond of about US$125,000. The FEER is, to date, the only publication to refuse to go along with this, putting principle above profit. The editor, Hugo Restall, says on the FEER blog:

The Singaporean government today announced that it has banned the Far Eastern Economic Review from the country. It has explicitly warned that not only is the Review Publishing Company forbidden from importing or distributing the Hong Kong-based monthly, but Singaporeans will also commit a criminal offense if they import or reproduce the magazine for distribution...We regret that this action infringes on the fundamental rights of our Singaporean subscribers and further restricts the already narrow scope of free expression in Singapore.
Mr Restall is also being sued by Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and Lee Kuan Yew. This makes a marked contrast to some other august publications that quickly caved when threatened by the Singapore government. The Chinese are learning a thing or two on media control from them Singapore.

Clearly for many media types, all the blather about principles and integrity stops at the bottom line. Good on the FEER.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:41
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September 27, 2006
The revolution will be printed

The Standard continues its rapid slide towards becoming the People's Daily for suits. Today "Zhong Ming" ("a nom de plume...a senior journalist in Beijing) explains why China's new media curbs are good for business but omits to say that it's good for Xinhua's business (CDT has details of the new restrictions). The Standard prints this propaganda piece on a light blue background to make sure it gets noticed in the midsts of PR puff pieces and corporate notices.

The piece itself is idiotic. Try the final two paragraphs:

It is generally accepted that China's new regulations on acquisitions and policy adjustment will create a better investment climate in the long term.

Though, superficially, scrutiny of acquisitions by foreign firms will be more intense with a view towards relatively tighter control, the new rules have clarified ambiguous concepts and will serve to ward off foreign investment frauds and stimulate acquisition deals.

"Generally accepted"? Anyone seen an opinion poll to back that up? The final paragraph sets a record for contradicting itself in the fewest words possible. Either the reviews are superficial or they are intense, but they can't be both. If it leads to tighter controls then by definition that has to restrict deals, not stimulate them.

Meanwhile the SCMP generates itself a front page story by ringing Milton Friedman, age 94, and asking him what he thinks of Donald Tsang's word games.:

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, who once lauded Hong Kong as the perfect model of a free-market economy, said he was disappointed - though not surprised - to see the city had moved away from a laissez-faire economic policy...Dr Friedman noted there had been strong pressure in Hong Kong to move away from positive non-interventionism since China's resumption of sovereignty.

"Ever since Hong Kong shifted from being a colony of Britain to being a subsidiary of China there has been strong pressure for Hong Kong to move away from laissez-faire," Dr Friedman said. "It is not surprising, but it is disappointing, to see Hong Kong move in that direction. The future of both [mainland] China and Hong Kong depends on whether Chinese policies move towards Hong Kong's or vice versa. I believe it is a move in the wrong direction. Hong Kong flourished with a policy of nearly complete laissez-faire and that it seems to me is the appropriate policy not only for Hong Kong, but for all countries."

Hong Kong's economy has been many things, but laissez-faire it wasn't and isn't. Donald Tsang didn't change that.

It must have been a slow news day in Hong Kong yesterday, but at least the SCMP got the respected Dr. Friedman as filler, rather than The Standard's disgrace.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:27
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September 26, 2006
Strength in numbers

The SCMP reveals that more than one in four Hong Kongers blog...

Two million bloggers in Hong Kong will be able to use copyrighted creative content legally and free on their personal blog or webpage when an online content database is launched by the creative industry later this year.
That count includes George Adams. It pays to at least try and think about these things before putting finger to keyboard.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:16
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Carn the swans

Things may be a bit light here for a while...I will be travelling to Melbourne this weekend to watch the mighty Sydney Swans defend their premiership from last year.

swans.gif

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:53
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September 25, 2006
They're here

Justin Mitchell recounts the thoughts of Iran's new consul to Hong Kong. Who knew the Iranians can justify a consulate here? But even in our tiny corner of the geopolitical landscape, absurdities abound:

When asked why a country with so much oil and gas feels a pressing need for a nuclear program (which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has claimed is strictly for peaceful purposes and about which Iran is in conflict with the United Nations) Nekounam said nuclear power is preferable to fossil fuels because it "is cost effective ... it makes the most of resources at a minimum cost."
You'll be interested to know that petrol in Iran costs 9 American cents per litre, which makes a marked contrast to Hong Kong's US$1.70 a litre. Remarkably, the Iranians still import oil because they don't have refining capacity and because of the massively subsidised petrol price.

Instead of spending billions on nuclear energy and causing angst for their "peaceful" program, it turns out Iran could save itself a fortune by taking a couple of lessons in high school economics. Perhaps the consul could send a cable back to Tehran?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:20
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September 22, 2006
Ill-liberals

Turns out James Tien's visit to Beijing, with it's typical quota of sycophants and whinging, didn't go so well, according to the SCMP:

Top Beijing officials have told the Liberal Party to forget about joining a governing coalition, because that would violate the principles of the Basic Law, party sources said.

The officials also apparently gave the party a slap on the wrist for its recent testy relationship with the chief executive, and called on the Liberals to be a "model for fostering harmony" and to get behind Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the sources said.

Oops.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:08
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September 21, 2006
Economics of Tobacco control in China

China brief time from Jamestown Foundation. A brief summary of the articles:

1. Hu moves to exert added control over PLA - Willy Lam looks at how wily ol' Hu has consolidated his hold over the military...which is looking kind of pertinent post-Thailand and leads to Ian Storey's look at the post-coup Sino-Thai "special relationship". He says the coup is not good news for China.

2. China's annoyed with North Korea's missile tests, says Stephen Blank, but also with Washington and it's a matter of which one is annoying them more (hint: it's not North Korea).

3. Teh-wei Hu has the most interesting article of the lot with a look at the economics of tobacco control in China. It looks at tobacco farming, cigarette manufacturing and the public health problems of tobacco and how this impacts China's tobacco tax policy and the need for China to establish an overall tobacco policy.

Go read and enjoy.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 14:03
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The new new thing

It's the biggest thing since Bus Uncle...yes, the SCMP.com site is due for an overhaul. It will only happen next year, but you get to hear about this exciting development NOW! Even better, all you have to do as a paid-up subscriber is login and update your personal profile. Amongst the compulsary questions are how much you earn and other gross invasions of privacy, but this is Hong Kong's press we're talking about. And what will it get you?

As a valued subscriber of scmp.com, you are among the earliest to be told of this good news. Early next year we will be unveiling a revamped scmp.com — with more powerful features and services, extended news content, greater flexibility and enhanced navigation.
It could hardly be worse than the existing site, where the idea of an "update" is to paste two or three stories, often from wire services on the page so long as it is between 10am and 4pm on a weekday. Not to mention the inability to link to stories on the website, the crowded layout, difficult navigation and incredibly annoying flashing advertisements.

Meanwhile the competition at The Standard continues to slip at an worrying pace. The paper has reverted to mimicking the Chinese press, plastering drab financial news articles, again typically pasted from news wires, on to the front pages and burying the good Metro section (you know, what actually happens in the city) 15 pages back. They at least had the good sense to put the sport on the back, but does anyone really care so much about American baseball and football so that it dominates that section? Finally the sub-editors need to work on their spell checkers...."Mitsubishi" department store isn't closing down, but Mitsukoshi is (in the first paragraph).

It's a shame because until Mark Clifford left The Standard was starting to rival the SCMP. Now Clifford's at the SCMP and both of them are seemingly slipping backwards.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:53
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Bear hug

Things not to do when drunk, part 316: don't try hugging a panda.

In newspapers the old adage says that "Dog bites man" isn't news but "Man bites dog" is. Apparently "Man bites panda" always qualifies. And lest you still think it a good idea to have a cuddle, remember:

A lawyer contacted by the reporter said that the Beijing Zoo bears no liability for the accident because a warning sign in front of the panda's playground informed tourists of the potential danger and Zhang is responsible for his own medical bills.
You've been warned.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:46
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September 20, 2006
Remain calm

Thailand has its traditional coup d'etat but some hardy souls are bravely dealing with the dangerous situation:

The coup went largely unnoticed in Thailand's popular tourist districts, where foreigners packed beer bars and cabarets oblivious to the activity about three kilometers away.

But word raced among street vendors hawking T-shirts, who packed up their carts and started heading home.

Be strong, you visitors of Patpong. They shall not overcome.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 07:55
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September 19, 2006
By the word

There's been much ado about nothing in the past week in Hong Kong over Donald Tsang's suggestion that "positive non-interventionism" is no longer the guiding force for the government's economic policy. While refreshing to hear the government has an economic policy, the term "positive non-interventionism" is one of those terms only a civil servant could have invented and one only the chattering classes could get worked up about. Today the Don has issued his response to the confusion via his usual outlets: the Hong Kong newspapers. Our fair city's equivalents of Pravda and People's Daily dutifully reprint the Don explaining the policy is now the far less obtuse "big market, small government". This from the government that rigs the property market, makes a habit of white elephants (Cyberport, Disneyland, West Kowloon....hey, what ever happened to West Kowloon anyway?) and protects cartels at the expense of the population. There's plenty of variations on the theme:

Different financial secretaries have used different labels for their economic principles.

When I was financial secretary, I emphasized "maximum support, minimum intervention and fiscal prudence." Antony Leung Kam-chung saw the government's role as "a proactive market enabler." Our current Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen upholds the principle of "market leads, government facilitates."

A special prize to anyone who can spot the difference.

But admist all the fuss, I have a couple of questions. Op-ed pieces get paid between HK$1-2 per word. Does the Don get a cheque from the newspapers every time he allows them to publish his 885 words of wisdom? If so, where does that money go? Or is this what "big market, small government" really means?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:30
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September 17, 2006
Liberal Commies

Try to read this without laughing, for this is what passes for a leading political party in Hong Kong these days. The SCMP reports:

Despite being the head of a political party that counts many of Hong Kong's rich business leaders among its members, Mr (James) Tien said he felt ashamed after touring the [Communist Party's Central] School.

Mr Tien said he realised that the Liberals could never match the mainland's ruling party in either resources or ideology to create a machine capable of turning party members into loyal and disciplined cadres.

He must have been joking...I hope. My advice is to be very careful what "corporate training" you attend.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:33
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September 15, 2006
Coup d'Liberal

James Tien's Liberal Party have gone to Beijing to complain that Uncle Donald isn't being nice to them, says the SCMP:

The Liberal Party told Beijing yesterday it wanted to play a bigger role in Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's government but denied allegations it was attempting to seize power...Party chairman James Tien Pei-chun said: "We have expressed that although our relations with the government are improving continuously, there is room for further advancement if we are consulted before government policies are made.

"This is not a demand to share power - we only want to help the chief executive to implement his strong governance by forming a ruling coalition. We didn't want to seize power or even share power with the government."

"Sieze power" is a rather alarmist way of putting it. As a reminder, James Tien quit as an Exco member of Tung Che-wa's administration back in July 2003 after the Article 23 protests and now he's trying to find a way back in. But...
The government has long complained that the support of the Liberals in the legislature cannot be guaranteed despite the party's claims to support the administration. But the pro-business party has said its voters' interests cannot be adequately represented under the existing system.
So Tien can't get into bed with Don on his own terms, so he has to go to Beijing to ask them to force Don. And Beijing will politely listen and ignore him.

What a fun thing it is to be a Hong Kong politician.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:50
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September 14, 2006
Did the earth move for you?

Around 7:55pm tonight, Hong Kong had an earthquake which lasted about 10 seconds.

Something to note: you can't feel earthquakes if you're in a taxi going up Stubbs Rd.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 20:20
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Picture of the week

maokiss.jpg

Via Talk Talk China.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:30
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President Al Gore

In today's Standard, Professor Michael DeGolyer is inspired by Al Gore's visit to the Big Lychee into a flight of fantasy:

George W Bush described his war as the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, the calling of our generation. Prospects for peace during the remaining 94 years of this century appear bleak.
That's an incredibly bold assertion. Prospects for a peaceful century were looking pretty high in 1900, and look what happened in that century. Who's to say a century that begins in way need end that way too?
I can't help wondering how different things might be if the Supreme Court had decided since more voters nationally preferred Gore over Bush, the essentially tied, hopelessly confused vote in Florida would be set aside for the clearly expressed will of the majority of Americans. But democracy in the sense of the will of the majority was trumped by something a majority of five justices considered more important than the votes of the majority of voters...If Americans could have directly elected their president by majority vote of all citizens in 2000, things would be different today.

But we may see such a democratic direct election of our chief executive before they will.

America has one of the longest running and most robust democracies in the world. The very same system that the Professor implies "robbed" Al Gore of victory is the same one that's been in place for more than 200 years. The rules are well established and strike a balance between majority rule and preserving states rights. They prevent the smaller states being completely railroaded by a few big, populous states. It may not be perfect, but no system is. It is works and everyone accepts it. The Supreme Court is the final arbiter and it decided in George W's favour after Gore and Bush both hired the best lawyers in the land to argue the toss. While what happened in Florida was a debacle, the aftermath was in fact beautiful to watch - the system working. By way of comparison, take a look at Mexico at the moment. Furthermore, if majority of votes decided elections in the US, then Bill Clinton wouldn't have won the first time round thanks to Ross Perot. Can't have it both ways, Professor.

But wait, there's more:

How might a Gore administration have reacted to September 11? Repeatedly, Bush has spurned principles and policies previous presidents followed only again and again to be forced back to adopting them. Bush denounced the United Nations and spurned the very notion of nation- building. The principle of mutual security, invented by President Woodrow Wilson after one world war and embodied in the UN by President Franklin Roosevelt after a second, was the mainstay of American foreign policy until Bush declared a unilateral right to declare pre-emptive war.

Nation-building - helping poor developing countries to strengthen their governmental and economic institutions and infrastructures and which is one of the UN's key functions - Bush ridiculed as not his thing. He ended up pleading for UN help when his Iraq war ground down US armed forces. He has spent more by far on nation-building than any previous president.

Gore would not have spurned the Kyoto Accords. Only recently has the Bush administration even acknowledged global warming as fact. They still dispute humans are causing it.

Journalist James Fallows of The Atlantic magazine argues that the real strategic threat from al-Qaeda is its ability to provoke us toward actions that hurt us in the long run, such as Iraq.

Gore, who witnessed the Vietnam War as a journalist and knew the lessons of a century of American foreign policy, would never have plunged the world into an open-ended war. He would never have unilaterally invaded Iraq.

Bush's prosecution of the war in Iraq has been a mess and incomptent. But how can the Professor speculate what a President Gore would have done in similar circumstances? Has he got a crystal ball (and if so can I borrow it for tonight's Mark 6 draw)? How is Iraqn an open-ended war? All the talk, especially from the left, is about withdrawal from Iraq. Even Bush has a timetable to get out. That doesn't sound very open-ended. As for "unilateral invasion", the good Professor should really do some research: "The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Italy and Poland supplied the vast majority of the invading forces, in co-operation with Kurdish forces. Many others supplied smaller troop contributions. Other nations also participated in part of a coalition force to help with the operation by providing equipment, services and security as well as Special Forces." Not very unilateral at all, then.

Sorry Professor, but this one gets a fail.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:48
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September 12, 2006
That's dancing

In today's SCMP letters page, Eric Wong writes:

Letter writer John Dainton should have kept his comments about HSBC executive Mimi Monica Wong to himself ("Ballroom follies appal", September 9). I'm not a fan of any kind of dancing, but how one chooses to spend one's wealth is strictly a matter of personal choice. Questioning Ms Wong's professional capability highlights an intolerance and bias that is becoming increasingly pervasive in our society. It's her life and her money, after all.

Besides, I doubt Ms Wong asked for media coverage. If Mr Dainton wants to blame anyone for this bad reality TV show, as he puts it, he should blame himself as much as the media. He's under no obligation to watch it.
Which is 100% true. But there's a broader truth here which no-one seems to have hit upon. Ms. Wong is perfectly entitled to spend HK$120 million on ballroom dancing lessons - as Mr. Wong points out, it's her money. But in an era where the richest in the world are falling over themselves to give it away to charity it becomes a matter of proportionality. Rich people have all sorts of follies and fancies in which they openly and not-so-openly indulge. But Ms. Wong's spending is simply disproportionate to the activity at stake. Again, as a supporter of free markets, I'm not saying there should be any interfering in her decision. But what I do question is the moral compass of a society that sees someone spending that money on dancing lessons, when the same amount given to charity could do far more good that getting the applause of 50 geriatrics at a Causeway Bay restaurant. In such an age, who's lost perspective - me or Ms. Wong?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:59
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Korean notes

There's three observations I have to make about Korea:

1. Everyone and everything smells of garlic.

2. At lunch today I delicately brought up the topic of North Korea, especially given it is about 4 minutes missle time from downtown Seoul. My Korean counterpart told me that most South Koreans aren't worried about the North doing anything "stupid" because that "wouldn't make sense", "why would they ruin something so successful as here" and finally that "Koreans don't hurt Koreans". When I pointed out that plenty of Koreans (and Chinese) hurt plenty of Koreans (and Americans) and vice versa, that was batted away with "it's just not logical for the North to do anything to the South. They don't like America, not us." I asked if this implied that Kim Jong Il is rational and logical? My friend simply smiled and repeated that it wouldn't happen. I don't want to extrapolate one person's view to an entire country - I wonder if this is a popular viewpoint in Korea? And if so, what the hell are they smoking here?

3. Eagle FM, the US armed forces radio network, had a station break where I think I heard the announcer say "It doesn't matter if you're Navy, Air Force, Marine or Army, sometimes civilians have to realise we can blast the f#ck out of them." I'm really hoping I didn't hear that properly.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 17:12
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September 10, 2006
Barriers to entry

Mini-mogul David Tang opened a cigar shop in a Macau casino, and neatly divined one of Hong Kong's major problems in the process, according to the SCMP:

"You can't have a vibrant and competitive economy without intense competition," he said. "Stanley Ho's a very good friend of mine ... but he's so rich he doesn't need to work for 10 more lives. Nobody needs to shed a tear for Mr Ho.

"We read about Hong Kong being the freest economy in the world but when was the last time a foreigner actually invested money in Hong Kong? Why? Because Hong Kong is controlled by five people."

Competition law, anyone?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 09:46
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September 08, 2006
A tale of 2 taxis

The differences between Beijing and Shanghai taxi drivers, plus politicians, mistresses, sex, and Osama Bin Laden.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:11
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China at the UN

It's a bumper edition of the China Brief from the Jamestown Foundation.

Yitzhak Shichor looks at China's voting behaviour in the UN Security Council, noting China has only twice used its veto and uses abstaining as a tactic. The article concludes with a look at how China may act as Iran comes up before the Security Council:

Contrary to the media’s assertions that China would block UN Security Council resolutions to impose sanctions against Iran—not to mention the use of force—Iran is unlikely to provide an exception to China's time-honored behavior in the Security Council. Knowing very well that they would not veto such resolutions at the Security Council, from the very beginning the Chinese have preferred to settle this issue outside of the Security Council and preferably by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Yet, Tehran's intransigence and inflexibility pushed the dispute to the Security Council and forced Beijing to take a stand...Although the Chinese have insisted from the very beginning that they would not support "the arbitrary use of sanctions" nor "approve the use of force" against Iran, China has never claimed that it would oppose or prevent them from being imposed. Beijing has never promised Iran's Ahamadinejad—nor Iraq's Saddam Hussein before him—that it will use its veto power.
It's worth noting that using abstentions as a tactic is indicative of China's attitude to foreign affairs. It's also worth asking whether the world really wants a more assertive China in world affairs if it may lead to vetos of resolutions over issues like Iran?

Willy Lam looks at President Hu's efforts to strengthen his grip on power, especially in light of Jiang Zemin's newly published works. He sees Hu in the ascendency with Jiang being buttered up with flattery but nothing in the way of real power. Lam's conclusion:

Hu’s tendency to put political expediency before ideological and political liberalization, however, may mean that even after consolidating power at the 17th Congress, he will be very reluctant to implement genuine reforms.
Richard Weitz looks at the obstacles and barriers to Chinese-American military ties. It boils down to a mutual suspicion but the article ends on an optimistic note:
Chinese officials remain suspicious of the Bush administration, believing that it aspires to implement its liberty doctrine in China through regime change and is trying to constrain Chinese military power at least until then. Likewise, U.S. leaders remain apprehensive over China’s military buildup and its aspirations for regional hegemony. Nevertheless, the endemic distrust between both governments does not present an insuperable obstacle to a fruitful Sino-American military dialogue...Already, China and the United States have shown that they can cooperate on economic and regional security issues, without extensive military ties. It is precisely because Beijing and Washington are neither outright allies nor active adversaries that a military dialogue and other modest exchanges are both possible and prudent.
Some excellent weekend reading.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 11:38
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Grand Waterfronts

The marketing of Hong Kong property developments is a fascinating field, worthy of top flight study. The general rule is to avoid showing the flats themselves because they tend to be tiny rabbit-hutches, even the most high-end of developments. Instead you either focus on the view, the facilities, the exterior and/or get a celebrity to hawk it. As a case in point, Henderson's Grand Waterfront in Kowloon has been smothering the city with advertisements featuring Jennifer Hawkins, an Australian Miss Universe. The marketing people have shots of Miss Hawkins dressed in the appropriately glamourous style (albeit in the same dress in all the ads) and saying things like "As the new icon of 21st century luxury living dominating Victoria Harbour, Grand Waterfront captures the most majestic sea views" and "Being crowned Miss Universe before a worldwide audience of 800 million was a life-changing moment. I am honoured to be the face of Grand Waterfront, the new icon of 21st century luxury living" and "10 for perfection! The luxuriously-appointed Club@Harbour in Grand Waterfront with 10 exciting theme zones is a realm of indulgence perfectly tailored just for you and me."

Henderson are offering a free shuttle bus to take potential buyers to the developement. Naturally such an event requires luxury catering to go along with the luxury development...right? In the fine print of today's ad:

Premium catering from Starbucks and McDonald's available for show flat visitors tomorrow and on Sunday.
Who knew Macca's had a premium catering division? Do you fries with that?

If Miss Hawkins comes with the flat, then perhaps it's still worth the trip and the Big Mac.

Update

Albeit in a different context, Hemlock today talks about a similar topic:

Yet there is one life form even more pitiable than the miserable wretches who will hand over wealth in exchange for the right to view a drab man with poor dress sense plod around a field trying to hit a ball into a hole. And that is – the Hong Kong, English-language advertising copywriter working on some tacky, overpriced consumer goods account. Like the forsaken and pathetic specimen responsible for making me want to be seen wearing the astoundingly ugly Zenith Defy Xtreme or Defy Classic…I would sooner gouge my own eyes out than run the risk of opening the newspaper and thinking, “that was my work.” The only consolation for the sorry copywriter must be that there is always someone worse off than yourself. Can the human race produce anything more heartbreaking than the person who looks at this ad and decides to buy one?

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:42
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September 07, 2006
Bux Americana

A fairly short, provocative article in the Asia Times about American trade pressure being exerted on Southeast Asian economies. I don't entirely agree in the broader picture with Editor Crispin's cynical view of the US-ASEAN trade relationship, but it's definitely worth reading.

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[boomerang] Posted by HK Dave at 10:52
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On a roll

Yesterday there was Beijing's bomb proof toilet. Today we have a heroic Hong Kong toilet story:

Shortly after midnight Wednesday Tang, 88, found himself locked up in the washroom of a a fast-food restaurant next to City Hall in Central. "The man had gone to the washroom after a concert, but restaurant staff, unaware that someone was still inside, switched off the lights and locked him in," police said.

The man was trapped inside for about an hour and, in a desperate attempt to free himself, burned the toilet paper to attract attention by setting off a fire alarm. The smoke filtered into City Hall, which alerted security guards who subsequently put out the fire.

The guards called the police who rescued the man. The octogenarian was questioned by police before being released.

Move over MacGuyver and Jackie Chan, there's a grumpy old hero in town.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:21
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September 06, 2006
Toilet is da bomb

In an age where terrorism is never far from the headlines, people's perceptions of safety have changed. The idea of being "safe", at least according to the media, is under attack. But at least one knows that there's one place you can truly be safe...Beijing's bomb-proof toilet:

The construction of a bullet proof public lavatory in the capital, worth up to 800,000 yuan (about US$100,600), is under fire citing a misuse of public funds, reports the Huaxia Times.
Quite frankly, that's money well spent. Who would dare invade a country that has such technology? The report fails to mention if the toilet also has one of those Japanese-style bidets built in. And in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, add this toilet to the list of tourist sites in China's capital. They're only following the lead of Hong Kong, home of the golden toilet.

Toilet tourism is the future.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 12:26
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September 05, 2006
Mickey gets it on

Hong Kong Disneyland is approaching its official one year anniversary*, with 5 million people trudging through the turnstiles of the park. That's well short of what was originally estimated from a park that has cost Hong Kong taxpayers billions.

One of the highlights of a visit to the magic kingdom is the street parade, where various characters cavort to Disney's greatest hits. It's a high visibility, high pressure job, and inevitably it leads to...

Four Filipino male performers have been dismissed from Hong Kong Disneyland for allegedly taking part in sexually explicit acts. Last month's incident, which happened in front of other staff, was filmed by a co-worker who anonymously passed it on to Disney...The cast members dismissed were involved in acts of a sexually indecent nature that were offensive to, or at least disturbing for, other employees," vice-president of public affairs Lo Bing-chung said. "We believe that any reasonable employer in Hong Kong would have acted the way we did."...

The four, lead performers in the daily parade, allegedly engaged in sexually explicit acts in the changing room after the parade. Three have returned to the Philippines and one is taking legal action.

That's from the SCMP. What's really amazing is the video isn't yet on YouTube. Mind you, this is the city where sex is all over the papers these days...also from the SCMP:
A 75-year-old woman who said she could not get by on her welfare payments was put on a good behaviour bond yesterday after she admitted providing sex services to a man 15 years her junior for HK$20.
There's no word if the proposed GST would have applied.

* Today also marks the 3rd anniversary of this web site. Happy birthday to it.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 10:02
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September 01, 2006
Class warfare is dead

In case you missed it, the spirit of Mao and his -ism is well and truly dead in today's Chinese Communist Party, according to the SCMP:

Leaders should eliminate the ideology of class struggle and not look on the masses as an enemy when dealing with the increasing number of conflicts between officials and citizens, a party school official said...In his article, Mr Wang said cadres dealing with mass gatherings should give up the ideology of "class struggle" - the friction between members or groups from different social classes. The concept was expanded by Mao Zedong , sparked off the Cultural Revolution, and was used as a powerful tool to eliminate those whose political views contradicted the government's...

Liu Xutao , a political scientist with the National School of Administration in Beijing, said the article was aimed at persuading grass-roots officials in rural areas to abandon the ideological relics of the Cultural Revolution.

"In rural areas, some officials still believe they reign supreme and take on the villagers as class-struggle targets when conflicts break out," Professor Liu said. "As building a harmonious society is the main theme of President Hu Jintao, it's necessary to dispel this wrong thinking."

Maoism's dead, long live...umm, whatever the CCP stand for these days.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:49
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Double standard twins

Stephen Vines hits the nail on the head over the manufactured Twins controversy:

The putrid aroma of hypocrisy hangs heavily over the furor generated by publication of compromising photos of the Twins star Gillian Chung Yan-tung in Easy Finder magazine.
Where were all those solemn media personalities clad in black to be found when far more intrusive and damaging media reports dragged the families of suicidal teenagers into the public domain? Where were their heart-rending protests against truly disgusting pictures of murder and assault victims?

If there was the smallest indication that any of these people were genuinely interested in the very real issue of invasion of privacy, it is strange that we had to wait for it to be manifest on the matter of Chung's change of clothes during a concert in Malaysia.

It's also going to be interesting to see how the Government can square the circle of a "right to privacy" only a couple of weeks after they rammed through a pervasive and invasive snooping law. Or will we now see a "rights of the week" campaign?

Worst of all, the front pages of the press will continue to show grotesque photos of car accident or murder victims. Let's see where the celebrities are then.

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:39
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Headline of the week

Unfortunately no link, but from a brief newslet in The Standard:

A Shanghai court has rejected a woman's claims for compensation for her sex life, which was ruined when her husband hit his genitals on the corner of some audio equipment at a shopping center [ouch - Ed.]. Wei Suying, 31, whose husband has suffered from erectile dysfunction since the 2003 workplace accident, filed suit in a court asked for 220,000 yuan.
The headline? Woman loses sex appeal

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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:19
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Kissel kids sue

The 3 Kissel children have filed legal actions against Nancy Kissel. Articles below the jump.

SCMP: Kissel children sue mother over murder

Nancy Kissel's three children have filed a claim against her for the wrongful death of their father, almost one year from the day she was sentenced to life for his murder. Another writ was also lodged in the High Court on Wednesday by the family lawyer on behalf of Robert Kissel's estate.

The Kissel trial was one of Hong Kong's most sensational, featuring accusations by Nancy that Robert, a high-flying Merrill Lynch banker, was a frequent cocaine and alcohol user who subjected her to regular beatings. She was accused of drugging her husband with a "milkshake" of sedatives before slamming him over the head with an ornament in November 2003. While admitting to the crime, she claimed she was only acting in self-defence. The prosecution alleged Kissel wanted to remove her husband so she could run away with her TV repairman lover, Michael Del Priore.

Kissel has apparently been working with her lawyers on her appeal against the sentence, which is due later this year. Her lawyers did not return calls to confirm how close the appeal was from court.

Kissel's friends say she is putting on a brave face in the wake of the latest twist in the saga. A friend of Nancy's, who also knew Robert, said she felt strongly that her trial was a "travesty of justice". A friend said she felt the press coverage of her trial was "badly biased" towards the opinions of her husband's father, William. "She feels that in the April 2006 death of Robert's older brother Andrew, there are clues to the true character of her late husband," the friend said. "She suggests this is not a story of a bad brother and a good brother ... but an evil brother and a slightly less evil younger one."

Andrew, 46, was found dead in the basement of his home two days before he was due to appear in a US court to plead guilty to a multimillion-dollar embezzlement.

According to Robert Kissel's high school sweetheart, Carol Horton, his sister Jane Clayton and her husband recently bought a bigger house to accommodate their enlarged family, which now includes the Kissel children, whom they were granted custody of last year. But Mrs Clayton has no access to her brother's estate, she said.

"The kids are doing really well. They have settled in and made lots of friends in their new schools. The eldest daughter, Elaine, has taken up a job as a babysitter on the weekends. They are all involved in after-school activities, sports and dance," Mrs Horton said.

Kissel family patriarch William, who lives in Florida, visited his daughter in Seattle often, Mrs Horton said, but was still having a hard time coping with the loss of both his sons. A former colleague of Robert Kissel hopes the writs never make it to court "for the children's sake".

"They are going to want to put this behind them as much as they possibly can," he said.

SCMP: Legal action taken to beat deadline

The two writs lodged yesterday were not supposed to be acted on straight away, according to a partner at law firm Haldanes. Rather, they were aimed at staving off a looming deadline for the commencement of legal action, said David Hoare, solicitor for the family of Robert Kissel.

Under Hong Kong law, civil proceedings must be launched within three years of a person's death. "Basically these are protection writs," Mr Hoare said, adding they allowed parties to sue later.

"My instructions are not to progress the claims any further at this stage while [Nancy Kissel's] appeals are yet to be finalised." The writ on behalf of the children, Elaine, Hannah and Reis, was filed by their aunt Jane Kissel Clayton and seeks damages under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance. That law allows the dependants of a dead person to sue the person responsible for their death.

The second writ was filed under Robert Kissel's name because an executor has yet to be appointed to his estate in Hong Kong.

That writ was filed in order to preserve the claim over the late banker's estate, thought to be worth many millions.

The Standard: Kissel kids in damages lawsuit

Nancy Kissel is back in the news, with three of her children suing her for damages through their aunt, Jane Clayton, the sister of murdered banker Robert Kissel. Nancy Kissel is serving a life sentence for the murder of her husband in 2003. Last year her trial gripped Hong Kong for months and commanded strong media attention with its lurid details of drugs, sex, bizarre behavior and brutality. The verdict was delivered, and Kissel sentenced, in September.

This week's civil lawsuit was filed in the High Court Wednesday and made available to the public Thursday.

Through Clayton, Nancy and Robert Kissel's five-year-old son Reis and their two daughters, eight-year-old June and 11-year-old Elaine, are seeking damages under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance.

Under that law, if death is caused by a wrongful act, "an action for damages may be brought for the benefit of the dependents of the deceased against the person who would have been liable" - that is, their mother Nancy Kissel.

A second lawsuit, also filed Wednesday, seeks damages against Kissel on behalf of her murdered husband.

On November 3, 2003, Kissel served her husband a sedative-laced milkshake before bludgeoning him to death and wrapping his body in a carpet to hide in a storage room.

Kissel, who is serving her sentence at the Tai Lam Center for Women in the New Territories, has 14 days to contest the claim.

According to the writ, Jane Clayton lives in Washington state in the United States.



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[boomerang] Posted by Simon at 08:10
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