First, visit the HKFP merch store. I’ve already ordered some mango and cranberry chili sauce.
A couple of Tweets from HK Public Opinion Research Institute on Hong Kong’s birth rate, which has now dropped below South Korea’s as the world’s lowest, at 0.7…
And here…
An online panel survey conducted by #HKPORI in October found that 79% of Hongkong women aged 18 to 39 without children do not want to have children, while only 9% expressed a desire to have children.
Also, one from the Committee for Freedom in HK, with a link to their report on Hong Kong and Russian (and other) sanctions-evasion.
From NBC, the discovery in Hong Kong of the diary of a Chinese naval officer who took part in D-Day.
China gets into ‘Britishcore’, which apparently entails Tesco supermarkets, Paddington Bear, Peppa Pig, etc…
The cultural trope is extending into China, where the nation’s youth is embracing the British lifestyle, but through its own lens.
Earlier this year, mainland Zoomers jumped on Britain’s “indie sleaze” trend, a style heavily inspired by mid-to-late noughties Britain. On apps like Xiaohongshu, creators introduced Chinese shoppers to the aesthetic via styling tips and in-depth explainers on its origins.
As British culture continues to sweep the nation, how can brands join in?
…“British subcultures offer China’s Gen Z a style that’s not only aesthetically appealing, but culturally rich and symbolic of self-liberation, self-expression, and a counter-normative edge,” says Fong Fong Lee-Collins, Account Director at K11 Consulting, adding that the messy, carefree nature of British trends like ‘indie sleaze’ “feels like an exciting departure from the polished and highly curated style seen in many Chinese trends.”
For the terminally bored, hardcore fans of graphematics, or people who found Chinese too easy – a serious but accessible guide to how written Japanese (with four different writing systems) works.
I suppose if the fertility rate goes much lower, the HKCCPSAR government can introduce -since they’re luckily unbothered by public opinion – Pro life Death Squads to force women to turn out precious youngsters to ensure low cost labourers never run out. (See: March-April 1990 issue of National Lampoon p.35 in archive.org )
On October 22, ‘Reader’ posted:
“the good old days: stepping out of Kai Tak airport straight into that indescribable buzz of (cliché alert) East meets West – the street food and hawkers, the neon signs, quirky local shops, the tingle of expectation that every day was going to be an adventure.”
I
Returning after weeks or months away.
The plane was on the ground, slowing down,
And switched to outside air. I breathed again
The damp air of the harbour, a little rotten,
A friendly and familiar smell. I thought:
Now, I’m back. This is what I’ve missed.
The tingle of expectation. Yes, I felt it.
II
Just outside the airport, surrounded by streets,
There was an area for “sitting out”.
It had no charm, a place of dust and fumes,
With concrete benches for the local codgers.
The flight path was above, just above.
The planes approached, just before the runway,
Forty, maybe thirty, feet above.
And as each plane appeared, I stood – I watched –
I waited – feeling small and safe and brave.
The tingle of expectation. Yes, I felt it.
III
“The flux of Hong Kong” is a phrase I sometimes use.
I mean: the current flowing through, ever-changing,
Carrying everybody, and the promise that
There are chances here, chances to renew,
Repair, remake your life. Elsewhere, you couldn’t do it.
Perhaps no longer, but so it was, or so it seemed.
This is a story someone told me. I think it’s true.
The British Council – this was in the 1980s –
Was a big and thriving place: dozens of teachers,
Students in their thousands, keen to learn our language.
A new director came from London with his wife;
A genial man, in his fifties; and being sent
To manage such a major branch, he must have had
A solid reputation. Years passed, and then
He left and set up house anew with a young Hongkonger,
Male. And set up their own company, design
And decoration. And when the British Council needed
Something done, that company was engaged to do it.
The tingle of expectation. Yes, he felt it.
@Knownot, thank you for riffing off my humble mumbling. The tale you tell is, I suppose, representative of the many lives re-made here. Or perhaps something more specific, that I missed? Appreciate.
Under the heading “assorted” from RTHK
Tuen Mun Hospital revealed on Friday that a patient was administered 10 times the prescribed dose of a sedative last month.
The hospital said the patient is in stable condition.
Very stable, at a guess.
https://www.sunwebhk.com/2024/11/health-dept-warns-against-viagra-like.html
Sounds like a win win product, blokes get their pecker up on the cheap and for we ladies a drink that reduces blood pressure.
Instead of banning it, perhaps some of squillions being devoted to teck hub could be spent on research to determine if the product has potential benefits.