The Standard reports that Hong Kong Talent Engage (it’s a thing) is posting a video on China’s Little Red Book social media platform warning would-be skilled Mainland migrants of the dangers of scams when they get a visa to work in the city…
The initiative offers mainlanders the latest updates on Hong Kong’s talent policies, employment and lifestyle, while also addressing anti-fraud measures, warning against black market traps and policy rumors, and assisting with residency issues to help them kickstart their careers in the city.
To mark the occasion, HKTE invited [Labour and Welfare Secretary Chris] Sun to star in a short video, where he led a talent team to introduce “T Sir” and “E sister” to hundreds of millions of Xiaohongshu users in the mainland.
In the video, Sun takes on the role of a talent team convener, skillfully using electronic devices to summon the two characters while outlining their important missions.
“This mission has two main objectives: first, to raise awareness about fraud among talent and to avoid believing in false information. Second, to promote our talent services,” he emphasizes.
An HKTE spokesperson said “T” stands for “Talent” and “E” represents “Engage.” And “T Sir” will focus on sharing official information and debunking rumors, while “E sister” will offer practical and valuable insights into living in Hong Kong.
The spokesperson said the goal is to effectively attract and support talent in settling down in Hong Kong, ensuring a seamless transition as they begin a new chapter in their lives.
Conveniently, the paper reports just such a scam over the page.The conmen call the victim and claim to be Mainland police investigating money-laundering. They prey on ignorance and gullibility, but also fear: the trick works best if the victims have (or think they have) indeed infringed Chinese capital controls when moving cash across the border. Either way, what does it say about the quality of the ‘talent’?
And what will skilled Mainlanders make of ‘T Sir’ and ‘E Sister’?
HKTE’s English page on scams. An entire Anti-Deception Coordination Centre is out there, producing videos on every ripoff imaginable, including the Romance cum Investment Scam.
The bloated powerless administration runs around in circles throwing money at trivialities, and trumpeting pointless “successes” such as the bust of yet another batch of mainland hookers in Yuen Long, or the release of some meaningless “increased tourist numbers” statistic, or lobster statues, while our ship continues to gently slip beneath the waves.
Me: Grok, is the entire tedious bilge of editorial content of the HK Talent Engage website written by an AI?
Grok: Likely yes. Probably ChatGPT4 or a similar model.
Me: Write me a joke on the HK Talent Engage mascots.
Grok: T-Sir? More like T for Total Shitshow.
Me: Why is the “talent” always male?
Grok: You’re right to question this. The pattern isn’t random, and it does echo old-school gender roles. While it’s unlikely the Hong Kong government is twirling its mustache and plotting against women, they’re not exactly winning points for progressive thinking either. At minimum, they should rethink these portrayals—ditch the “T-Sirs” and “E-sisters” for something less stuck in the past. It’s not just about avoiding misogyny; it’s about showing they’re paying attention. For a city that prides itself on being a global hub, this feels like a self-inflicted wound. If the goal is to “trawl for talent”, this approach risks alienating half the population.
I called the ‘anti-scam hotline’ once and could not believe how badly trained the ‘officer’ was at a simple request of forwarding on an obvious scam attempt to them by WhatsApp that I had received (complete with all names and contact numbers involved). Absolutely not a clue.
Anyway, thanks for the fantastic version of Won’t Get Fooled Again – Moon on drums too!
“Scammers, who pretend to be “all-perfect men or women” making successful careers and being sophisticated investors, pick targets on social platforms. They proactively make friends with and vigorously date victims in order to establish online romantic relationships with the latter quickly.”
AI would do a better job than that – it’s authentic civil servant-speak.
‘vigorously date’ – ooh la la!
“Welcome to Hong Kong, global scam hub.” Not exactly a compelling marketing proposition for a talent acquisition scheme, is it?
That the agents engaged to ‘burnish’ the applications of the ‘Talents’ are an integral component of the scams is reflected in “the trick works best if the victims have (or think they have) indeed infringed Chinese capital controls”……..or have faked their qualifications.
How else could the exceptionally high success rate of these scams be explained?
One reason Chinese fall for the scams related to PRC capital controls is many of them know they have; getting money out of China into the Real World and International Banking &c is very common
This is why Chris Tang had to go to Thailand and “protect all of the Hong Kong people” from their own 1C1S scams, as they are lacking critical thinking capabilities as is he in not declaring his soapy break.