Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hong Kong overturns maid residency ruling

today the final (not really final - they still can appeal) ruling came out about the right of abode for foreign domestic helpers. Please read from here - just click it !

And here the hard copy for you:
quoteThe Hong Kong government has won an appeal against a landmark ruling that gave foreign domestic helpers the right to apply for permanent residency in the city.
In the legal challenge filed by Evangeline Vallejos, a Filipino domestic helper who has lived in Hong Kong since 1986, a court had ruled last September that it was wrong for Hong Kong to exclude foreign domestic helpers from qualifying even if they had lived continuously in the former British colony for more than seven years, the minimum length of stay required for foreign nationals to obtain permanent residency status.

in between I get this - Am I a criminaol now ?????
(High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/088324d0-7892-11e1-9f0f-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1qQcstZfc)

Now you can read on:
The government appealed, warning of the serious strain on its budget and on public services if the ruling was upheld.
Hong Kong families have relied for decades on an army of mainly Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers to look after their homes and children, partly because they are relatively affordable at HK$3,740 ($482) a month – the minimum wage set by the government. In a rare study on the subject, a migrants rights organisation found that in 2004, foreign domestic helpers contributed 1 per cent of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product.
Lawyers representing Ms Vallejos had challenged the statistics provided by the government, which had claimed that 200,000 helpers and their children would be applying for social securities should they become permanent residents.
There is strong local opposition to a change in immigration policy, with grassroots organisations and politicians voicing their anger about the decision on the grounds of limited health, education and housing resources.
However, there was fear that the campaign could degenerate into racial intolerance in a city with about 300,000 domestic workers.
Dolores Balladares, chairperson of United Filipinos in Hong Kong and herself a Hong Kong domestic helper for 17 years, said: “The decision has legalised discrimination. In Hong Kong, they talk about harmony and fairness but clearly it doesn’t extend to the helpers.
“The whole thing has been sensationalised and the numbers from the government do not take into account that most of our children are over 18 and would not have been able to move here as dependants.”
In its ruling, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal said the city’s constitution required seven years of “normal” residence to qualify for permanent residency and that the government has the right to define “normal” residency in a way that excludes foreign domestic helpers. It pointed out that foreign diplomats and Vietnamese boat people staying in detention camps during the 1980s and 1990s were also excluded on the same basis.
Mark Daly, Ms Vallejos’ lawyer, said: “The court’s interpretation is not consistent with an interpretation that fits the ideal of non discrimination and equality. Educating the Hong Kong public [about people’s rights] is an ongoing project, but the government falls down on that. Instead, they’ve chosen to whoop people up into hysteria.” He said his client would probably appeal against the decision.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012. You may share using our article tools.
Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
unquote

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Groupon in Hong Kong .............

.......is extremely popular. All the penny picking local people try to find a super deal there. Some deals are good (mainly for some machines etc). Deals for restaurants I have doubts. I tried once in some kind of Italy restaurant - but they create special menues for the Groupon guests - in this case a part of the menue was "ravioli with cream chesse sauce" - you got a small rectangular platter 4 cm wide / 10 cm long with just 2 pieces of ravioli splashed with some cream sauce. Besides this, that special restaurant is now mainly serving Groupon customers which are booked in time slots. Regular customers have to enjoy bad service, because the whole staff is mainly concentrated on the bunch of Groupon ticket holders.

So Groupon has something for everybody, also including some "easter specials" for the male customers - give me a break - deal is on on that one with now 288 buyer for that "special egg" - please see here (please be noted some adult material included):

Sexy Time: $168 and Up for Men’s Self-Pleasuring Tenga Eggs, 6 Thrilling Textures Available (Up to $1176 value)

Facebook statuses show the most break-ups occur around March every year, conveniently just in time for the approaching summer. For fellas down on their luck with finding someone new (and adamant not to sample the merchandise in Wanchai) take care of business with today’s Groupon.
Tenga Eggs are a one-time-use male masturbatory product that are made of a super pliable and stretchy material, with strict hygiene standards imposed, and come in a discreet egg-shaped packaging. Once peeled open, a hollow tube inserted into the egg holds a packet of lubricant to be used with the product. The interior of each Tenga Egg features different patterns of ridging, for a variety of sensations and stimulations.



Please be aware - I am quite sure you will get only ONE EGG if you join that deal !
Wishing all that 288 guys a lot of Easter fun.................................................................

UPDATE 29.03.12:
342 finally bought - be aware is one-time-use only. HKD 168 will give you 3 of that eggs !

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

TheAirYouBreathe

Good app for iPhone (also can use on iPad) made by a foreigner - showing how bad Hong Kong airpollution is. By the way, this is a big challenge also for next & coming CE's of Hong Kong: Make our air better - it is terrible right now. Here a few screen shots from that app.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Mr Leung already has the WULFF SYNDROM ......

After seeing the initial speech after CY Leung won the CE selection it seems he is mainly concerned about his OWN PERSON - he promised to make all the comments from Tang etc as UNFOUNDED and he 100% confirmed that he is not a member of any party of whatever .....Mr Leung has already the WULFF Syndrom (former German President) ...lets hope Mr Leung has some more interests than in regards / concerns of his own & besides teargas. Cheers & quite interested if at Leungs party tonight also Shanghai Boy was having a glass with him...........................

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Yeah, It’s C.Y. Leung

I copy this directly from Hongkietown click here) - please listen to the song.
My thoughts:
Congrats to Teargas Leung - sorry to Henry........One question remains:
The better guy is the one with a faible for teargas & triad relationships (surely all denied) ?

Compared with Henry who just made some stupid mistakes mainly in his private life (makes him already sympathic to me.....) - the last days actually I was very much hoping Henry Tang somehow still has a chance to win. And as I said before here the song again + some hardrock oldie - PARANOID.



And this as a special greeting to our new CE !

AND THE WINNER IS.............CY LEUNG ! 689 Votes

Just back from China (sorry forgot to tell you.....). And now all the votes have been in the ballot boxes & they are counting who will be the next CE of Hong Kong.

Here some twitter cuttings from VOX ASIA:

Tang and Leung stand on stage behind ppl counting ballots. All broadcast live in HK. Such transparency in pseudo-democracy!


20 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

voxasia Ballot boxes are being carried for counting by election commission officials.

45 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

voxasia "I think there will be a result soon. I have been working hard. I have communicated with committee members till the end."- CY Leung

58 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Lets see the result will be out very soon ......Now !
 
LEUNG has passed the 601 votes already - the official announcement will be made soon.......................... Here for you the english version from the last debate between the 3 candidates just a few days ago (this is english version - total 8 parts)

And if you click here you can read the whole details about the 2012 CE election in wikipedia  

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Teargas Leung & Sugardaddy Tang

Yes there was another debate on Monday .................everybody (Leung & Tang) is accusing ...bla bla bla bla bla /...........lets see he result on Sunday 25.03.2012..
Still my big hope is: NO RESULT !

Monday, March 19, 2012

Some news about Kim Dotcom........

Here some news about Kim Dotcom ...it seems some things went totally wrong by the NZ authorities......Lets hope the best for Kim !
quote
Police made 'errors' during raid on Megaupload boss
A police blunder could mean luxury cars, giant TVs and jewellery seized during a police raid will be returned to Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom.

The property was confiscated during a dawn raid on the New Zealand home of the file-sharing site's owner.

A New Zealand judge has now ruled that the court order used to justify the seizure should never have been granted.

The raid led to the closure of Megaupload and seizure of the web domains it used.

Judge Judith Potter said the court order should now be considered "null and void".
Paper trail
On 20 January, police in New Zealand swooped on the £20m mansion in Auckland where Kim Dotcom, boss of Megaupload, lived with his family.

The raid was carried out at the request of US authorities who accuse Mr Dotcom (formerly Schmitz) and his business partners of using Megaupload to engage in large scale copyright theft.

The defendants have denied the charges and said they were diligent in policing Megaupload for any content that violated copyright laws.

Luxury cars, jet skis, jewellery and other assets were confiscated during the January raid even though it now emerges that paperwork justifying the seizure was incorrectly filed.

The seizure left Mr Dotcom briefly unable to mount a legal defence.

Screenshot from Megaupload.com Web domains belonging to Megaupload have been seized and shut down

Government and police in New Zealand have admitted making "procedural errors" when they filed the paperwork.

Mr Dotcom's legal team have seized on the errors saying the initial asset grab was "unlawful" and, as a result, his property should be returned.

A hearing was scheduled after the government admitted making five separate mistakes on its first court order. During that hearing Judge Potter ruled that the original paperwork had no legal power.

Alongside documents laying bare the mistake, the New Zealand government filed a second request seeking to confiscate the assets already seized during the raid. This paperwork also sought to confiscate more assets uncovered using evidence found during the original raid.

Judge Potter granted this order temporarily and said she would soon rule whether the blunder would mean Mr Dotcom's assets would be returned to him.
unqoute

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Greetings to Mountain View in California !

This blog has daily analysis via the sitemeter software. I am checking this frequently and it is quite interesting. This blog has one very frequent (daily) reader from USA in a place called Mountain View in California. Actually I guess this is my most frequent reader at all. Many page clicks & many minutes of reading. Thank you very much to you in Mountain View. And now I found out this is maybe GOOGLE itself - I have no idea at all.

Documentary: Executions 1/6

Here some tough stuff for your weekend - enjoy it or not - therefore no weekend music this week - maybe one at the end...lets see: Now here some delight - DEEP PURPLE - Child in Time ...long, long time ago ...40 years somewhat .........................

Saturday, March 17, 2012

KONY 2012 - WITH CHINESE SUBTITLES

.........you can find here + a lot of comments on chinasmack !

Inside Story - Debating China's security apparatus

Interesting very fresh report here - no further comments from my side. Just watch and think what is right or wrong.

Todays HK CE hopefuls debate .......& BO XI.......and more

between the 3 CE hopeful candidates.....for what this was for ?
1,200 people are allowed to select the next CE & there is a televised discussion between
Tang, Leung & Ho. For the 1,200 people to get straight ?
One interesting question from one guy from the audience was about the influx of pregnant
mainland women to Hong Kong to give birth in Hong Kong and achieve the right of abode for the newborn - even if mother & father is not a HK resident.
Both Tang & Leung answered that question like snakes: None of them even dared to ask to amend the BASIC LAW in that point.
Beijing calling.
Hopefully next weekennd the whole (s)election will end in that desaster that none of this 2 phoney, fake guys will get a majority - god bless Hong Kong !

Besides this Bo Xi Lai was def sacked - even just a few days ago he said, that he is only feeling tired or exhausted........When last night in a remote city in Canton province this news was coming on TVB (yes they had HK TVB there)....suddenly the smart China Firewall showed some nice & stupid advertising.....all the bad news about Leung & Tang was not censored just to show how BAD the people & political situation is in Hong Kong.

When I see all the dirt on the streets in the not so super fancy cities like Shanghai or Beijing it is always a kind of pity to see how China wants to emerge to the world economic power number 1. Only hardware (means: people with bad equipment backdated to the early 50's working in hundreds on shabby construction sites) will not make it - it is the software running the show.

See you later & thank you for reading that blog. The guy singing in this Zappa video reminds me about that Blah Blah the Hong Kong people had to suffer tonight on that debate - CHEERS ! And then here a little bit more ZAPPA for you !

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Beijing Fashion Week

This one from chinaSMACK - jusyt enjoy here - click it !

Here just 3 photos - no further comment just find it out your self.

Dead Men Talking - Ding Yu Show stopped

Finally the horrible show of Ding Yu from the Henan TV channel has found a sudden end: Stopped by the central Government, because of "internal problems". Real reason maybe that tonight the BBC will air a documentation about this so-called "documentation of people before they are executed".Here is a little bit older footage about this TV-Show from Ding Yu - normally at least 30 - 40 million people were watching this on Saturday night (PRIMETIME):

Kony 2012.........

Yes you can say I am late with that. I was checking the whole story about that Kony 2012 campaign over the last few days.......Some people critic on that campaign - several reasons. Also including the critics of using too many celebrities etc. Whatever - generally speaking it is at least a good idea to get rid of Mr. Kony - can only be good. Here first the original YouTube video already hit more than 73 million times - please see here:


And then here a very detailed report - I just copy the link it is called:
Kony 2012: what's the real story ?
It is from "theguardian" and it is an execellent piece of journalism - just click here !

Just on the way to China again.......

but before that you will get some extra posts coming up soon tonight.
Thank you for reading my blog & I would be very happy if you spread it
to others. Thanks. I will be back on Friday.

Monday, March 12, 2012

No passport, no money and no way to get home

This is a bad & sad story about a german passport - holder, not getting a new passport from the German consulate in Hong Kong. Reason is very UNCLEAR - this is copied from here SCMP from yesterday:

No passport, no money and no way to get home
German citizen left high and dry by bureaucracy

John Carney
Mar 11, 2012

Penniless German citizen Ewald Widiner has to have one of the most bizarre applications for refugee status the city has seen.
Mired in a bureaucratic nightmare, the 62-year-old has been stranded in Hong Kong for more than a year and reduced to squatting in a building on Lamma Island because the German consulate refuses to give him a new passport.

Widiner says he wants to return to the mainland where he has taught English and German since 2004, but without a passport his employer cannot renew his work visa.
The trouble began in 2010, when 51Education, the Shanghai company for whom he worked, agreed to renew his work visa but there was no space left in his passport to put it. A German passport holder all his life, Widiner went to the German consulate in Shanghai to get a new one.
However, the red tape was such that his original mainland work visa ran out and he had to come to Hong Kong instead to apply for his new passport. But his application submitted to the consulate in Hong Kong was rejected and a new passport has still not been issued.
Widiner claims the consulate did this because he apparently had an outstanding unpaid tax bill in Germany. "They told me there was a taxation problem, but I wrote to the relevant tax authorities in Germany, and they said there was no reason why the consulate should not give me a passport," he said.
"I've tried every avenue since then and got no help. I may as well kill myself."
Widiner thinks there may be another reason for his rejection. He said that in recent years he had been writing a blog heavily critical of Germany's negative view of China and that may have caused political issues.
Estranged from his family and without influential friends, Widiner had no option but to stay in the city and live off his savings while he tried to sort out the problem.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees initially said he could claim refugee status, but after processing his claim they turned him down as his circumstances did not match their criteria for aid.
His employers on the mainland are hoping that he will return and confirmed that if he did he would still have a job. "He has worked for us since 2009 and is very good at his job. The pupils love him and miss him a lot," 51Education director Sara Chen Tian said. "I have stayed in contact with him and hope that his passport problems can be solved, so he can continue to work with us."
Widiner was still listed on the company website as part of their teaching staff.
In the meantime, he has lost more than 30kg, given up his flat in Shanghai and run out of money.
"I'm now relying on the kindness of my neighbours on Lamma to keep going, but I don't know how much longer I can keep going for," he said.

Despite his giving the Sunday Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) permission to ask the German consulates in Hong Kong and Shanghai for the details on his case, neither would comment.
Achim Schkade, deputy consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany in Hong Kong, said: "Pertinent legal regulations on privacy and data protection do not allow us to discuss single cases with a third party. These regulations apply in the best own interest of those concerned."
A spokeswoman for the German consulate in Shanghai gave the same explanation.
john.carney@scmp.com

Sunday, March 11, 2012

11.03.2011 - just remember !

It is now 1 year about that terrible earthquake + tsunami in Japan. Let all our thoughts be with the people of Japan. Here some video from that very day 1 year ago.

Final weekend music.....

Dear Readers here some final weekend music for you.
Enjoy - relax - and be happy ! Some remixes from famous german Popol Vuh !

And here one from that famous movie with Klaus Kinski - all the above & below are stills - I hope you don't mind:

Shanghai Boy - nobody knows that guy .......

2 more weeks to go for the (s)election of the new Hong Kong CE. The dirty campaigning goes on. Even the 2 main candidates surely deny they are involved in any smear campaigns. This is Hong Kong - please imagine when finally niversal suffrage is granted and maybe 10 candidates are going into the race - that will be very interesting if they still do in a similar way like Leung & Tang are doing it now - just DIRTY. Lowest level of everything - honestly speaking are this 2 guys really able to run Hong Kong as a CE ? Why not skip the (s)elections & give Donald 1 more year or so and really find better & suitable candidates. At least some candidates that are not having any relations to former or still triad members. Now that whole thing gets really smelly - not good & not good for the overall reputation of Hong Kong and at least also China. Here some more info about the last findings:
Henry calls the police - just click & below the copy:
QUOTE
Tang calls police over 'triad link'
10-03-2012
Chief Executive candidate Henry Tang has made a complaint to the police over an alleged threat that he says left him feeling that his life was at risk. His complaint is centered on recent comments by Lew Mon-hong - a supporter of election rival C Y Leung - that he had met an alleged former gangster to obtain information about Mr Tang's dealings with powerful businessmen.
Mr Tang described the development as an attack on Hong Kong's electoral system.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter.
Mr Tang said that he was extremely concerned about what he called an attack on Hong Kong's fair, just, and clean electoral system.
He has written a letter to election committee members warning against what he called "black-gold" politics, or the intrusion of triads into the political sphere.
Besides Mr Lew's widely-reported meeting with alleged gangster Kwok Wing-hung, Mr Tang also mentioned that core members of C Y Leung's election team had met Mr Kwok and others, while canvassing support.
This, he said, was a direct challenge to the rule of law, and Hong Kong's election culture.
The police say an investigation has been launched to ensure that the chief executive election proceeds smoothly and in an orderly manner.
A police statement added that the force would not tolerate any unlawful action that obstructs the coming election.
In response, C Y Leung reiterated that his campaign team had no knowledge that Mr Kwok would be present at the dinner in question.
UNQUOTE

Henry feels worried about his security is said !

And here one more from Mr. Leung - VERY FRESH JUST SOME MINUTES AGO !
QUOTE
CY Leung rejects triad links accusations
11-03-2012
Chief executive candidate C Y Leung.
Chief executive candidate Albert Ho. Photos: Edna Tse.
Chief executive candidate C Y Leung has rejected allegations that members of his campaign team were accompanied by people with triad backgrounds when meeting election committee members. Mr Leung said the accusations were untrue and misleading.
Mr Leung's statement follows a complaint filed with the police by his rival, Henry Tang, over an alleged threat that he says left him feeling his life was at risk.

Mr Tang had earlier asserted that a key supporter of Mr Leung, Lew Mong-hong, had met with a former gangster to obtain information about Mr Tang's alleged close dealings with powerful businessmen.
Mr Lew and members of Mr Leung's campaign team have been reported as meeting with alleged gangster Kwok-Wing hung.

Speaking after a radio programme, Mr Leung read out a statement saying neither he nor his campaign members know Mr Kwok.
And he said allegations that they were accompanied by gang related people when meeting election committee members were not true because his campaign director Fanny Law, who attended the dinner, did not know who would be present.
Mr Leung issued an additional statement later after Shap Pat Heung Rural Committee chairman, Leung Fuk-yuen, who was among seven committee members at the dinner, dismissed allegations that they had invited Mr Kwok to the dinner and denied even knowing Mr Kwok. He said committee members were invited by CY Leung's campaign team and more than ten people attended the dinner including Mrs Law, members of Mr Leung's campaign team and Mr Lew.
C Y Leung said the dinner had been arranged by Mr Lew and not his campaign team and they were informed by Mr Lew that rural committee members had wanted to meet them to express their views on issues involving the New Territories. Mr Leung also said the three members of his camp which attended the dinner had paid for their dinner themselves.
Meanwhile, fellow CE candidate Albert Ho, says he supports an investigation by the police into the matter.
Mr Ho said he does not believe the on-going mud-slinging between the two CE candidates, Mr Leung and Mr Tang, would be to his advantage in the race.
Mr Ho also said his party, which has filed a complaint with the ICAC, wanted to ensure that illegal or corrupt activities would play no part in the election.
In response, the Electoral Affairs Commission has said it will make sure the upcoming CE election will be fair and clean.
The commission chairman, Justice Barnabas Fung, said he will not tolerate any activities which discredit Hong Kong's clean electoral culture, which has long been established.
And the ICAC says it will start an investigation should there be evidence of any corrupt conduct relating to the election.
UNQUOTE

So this is perfect & a perfect example to the people of Hong Kong how (s)elections have to work. Best would be none of this 2 guys will become the CE of Hong Kong. They both miss a certain kind of honesty, humbleness & ....you name it........integrity - mainly they care about their OWN BUSINESS (whatever this can be......). Can we keep Donald for some time ? Even he recently did some wrong "steps"(nobody knows why exactly he let this happen...or ?) - at least he looks more CLEAN - but Henry & CY Leung - I cannot eat that much how much I want to vomit when thinking about that 2 guys !

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Your Weekend Music - Lady GAGA special

4 concerts in May Lady Gaga totally sold out - black market prices like crazy. Recently my 5 year old son asked me: "Daddy do you like Lady Gaga ?" No idea where he got this from ....so I made up my mind and I said ....."Ummm not really...." But not 100% true....Lady Gaga is not really about the MUSIC - this is only a part of a very clever, gigantic marketing - machine...and this girl calling herself Lady Gaga - she is very brave to do that in the most best way...with full power & with a main idea - just SHOCK - be BRUTAL - be BAD ...and suddenly I like her somewhat...........
Here some random vids found on YouTube as your weekend pleasure......maainly versions of BAD ROMANCE ...and later something else ....... aND HERE IS THIS bORN tHIS wAY - 91 mILLION HITS ON YOU TUBE .... As said earlier it is not really about the music - it is about the concept called LADY GAGA ! Gotcha ? And here still a fav of myself LANA DEL REY - born to die (how true ..........) - I guess this is the official video

Friday, March 9, 2012

Here comes the "Shanghai Boy".........

It is getting better & better - the drama of the CE (s)election: Just today comes out that some of CY Leung's campaign office had a dinner recently, which was also attended by a guy called "Shanghai Boy"- this guy is said to be a former triad big-shot & had some contatcts with Henry Tang in Tokyo in 2002 + the CY Leung campaign people tried to find out some "dirty things" about Henry Tang via that "Shanghai Boy". This was just in the news 1 hour ago. Both CY Leung & Henry Tang denied to know that "Shanghai Boy". So in generally the whole campaign of the 2 main candidates is DIRTY - the only one seems to be clean is Albert Ho - the guy with no chance. Is this the "real Hong Kong" ? I am very much afraid it is the real Hong Kong. As already in a lot of small business etc. all & everybody trying to be super - tricky just for some financial advantages - surley in the BIG GAME it is the same ! Here some cutting from BIG LYCHEE about that story - but before that info was released late today evening - please click here to read more !
The copy comes here - including a lot of other parts regarding our "hopeful CE candidates"+ our existing one - have a nice reading:
quote
The Hong Kong Chief Executive ‘election’ shock-horror outrages du jour are: a) aides of CY Leung attended a Heung Yee Kuk dinner at which a former triad boss was present; and b) the (or a) much-discussed alleged illegitimate offspring of Henry Tang may have resulted from a liaison while the textiles scion was at high school in the UK.
These are, of course, non-stories, and signs that the quality of scandal flying around Hong Kong over the last couple of months is undergoing a disappointing decline. Whoever is spreading the night-soil around is starting to scrape the bottom of the bucket.
The fact is that if you go to a Heung Yee Kuk event and no New Territories mafia are around – that’s major news. Indeed, you’d probably be on your own. Everyone knows that.
Similarly, if you send your precious little prince or princess to one of those pricy, oh-so-high-class boarding schools in our former colonial motherland, the kid will soon discover the delights of rutting like crazy between piano classes and remedial Chinese tuition. The brochures portray British education as neo-gothic architecture, sprawling green playing fields and bright-eyed young exam-passers in smart uniforms. What they don’t mention is Europe’s highest rates of teenage pregnancy, abortion and venereal disease, not to mention all the booze and drugs.
On a more positive note, we are reliably informed that our current Chief Executive, high-living victim of maliciously-triggered corruption probes Donald Tsang, has the full backing of the Central People’s Government. Such support is not automatic. The nation’s leaders can obliquely indicate disapproval by failing to mention you or by lavishing praise on your counterpart in Macau, or they can be blunt and openly say you’re useless.
Even if the mud-slinging now dies down (sob) for want of new ammunition, the question remains: who is behind all these leaks, or at least the initial disclosures that prompted retaliatory dirt-digging? We can still only presume that the Central Government’s Liaison Office in Western must have had a hand. Guiding the Chief Executive selection process is the emperor’s prerogative, and no local pro-Beijing player would have the audacity to usurp it. The chaos and division resulting from the revelations also point to the same incompetents who were surely behind the vote-rigging in last November’s District Council polls, which at least partially backfired. As for why: maybe Beijing wants a tighter grip ahead of ‘universal suffrage’ in 2017, or maybe the local Hong Kong and Macau Affairs officials have simply been trying too hard to impress their bosses back home (either way they have some explaining to do).
A more convoluted theory involves joining up the dots backwards. Beijing – it goes – has orchestrated Donald’s downfall. This is partly just to avenge the time he (quite likely) threatened to resign unless the Chinese state made its unprecedented concession to the pro-democrats on political reform. But it is mainly a counterattack after Sir Bow-Tie’s administration tried to smear CY Leung with its inept pair of press releases one (very long) month ago. And that was an attempt to rescue Henry after Beijing pulled the plug on him after/with the basement fiasco and decided to make CY the next CE. The fact that this de facto tussle between the Communist Party and Hong Kong’s tycoon-bureaucrat clique would have been fought by proxy doesn’t make it hugely more believable. But it’s fun. Asia Times, fountain of truth, accuracy and impartiality, has more.
Another idea is that Donald is nobly taking the heat off Henry, by distracting attention from the spoilt rich-kid’s misdoings (and wouldn’t it be typical of a spoilt rich-kid to make his low-born, cop’s son buddy do that?) This of course is the opposite of the Asia Times theory, which has Sir Bow-Tie’s jet-setting helping rather than hurting CY. Take your pick.
One factor we cannot ignore is the role of Hong Kong’s famously free press. Although local actors would never openly pre-empt Beijing’s own meddling, some of them can no doubt interfere unseen through the media. And let’s not forget the role of the masses. It is no secret that waiters, hotel workers, emergency services personnel, and hospital, airport and other minions in Hong Kong can augment their humble incomes quite nicely with one call to our grubbier newspapers. What we have been seeing is Mainland officials thinking that they could manipulate the local media, only to find that it’s not that simple, and the press even end up in charge. It has been hilarious, and we can only trust that the cadres will go back up north with a newfound respect and admiration for the role played in a free society by the fourth estate.
unquote

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Henry Tang's wife is doing her job..........

to support her husband in getting the (s)election for the CE into a positive turn-out for him. She today appeared on an interview to support her HENRY. Is it all a set - up ? Is it because Beijing's comments made Henry a little bit nervous ? It sounded as Beijing is considering to shift to another CE candidate........Are you sweating HEnry ? Get out a nice bottle (or two) from your wine cellar & relax. Money you have enough - you are striving now mainly for power. Will you do good for Hong Kong people ? Will we get our 4 bottles of french red wine each year to seduce us ? As I said already - I want a 1997 Pomerol.
Here a clip from YouTube - Henry Tang's wife talking:
Henry Tang’s Wife, Lisa Kuo, is the Most Popular Out of this Chief Executive Race March 7, 2012badcantoLeave a commentGo to comments The headline of Today Apple Daily critcised Henry Tang’s love child scandal. Two Families. Not Suitable to be the Chief Executive Love Child was Born. (*puns with “Under the Lion Rock” in Cantonese) Lust, brings pleasure. Inescapably, it always brings worry. (*This sentence is rewritten from the first 2 lines of the Cantonese pop classic “Under the Lion Rock“, the theme song of a long-lived RTHK TV series praising tolerance and hardworking. Government officials attempted to bring “the spirit of Lion Rock” back desperately during the 2000′s. However, netizens reject such notion since it was a spirit born under the economy bloom. ) Henry Tang’s wife, Lisa Kuo Yu-chin appeared on a radio show this morning and answered sharp questions like the number of extramarital affairs her husband had. Here’s the translated clip. She also said, “if I could choose again, I would still marry Henry Tang.”

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The candidates answer questions..............

This one about the CE (s)election again - directly copied from SCMP (including a nice picture). In this moment still Regina Ip was trying to participate - but she did not get enough support.
quote
SCMP debate
South China Morning Post
Feb 27, 2012
Amid all the uproar over "underground palaces", alleged conflicts of interest and rumoured love affairs, the three officially nominated candidates and one unofficial candidate seem to have lost sight of the real issues that affect Hongkongers - education, pollution, the economy. As yet, there has not been a single debate among them over their goals, policies and programmes. To remedy this, we have asked them to answer six questions. We gave them three days to respond and a limit of 1,200 words, roughly 200 words per question. Here is how they responded. We informed them in advance that, should they not respond, we would leave their space blank.
Q1 What will be your top priority, the first thing you will do, on Day 1 of your becoming chief executive.
Q2 Will you continue to offer financial support for the English Schools Foundation? And what will be your policy concerning the expansion of international schools?

Q3 Pollution hurts everyone in Hong Kong and the city's measurement of air quality is outdated and flawed. Will you adopt the toughest air quality standards set by the WHO? And how will you achieve those standards and reduce roadside pollution in Hong Kong?
Q4 How will you solve Hong Kong's chronic shortage of land for housing and development, through reclamation, redevelopment or rezoning within the country parks?
Q5 Hong Kong's fiscal reserves are massive. How much is truly necessary and what innovative ideas do you have for the excess reserves?
Q6 The people of Hong Kong have been promised universal suffrage in the chief executive election in 2017 at the earliest. What is your plan to open up the nomination process fairly to all candidates and when do you plan to eliminate the functional constituency seats in the Legislative Council?

Albert Ho Chun-yan
A1 In the event I am elected chief executive I would do the following on my first day in office:
Put in place a system to ensure timely access to all important information, documents and parties
Meet with all policy secretaries, Executive Council members and leaders of all major political parties to ensure accessibility to these individuals for discussion on important matters;
Formulate broad timelines for -
My political agenda for implementing a democratic, accountable government;
My social equity agenda for alleviating poverty and making improvements on the environment,
housing, education and medical services.

Put on my desk a written reminder in respect of my duty to serve the public with honesty, accountability and transparency, as well as with courage and commitment.
Check my conflict-of-interest disclosure form is fully and accurately completed.

A2 Given the need for Hong Kong to attract foreign investment, both English Schools Foundation (ESF) and international schools play an important role in ensuring the provision of school places for the expatriate community.
I would continue to offer financial support for the ESF by adopting the Direct Subsidy Scheme model. Given that public money is involved, the ESF should be subject to monitoring by the administration regardless of the level of subvention. To ensure proper financial management, an effective monitoring mechanism should be put in place. In order to provide for the setting up of an effective monitoring mechanism, government may consider amending the ESF Ordinance (Cap. 1117) if necessary.

AS THIS ARTICLE IS VERY LONG - CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY.

And here is the picture:


Hong Kong Chief Executive Selection + Ohhh Donald No. 3

Just only 2 weeks for the next HK CE to be (s)elected. By a 1,200 people strong commitee mainly out of business sectors like ParkNShop, Wellcome, Property Tycoons & surely all very nicely organized by mainland heavy-weights aka Government of the PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA !
The candidates:
Henry "I dont want to hurt the feelings of third parties" Tang - a slimy, always smiling, super rich & arrogant Gentleman. With so many scandals behind him - that is (not really) a good choice ?
How will he be able to tackle problems as a CE ? He always doesn't want to hurt the feelings of 3rd parties. It doesn't matter if this is his former mistress or maybe some other problem maker. Always there will be a 3rd party - sometimes as a CE you MUST HURT THEM.
Henry - you make no sense at all. Clean up your house first. But it seems you are so confident that you will be the GUY - I am afraid it will really happen like this..............................
CY Leung: When you see him on TV it seems he wears make-up to cover his super sun tanned face (I saw him recently live - in TV he is always looking very white....). In an interview with TVB he said following today: "I still need to understand the various social problems of Hong Kong people......"
Come on CY you still have 2 weeks to learn about that: Go for a few nights to stay in some homes in Fa Yuen Street. And go to the upper end of Tai Lin Pai Road (where the scrap collection place is..) and see the old ladies 70 - 90 years old bringing there the rubbish cartons etc - then you will very quickly learn about the "various social problems"of Hong Kong people.
Albert Ho: The guy beaten up in a McDonalds several years ago - seems honest & humble - but has no chance at all.

And then we have our beloved Donald the existing CE: He got huge support from Beijing not to step down because of receiving pampering from some super rich guys.....Donald - sorry to say YOU DID WRONG - and it seems you just show your real face at the end of your term.......Nothing more to say.

So unfortunately Hong Kong is still ruled by the rich & powerful in and outside of the "Government" - the real people have ""no - say".

By the way: Hong Kong civil servants are the most highest paid in the whole world - this surely includes the so-called Chief Executive ! Cheers - Henry - I am quite sure he is such a wine expert that he only knows french wine......................

Monday, March 5, 2012

Fake austrian village

Yes - chinese copy everything - now here they copy a whole village (maybe only some parts of it.....) from Austria. HALLSTATT - yes - please read & see here. According to latest news nobody want to buy any of that houses, villas there. Please enjoy the following: And see another link with more info just here - click ! Copy is below.

The Alpine village of the Far East: Chinese build bizarre replica of Austrian town (only problem is, no-one wants to live there)

By Simon Parry In Hallstatt, China

Last updated at 3:16 PM on 29th January 2012


We are on a dirt track snaking its way uphill through rice paddies and groves of yellow bamboo. Behind us, spread out across a vast, smoggy plain, are the homes of tens of millions of dirt-poor migrant workers who struggle to earn a living in some of the most polluted cities on the planet: Huizhou, Dongguang, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the clustered sweatshops of southern China. Yet there in front of us, as we turn a final corner through the dust, is an Alpine vision.

A neo-Gothic church rises like a mirage. It is surrounded by the spotless wooden roofs of well-tended chalets, scores of them, a picture-postcard village set beside an artificial lake. Welcome to Hallstatt, the UNESCO-listed Austrian resort. Welcome to Hallstatt, China.

Never afraid to ‘borrow’ or imitate, Chinese planners have now designed what might be called the ultimate counterfeit: a settlement copied wholesale for the benefit of wealthy industrialists and located just an hour or so by chauffeur-driven limousine from their grim factories in the smoky distance.


A workman helps recreate the mountain of idyll of Hallstatt, complete with a lake, concert hall and luxury homes
A workman helps recreate the mountain of idyll of Hallstatt, complete with a lake, concert hall and luxury homes

News of the plans for a fake version of the idyllic lakeside village generated a mixture of astonishment, amusement and even a little outrage last summer when it was revealed that ‘spies’ from a Chinese developer had been secretly preparing detailed blueprints on furtive European trips, posing as tourists.

Six months later, as the villas near completion and the developers still smart at the controversy, we decided to play the Chinese at their own game by posing as buyers, the first Westerners to set foot inside this new settlement.

‘You won’t find anything like this anywhere else,’ the young salesman tells us brightly as we stood looking out across the man-made lake at the resort. It looks a good deal muddier than the sparkling original.

‘This is the only genuinely Austrian town in the whole of China.’

No expense has been spared. The original buildings have been copied and reproduced with startling precision.

Horse-drawn carriages and flocks of white doves will be imported to lend authenticity. The prices are amazing, too: a new villa here built in the style of a 300-year-old lakeside home is being offered at between £200,000 and £500,000, higher than the real thing in Austria.

There is, however, a flaw in this otherwise impressive feat of construction: no one is buying.

China’s real-estate market, booming as recently as last summer, has gone into freefall. For the moment at least, Hallstatt, Austria, will keep the prize for visitor numbers.

This sudden reversal of fortune might generate a few wry smiles among lovers of the original. But the state of the Chinese property market is no laughing matter; in fact it has caused waves of alarm as the world’s second biggest economy heads for a crisis of confidence.

China is growing at its slowest pace for more than two years and property prices, which have grown fivefold in the past decade, are projected to shrink by as much as one fifth in the next year to 18 months. The price of new homes in China fell for the third consecutive month last December, official statistics show, with annual growth in real-estate investment slowing to its weakest pace for a year.

The real thing: The genuine Austrian Christuskirche which has been ripped off by the Chinese
The real thing: The genuine Austrian Christuskirche which has been ripped off by the Chinese

The property ‘bubble’ is a source of grave anxiety for economists and a potential disaster for China’s newly monied classes, who for years have snapped up luxury homes, often leaving them empty to preserve their treasured ‘brand new’ status, apparently secure in the knowledge their value could only rise.

Unable to invest abroad (the regime does not permit individuals to send money out of China) and with precious few options for domestic investment, tycoons and middle-class buyers have put their faith and their money in real estate. And this, in turn, has become one of the engines driving China’s extraordinary development.

Finding that so much of China’s ‘growth’ is paper profit based on empty bricks and mortar is scarcely better news for us in the beleaguered West. China’s expansion has fuelled the global economy, driving demand for raw materials and creating an enormous appetite for consumer goods and foreign luxuries.

When he visited Asia this month, Chancellor George Osborne spoke of China’s critical role in keeping the world afloat and of his desire to see wealthy Chinese buy imported ‘Rolls-Royces made in Sussex, Bentleys made in Crewe, and Burberry clothes manufactured in Yorkshire’.

The China Investment Corporation, a state-controlled sovereign wealth fund, immediately obliged by purchasing nearly nine per cent of the company behind Thames Water. And in this most auspicious of Chinese new years – the Year of the Dragon – there is no doubt that individual consumers would like to follow suit.

But the crisis consuming China’s real estate market – which accounted for 13 per cent of its economic activity in 2011 – is cowing the country’s big spenders and their appetite for British Bentleys or Austrian-style chalets.

Nor is it just the rich who have seen the value of their investments plunge; legions of middle-class city dwellers have ploughed their life savings into urban property, too. In recent months, apartment owners have erupted in protest as they watch developers slash prices for neighbouring – and identical – properties because of shrinking demand. And such protests hint at a social disquiet that terrifies China’s leaders.

One of their darkest fears is the prospect of an uprising by the country’s middle classes who, in an unspoken pact, tolerate single-party rule in return for prosperity and continuing economic growth.

All of which makes salesman Xu Kaigin eager to impress as he leads us past a cordon of security checkpoints and points to a huddle of villas that he thought might appeal to us. We had introduced ourselves as expatriates from Hong Kong looking for investment properties in southern China, where thousands of Westerners do business.

One of their darkest fears is the prospect of an uprising by the country’s middle classes who, in an unspoken pact, tolerate single-party rule in return for prosperity and continuing economic growth

The developers believe that even if Chinese buyers don’t snap up these villas, they might well appeal to homesick Europeans such as us.

‘Magnificent, isn’t it?’ asks Mr Xu, gesturing towards a painstaking replica of Hallstatt’s 1860 Protestant Christuskirche (Church of our Lord) at the heart of a cluster of town- centre buildings.

‘This is more beautiful than anything you can buy anywhere in China. It is authentically Austrian and just like the real thing. I am sure Americans living in China will love it here too – they like European things just like we Chinese do.’

On the slopes behind us, chalet-style villas take shape as cranes lift imported trees into place along arid, steep, red hillsides crudely cleared of native bamboo and sub-tropical undergrowth. The villas, he assures us, will be ready for occupancy by May.

The replica church, Mr Xu tells us, might be a restaurant, a sports venue or a concert hall. One thing is more certain: here in communist China, where religious freedoms are tightly restricted, it won’t be used for Christian worship.

The village is a surreal distortion. While the church and the cluster of Alpine buildings look as Austrian as lederhosen, many of the Hallstatt features simply don’t measure up. The fake lake, for instance, is not just muddy, it is 50 times smaller than the original, a stagnant shallow pool. Then there is the vista of two-mile-high snowy mountains that surround the real thing. The version in front of us is ringed by parched yellow hills, a few hundred feet above sea level.

And while the 800 residents of the real Hallstatt breathe pristine mountain air, China’s ‘Alpine’ residents (if there are any) will gaze out only as far as the smog allows across the nation’s black industrial heartland. Pollution is chokingly high here in Guangdong province, known as the workshop of the world, causing sickness in almost half the residents.

Whatever it might lack in natural assets, China’s Hallstatt more than makes up for in hyperbole. A plush, leather-bound brochure presented to us by Mr Xu makes extravagant promises about the golden future awaiting buyers when the bulldozers finally move out.

‘You can go to Viennese cake shops, a beer house and a romantic Austrian-style square,’ it gushes. ‘There will be a famous international school and kindergartens so children can have a wonderful childhood and get the best education.’


Faking it: China's hallstatt with its replica Austrian church near the smog-shrouded town of Boluo
Faking it: China's hallstatt with its replica Austrian church near the smog-shrouded town of Boluo

Artists’ impressions and digitally manipulated photographs show doves taking off outside the church, a space grandly named Culture Square; couples relaxing on park benches as horse-drawn carriages glide past. And waterfalls cascading through lush green gardens full of exotic Alpine flowers that, the brochure promises, will bloom all year-round. The facilities will include a mountain-top swimming pool, the region’s only mountain sports club, and restaurants serving the best of European cuisine.

There are some geographically improbable extras, too. Hallstatt, China, will include a replica of the street where Mozart was born, Getreidegasse, complete with a Mozart library and a period ironmonger. Getreidegasse is actually in Salzburg. The neighbouring street is named after Vienna’s Belvedere Palace, 200 miles from the real Hallstatt, although mercifully the developers have stopped short of trying to reproduce the 18th Century castle.

Wealthy Chinese are the world’s biggest buyers of fine French wines, and a taste for European culture is seen as a mark of sophistication. Luxury homes are often modelled on French chateaux while historic neighbourhoods in China’s own cities are bulldozed to make way for glitzy apartment blocks and shopping malls. China might have thousands of years of history and culture, but such things don’t seem to count.

In a country with greater political freedom, tycoons with a fondness for the European lifestyle might choose to invest in the real thing: a genuine three-storey 18th Century home in the real Hallstatt, overlooking the lake is currently on the market for £330,000. But stringent government restrictions on moving money overseas mean that even the wealthiest must make do with China’s Hallstatt.

The sudden appearance of an Austrian village in the neighbourhood has caused head-scratching in surrounding villages, where families eke out a living by growing rice or working in factories making electrical cables.

‘It looks very strange,’ says 79-year-old Yan Yuxi as building trucks trundle past her simple, single- storey stone house in Boluo town, less than a mile away. ‘This is a simple place. Why do rich people want to live out here?’

Showing off her pension book, the great-grandmother – who lived through China’s civil war and its communist and cultural revolutions – says: ‘I am very poor and I only have welfare to live off. But some people today have so much money they can’t spend it all. I don’t understand it.’

Her neighbour, a 45-year-old taxi driver called Mr Yu, is similarly underwhelmed.

‘Many expensive homes have been built in this area but they’re not real homes. Rich people just buy them for show and to make money from,’ he says. ‘They don’t live in them and I don’t think they’ll do us any good.’ Even salesman Mr Xu concedes that the fantastical images in the brochure showing families playing in the sunshine may not be an entirely accurate portrayal.

‘I think people will live here because it is such a beautiful place,’ he says before adding, hesitantly: ‘It is true that some Chinese businessmen do buy as an investment and usually they do not live there. There will be a mixture here.’

China already has a nationwide blight of empty luxury homes. In Shanghai, more than half are kept empty, turning moneyed suburbs into eerie bejewelled wastelands.
The half-finished 'Alpine' homes but there are no people to fill them
The half-finished 'Alpine' homes but there are no people to fill them

Ordos in coal-rich Inner Mongolia, a gleaming new city built in the desert for mining tycoons, is a ghost town for the same reason, with fewer than 50,000 residents in a city catering for one million.

The same fate has befallen Thames Town, the English-style development built near Shanghai in 2006, which a visitor last year described as being ‘like the set of The Truman Show’ deserted but for a handful of couples having their wedding photographs taken with ‘British’ backdrops.

And just 50 miles south of China’s Hallstatt, on hills above the industrial city of Shenzhen, rows of immaculate Swiss-style villas built five years ago stand empty – without a single curtain at the windows.

Six months after the Austrians were scandalised by the copycat Chinese, the original Hallstatt’s website now carries a droll motto: ‘Hallstatt – the original. Photographed a million times. Copied once.’

Accusations of counterfeiting – combined with an official complaint to UNESCO from the town’s mayor – have clearly stung the Chinese developers.

When I ask Mr Xu if the town really is an exact copy of the Austrian original, he looks flustered and replies: ‘No, no, not at all. We just took the idea and the atmosphere and adapted it.’

He then walks away to make calls on his mobile phone.
Families in nearby villages are bemusted by the Austrian scene on their doorstep
Families in nearby villages are bemusted by the Austrian scene on their doorstep

‘That was a Mr Zheng from Beijing,’ he says, without conviction. ‘He wants to know the price of the villas. You see? People from all over China, and overseas, want to live here.’

Exactly how many villas have been sold so far, I ask Mr Xu.
None at the moment,’ he admits, but he says that some are reserved for VIP clients. These, we learn, are lowly paid government officials who – and here one can reasonably speculate – will pay little or nothing for the privilege of owning a luxury villa.

By now, though, we have asked too many questions. Mr Xu announces that our visit is over and hurries us back to our hotel, where a display model of the Hallstatt development in the lobby is inexplicably dismantled and put away.

Trying to explain Mr Xu’s sudden change of mood, our translator says: ‘I think he is worried you might not be buyers but that you might be from Austria, to see what is going on here. It is a very sensitive subject.’

With China’s real-estate slump threatening to become folly of monumental proportions, Austrian spies ought to be the least of worries for the champions of this Alpine oddity.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093067/How-Chinese-building-exact-replicas-Austrian-village--houses-sold.html#ixzz1oAPzXjIF

Just some short thoughts on Donald Tsang......

So now Donald is the one taking the bullet - sacrificing himself with some kind of scandal to distract the attention from Henry Tang. In Beijing today the focus was "TO UNITE" and build up a harmonious & stable society - so ? The typical CRAP like always ........... Lets bet who will be the next CE of Hong Kong ? Believe me it will be that guy who does not know how to speak properly (not in cantonese & not in english anyhow): Yes - HENRY TANG ! Especially this post also wearing the label HONG KONG PROPERTY - think about why ....................... Maybe then in the next budget speak every Hong Kong resident wil get a bottle of red wine from Henry ? I want a 1997 Pomerol please !

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Your weekend music !

This one goes to Davy Jones from the MONKEES. He died on February 29th in Florida. I still remember when the Monkees series first was running in german TV - oh my god - that was like a revolution. My father always wanted to TURN IT OFF ! It was a really famous TV Show at that time ! Enjoy some memories here - if you are too young for that - doesn't matter just have fun with it, and maybe search the web a little bit about the older times & famous bands. The Monkees Christmas Episode 1967 Part 1 Of 3 And here one of their BIG HITS: And as the mood is just right now for this kinda of nostalgic good old 60's why not try this one - HERMAN'S HERMITS: Can this one top it all ? And here the last one (this one is a little bit out of order...) - have a nice weekend !

Some strange installations

Actually the Hotel I was staying the last week was quite good: Clean rooms, free internet (surely CHINA internet - no YouTube, no Facebook, no Hong Kong Jockey Club and so on........), free breakfast - all for RMB 180 / per night. I was surprised - it was good & pleasant. Surely some little mishaps like so often. A sprinkler + a/c strangely installed at the top of one wall & a MAN PISSIOR in the bathroom (besides the normal toilet). Pictures here:

Friday, March 2, 2012

BACK HOME NOW

DEAR READERS - TOO TIRED - MORE THE NEXT DAYS - SOME PHOTOS ETC THANKS !