bc magazine

The End of 5 Terrible Years

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Sadly the idea of a leader trying to improve the lot of those he/she leads rarely applies in politics. And so it was with ‘what’s in it for me’ 689 who’s naked pursuit of $elf-intere$t is perhaps only exceeded by 54’s.

Thankfully, though it seemed far longer, the 5 years of 689 are over. A ‘fuck-off and don’t come back’ drink, accompanied by a lone piper for the departure countdown, was held at Tamar Park.

Hong’s Kong’s stunning skyline a reminder that whatever incompetent leaders Beijing imposes on Hong Kong. We will survive, for we are HongKongers!

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Fuck-Off-689-Tamar-Park-30-June-2017/i-WK7zrv6

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Tiananmen Square Vigil @ Victoria Park – 4 June, 2017

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Tens of thousands of HongKongers gathered to remember those who died as China’s communist leaders turned their guns on their own unarmed people.

Tiananmen was 28 years ago, but the CCP continues to use violence to suppress freedom of speech, sexual equality and especially against those who speak out on corruption, incompetence, nepotism and party members self-enrichment.

While news of few of these violent put downs makes it past China’s draconian censors, we only need to see what has happened here in Hong Kong to know it’s far worse north of the border.

Here publishers disappear, kidnapped from our streets while the police do nothing. A police force that used to be respected and trusted by all. But now a force that cannot ‘see’ a pro-Beijing supporter beat someone up even when it happens infront of their eyes and is recorded on multiple cameras – yet thinks a woman’s breast is a weapon…

Sadly China is infesting Hong Kong with it’s corruption, bribery, censorship… anything that helps China’s leaders and their sycophants to make more money.

If China is so wonderful why do so many people there, especially the very rich CCP leaders, want to take their personal money out of the country and stash it in countries they claim to despise?

We cannot keep silent! We want to keep our city corruption free. Retain freedom of expression, the press, religion, sexuality, an impartial judiciary…as enshrined in the Basic Law.

If you prefer China’s vision of life, everyone working to enrich the chosen and connected few. Feel free to move North.

China gave us the Basic Law, article 25 of which states ‘HongKongers are all equal before the law’. Some though are more ‘equal’ than others and we’ve seen our government buy the tools and guns to suppress the views of those who disagree with China’s view of ‘equality’…

Who will hold a vigil for us?

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/4-June-tiananmen-square-vigil-Victoria-Park/i-LB5dNsx

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Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra 2017-18 Season

This week the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra published it’s concert schedule for the 2017-18 season.

Sadly the leaders of the widely respected and hard working orchestra continue to venerate CY Leung, a man who has openly derided musicians, with the title Honorary Patron.

As such bc magazine will continue to actively not write about the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra while he remains in that position.

We eagerly look forward to the day 689 is gone. Although we have no great expectations of Carrie Lam, she will be given the chance to show if she respects and has the best intentions for all HongKongers.

Not just those with private drivers who don’t know how to use the MTR! Or will she, after her ‘gift’ of $3.5billion to Beijing, keep her lips firmly on their rectum and allow them to rob Hong Kong blind to fund their massive vanity construction projects.

Hong Kong Rugby’s Sexual Bias

This week Hong Kong’s women stand on the brink of a stunning achievement, qualification for the rugby World Cup. Not now and perhaps never again will Hong Kong have a better chance in a global team sport to reach a World Cup.

Ardent HongKonger that I am, I’m also a realist and unless the new Messi is a HK resident Hong Kong are sadly never going to make the football World Cup. Nor sadly, however much money is pumped at them, will our men’s rugby team – much as I’d love to see them qualify – with the current format there are simply too many countries ahead of us.

Recognition should be made here of the HK men’s cricket team who qualified for the last two T20 World Cups and with the current crop of super talented youngsters both male and female could well do so again – but cricket is not yet a truly global game.

Rugby is a global game and with the popularity of the Sevens at the recent Olympics growing fast. This is what makes our women’s potential achievement so amazing. Especially as they are playing not only the opposition but also the blatant sexual discrimination and lack of interest within their own male dominated Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU).

When the Hong Kong football team played their World Cup qualifiers last year, the HKFA advertised heavily, produced posters, banners creating a buzz and a massive awareness in both traditional media and online. Everyone, whether you were a football fan or not, knew the matches were coming.

The extent of the HKRU’s marketing is one ugly banner, the first published version of which hadn’t even been proof read and had Hong Kong playing Fiji twice. Even the recent men’s rugby Cup of Nations competition was advertised on a tram and accompanied by numerous articles, banners, tweets… There’s one ugly banner for the Women’s World Cup Qualifier.

The first two games of the World Cup Qualifier are being played at King’s Park which is frankly nothing more than a school playing field and a complete pain for fans to get to. Why are the games not being held at Mongkok Stadium – which with even basic marketing could have been a noisy sell-out – or at any of the other LCSD grounds which at least have a grandstand where the crowd can really get behind their team and help lift them to qualification? It’s frankly embarrassing to have such important matches played at such an amateur ground.

It’s frankly disgusting that the HKRU promotes rugby as a game for all – yet as you can see the Women’s World Cup Qualifier isn’t even listed in their upcoming events! There are more articles on the HKRU website about the New Year’s Day Youth Tournament, than the women’s national team being one step from playing at the World Cup.

The sexual bias at the HKRU is sadly not just limited to the national level, where HK’s women professional rugby players are paid far less than their male counterparts (none are willing to comment on the record, such is the petty vindictive nature of the male dominated culture that permeates the HKRU), but extends to club level.

The HKRU made a big deal at the start of the new season about a sponsorship deal for women’s rugby one part of which, as can be seen published on the HKRU website includes a live video stream of the women’s Premiership game of the week. Look online you can find extensive video coverage of the men’s Premiership. There’s video of women’s first games of the season (all the matches were played consecutively at King’s Park), where are the rest? Will KPMG the sponsor complain? No chance. Many of it’s senior HK management are rugby old boys and it heavily sponsors the mens game.

The HKRU is perhaps the wealthiest sports organisation in HK, it’s 2014 financial returns show assets of around $250million and it extravagantly funds the men’s game. It’s sad that they are so blind to the women’s game where the potential for great things exists.

Let’s hope that the 26 women picked for the squad can take that final step and make the World Cup. Perhaps then the old men running the game will take notice – but then again, probably not as there’s nothing in it for them other than trying to steal the spotlight from the women who made it happen.

Hong Kong’s women need your support, lend you voices and your presence head to Kings Park, 7pm tonight and cheer them on against Fiji!

MAKE SOME NOISE, GO HONG KONG!

Editorial: Court of Appeal Reject Oath Appeal

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Today the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal of Yau Wai Ching, Sixtus Leung Chung Hang, and The President of The Legislative Council over their oath taking disqualification. The reasons are steeped in legalise but essentially amount to the fact that Legco and the HK courts are subservient to the Basic Law and that China can change and amend the Basic Law whenever and however it wants.

And that any amendments are how the law should have been read since it came into being on the 1 July, 1997. Thus if China ‘interprets’ the Basic Law and says that, for example, the HK Bauhinia flag is green, even though we can all see its red. Then the flag is green! And anyone who says otherwise can and will be sent to jail even if they said the flag was red in 1998 years before the new interpretation existed.

Given the judge’s very precise interpretation and reliance on the new wording of Article 104 then strictly speaking since 689 omitted the words Hong Kong from his oath then he should be also be removed from office (and have to hand back all the money given to him as he threw the vast majority of HongKongers under the bus). It won’t happen of course, there’s one rule for the entitled, rich and connected and another for everyone else.

The question is will the Court of Final Appeal (CoFA) stand up for the people of Hong Kong, who it must be pointed out freely chose and elected Yau Wai Ching and Sixtus Leung Chung Hang to represent them, and affirm that the laws of Hong Kong are worth the paper they are written on or do we live in the dictatorship that exists north of the border where ‘the law’ changes according to the daily whim and benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.

It’s unlikely as it would mean the CoFA having to make a ruling on the Basic Law and having to decide whether China can amend (and make no mistake this ‘interpretation’ is an amendment) and make the amendment retrospective (as the Court ruled regarding ‘interpretations’ in 1999), whenever they want. Much as I respect the members of the CoFA I doubt they are willing to do that.

As I’ve said before, for those HongKongers who love China so much, you’re free to move there. Just remember that anyone who gets rich in China moves their money out of China as quickly as possible, chooses to educate their children in England, USA or Hong Kong and goes to medical clinics overseas whenever they can. If the China the CCP supporting Chinese have created is so wonderful, why are they so keen to leave?

Beijing’s Reinterpretation of Article 104

Article 104 of the Hong Kong’s Basic Law states:
When assuming office, the Chief Executive, principal officials, members of the Executive Council and of the Legislative Council, judges of the courts at all levels and other members of the judiciary in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must, in accordance with law, swear to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

Today Beijing offered it’s unsought interpretation which make s three points:

1: Content of the oath
The passage in Article 104 “swear to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China,” is the “statutory content” of the Legco oath.

It is also the “statutory requirement and condition” for people to take public office stated in that article, including lawmakers.

2: Definition of “in accordance with law”
a) Taking the oath is a statutory condition and mandatory procedure for people to assume public office.

If one has not taken a valid oath accepted by law, or if one declines to swear in, he or she cannot assume office, and cannot exercise the duties and enjoy the privileges of public office.

b) The oath-taking must fulfil the statutory requirements in format and content. The person taking the oath should take it sincerely and solemnly and must accurately, completely and solemnly read out phrases such as “uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China” and “bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China” as stated in the statutory oath.

c) If the oath-taker refuses to take the oath, he or she shall be disqualified from assuming public office. One is deemed to have refused to take the oath – and subsequently have his or her oath invalidated – if he or she deliberately reads out an oath different from the statutory oath or does it in an insincere or frivolous manner.

d) The oath administrator has the duty to confirm the oath taking is carried out legally and that the oath complies with this interpretation and Hong Kong law.

Any oath that does not satisfy the above interpretation should be confirmed as an “invalid” oath. Retaking the oath is forbidden.

3: Consequences of breach

Those who make a “false oath” or engage themselves in acts that violate the oath after taking it will bear legal responsibility.

Since this interpretation adds things not explicitly written into the existing law, can it be applied retroactively to those who took the oath in the past? If Hong Kong’s judicial system, the most fundamental difference between Hong Kong and China, remains truly ‘independent’ then that will be for the lawyers to argue over and ultimately the Court of Final Appeal to decide.

Logic and common sense would say that you can’t be guilty of something that wasn’t a ‘crime’ when you did it. But the law, common sense and logic make strange bed-fellows. The law has lots of ways to circumvent law changes. eg driving at the legal speed of 40 only for the limit to be reduced the next day to 30. You can’t be charged with speeding because your speed was legal at the time, but you could be charged with careless driving…

So will the judiciary fall over to kiss Beijing’s derriere, for those of us who love Hong Kong we have to hope not. While the law is a living evolving thing, precedents and case law establish a framework for how that happens.

If the CCP is allowed to trample over the law, then tragically Hong Kong is a dead man walking. If the law has no meaning, why will multi-nationals and big companies remain here when a contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. They will just move to China where contracts are always open to reinterpretation, often by a sack of money under the table or a fist.

Read the Basic Law here

Taste Festival FAIL!

For those thinking of attending Taste at the Central Harbourfront, then sadly I suggest you think again if you haven’t already bought a ticket. Especially if you’re imagining something like last year’s enjoyable and diverse Wine & Dine Festival.

At Taste there are just 12 restaurants: Aberdeen Street Social, Amber, Arcane (Sunday), Bibo, Café Gray Deluxe, Chino (Thursday & Friday), Duddell’s, Serge et Le Phoque, The Ocean, Tin Lung Heen, Tosca, Yardbird and Ronin and visiting UK restaurant Duck & Waffle (Saturday). The organisers IMG are hoping to attract 3,000 people per four hour session. If you are keen to try all 12 outlets then you’ll be hoping to get served every 20 minutes as will the other 250+ customers at each booth. Even the most efficient McDonalds in Hong Kong would be struggling to serve 750 people every hour for four hours straight; and they’re a restaurant specifically designed to serve fast food. The 12 outlets at Taste are restaurants used to serving 100 or so people in an evening, with care taken in the cooking and presentation of the food. And with rents for a booth at over $20,000, the dishes aren’t cheap ranging from $50 to $380 for mini-portions on a paper plate…

Each restaurant is offering 3 dishes and one signature dish, as the organisers IMG didn’t ask the participants to prepare any dishes for the media to taste it’s impossible for bc to comment on the individual offerings. On the opening night an outlet ran out of its signature dish within just over an hour having prepared less than 30 portions. Others ran out of their ‘main’ dishes before 8pm. One outlet spoke of preparing 300 of each main dish per session – so only 1 in 10 of IMG’s projected session visitors might be able to taste it…

Arrive early and expect to queue and queue… Even the Event Director Simon Wilson thinks you’ll only be able to taste dishes from 5 or 6 outlets per 4 hour session. Thursday was the first night, and the weather meant only a couple of hundred visitors yet there were long lines all around. Service at all the restaurants was friendly but disorganised with ordering and food arrival taking several minutes per customer. Late in any session I expect the food choices to be extremely limited if non-existent.

The place feels very sterile, there’s no area to sit and congregate and share food stories. There are no tables on the event ‘lawn’ (more like a squishy puddle in the rain) so the few standing only tables inside the booths were crammed and with staff working flat-out to serve food; clearing the tables of piling rubbish was an oft forgotten afterthought.

The restaurants are spaced around the exterior, while the ‘spine’ of Taste features various wine, craft beer and food produce outlets. Drinks are at bar prices and nothing that you can’t find easily around town. Although La Boucherie and Golden Pig are offering some tasty sausages while Eclair! has some interesting savoury eclairs and chocolates.

The lack of restaurant booths is Taste’s main problem. 20 or 30 outlets (there’s no shortage of ‘high end’ outlets locally) would have allowed diners to spend less time queueing and more time tasting – which after all is supposedly the idea behind the event.

This is not IMG’s first Taste event, they have organised many around the world, but Taste HK feels like a rort, designed to fleece it’s visitors of as many dollars as possible… Looking to cash in on the premium names and reputations of outlets with dishes that are expensive for what’s on offer. $280 for a lobster roll eaten standing in a puddle under an umbrella… Maybe it’s different overseas but here it’s definitely an event for those with money to burn. For the rest of us, save your money and go enjoy the dishes as the chef imagined you would eat them, sitting down with time to appreciate all their subtleties and complexities of flavour, texture and taste.

Censorship, Intimidation and Harassment of SCMP Reader

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It’s ironic that while on it’s front pages the SCMP vociferously advocates for press freedom and the release of Bo Lee and his fellow disappeared. The reality within it’s own pages is that of censorship, intimidation and harassment of any reader who dare criticise or question an SCMP employee. The exact type of actions that the SCMP would have its readers believe it looks to expose in others. The hypocrisy is sad.

On the 1 January the SCMP’s Kevin Kung spent 16 hours, working until 1am, on a story about the New Year’s Day Youth Rugby Tournament at HK Football Club. By his own admission he didn’t stay until the end of the tournament. A sterling effort you might think, except that the published article, a massive 250 or so words, quite simply ignores half the participants. Focusing solely on the boys rugby, reading his original story you’d never know that half the rugby played that day was by girls.

Linda Olson the administrator and driving force behind the Women’s Rugby Hong Kong Facebook group enquired politely of Mr Kung about the gender bias in his article.

“I am wondering why you only reported on boys’ rugby in the article below?
The headline makes it sound as if only boys took part.
The article itself makes no mention of the girls who played.
The video includes only brief coverage of girls rugby (the U12s team and captain).
This is unacceptable.
Nearly a quarter of rugby players in Hong Kong are girls/women and it is the most rapidly expanding demographic here.
Please ensure that your coverage is more inclusive in future..”

The article’s author Mr Kung replied and made some edits to ‘improve’ the online version of the article:
1. “Girls” was added to the sub-headline making it gender neutral.
2. A photo with caption of Gracie Hood (GH) was added.
3. An extra paragraph added to the end of the article mentioned the U19s girls’ game (but did not name the Captain as they had with the boys game) and GH being named Best and Fairest of the match.
Mrs Olson notified the WRHK Facebook group members of the changes and thanked Mr Kung for making them, at the same time providing a quantitative analysis of the gender imbalance of the SCMP coverage.

Mr Kung however had also cc’d in SCMP Sports Editor Noel Prentice who then fired off an intimidatory and threatening email to Mrs Olson which he cc’d to senior figures at the HK Rugby Union AND Mrs Olson’s employer!!!

Mr Prentice’s email is quite astounding in it’s arrogance, tone and less than full disclosure of facts.

“I take exception to you accusing my reporter and SCMP of sexist coverage when Kevin has gone out of his way to cover rugby and the New Year’s Day tournament. He spent 16 hours compiling the online and print coverage so please have some respect.

SCMP is a great supporter of rugby and we give what many consider a niche sport a disproportionate amount of coverage. (bc’s note: why, because the HK Rugby Union pay the SCMP a lot of money to write about local and international rugby). And we have also gone out of our way to cover the emergence of women/girls in the game and the opportunity they have been afforded.

We do not have the resources to give blanket coverage to any sport and all sports and events are judged on their news value.

We also strive to be fair and balanced and I would expect you to also adhere to these principles when delivering any gender bias lectures to the students of Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong.” SCMP’s Noel Prentice

If it takes Mr Kung 16 hours to write a 250 or so word article it does explain a lot about why the SCMP print edition is so thin and lacking in content compared to years past. Joking aside Noel Prentice’s email is factually mis-representative of Mrs Olson’s enquiry and comment; neglects to mention that the HKRU pays the SCMP lots of money to ‘support’ the writing and publishing of stories about rugby; and extremely patronising of the fairer sex “the emergence of women/girls in the game and the opportunity they have been afforded” and by assuming that boys rugby coverage is of value, while coverage of girls youth rugby has no news value.

If the original article was to quote Mr Prentice “Fair and balanced” then Mrs Olson wouldn’t have needed to contact Mr Kung and could have used the story to show how the media was covering girls and women’s rugby in the same detail as men’s rugby. That it didn’t make any mention of 50% of the tournaments participants makes it unbalanced not fully accurate and a perfect example of gender imbalance in the media – the subject of Mrs Olson’s frustration and her class.

Why Mr Prentice also cc’d Mrs Olson employer, in what appears to be a blatant intimidation attempt to damage her professional standing and work relationship with her employer – while at the same time looking to censor the use of SCMP content in an education setting – is something the SCMP failed to answer when bc emailed them asking for a comment.

Read the full email conversation here – email addresses have been removed to protect people’s privacy.
Read about women’s rugby in bc magazine and here on the Women’s Rugby Hong Kong facebook group.