Schedium

On Friday I had nothing special to do, so I decided to go to visit the Legislative Council. I went from Hang Hau to North Point, and then took the tram. But the tram was so slow, hot and crowded that I got off and went on foot. Then I realized how small Hong Kong Island actually is. I basically walked from North Point to Central, which seems a quite huge distance if you look at the map below, but it didn't take that long.    You can download a clearer Hong Kong MTR map here I will write a few small posts about the things one can see in Central District, because there are many interesting sites, most of which are from the colonial era. As a matter of fact, among the modern skyscrapers it is possible to find many old buildings. They are, truth be told, just a small part of what was once the "pre-economic miracle" Hong Kong. The boom of the 1970s, the influx of immigrants from mainland China and the lack of space made  it necessary to tear down a lot of old buildin

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall ( source: AngMoKio ) Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is one of Taipei's most famous and characteristic landmarks. The white structure with the blue roof may look like an edifice from old times, but in fact, it was built in 1980, five years after the death of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Guomindang and of the Republic of China from 1928 until 1975, which makes him one of the most important figures in Chinese history and longest-serving statesmen in the world. Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, ordered the construction of the the memorial hall to honour his father. The hall is 70 metres tall and was built in Ming palace style. It is surrounded by a large park and by entry gates, and its architecture is full of classical symbols and inscriptions. This makes it one of the best examples of the neoclassical style of the Chiang era. It cost around 25 million US dollars  ( Logan / Hsu , p. 132). Chiang is a controve

As the South China Morning Post reported today, Qiao Xiaoyang (喬曉陽), chairman of the Law Committee under the National People's Congress, said that discussions about a possible electoral reform in Hong Kong, which could lead to the establishment of a fully elected government, should not begin until the people of Hong Kong agree that those who confront the Beijing government cannot and shall not be allowed to govern the city (the Chinese text of Qiao Xiaoyang's speech can be found on the website of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R. ). Pro-democracy forces within Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), are pushing for a reform of the electoral system before the coming chief executive elections in 2017. According to Qiao Xiaoyang, Beijing would be willing to begin consultations over the election reforms only if two prerequisites were fulfilled: first, the reforms would have to be in line with Hong Kong's Basic La

During the last few months, the announcement by Hong Kong media group mogul Jimmy Lai that he would sell his Taiwan branch had sparked great controversy. Jimmy Lai owns the Next Media Group, to which  newspapers such as Apple Daily belong. Apple Daily and its Taiwanese version are the most read newspapers in their respective areas of circulation. The controversy stemmed from the fact that the consortium of buyers, who had offered to purchase the group for HK$4.16 billion, were headed by Chinatrust Charity Foundation chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒), and Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明). The latter has often been criticized for using his media group for espousing and promoting pro-Beijing views ( note ). The Taiwanese public was worried about the consequences of such a deal, which would have put Taiwan's most popular media in the hands of a consortium led by Tsai Eng-meng, who already owns media such as the China Times, thus creating a big medi

Kowloon Walled City before its demolition in 1994 "The Walled City did have a strange status and a peculiar life of its own: it was not governed by law. As a result, it had become a haven for illegal immigrants, criminals and vice of every kind." Jackie Pullinger When one looks at the pictures of the Kowloon Walled City Park one can hardly imagine what was to be found in this very place less than two decades ago. Until the beginning of the 1990s some 40,000 residents lived within this 6.5-acre (0.026 km2) area, cramped in unhygienic, infested houses, built illegally by all sorts of people who, for whatever reason, chose to take refuge in that "city of darkness", as it was known in those days.  View of Kowloon Walled City Park, built after the demolition of the Walled City  An alley inside the Walled City. There were no proper streets separating the buildings Before being demolished in 1994, Kowloon Walled City w

Flag of British Hong Kong (in use from 1959 to 1997) Hong Kong is a unique place. It was Britain's first and only direct colonial possession in China; and it was the last big British colony, the last remnant of the Empire that ruled a quarter of mankind. Under British administration, Hong Kong rose to become one of the richest, most exciting, and densely populated cities in the world.  Yet it has always been a thoroughly Chinese city, in which East and West met, but didn't merge into one single people, one single civilization. When Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer of the Royal Navy took possession of Hong Kong in the morning of 26 Januray 1841, in a place that is now known as Possession Point, the island of Hong Kong had nothing in common with the vibrant metropolis that we see today. Dismissed by Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston (1784 – 1865) as ‘a barren island with hardly a house upon it’, Hong Kong was nothing more than a remote outpost of the Chinese E

Taipei street scene 1) People Wearing Surgical Masks If you go out wearing a surgical mask in Europe you'll probably see people staring at you in panic, wondering whether you want to spread a mortal disease by mingling with healthy people instead of putting yourself into quarantine.  Don't worry, it's not that in Taiwan millions of people have serious diseases. It's just a habit to wear surgical masks, and no one will think you're weird and no one will look at you if you wear one. I don't know if the habit of wearing masks comes from Japan, or if it is a consequence of the SARS panic from a few years ago, which led East Asian countries to care more about public health in their overcrowded cities. Actually, wearing masks is not a recent phenomenon; I remember reading a book written in the 1930s about Japan, in which the author described a group of Japanese soldiers' wives in occupied Manchuria wearing surgical masks. Definitely, East As

Yesterday I finally arrived in Hong Kong and moved in my new temporary flat, where I will be spending the next two months. Hong Kong is known for having one of the most expensive property markets in the world. As South China Morning Post reported ,  "prices per square foot now exceed HK$10,000 even in drab, unglamorous districts such as Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island, where thousands of 700 square-foot units sell for more than US$1 million apiece, more than a large cottage in Provence, France, a 2,700 square-foot bungalow in Hawaii, or a 1,300 square-foot flat on Manhattan’s Upper West Side." I now have the privilege to experience myself the consequences of the shortage of land and high population density that characterize Hong Kong (and also of recent years' speculation). My new really tiny room (it's the smallest room I've ever lived in) costs 4,000 HKD (around 400 Euros). Hong Kong's lack of space and huge population are the reasons why the c