Several years ago, Samuel Finer, a distinguished professor of politics at Oxford, wrote a three-volume history of government. He set out to describe every form that has ever been. There was one short chapter on societies that were liberal but not democratic. The only example he could think of was Hong Kong.
When I left Hong Kong 10 years ago, we were in the throes of introducing democracy. We were late in doing so. But what we set out to do was to give the citizens what they had been promised in the agreement on the city’s handover to China, known as the Joint Declaration. It was also a development specifically allowed for in the Basic Law, Beijing’s constitution for Hong Kong.
Alas, this has not happened. Democratic development has been blocked by Beijing. It has also intervened twice in the judicial process in Hong Kong.
P.P.S. OK, this is just me, a grumpy old man writing.
The younger generation of “writers” or “media types” in HK seem to lack the kind of depth 張敏儀 has shown even in this short program. I guess I am calling some of the new HK “writers” or “media types” shallow.
My better half and I sometimes say we bought our lovely house because of the kitchen. Well, there are many other factors too but we certainly like (love) our kitchen.
Now, you may be surprised to hear we never went specifically looking for a house with a great kitchen. In fact, a townhouse we almost bought had a functional kitchen and sits on the line of almost looking outdated, but we weren’t unhappy about the kitchen.
Love the light this window bring into the kitchen. And the Tilt and Turn window is great for letting fresh air in. (The few times I burnt food, this window was wide opened!). Here is a animated demo clip of the tilt & turn window.
Love this dish rack. We would never thought of putting a dish rack in an open space. And they look pretty lining up ready to be used.
A knob needs to have one hole drilled only. Each pull needs two. To us, a pull looks prettier and it is slightly easier to use.
It is absolutely crazy to see Chinese government being this selectively vindictive to U of C while sparing UBC (maybe some kids of senior Chinese politicians went to UBC? (sad smile)). From CTV Calgary (with video),
The University of Calgary has been removed from the Chinese government’s list of accredited universities.
The move comes months after the Dalai Lama received an honourary doctorate from the university.
P.S. As of press time (9am MST), there are 4,208 hits already. For a nobody blogger like me, it is quite amazing! I am glad to see Norman Rockwell breaking the record set by Bill Gates’ Daughter (a chain mail hoax the wasted people untold amount of time).
P.P.S. Update: Found the reason, Google is celebrating Norman Rockwell’s birthday (Feb 3, 1894). And I my Norman Rockwell post happens to be the face of Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech”. I am happy and honoured for the blog entry to be the face Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech”
A friend’s mom passed away suddenly this past Sunday. Auntie, as my better half and I affectionately call her, loved to ballroom dance and was great at dancing until her leg was hurt a few years ago. Auntie was a persona that loved a good party. In fact, she was planning another party a few days before she passed away. Knowing Auntie would have wanted it, the family made the decision to have the upcoming party go on as previously planned on Chinese New Year.
In memory of Auntie, here is a music video “Love is in the Air” with a few dance sequences from the film Strictly Ballroom.
“Wednesday night, 6:30pm, the phone rings: it’s Long Hair. “Can you play guitar for me at the rally tonight? I want to sing Bob Dylan’s song, “The Times they are a’Changing”.
My first reaction: Uh oh. Leung Kwok Hung loves music, loves Bob Dylan and loves to sing. But keeping him in rhythm and in tune is like trying to steer a sailboat through a typhoon.
“I have the lyrics already!” he urges. “Come down to Chater Garden, bring your guitar, okay?”"
I have been trying to track down a YouTube clips of the performance without success until this morning. My friend is humble in talking about her performance. Let me put it this way, the sound system/the camera’s mic magically turns Daisann & Long Hair’s performance into something even Bob Dylan can’t do a better job. (smile)
On a more serious note, I deeply admire their and others’ willingness to standup and fight for Hong Kong.
Posted by kempton 
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