ART – Highlights from Art Basel Hong Kong 2013: Part 2 of 2

Date: 2013.05.23 | Category: Art & Music, Blog, Photography & Wallpapers | Response: 0

Following on from Part 1 earlier this week, below are some favourites from Hall 1 of Art Basel HK 2013. Click here for more on HK’s Art Week events.

POLITICS – Average Salaries of Those Who Serve Us

Date: 2013.05.23 | Category: Blog, Politics: All Posts | Response: 0

Last week, a taxi driver named Tam Hoi-chi found himself in court after pocketing 50-cents when dropping off a woman in the New Territories. He fought in a pointless 6-month court battle, whilst many other states may have charged the passenger for wasting police time…

The SCMP revealed that “…the passenger did not ask for the 50 cents at the time but later complained to the police.”  If only the police and our legal system pursued corporate criminals with the same vigour.

Long-suffering taxi driver, Tam Hoi-chi, via SCMP

Inspired by the passenger’s behaviour, we present a collection of average salaries for service staff in Hong Kong…

Domestic Maid monthly wage: HK$3,920 (or US$505, UK£331).

Image via asianews.it

Source: The Standard, 2012. Maids are exempt from the minimum wage law.

Cleaner average monthly wage: HK$7,641 (or US$984, UK£646).

ART – Highlights from Art Basel Hong Kong 2013: Part 1 of 2

Date: 2013.05.22 | Category: Art & Music, Blog, Photography & Wallpapers | Response: 1

The Vernissage preview is about to conclude at the Wanchai Exhibition Centre. Below are some favourites from Hall 3 of Art Basel HK 2013. Click here for part II, or click here for more on HK’s Art Week events.

ART – Adrian Wong’s ‘Wun Dun’ Launch (Photos)

Date: 2013.05.22 | Category: Art & Music, Blog | Response: 0

Adrian Wong’s show ‘Wun Dun’ launched last night in the little-known basement room of The Fringe Club (formerly an ice store)…

Open to the public from today until Saturday 25th, the exhibit consists mostly of an animatronic band, DJs, cocktails designed by Wong himself and even a live opera performance. Open 5pm-2am under the Fringe Club (Central MTR exit D1).

Taking inspiration from Hong Kong’s rich and unique history, Adrian Wong will create this latest art bar as a performative, participatory environment. This immersive work of art is inspired by the many different periods of Hong Kong’s history. The

ART – Map & Guide to Chai Wan Mei Open Studios 2013

Date: 2013.05.21 | Category: Art & Music, Blog, Events | Response: 0

If you wish to get away from the hoards and commercial atmosphere of Basel, pay a visit to HK’s grassroots artist’s community in Chai Wan.  Chai Wan Mei Open Studios runs from this Friday, May 24th, till Saturday May 24th. 11am-5pm each day.

EVENTS – Free Talk on ‘Leftover Women’ in China this Thurs

Date: 2013.05.21 | Category: Blog, Events | Response: 0

Dr Sandy To will present a free talk at the History Museum, 7pm this Thursday about the ‘leftover women’ (‘Sheng Nu‘) phenomena in China. Dr To is a Teaching Consultant at the Department of Sociology of HKU. Her PhD, from Cambridge University, explored Chinese professional women’s marriage views and partner choices…

Constraints and Strategies in Chinese Professional Women’s Marriage Partner Choice
The increasing number of highly educated, unmarried women in China over the past few decades has given rise to the sheng nu or ‘‘leftover women’’ phenomenon. This study is the first that investigates the phenomenon from the sheng nus’ point of view, which differs from existing superficial media accounts that portray them as liberated city singles who are not interested in marriage, or women with overly high expectations for marriage partners who are to blame for being ‘leftovers’ in the marriage market. Using the Grounded Theory Method, I found that the majority of Chinese women wanted to get married, but were precluded from doing so by the “patriarchal constraints” of Chinese society. In this talk, I will discuss these constraints that sheng nu face in their quest for marriage in modern Chinese society, and the “partner choice strategies” they adopt.

ART – Full Lowdown & Map for Hong Kong Art Week 2013

Date: 2013.05.20 | Category: Art & Music, Blog, Events | Response: 0

Hong Wrong will be reporting from all of the main art fairs this week. Below is the only fully comprehensive, unbiased summary of the all week’s ‘Off Basel’ events. Scroll down for a map. Click here for previous coverage.

Art Basel: Thursday 23rd, May until Sunday 26th. Noon till 7pm Thurs/Fri/Sat and noon to 5pm on Sun.
Wan Chai Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai. HK$250 or $150 concessions for one day or 4 days is HK$750/$450 via HK Ticketing.

ART HK is re-branded as Basel HK this year. Over 250 galleries from 35 countries will be divided into four areas with free talks throughout the weekend. One of the highlights will be the launch of a book about HK graffiti artist, The King of Kowloon… Intelligence Squared Asia will also host a live debate on the motion, ‘The market is the best judge of art’s quality.’ on Friday, May 24th. Unmissable.

Asia Contemporary Art Show: Thursday 23rd, May until Sunday 26th. 12:30pm – 8:30pm Fri/Sat/Sun.
 J.W. Marriott Hotel, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway. HK$120 (VIP $240). 

PHOTOGRAPHY – Colourful HK: More Amazing Shots by Romain Jacquet-Lagreze

Date: 2013.05.20 | Category: Blog, Photography & Wallpapers | Response: 0

Romain Jacquet-Lagreze is a French graphic artist who has worked in Los Angeles, Tokyo and now Hong Kong. He uses a  Nikon D5000 and is best known for his a series depicting  HK skyscrapers from below entitled ‘Vertical Horizon‘…

BLOG – WTF Licence Plates of the Rich & Shameless #19

Date: 2013.05.19 | Category: WTF Licence Plates | Response: 0

via FB group. Click here for more

POLITICS – Hong Kong NOT World’s Most Racist State After All

Date: 2013.05.19 | Category: Blog, Politics: All Posts, Possibly Racist | Response: 1

Several articles criticising the methodology behind the Washington Post Racism vs. Economic Freedom story have appeared online. The original piece by Max Fisher appeared to show HK to be the most racist state in the world.

Hong Wrong noted the survey was outdated, whilst Reddit-user ‘cf18′ examined the original questionnaire which translates from traditional Chinese as follows…

The original survey

“26. For people with these background, which do you find unacceptable to be your neighbour? [show card]“

a – with criminal record

b – different race

c – heavy drinker

d – emotionally unstable

etc…

Answer: (1) acceptable (2) unacceptable

The source data for the article presents participant’s answers differently. It summarises responses as if participants were presented with ‘tick boxes’ whereby each person checks off each of the various groups of people they would be uncomfortable living next to. The data for HK is presented as a plain: ‘participant mentioned‘ or ‘participant not mentioned‘, as opposed to ‘acceptable‘ or ‘unacceptable‘ for each one. This suggests the ‘mentioned’ numbers actually related to the ‘acceptable’ column, meaning the figures are inverted.  As ‘cf18′ notes…