Archive for October, 2011

• ACTIVISM – Occupy Hong Kong

  Date: 2011.10.16 | Category: Politics: Activism, Politics: All Posts | Response: 1

  On Saturday, October 15th 2011, hundreds of protesters occupied Exchange Square in Central. Since then, dozens of activists have been occupying the space beneath Central’s HSBC building.  Here are a few links to local/international coverage:

  • Tom on Reuters (video), on TVB (video) Sina (press), CRI English (radio) and a longer quote on RTHK 3 (radio) after the Exchange Square protest on 15.10.11.
  • Also, a report from the South China Morning Post on the HSBC commune, 23.10.11.
  Article:
  An unpublished piece I wrote about the relevance of #OWS in Hong Kong…

  At a time of deep cuts and austerity measures in Europe and the US, booming Hong Kong is enjoying such a surplus that the government is offering personal US$700 bail-outs to all residents, subsidising electricity bills and allowing families in public housing free rent for 2 months. However, not all is as it seems beneath the Tiger Economy’s glittering skyline.

  Last Saturday, over 300 ‘Occupy Hong Kong’ activists gathered at the city’s Stock Exchange. As the freest economy in the world and the third most favoured tax haven, one would doubt that the thriving ‘Capital of Capitalism’ would have seen anything of the Occupy Wall St movement. However, the turnout exceeded all expectations as demonstrators were keen to raise awareness of the territory’s shameful growing income disparity.

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• HK LIFE – Cheap Flight Links & Tips for Hong Kong

  Date: 2011.10.05 | Category: Living in HK | Response: 1

  Updated: Feb 2013 – this is a non-biassed, no bullshit independent guide…

  Tips for finding cheap flights out of Hong Kong…

  • For traditional airlines, use Google’s Matrix software to find out the base prices of your flight – all agencies use this booking engine and the database is for reference only (you cannot book though it). Results include tax. Once you have identified a flight you wish to buy, search for it on the airline’s own website and reserve a seat – usually the price is the same as quoted on the Matrix. Also check with comparison engines  Zuji, Webjet and Priceline (beware results rarely include tax).

  

  • Some discount low-cost airlines will not be listed on the search engines. Depending on your destination, consider Cebu Pacific, Dragon Air, Hong Kong Airlines, Jetstar (new for 2013), and, in particular, Air Asia.

  

  • Check Cathay Pacific’s Fan Fares page for last-minute off-peak deals, both long and short-haul. Subscribe by email.

  

  • For further savings, look into flying from Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, but be sure to factor in the time/costs of getting there-and-back. Air Asia and Tiger Airways fly out of Macau – factor in the ferry journey, or find a cheap ticket on Groupon. A Chinese visa is required if transiting through the mainland (except, generally, in Beijing and Shanghai).
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