Posts Tagged ‘Politics: All Posts’
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POLITICS – Average Salaries of Those Who Serve Us
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).
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POLITICS – Hong Kong NOT World’s Most Racist State After All
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Hong Wrong noted the survey was outdated, whilst Reddit-user ‘cf18′ examined the original questionnaire which translates from traditional Chinese as follows…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…
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BLOG – We’re Number 1! Hong Kong is World’s Most Racist State
Doing the rounds on HK’s social networks today is a survey featured in the Washington Post claiming Hong Kong to be one of the most racist states in the world. 71.8% of Hong Kongers would prefer not to live next to a person of a different race, compared to 71.7% of Bangladeshis - putting us at number 1…
via Washington Post, click to enlarge
Many mainstream media outlets are regurgitating the story without examining the data (with the dreaded Daily Mail labelling HK a ‘developing country‘). The original source is the World Values Survey and the figures for Hong Kong are 8 years old. The latest research was conducted in 2005, when 1252 people were questioned (1000 is the minimum). Bear in mind this represents less than 0.02% of the population.
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POLITICS – Security Chief Tells Women: ‘Reduce Drinking’ to Get Raped Less
Prize fool and HK Security Chief, Lai Tung-Kwok, has advised women to cut down on drinking in order to reduce the city’s soaring rape figures…
“All of these (rape) cases happened between those who know each other. They are either friends, close friends or they just met a few hours ago… Some of these cases also involved the victims being raped after drinking quite a lot of alcohol. So I would ask that young ladies not drink too much.”
The Standard reported on his comments today but failed to call him out on them. Cases of rape have increased 60% to 35 reported incidents in the first quarter of 2013, yet attitudes which blame victims excuse perpetrators and reduce the likelihood of prosecuting rapists.
Image via SCMP
Netizens on Facebook & Reddit shared their thoughts…
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POLITICS – Judges Approve Transexual Marriage as LGBT Event Planned for Weekend
As part of the annual IDAHOT (International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia) rally in HK, activists will meet this weekend at a ‘Love Thy Neighbour‘ event in Jordan. After the conservative ‘Christian March of Hate‘ earlier this year, this event incorporates HK’s religious community, the majority of whom have a better understanding of inclusiveness and the Golden Rule. It is at Kowloon Union Church (opp. Jordan MTR, Exit B) at 2:30pm (speeches will be in Cantonese).
Transsexual Granted the Right to Marry
This gathering comes as heroic activist lawyer Michael Vidler won the right for his anonymous transsexual client to marry. The judgement noted that the idea of marrying to have children had been “diminished” in today’s multi-cultural HK. It has made the news internationally and is hopefully a stepping stone in HK’s eventual recognition of gay marriage…
Vidler, being a total legend, photo via Time Out
Vidler’s equally heroic client, known only as ‘W’, had been granted a government-subsidised sex-change operation yet has twice been denied the right to marry her boyfriend. The judgement, co-written by Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-Li and Permanent Judge Robert Ribeiro, admitted that excluding a transsexual person from the institution of marriage would be unjust.
However, the order to allow her marriage was suspended for a year as its final adoption is “entirely” a matter for LEGCO to decide upon.
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POLITICS – Squalor in Fanling: Slum Dwellings Return to Hong Kong (Photos)
Hong Kong is a wealthy place with a handsome budget surplus – many of us would presume the state takes good care of foreign torture claimants seeking refuge in our city.
However, in reality, many are forced to live in squalid slums in the rural New Territories, subsisting for years on a meagre allowance before being returned to the countries they fled. In Ping Che, Fanling, around 150 Bangladeshi asylum seekers and torture claimants reside in shameful conditions which are an affront to human rights, dignity and social justice…
A HK$12,000 per month slum dwelling in Ping Che, Fanling
Some claimants have not been contacted by Immigration for up to 7 years. Despite its international obligations, HK has only ever recognised a total of three torture claimants out of 12,400 applications since 1992. 99.98% of claims were rejected, with the victims often being sent back to the horrors they thought they’d escaped.
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POLITICS – Memo an Affront to HK’s Autonomy as New HK Ai Wei Wei Piece Revealed
The Apple Daily has published extracts from two confidential memos issued by the Executive Council and Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. The wording is a direct attack on the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ agreement, suggesting that all local policies must take into consideration the thoughts-and-feelings of the mainland government from June 1st…
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POLITICS – Serious Crime Unit Arrests Graffiti Artist as US Criticises HK Human Rights
Sharp Daily has reported on a 46-year-old Hong Konger who has been arrested for writing ‘go to hell, Xi Jinping’ on a stairwell wall in Ma On Shan. Sha Tin police sent officers from the Regional Crime Unit (which deals with serious criminal cases), who ‘monitored’ the ‘crime scene’. The man was caught, ballpoint pen in hand, at 8am on April 18th.
Netizens were in uproar, believing the case to be an instance of political persecution, designed to intimidate citizens. Traditionally, cases involving graffiti are not investigated so thoroughly. Tsang Tsou Choi, the ‘King of Kowloon’s, scribblings were also anti-establishment yet were often celebrated. Tsang created 55,000 outdoor works over 50 years on everything from post boxes to flyovers. After his death in 2007, his work now changes hands for hundreds-of-thousands of dollars at Sotheby’s.
The late, last King of Kowloon
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POLITICS – Giant Dog Shit is Re-dedicated to Politician Chan Kam-Lam
Dreadful pro-Beijing DAB politician Chan Kam-lam reckons that art in HK should be censored, believing that works such as Tiananmen by Ai Wei Wei have no place at the upcoming contemporary art museum, Mobile+.
The SCMP reported that Chan said that “Works that are indecent, vulgar, political and insulting are not works of art”. As a response to this viewpoint – a re-dedication ceremony took place yesterday at the Cultural District, where a giant inflatable pile of dog shit was renamed in his honour. Permanent signage was erected to inform visitors of the new commemoration…
‘Complex Shit’ by Paul McCarthy re-dedicated to Mr Chan.
The pile of shit has a lot in common with Chan Kam-lam – not only does he talk a lot of crap, but both of them are full of hot air and lacking in intellect.
It is not the only dubious accolade Chan received this year… He also happens also to be the laziest lawmaker in LEGCO. In February, it was reported that he had not initiated one single question or tabled a motion since the Legislative Council resumed last October.
Left: Tiananmen (1998) by Ai Wei Wei. Right: Chan Kam-lam looking proper miserable.
By closing time last night, security and volunteers at the site were happy to leave the tribute to Mr Chan in place.
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BLOG – Fake Monks Targeting Westerners on the Rise
For the past decade, increasing numbers of fraudulent monks have been giving hit-and-run blessings to passers-by before bowing, presenting small plastic Buddha statues and demanding cash. Previously, they would seek monetary ‘alms’ by going door-to-door around housing estates, but most local Chinese are now switched-on to the scam…
via TrekEarth.com
Sure, being on the receiving end of an unwelcome sanctification is a refreshing change to risking an unsolicited stabbing (which would probably be the more likely outcome in other ‘world cities’). However, as they refocus on uninformed tourists and expats, these fraudulent holy men are making a mint from westerner’s mystified preconceptions of Buddhism and the east.
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