Links: 2008-03-26

1. Jim Cramer is still putting random words in random order
2. Companies that use Gmail abroad break the law because PATRIOT makes it possible for US spooks to spy on Google
3. Photos from rotting Chinese theme-park in Orlando - a series of 200+ rather sad pictures
4. Wing On, Hong Kong’s Great Department Store
5. India's Tata Motor to Buy British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 Billion
6. Ta, Ta, Jaguar
   

The erosion of Rule of Law in Hong Kong

My better half and I think that criminals should be caught, put on trial, and punished according to law. At the same time, we were forced to wonder if the rule of law in Hong Kong had really been eroded to such a terrible extend as demonstrated in the recent case of the murders of three sex workers. Has the presumption of innocent until proven guilty become such a foreign concept in Hong Kong? Due process? What due process?

News here and excerpt from this article here,

[Nadeem] Razaq's lawyer said his client had been beaten up by Macau police and that he was denied access to legal representation until yesterday morning.

The court was also told no interpreter was provided and that Razaq was forced to make a statement in Cantonese.

Just to be clear, Mr. Razaq may well have been guilty as charged but the way how he had been treated by the police (according to him) just seemed wrong.

3 Wonderful RTHK Shows (in Chinese)

10/02/2008 加 風 起 生 活 難

Quote from Episode info - 星 龍 生 長 在 一 個 基 層 家 庭 ， 靠 領 取 綜 援 金 維 持 生 計 ， 近 日 通 貨 膨 脹 ， 物 價 指 數 創 十年 新 高 ； 星 龍 平 時 有 幫 父 母 買 菜 ， 驚 覺 餸 菜 價 格 暴 漲 ， 一 家 除 了 要 節 衣 縮 食 ， 星 龍還 得 收 集 廢 紙 罐 ， 賺 取 一 個 幾 毫 的 零 用 錢 。

星 龍 今 年 讀 中 三 ， 對 學 樂 器有 濃 厚 興 趣 ， 在 緊 絀 日 子 中 ， 星 龍 能 否 繼 續 學 習 ？ 星 龍 學 校 計 劃 辦 廣 西 考 察 團 ， 星龍 父 親 面 對 百 物 騰 貴 ， 仍 死 慳 死 抵 為 他 籌 措 旅 費 ， 那 知 遇 上 家 中 壞 電 腦 ， 星 龍 急 需買 新 電 腦 來 應 付 功 課 ， 星 父 不 知 如 何 是 好 。

星 龍 被 選 為 兒 童 權 利 關 注 會 主 席 ， 並 成 功 約 見 勞 工 及 福 利 局 局 長 張 建 宗 ， 希 望 政 府 關 注 社 會 通 脹 ， 幫 助 貧 窮 人 士 ， 渡 過 通 脹 難 關 。

24/02/2008 網 絡 新 人 類

Quote from Episode info - 疑 似 藝 人 艷 照 事 件 引 起 社 會 各 界 熱 烈 討 論 。 數 百 名 網 民 發 起 遊 行 ， 聲 討 警 方 無 理 拘控 管 有 艷 照 網 民 ， 散 佈 白 色 恐 怖 ； 大 眾 始 發 現 原 來 社 會 對 網 絡 社 群 的 理 解 極 為 膚 淺。 互 聯 網 的 技 術 、 生 態 、 文 化 、 價 值 觀 … 與 社 會 主 流 出 現 一 定 程 度 的 落 差 ， 令 法 例、 政 策 和 執 法 都 未 能 準 確 回 應 這 個 新 媒 體 的 發 展 。

當 人 人 都 是 傳 媒 的 時 候 ， 這 個 社 會 會 變 成 怎 樣 呢 ？ 傳 播 媒 介 這 個 威 力 強 大 的 工 具 ， 又 是 不 是 所 有 網 民 都 有 能 力 把 關 呢 ？

在 此 時 ， 政 府 宣 佈 檢 討 現 有 淫審 條 例 ， 勢 必 加 強 對 網 上 內 容 的 規 管 。 網 民 及 業 界 人 士 指 出 互 聯 網 技 術 發 展 迅 速 ，立 法 規 管 未 必 是 最 有 效 的 方 法 ， 也 未 必 是 最 正 確 的 方 向 。

現 在 ， 就 是 好 好 討 論 的 時 機 。

編 導 ： 陳 志 璇 　 鄺 翠 娟 　 熊 嘉 榮

03/02/2008 香 港 往 何 處 去

Quote from Episode info - 根 據 聯 合 國 的 定 義 ， 城 市 可 持 續 發 展 ， 是 包 括 社 區 的 發 展 , 要 有 歷 史 的 角 度 , 講 求 社 會 公 義 及 城 市 權 利 —- 居 民 有 參 與 城 市 的 規 劃 權 利 和 在 城 市 維 生 的 權 利 .

利 東 街 列 入 灣 仔 地 區 h15 重 建項 目 ,2003 年 市 區 重 建 局 正 式 開 始 進 行 重 建 工 作 , 利 東 街 和 鄰 近 街 道 受 重 建 影 響 的一 群 居 民 成 立 了 H15 重 建 項 目 關 注 組 ， 並 且 向 城 市 規 劃 委 員 會 提 出 了 他 們 的 重 建 方案 . 這 個 方 案 關 注 到 本 土 經 濟 . 社 區 網 絡 和 社 區 文 化 的 保 存 問 題 , 並 且 提 出 了 相 應的 解 決 方 法 , 但 該 方 案 被 駁 回 , 雖 然 方 案 被 城 規 會 否 決 ， 但 h15 關 注 組 幾 年 來 並 無放 棄 , 仍 盡 力 為 街 坊 爭 取 樓 換 樓 ， 舖 換 舖 ， 希 望 保 留 到 社 區 網 絡 及 社 區 特 色 。 兩 個多 月 前 ， 當 關 注 組 盡 最 後 努 力 ， 就 城 規 會 通 過 市 建 局 的 方 案 ， 進 行 修 訂 ， 市 建 局 卻在 城 規 會 未 審 議 前 ， 動 工 清 拆 利 東 街 。 幾 年 來 , 街 坊 跟 從 政 府 的 既 定 程 序 去 爭 取 規劃 權 , 但 街 坊 換 來 的 只 有 無 奈 ! 當 居 住 多 年 的 社 區 面 臨 重 建 ， 街 坊 唯 一 的 選 擇 ， 就是 接 受 賠 償 ， 搬 離 自 己 的 家 園 ， 街 坊 對 社 區 的 歸 屬 感 漸 漸 消 失 。

在 未 來 的 二 十 年 ， 市 建 局 將進 行 二 百 多 項 重 建 項 目 ， 究 竟 市 民 有 沒 有 參 與 的 權 利 ？ 而 市 建 局 、 城 規 會 、 發 展 局在 整 個 城 市 發 展 中 ， 應 扮 演 著 甚 麼 角 色 ?

編 導 ： 鄺 翠 娟

Hong Kong’s Electric Shadows

My friend Daisann has an interesting blog entry about The 32nd Annual Hong Kong International Film Festival.

P.S. Movies is “dihn ying” in Cantonese, which can be translated as “Electric Shadows”.

Banker David Li Resigns From HK Cabinet over Dow Jones Insider Trading case

I suggested in a previous blog entry that Mr. David Li, after paying the SEC millions of dollars to settle an insider trading case, should do the honourable thing and resign from both the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. I am happy to report Mr. Li has finally resigned from the Executive Council of HK,

1. David Li Resigns From Hong Kong Cabinet - WSJ
2. Hong Kong Banker David Li Quits City’s Cabinet After SEC Payout - Bloomberg
3. Tycoon resigns from Hong Kong cabinet after US insider-trading probe - AFP
4. Banker resigns from Hong Kong cabinet over insider trading case - IHT

Now, I hope Mr. Li will do the next honourable thing and resign from the Legislative Council as well.

To encounter Wallace

My economist friend Wallace Chan has launched his Chinese blog “To Encounter Wallace“. I hope you will learn from and enjoy it as much as I do.

David K. P. Li, et al - Paid SEC $24m to settle illegal insider trading charges

Here is an excerpt from a New York Times report (emphasis mine),

A former Dow Jones & Company director [David K. P. Li] and three associates will pay more than $24 million to settle charges that the associates traded illegally on inside knowledge of the News Corporation’s takeover of Dow Jones, federal regulators announced on Tuesday.

David K. P. Li, a powerful financial and civic figure in Hong Kong who sat on the Dow Jones board, passed news of the offer to a friend on a flight last April from Hong Kong to Shanghai, 18 days before the takeover bid became public knowledge, the Securities and Exchange Commission asserted in a civil complaint.

[via WSJ Law Blog]

Mr. Li, "a powerful financial and civic figure in Hong Kong", currently sits on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Executive Council. It seems the honourable and right thing for Mr. Li to do is to resign from both councils. If not, the HK government should face up to this problem and seek remedy to have Mr. Li removed from both Councils.

While technically there was no admission of any wrongdoing by the four involved but their payment of $24 million dollars to the US SEC was not small change even for the rich and powerful. It just seems the optics is really bad and a quick resign may be the best option left for Mr. Li. A protracted fight may make Mr. Li look worst in the eyes of the public.

Democracy Springs from Brushstrokes?

Mr. Szeto Wah (everyone calls him “Wah Suk” in Cantonese, meaning “Uncle Wah“) has been fighting for democracy in Hong Kong and China for over 20 years. Uncle Wah is 77 years old now, and I have to say that I have tears (of support, of sadness …) in my eyes when I watched the following Google video of him writing his Chinese New Year calligraphy (”Fai cheun“, or “Brushstrokes of spring” as my friend translated) on the cold street of Hong Kong to raise funds to fight for democracy in Hong Kong and China.

It takes a lot of determination and stamina to keep fighting day in and day out for over 20 years. These days, I think the likes of Mr. Szeto Wah are really tough to come by anywhere in the world. Visit here to find a timetable of Uncle Wah writing his Fai cheun.

Thanks Daisann for blogging about Uncle Wah and his “Brushstrokes of spring” selling.

Eating in Hong Kong’s wonderful Cha Chaan Teng

My friend Daisann has just published a wonderfully interesting to read article in International Herald Tribune in praise of the cha chaan teng and her favorite Hong Kong beverage, yun yeung (”a hot blend of coffee and black tea, which sounds yucky but tastes like a match made in heaven“). Check it out.

I think we are all in for a treat as this is just the first in Daisann’s series as she will write more in the coming weeks for IHT’s Globespotters.

Hong Kong 2.0 - Preface

To understand Hong Kong in transition a little, take a look of Rebecca MacKinnon’s preface (in English with Chinese translation) to Charles Mok’s new book Hong Kong 2.0 (in Chinese). Here is an exceprt (emphasis mine),

In Hong Kong version 1.0, it was the tycoons, pop stars, celebrity politicians and the media’s favorite “pundits” who had most of the power and influence. In the 1.0 version of any country or territory, getting attention and having an impact was much more difficult without access to substantial investment capital, without contracts from recording or film studios, without access to a printing press or broadcasting channel, without somebody to publish and distribute your books, without journalists who agree to interview you and put your quotes in the newspaper or soundbites on television, and so forth.

Now Hong Kong and all of the world’s modern cities are facing the 2.0 era. Successful transition from 1.0 to 2.0 will be key for maintaining Hong Kong’s competitive edge in the global knowledge economy. In a global knowledge economy, competitiveness increasingly depends on a country or territory’s ability to innovate: innovation not only in terms of business, products and services; but also innovation that creates the kind of working and living environment in which the world’s top knowledge workers – and their families – can live happy and healthy lives.

As a cosmopolitan, multicultural city with one of the world’s most highly educated populations, Hong Kong 2.0 has the potential to be one of the world’s most vibrant and creative places. In Hong Kong 2.0, ideas and innovations in all fields would be able to emerge from the “bottom up” rather than from the “top down;” from the “edges” rather than from the “center” – after all, experience shows that the best business ideas and most exciting cultural innovations in the past few years have tended to come from the most unexpected places, and almost never from a government planner’s desk.

Save RTHK - 撐 香 港 電 台

See Save RTHK Photo Album of 2008-01-27 street forum

Here is the Save RTHK Facebook group description,

挺 公 共 廣 播 、 撐 香 港 電 台 、
爭 言 論 自 由 、 反 另 立 假 貨 ！

We care about speech freedom in Hong Kong.
We support RTHK.
We demand the delinking of RTHK from the government structure and the making of RTHK a genuine public broadcaster.
We oppose the setting up of a government propaganda media organization.

The Save RTHK Facebook group has collected various news articles and video clips, quite nice.

Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui, 1989 - Cystic Fibrosis, now - Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong

While watching the latest RTHK 傑 出 華 人 系 列 on Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui (in Cantonese), I can’t help but look back in an 1989 Footprint Interview of Dr. Tsui (included here for your reading pleasure, click to zoom to large pix to read).

In 1989, I was the editorial director of Footprint (a Chinese student newspaper at U of Toronto), Cliff was assistant director, and Philip was the Editor-in-chief and we together with a group of many volunteers worked on Footprint together. Looking at the slightly yellowed 1989 newsprint certainly brings back some nice memories of the old days. We worked so hard to get the papers out.

Coming back to now, Dr. Tsui is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong and I only realized now his strategically important involvement in the hunt for the SARS coronavirus.

P.S. I forgot whose idea was it, but I am particularly proud of the result that during my term as editorial director, we have an interesting interview in almost every single issue. For example, the newspaper also interviewed Robert Prichard (former UT president and current President and CEO of Torstar) and Prof. Steven N. S. Cheung.

Pig’s Lungs on Heavenly Electric Platform - 豬肺, 天台, 電台

I read two great pieces by my friend Daisann. She wrote in “The Electric Platform” (an excerpt, emphasis mine),

“Yesterday an extraordinary thing happened in Hong Kong. A young magistrate in the Eastern District Court, Douglas Yau Tak Hong, delivered a knockout judgement in favor of the upstart pirate radio station, Citizen’s Radio of Hong Kong. Judge Yau, in dismissing the case against activists Tsang Kin-sheng (”The Bull”), Leung Kwok-hung and several others, ruled that the current system of approving/rejecting applications for a broadcast license in Hong Kong is unconstitutional according to the Basic Law.“

And then she talks about “heaven platform” (天台, that’s rooftop), good friends, and good food in a constantly changing Hong Kong.

Daisann, thanks for being my eyes and ears in all things Hong Kong (especially politics and Long Hair News) as I somehow missed this news even I tried to read all the headlines on Apple Daily (after all, I had paid for a subscription). You know I aspire to write like you and I know I still have a long way to go. But then the journey is what makes the writing fun, right? (big smile)

P.S. As an aside, Prof. Lessig has an insightful blog entry on “Deregulating Spectrum” that provides a good argument on what our current (and future) technologies are capable of delivering with properly defined spectrum usage spectrum policy can allow wide spread use of the spectrum. Great Google video by Prof. Lessig explaining the U.S. situations.