The light that burns the brightest...

I grew up listening to Beyond, and Wong Ka Kui: singer, songwriter, lyricist, messenger of peace, leader, legend. Ka Kui died nearly 15 years ago, yet he is still influential to many people, including me. I never get tired of his songs, his message, his super soulful voice. The man spoke his mind, he loved peace, and he loved music. He was intelligent and ambitious, yet his goals were never about money, and he was always generous with everyone around him. If he were alive, Ka Kui would be 46 years old today.

Below are lyrics that I will never forget. They are powerful lyrics for sure, but the reason I will remember them forever is the performance below. This song and this concert really moved me, and Beyond went from being a band that I liked, to a band that I love.

我已背上一身苦困後悔與唏噓
妳眼裏卻此刻充滿淚
這個世界已不知不覺的空虛
不想你別去



Happy Birthday, Ka Kui. Your legacy will live on forever.

Meh Olympics Side Story: Meh Torch

A newspaper decided that it was really important for the public to know the difference between the authentic, "priceless" Olympic torch, and a fake eBay Olympic torch. It is baffling as to why they felt the need to use half a page to cover this news. Then I realized why after seeing this chart.

They just HAD to emphasize that the torch is priceless (無價). Oooooo, that's right... another reminder of how sacred and important and amazing the 2008 Olympics is going to be.

Also laughable is how they spend half the article explaining that the real torch can be lit, while the fake torch cannot. I don't know why I need to know this. Perhaps they thought that people would be dissuaded from buying the fake torch if they knew they couldn't light up the flame and parade around their neighborhood.

However, what I find to be absolutely the most absurd thing is how China spent tens of millions of yuan (US$X,000,000) over the past two years to create the special fuel that can manage to stay lit on the Himalayas leg of the torch relay. I won't even talk about how much could be done with that money in rural China. How about using that money to invent something good for the nation? Perhaps create the first LED Olympic torch? Show off China's technological prowess after inventing the first electric Olympic torch. It would also show China's newfound care for mother nature. Instead, the torch rides in it's own private plane that spews CO2 like there's no tomorrow.

Fun fact: did you know that this Olympic torch emits 5,500 tons of CO2? Read about it here.

6.4 不忘

As people continue to cry over the Sichuan earthquake, let's not forget those who died in vain 19 years ago today, right smack in the heart of China: Tiananmen Square.



I usually keep quiet about this issue. Usually just post a picture or a news article. However, it seems like more and more people are forgetting about the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Survey says that more and more people (nearly 15%) now think that the Chinese government did the right thing when they deployed the PLA, which resulted in death of thousands of student protesters.

Maybe 19 years is a long time, and people are forgetting the blood, sweat, tears, and pain they saw on television. Perhaps it is some of the younger folk who didn't live through the incident, and pass judgement based on things they were told.

Remembering "June 4th" is no easy feat. You watch as less and less people attend the annual memorial events. It's like trying to promote democracy in China, or like getting China to admit they were wrong. It's like talking to a brick wall.

Nearly 20 years later, exiled former student protesters are still not allowed back in the country. Many former protesters are still in prison. The parents of dead protesters are closely watched, and they are not allowed to go anywhere near the Square to pray for their dead children.

Since China certainly hasn't forgotten about this date, why should we? Don't give China a free pass on this. Don't let people forget.

理智躲到檯底

Rational thought thrown out the window. A high school girl says they should save pandas instead of humans. CNN guy calls the Chinese thugs. Sharon Stone says the earthquake is karma. Not only have these people been condemned on the internet, silly internet folk have asked that these people be killed or hanged or whatnot.

You see this dumbshit happen all the time on the net. People hide behind their computers and do some extreme name-calling. It transfers into reality as well, like when Fenqing threw feces and paint on the house of a Chinese Duke University girl who pushed for peace talks with Tibet. In a country with little freedom of speech, this kind of behavior is not surprising. However, seeing it happen in Hong Kong really disappoints me.

Everyday, the local Hong Kong tabloids have an article interviewing pop stars about Sharon Stone. Every response is how her speech is unforgivable, blah blah blah. When did Sharon Stone's opinion suddenly start carrying weight?! Even if it did, what's the big deal? It is her opinion, and she certainly doesn't deserve to "die", or be "chopped into a million pieces", etc.

CNN host Jack Cafferty implied that Chinese people were "goons and thugs", which caused a typhoon sized stir. Again, I don't see what the big deal is. The author of the piece above said an American journalist she talked to chuckled that The Situation Room show is a "news show" and not a "news report", in response to Cafferty's comments. Goons and thugs was Cafferty's opinion. It doesn't actually mean that everyone in America (or CNN even) thinks that all Chinese are goons and thugs. It is Cafferty's right to have that opinion. Hong Kong people should be smart enough to know how important freedom of speech is, since we currently enjoy this right and hopefully will enjoy it for ever and ever. It's this peer-pressurish, pseudo-patriotic bullshit that's destroying the few things that make us more desirable than the Mainland.

The poor high school girl who thought pandas should be saved over humans may hold a different opinion, but it is her opinion to hold. Instead, she was not only condemned by her peers, her school actually punished her for speaking her mind. I just cannot believe people in Hong Kong have fallen to this level of ignorance. Students should be rewarded for speaking out, whether or not you agree with them. What the school should have done, was ask her to explain to her peers why she thought the pandas were worth saving over the humans. An easy answer would be that pandas are facing extinction, and humans are not. What part of that argument doesn't make sense?

Hiatus/Thoughts

Where in the world? Yes, I've been away. Spent nearly two weeks in the US. Was ablt to swing by the East coast for the first time in four years. Do I miss it? Sure. Parts of it... sometimes.

So I was in the US when the earthquake hit Sichuan. It's strange how when you're not anywhere near the epicenter of tragedy, you can easily remove yourself from it. The only report I really watched was on CNN, when they interviewed an American there by phone. Otherwise, it was pretty difficult for foreign journalists to gain access at the time. It's that age old news barrier in China: when you're there, you can't get foreign news; when you're not there, you can't get any accurate news from China. So it was pretty easy for me to continue my vacation, and not think much about the quake and its victims.

When I returned to Hong Kong, then I realized how crazy people were about the quake. Newspapers printing everything in black, everything was tragedy, tragedy, tragedy, death, destruction, hopelessness. The Hong Kong media just kept feeding people negativity, as if the victims needed everyone to share their grief. Anyone person or media outlet that didn't follow suit were be "condemned" or frowned upon. It's like "Fenqing" behavior: if you don't agree with them, you're the enemy; there's no room for discussion.

Maybe it was my absence during the quake, or maybe I'm just a heartless bastard. I didn't feel sad, and I didn't need psychological help. Sichuan was a mess, and tens of thousands were dead. Yet people around the world die everyday. Some suffering African nations are in even worse situations than the quake survivors. What about Myanmar? Suddenly, people stopped thinking about them.

There are so many examples of how people suffer day in day out (even in China), yet we never think of those people. I know it's wrong to say this, but it almost appears like it's fashionable to feel sad, and cry about Sichuan, and donate money. Yet how often in our daily lives do we think about the impoverished, those struck by tragedy and injustice? Why does it take a major tragedy, and a pushy media to get us to care? I am numb by what goes on in the world today. Sichuan just didn't faze me.

Before the quake, I saw a news show (The Pearl Report) about the Olympics, and Tibet, and China's human rights record, which people were protesting. They interviewed a man living in Beijing named Wang Zhi. Wang owned property, he had a good job, and a family. Regarding the protests against the Olympics, he couldn't understand them. He said that he "doesn't have the luxury to care about human rights". That made me sad. In fact, I was stunned by his comment.

Plenty of tragedy and injustice happens in the world around us. Unfortunately, we can't seemed to be bothered by it until it hits us with sledgehammer strength.

Meh Olympics Side Story: Meh Hong Kong Torch Bearers

The selection process of Hong Kong Olympic torch bearers didn't really push me any further away from the Olympics. Instead, it added to my disappointment in the Hong Kong Olympic Committee, and the Hong Kong government. Yet, perhaps I really shouldn't be so surprised.

It is a direct reflection of how the Hong Kong government operates: behind closed doors. There was speculation that the torch bearers were hand-picked by the Central Government. There was speculation that government officials picked all their buddies: ultra rich folk in Hong Kong. Of course, the 120 person list was kept secret from the public until two days before the event. When it was leaked that 2/3 of the runners were non-athletes and they were mostly from the business sector, the public frowned.

Again, after warning people not to politicize the Olympic torch relay (aimed at protesters), the government goes and makes the event very political. The list was very pro wealthy, and very pro China. Politicians who weren't "China friendly", were kept out of the relay. Though it is arguable that the list can never be perfect, it just seemed that the runners did not represent the Hong Kong people.

The relay came and went. So how could the government have done a better job? I have a couple ideas.

Have a little vote.
The US votes for minor yet somewhat important nationwide events that take place every year: All-Star games. For baseball, the players are picked online. For basketball, the players used to be picked at McDonalds. Make it a casual vote like the NBA All-Star game. Maybe even let McDonald's or 7-11 handle it for some free publicity. If the vote had to be fair, perhaps set up a simple web vote where people key in their HKID card number.

My suggestion is to allow citizens to vote for one or two people from their district to carry the torch. These runners would make up maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the total runners. The rest would be athletes, and the government could still throw in a dozen or so politicians in the mix to please China. The main idea is that everyone stays happy. Even if the list isn't perfect, at least the people had a say in it.

Let the little people run.
Why not make it a competition? Fifty people who do the most community service within one year get to be in the relay. How's that for a good cause. Perhaps reward kids who have done good deeds or have gotten good grades in school. I mean, who can argue with these selections? Who would not want kids, or good citizens to run?

The problem with the list was that it was just way too skewed towards big business. Unfortunately, that is also a reflection of Hong Kong: the people who build their fortune off the blood and sweat of others reap all the benefits in the end.

Blogger's Scheduled Posts

I was secretly hoping for this feature.

Blogger's scheduled posts allows users to prepare their blog posts in advance, and schedule when they will be published. So technically, one could write up a year's worth of posts, and have them automatically published throughout the year. I actually thought of doing this for when I was away on trips to China (since my blog is censored there, and I have no access to it).

I also secretly wanted this function so that my blog would keep being updated even after I'm dead.

(this entry was published using Blogger's scheduled posts)

Political Olympics

A lot of people are saying, "don't politicize the Olympics", and that it should be about sports and nothing more. Well, don't tell that to China. They were the first ones to make the Olympic games political. How?

1. Who transports a torch on a private jet? That's right, the oh-so-precious Olympic torch was flown to Beijing in a private jet.
   


2. Then it was "greeted" by Zhou Yongkang (周永康), the head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. He is the overall 9th ranked government official in the entire Chinese Communist Party. In other words, a real big shot. The last time China sent a high ranking official to greet at the airport was in 1998, when then President Bill Clinton visited China. Clinton's visit was significant, because it was the first time an American President visited China since the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
   


3. After being transported to the Tiananmen Square, the torch was greeted by a lavish ceremony, with general secretary Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), ceremoniously lighting and passing on the torch to hurdler, Liu Xiang (劉翔), as vice-president Xi Jinping (習近平) made a speech. It was done in the same manner as when the Kings of China prayed to the gods in ancient times, the most grand of events.

The whole point was to show the world how China is an economic leader and powerhouse. The torch is a symbol of China's recent success and achievement of the status of top world power. You'd have a hard time convincing me that this torch ceremony was not political.

Meh Olympics Part II

People ask me how can I possibly shun my country's own Olympic games. Well, it's simple. I just casually opened today's newspaper to find these two articles. Naturally, they were completely overshadowed by Olympic related news. It makes me wonder whether a country with such glaring problems deserves to host this event.

Sadly, there's a possibility that the journalists who uncovered these will be jailed or killed from retribution by corrupt local governments. In most foreign countries, they would be hailed as heroes.

Such is China.

Meh Olympics Part I

The Olympic torch has arrived in Hong Kong, yay... not.

I'm finding it extremely difficult to get excited about the Beijing Olympic games. Between the shameless event promotion being done by the local government, the protests, and China's negative track record overshadowing the event, I just can't get bring myself to muster up any interest.

Looking back, I've always had a grim perception of the Olympic games overall. The Olympics itself is really a show. Back when I was in the US, the TV stations would promote the games early on: seeking out the potential medalists and turning them into instant celebrities. There would be interviews, mini documentaries, non-stop repeating footage of past events, silly slogans, plus the sudden flood of endorsements. It gave the public a month long love affair with these select athletes. Once the Olympics ended, they once again faded into obscurity. For me, it felt like a cruel cycle of highs and lows for these athletes, and I could never get comfortable with it. You could see the athletes eating up this short lived stardom, knowing that it may be their one and only chance to make a buck off their athletic careers.

Yet, even back then I still found the games enjoyable. The commercial nature didn't manage to completely overshadow the actual games. Watching athletes succeed and have their dream come true was still a very inspiring event to watch. The most memorable Olympic moment for me (and likely many Hong Kong people), was when Hong Kong won its one and only gold medal (during colonial rule) in 1996 via windsurfer Lee Lai Shan. I still get choked up and teary-eyed just thinking about it (very much like the 2004 World Series).

The Beijing Olympics are just not the same. It's like there's a huge cloud hanging over the upcoming event. Instead of the promotion of athletes, we've got Darfur, Tibet, RWB, human rights atrocities, pollution, and corruption issues popping up left and right. Instead of Olympic athletes getting their 15 minutes of fame, China's controversial issues are getting noticed.

Don't get me wrong. Anyone who's been reading this blog knows that I'd much rather have these issues dominate the front pages of newspapers than the Olympics. It's just hard to feeling happy about it when you're constantly faced with the shameless celebration of China, contrasted with the dark, ambiguous injustices occurring in the background.

Once you go black...

Perhaps in a feeble attempt to stay on top and stay organized, I have long been a faithful PDA user. Since my Palm V died about 3 years ago, I've been trying hard to find a reliable replacement. Part of the plan was to also combine the whole phone/PDA/mobile email into one device. I tried a lot of options. At one point I got so frustrated, I even switched to the Hipster PDA.

Well, the notorious Blackberry devices finally caught my attention, and I bought in to the hype. The results have been eye-opening. The Blackberry email is great, but to be fair, a lot of providers do push email. Blackberry Internet Service is probably better than others because of their sheer size, but that's not what impressed me the most. The latest devices are just superb.

Not only are they reliable, efficient, and user friendly, but they are miles ahead of the competition. I won't go into the details, since any tech head on the net can tell you the positive details of RIM devices. Just comparing to other PDAs, RIM is much more reliable, extremely logical and easy to use, and the battery life actually performs to level stated by the manufacturer. It has no flaws, aside from perhaps being too boring for some people (usually iPhone users).

RIM doesn't try to do too much with their PDAs, and that's exactly what I want.

Self Imposed Handicap

I caught a prison documentary on TV the other night. It isn't news that prisons are a problem: life in prison, managing prisons, managing prisoners, keeping a balance between prisoner's rights and keeping them in check, etc. One thing I never understood is why prisons have weight lifting equipment. Violence is a major issue in prison. So wouldn't it be easier to subdue weaker, out of shape inmates, rather than have to deal with inmates who have been bulking up and getting strong all-day?

It makes no sense. Prison guards are the people who should be working out, not prisoners. In fact, they should feed inmates a near vegetarian diet to keep them from gaining too much weight. At some prisons, all the inmates do is lift weights all day, everyday. Why not give them books to read instead? Make sure they're paperback books, so they won't use them as weights to workout.

Patriotism(?)

Will patriotism go the on/off extreme route, as it did in the US? With China being heavily criticized for pretty much every move it makes (as any superpower should expect): Tibet, Olympics, Chinese netizens are showing their "patriotism".

Click here to see what I'm talking about.

This really reminds me of the "USA" chants at international sporting events, and the obnoxious American flag t-shirts, etc. To me, it's all a bit lame. No, patriotism is not lame, but people "showing off" patriotism is pretty weak. So you add "heart China" before your MSN name... so what? Most people are doing it just to be trendy, or they're doing it in response to attacks against China. But what else have they done to demonstrate patriotism? By the way, I don't consider protesting against a department store, to be patriotic in any way (it's just a waste of time).

A real patriot would do things to help his or her country; for example helping the disadvantaged or impoverished. Helping to fight injustice is a true demonstration of patriotism (though in China, that may land you in prison or even kill you). I just wonder how many of these silly chat room folk actually step away from their computer and make themselves useful (in the name of patriotism).

To express my disappointment towards China, I instead use

iTunes = Slow

I don't know how else to put it. Apple iTunes is excruciatingly slow. My computer isn't anywhere near top of the line. I don't need the latest computer because I don't use heavy duty programs, and I don't play PC games. So why should I upgrade just for a music player. That's what I find to be most inexcusable: iTunes is a music player! Yes, it has other functions like iPod sync, iTunes store, and Quicktime. I would expect delays if all those programs were running all at once, but that is never the case.

Things slow down when I edit song names, organize the songs, or even just scroll up and down. When I say slow, I mean the program just freezes for a full 10 seconds. You can't do anything in iTunes, the CPU usage shoots up to 90-100%, and Windows Task Manager lists the program as "Not Responding".

I find it hard to believe that this type of program is taking up so much processing power. What the hell is it doing?! What could it possibly be doing?! All I want from iTunes is for it to sync to my iPod, and download podcasts when I ask it to. Perhaps it is trying to do too much. This is a flaw in the design. iTunes should be designed to work well on both faster and slower computers. It should give the user the option of making it run "heavy" or "light". If it weren't for my iPod(s), this program would have been tossed long time ago.

Typhoon Neoguri

As Hong Kong suffers through, Neoguri, the first typhoon of the season, I can't help but remember the spicy korean instant noodles I used to love in college. Good times.

租霸

One problem Hong Kong has failed to tackle over the years is the case of deadbeat renters. I remember seeing a mini documentary on how professional deadbeat renters or "租霸"s, take advantage of legal loopholes and terrorize small-time landlords. They refuse to pay rent, refuse to vacate the property, and when they do finally leave, they destroy existing appliances and facilities. Did I mention they don't pay rent?

The law "allows" these people to wreck such havoc because the law is designed to protect renters. They didn't want to see people being put on to the street because they were late with a rent payment.

Are landlords powerless? They can go to court and have a judge force the renter to leave and pay up the owed rental fees. However, this application process can take up to six months. The deadbeat renter often gets off with about one year's worth of free housing. They may pay the first two month's worth of rent, then just stop paying after that. The landlord doesn't realize it's a problem until perhaps a month after that, and pretty soon it gets to be a year before a judge forces the renter to leave. Of course, the deadbeat renter will destroy everything they possibly can in the apartment, including sinks, toilet bowls, air conditioners, and even the walls.

Just a few weeks ago, an incident happened which was similar to the documentary I saw five years ago. The government has done nothing to improve this situation, and these issues never make front page news.

Where are gangsters when you need them?

What non-lethal actions could a landlord possibly do to make the tenant leave on their own?

Call the cops - not only do the police have no power over these disputes, they often don't bother to step in between a landlord and a tenant.

Cut the power - this has not worked, as the renter would simply have the power reconnected under his/her own name.

Secretly let loose cockroaches/mice/foul smelling stuffs into the apartment - this might actually work, but the owner will have to do it strategically. First it must be on a day when no one is home. It can prove to be tricky, as even deadbeat renters hire domestic helpers. Lock picking may be required, as renters like this are overly suspicious and install their own locks. The owner must also let the loose only a couple at a time, as not to cause suspicion.

In the end, new legislation is ultimately required to solve the issue once and for all.

Times Square Promenade Liberated

After 14 years of operation, it has recently been revealed that the promenade outside Times Square (in Hong Kong) is actually public land. Since the promenade first opened in 1994, citizens have been prevented from sitting, squating, eating, drinking, or even loitering in this space, which is evidently the equivalent of a public park. Times Square may not have publicly claimed this land as theirs, but their actions have certainly reflected otherwise.

In the past, this space has been used by private companies as venues for product placement, shows, a cafe, as well as other commercial ventures. It is still a mystery as to how much money changed hands between private companies for the use of this public land. Times Square security guards have also made a special effort to stop people from doing things management considered "unsightly". Sometimes this included simply standing around. (Curiously, no security guard ever stopped people from smoking in this area.)

The good news is that this incident has triggered an investigation by the press, to find and liberate all the "private" spaces that actually belong to the public. The people will finally regain their right to enjoy these gardens, parks, and rest areas. No longer will they be charged for useage, or barred from entering.

I guess in the end we have Times Square management to thank. If they didn't push their security guards to kick people out, there would be little to know uproar, and the land discovery would be a small page 5 headline. What touched me about the result was a caller on a radio show, happily proclaiming that she could finally sit in the promenade and eat lunch in peace.

A Hero Steps Down

Hero of Democracy and one of China's worst enemies, Martin Lee (李柱銘), ends his political career after 23 long years. Lee has been, and is still the face of democracy in Hong Kong.

Thank you, Martin.

Stink Eye of the Tiger

Tiger Woods curses out photographers and threatens to break some ****ing necks. Media frenzy ensues.

The coolest thing about this whole thing is that Tiger did not apologize. What's cool about Tiger is that he takes a stand, and sticks to his guns. Anyone who criticizes Tiger just hasn't been in his shoes. I'm not just talking about tournament play. All the pros play under tournament conditions with their paychecks on the line and where every shot counts.

Tiger plays under those conditions with the addition of literally the entire golf world watching, hundreds of fans and press in tow. The incident took place during perhaps the most tense of conditions in a regular, non-major event: the final day, with Tiger not in the lead. Ninety-nine percent of people would've cracked in that situation.

Furthermore, if you think cursing in public is an anomaly in pro golf, then perhaps you need to watch more pro golf (live of course).

A Case of 排華

What happened in Lhasa? The reason for violence, you ask? We've seen this all before in the Philippines and in Indonesia. "Overseas Chinese" becoming the targets of violence, with the perpetrators being the locals, or natives.

What people often forget, is that Tibet really isn't China. China wants everyone to think Tibet is part of China, when it's actually not. The easiest way to find out is to ask a native Tibetan (no, not a Chinese person living in Tibet) what he/she thinks Tibet is part of. It would be the equivalent of saying Hong Kong was part of Britain from the 1897 to 1997. Hong Kong was under British rule, but it was never ever not part of China.

In the end, what matters most is the perception fo the people. A good many Hong Kongers are pretty attached to Britain. Okay, maybe rooting for the national football team doesn't really count, but I digress. Tibetans do not consider themselves to be Chinese no matter how hard you try to spin it. The matter worsens when people from the Mainland (漢人) come to Tibet, take up land, open up businesses, make a ton of money, and slowly but surely replace the Tibetan culture with that of their own.

A people can only lie down for so long. I don't support violence of any kind, but what did people expect.

HSBC: The Wealthy Man's Bank

Is the zero percent savings interest rate a shock? Not really. However, from a lowly HSBC customer's perspective, the HKD5000 minimum deposit requirement most certainly raises eyebrows. Not only is HSBC giving the lowest of low interest for deposits (0.01%), they're also charging customers HKD50 for having less than HKD5000 in their savings accounts.

There are plenty of people living and working in Hong Kong who don't have $5000 to their name. Is HSBC out of touch, or simply trying to filter out the poor? After the ATM Charge Incident, and the bank's silly marketing campaigns, I just might leave them in the dust pretty soon.

Instead of helping me save money, HSBC spends money on stupid ads like this:

Silence is Golden

What foreigners notice about some Mainland Chinese is how loud they talk on the phone. There is probably an official explanation for this, but here is mine: the louder you talk, the higher your status is in society. Notice when in a meeting with Mainlanders, the highest ranked person will always answer his phone during the meeting, continue to talk without leaving the room, and talk loud. Perhaps a lower ranked person will answer and talk quietly. The lowest ranked person will either not answer or leave the room to answer.

To add insult to injury, the higher ranked personel usually have the loudest, most annoying ringtones. Naturally, they have them on full blast during meetings. I'd be surprised if they even know how to use the vibrate function on their phone.

Outside of the office, pretty much everyone has their voice and phone on super loud mode. My guess is that it stems from the same reason: to show stature. The boss in public just acts as if he's in the office, by talking loud as usual. The subordinates talk loud in public perhaps to release their frustration of not being able to do it in the office, or perhaps to show that they are their own boss once the work day ends.

Anyhow, it is a nuisance and another stain on the international image of China.

Naked News

Haven't heard about Hong Kong's "Edison Sex Photos" incident? Surely you've been trapped under an avalanche while skiing, or have been lost at sea for the past month or so. Why? Because this so called front page news actually made its way to foreign news reports.

There are important issues involved, such as whether the police exercised fairness, and whether this case was given special treatment. Also, Hong Kong people seem to have finally realized the full power of the internet.

Yet... this story and related news is still on the front page of newspapers to this day! It has overshadowed multiple news stories that are without a doubt, of greater importance. Some include: the brutal weather making life extremely difficult (death and destruction) in Southern China, Ching Cheong freed from prison, David Li buys get out of jail free card for HKD6 million (relieves himself of government post yet plans for reelection in a couple months), et cetera.

You may ask how this is possible. How can tabloid level news consistently make it to the front page of major newspapers? Well... asking that question just proves that you simply don't know Hong Kong: where survey shows that most locals first turn to the entertainment news of a newspaper, before reading the A1 front page stuff.

I guess you can't teach culture. In light of HK's sillyness, here is fun video that I agree with:

It's about time...

Happy New Year.

Responsibility

The poor weather is causing all sorts of inconvenience, death, and destruction on the Mainland. Hundreds of people are affected by blizzards hitting the unprepared southern parts of China. The blame is mainly put on mother nature. How can man possibly control the weather? Sounds like a reasonable excuse. However, this only masks the reasons why this natural disaster got out of hand in the first place. It is China afterall, and the Central Government is again to blame. Is blaming the government unreasonable? Let's look at the facts.

January 10th, the Anhui province suffered its first blizzard which caused considerable inconvenince. Chinese officials did not see this as a warning. Fine.

January 21st, a 2nd blizzard hits Middle/Southern China. The heavy snow left 14 regions without power, some without water. Air and land travel (train and highways, not to mention many car accidents) were at a standstill in the affected areas. Somehow, the Central Government took zero action, and corrupt local governments as usual, didn't lift a finger. Excluding the deaths and inconvenience, 800,000 people were stranded at the Guangzhou train station. In need of food and water, they were being gouged by the local stores which tripled their prices for the essentials. People even had to pay to use the toilets. The situation was getting worse and worse. The trains were stuck because no one took the initiative to clear the roads and train tracks.

January 29th, the situation was only getting worse. The Central Government officials finally realised how dire the conditions had become. Premiers Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao visited the train station and the families of the dead. With orders from the Central Government, the PLA was finally mobilized, and the local governments finally took action; action that should have been taken nearly ten days earlier.

The weather was good last year before the CNY holiday, yet travel was still difficult and problematic. How could officials have not seen this coming?

China always wants to be number one. They have a booming economy, they have shot rockets into space, they are holding the most expensive Olympic games in history. However, once again, they have proven to be very low in the rankings when it comes to taking care of their own people.

Generating Energy: Matrix Style

Generating energy from humans used to be science fiction. It has since become science fact. Sweden is heating an office building from the train station below it. The BTUs generated by commuters passing through heats water, which will transform into 15% of an office building's heating energy.

Unless you have some sort of superpower, the only way humans naturally produce energy is throught bodyheat. To be able to harness this energy is brilliant. Next step is to learn how to harness the power of hurricanes and lightning.

Apple's Piece of the Pie

Apple is really trying to shake their global money tree by attempting to take 20-30% of China Mobile's iPhone service charge revenue. It makes you wonder how much their taking from the likes of AT&T by giving them exclusive US rights, thereby giving AT&T free reign to force two year contracts onto unfortunate users. Then again, AT&T was probably forced to push two year contracts in order to recoup the losses suffered from giving away a portion of their revenue to Apple. Apple in turn is forced to take a chunk from mobile service providers to make up for the iPhone's high manufacturing cost.

A vicious cycle where the consumer ends up footing all the cost. At least both distributors are up front about it. It'll be interesting to see how Apple alters its strategy to lock up different international mobile providers. Who will they choose for Hong Kong? Will they even take a shot at HK since unlocked iPhones are so easily accessible?

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So last Tuesday night, I decide to do something I probably haven't done in years. I went to bed at 9:25PM. The plan was to wake up early the next day and go to the gym. Luckily, I fell asleep fairly quickly.

As expected, my body wouldn't let me sleep more than eight hours. I woke up at 5:30 refreshed, but I was shocked to discover that my solid eight hours was rewarded with a sore throat.

Whaddaya know... a good night's sleep yielded me the flu.

Corruption: Hong Kong style

Does corruption have to involve money? Perhaps. Since if money were involved in this cheap move by the government, there would be hell to pay. Instead, this politically motivated "rule change" is the typical Hong Kong style of "over the table" corruption that is often overlooked in the public eye.

Fanny Law, current ICAC Commissioner (think about it, an anti corruption officer involved in corruption-like acts), has announced that she's running for the National People's Congress elections. Law has resigned from her position as ICAC Commissioner. However, she has not officially resigned, as she is still using up her vacation days from that position. Therefore, it is completely inappropriate for her to run for the NPC. A government official still in office running for an election is a definite no-no, as it undermines fairness and equality. It undermines the fact that government officials have to be fair and non-partisan. Oh, and by the way,civil servants are banned from running for the NPC, rendering Law ineligible to run.

So what did the government do? They simply changed the rules at the last minute. Three days before the nominations began, civil servants can now submit for NPC nomination. There was no discussion, no consultation; the government just changed the rules right under our noses.

The silly thing is that all Law had to do was forfeit her vacation time and leave the position early. That is what civil servants running for office have done in the past. As to why she didn't choose this method is mind-boggling. Then again, Law's track records as Secretary for Education and Manpower and ICAC Commissioner have been pretty piss poor. Perhaps she's just not very bright.

(This all reminds me of how Jiang Zemin changed the retirement age for government officials to get rid of his rivals and promote his allies. Is Hong Kong becoming this way?)

Happy Belated New Year

It is one week after the new year. This last week felt like a month... and we only worked three days!

The days away from the office were nice, but no less stressful. I can recall churning out a couple extra work emails in the wee hours of Christmas Eve, as a friend next to me belted out some Eason Chan lyrics in a karaoke room no less.

For moi, last year was long and arduous mentally. I guess some growing up was in order.

This morning, the christmas tree in my house will be taken down. So soon, it seems. Perhaps it is a sign for me to move on, and not dwell on the past.

A Flick I Won't Be Watching

"Look at the cast: Cage and Voight and Helen Mirren and Ed Harris and Diane Kruger and Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha and Bruce Greenwood. You could start with a cast like that and make one of the greatest movies of all time, which is not what happened here." --Roger Ebert, in his review of National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Yeah, in case you were wondering, I'm not seeing this movie. The first National Treasure movie came out shortly after DaVinci Code, but I still managed to catch it on the plane. It turned out to be crap anyways. From the trailer, this sequel seems as preposterous and boring as the first one; plus, Nicolas Cage is in it.

I'll pass.

The War on Sales

I mentioned a while ago how I used English to win in the meaningless war on sales. Well, I'm still winning, but I found that once in a while there's a brave soul who tries to fight the power by attempting to sell me something in English. Usually when these sales people discover I "don't speak Chinese", they pretend to have called the wrong number (kind of funny actually. Why would someone bother to ask if I spoke Chinese if they called the wrong number?).

One time, upon discovering I was a "foreigner", this guy responded by reading his sales pitch from a written statement. I decided to listen on and see how bad he butchers it. Normally, if you say you're not interested, these guys might make an attempt to convince you otherwise. This time, the guy read his pitch, and just politely hung up when I said no. It was like pressing the easy button.

Unfortunately, there is also collateral damage in the War on Sales. Sometimes I'll get a call from my bank, or my mobile provider, or a restaurant I made a reservation at. Though these calls are legitimate, they don't immediately identify themselves, so I naturally give them the "no Chinese" treatment. When I find out who they really are, its too late to turn back. I can't say "oh ha ha just kidding I actually do speak Chinese". So we both have to suck it up. The service rep has to use often broken English to try and convey the message to me, while I have to focus really hard to understand what he/she's trying to say. Collateral damage.

The Year in Review Meme

Includes invisible commentary. Highlight the commentary after the sentence to read it. This entry is John's idea.

January
January First Two Thousand and Seven marks the day Hong Kong banned smoking in most indoor public places. (Finally!)

February
My first time on the slopes was a blast. (This was to be the first of many vacations I took this year.)
March
Oscars 2007 came and went. (...and all I cared about was Al Gore's film about the environment.)
April
Doesn't it seem like so many of China's internationally recognized people are in prison? (The Chinese are punished for exposing their nation's flaws.)
May
Sports journalist Gary Thorne alleges that Curt Schilling's bloody socks in 2004 during game 6 of the ALCS and game 2 of the World Series were fake, meaning the blood was painted on. (...and Thorne does this for a living, how?)
June
6.4 不忘

July
Back from a relaxing weekend in Bangkok, followed by a hectic yet enjoyable week in Singapore. (Another vacation... unbelievable.)

August
First it was Randy Moss, then Kevin Garnett, and now Eric Gagne. (Yeah, Gagne turned out to be a really good acquisition, not.)
September
Just got back from a relaxing trip to Hokkaido. (I'm a bum... a bum that goes on vacation.)
October
I think its really dumb how Chinese people are superstitious. (How has superstition contributed to society? Ugly buildings? Unnecessary spending?)
November
It seems strange calling the Patriots underdogs in the match-up against the Colts just a couple hours ago. (Pats still going strong. I won't jinx them by announcing the record.)
December
I was shocked to discover last weekend that the "Ramen Street" in Causeway Bay has turned into an electronic shopping mall. (Even more shocking as to how this sentence has become the centerpiece for December.)

Alex Roy: Hero or Menace

Alex Roy just last month announced that he broke the record for travelling across the United States. He achieved this by using every bit of modern technology available to man (see video). This includes having a friend fly a plane above him to scout ahead for speed traps. Ambitious? Perhaps insane is a better word to describe this young, racing enthusiast. Enthusiast is perhaps the perfect word to describe Roy, as he is well known for participating in semi-illegal rallies such as the Gumball 3000. Roy is also known for his hilarious antics during the rallies. He is easily recognizable from his car (mostly the BMW M5), which he dresses with labels and paints and sirens identical to the elite traffic police cruiser of a certain country (different every time). He even dresses in full uniforms of the corresponding country's law enforcement to complete the look. Enthusiast indeed.

HSBC: Armchair Quarterback

The World's Bank? Maybe. The People's Bank? Certainly not. By attempting to raise the minimum ATM withdrawal limit in Hong Kong to HKD300 (almost USD40) last week, HSBC demonstrated that it is utterly oblivious to the lives of Hong Kong people. What they didn't understand is how much $300 is actually worth to the lower class of society. Furthermore, they didn't understand the value of $300 to the middle class.

For Hong Kong's low income workers, $300 could be 10% of their pay. Just think about it in that sense. If you made USD50,000 per year, would it be reasonable to ask you to withdraw USD400 each time at the ATM? You'd have to crumple those twenty $20s into a gangster roll and hope that you don't get mugged. As for the middle class folk, its not that withdrawing 300 dollars would inconvenience them, but they still value that amount as too much.

Despite all the information HSBC had (ATM records, bank account statements, credit card statements), they were unable to foresee the public strongly vetoing this move almost immediately. Why? Because it was a business decision to cut cost via shortening ATM lines (a higher minimum withdrawal = less withdrawing = shorter lines). HSBC probably never for one minute considered the thoughts, feelings, and habits of their most important asset: their customers.

Childish China

(Because of fools like Tsang, no one can take China seriously)

Indeed, the world has been forced to recognize and respect China as a superpower. Yet, despite all of China's success, why is she still looked down upon? Why can't the world take China seriously?

When China gets mad, it reverts to the behavior of a 13 year old. No kidding. Look what's happened in just the last two months. China turns away USS Kitty Hawk at the last minute for no apparent reason. Wu Yi storms off after Peter Mandelson criticized shoddy Chinese products. Tsang Tak-sing spouts rude nonsense during a legislative meeting because he's pissed off at anything non-China.

Why can't China hold her temper?

With the Kitty Hawk, it was rumored to be in retaliation for Bush meeting with and honoring the Dalai Lama. Why this pisses off China is a whole other story (I personally think China has bigger fish to fry than the friendliest, most famous Buddhist monk in the world, but oh well). However, punishing the US by not allowing the Kitty Hawk to dock at the last minute was an extremely childish behavior. This was not like a quarrelling teenage couple skipping out on a movie at the last minute. This was a nation rejecting the aircraft carrier of another nation after meticulous arrangements had been previously made. China decided to derail months of planning ahead because they were pissed at the US. The actions of a high schooler at best.

Wu had a spat with Mandelson because he criticized China's food safety issues. At the time, this seemed like quite a valid comment. Yet, whether it made sense or not, Wu shouldn't have pouted like a child. Being a top Chinese state official, she should have kept her cool. Instead, she acted like a whiny teenager.

After Anson Chan was elected to the Legislative Council, Secretary for Home Affairs (and extreme left winger) Tsang, decided to insult her during a Legislative meeting by calling her "suddenly democratic" and "suddenly caring about the people" in a snide and sarcastic tone. I don't know whether Tsang was bitter about Chan getting elected, or whether he was bitter about his imprisonment in 1967. Either way, his name calling during a Legislative meeting from someone of his stature was completely inappropriate. It caused an uproar among the Hong Kong people to such a degree that the media is still talking about it one week later.

I guess my questions are, what happened to China's composure? What's with all this immaturity? How does China expected the world to take them seriously when they treat international level issues with a child's demeanor? Someone needs to send out a memo telling the Chinese government to please grow up.

All Good Things...

I was shocked to discover last weekend that the "Ramen Street" in Causeway Bay has turned into an electronic shopping mall. The "street" is actually an indoor food court of some sorts. It had five or six restaurants. Most served ramen, and they all served Japanese food. Each shop had its own style of ramen. The most popular being the "pork toro ramen" shop.

Its disappointing how many restaurants that I feel comfortable going to are closing one by one. It is my own undoing, as I'm not very adventurous when dining alone. I'll find places I like, and simply won't go anywhere else... most of the time. Which is also why I don't look forward to people asking me where to eat. The answer for me is simple: I'll always suggest the places I like and always go to. However, that answer is unlikely to satisfy the person asking. "***** again?", is usually the response.

So all I'm left with are memories of some above average ramen and a now useless 20% off discount card, which I often forgot to use.

A Sad Day for Hong Kong

It is sad how pro-China politicians skewed Martin Lee's comments in hope of defaming him and the Democratic Party. What's even sadder is that they did it by purposely mistranslating his Wall Street Journal article. I won't bother listing the details at this moment. The "wrong" and real translations are all over the net.

Everyone thinks that Hong Kong's Democratic Party is a group full of radicals and activists, who just argue and don't reason. The reason for this misconception is all due to Liberal Party (don't let the word "Liberal" fool you) and DAB (don't let the word "Democratic" fool you either) propaganda. These pro-China lapdogs will try to smear the Democrats and democracy any chance they get.

The worst atrocity is them claiming Lee committed an act of treason. They also mistranslated his words to make it sound like he was saying "everyone should boycott the Olympics". By reading his original WSJ article, you'll discover that is far from the truth.

New Gym Character: Smelly Guy (you knew this was coming)

(On a lighter note...)

Yup, that's right folks. Every gym has to have its "smelly guy". There's always a guy in the gym whom you have to wipe down the machine after he uses it. My gym is no different. The smelly guy here is a pretty tall Asian dude who wears glasses. He looks kind of dopey. I don't know much about him. I don't even know what machines he uses. The reason is that when he heads toward my general direction, I sprint for the basketball court to shoot some hoops instead. I put my whole workout on hold because of this guy. That's some awesome power. With great power comes great responsibility... this guy needs some deodorant (or does he?).

What could be the cause for his stench? Let's take a look:

• Shower? I don't think this is the issue. I've seen him in the locker room, and I know he takes a shower. Unfortunately, he smells just as bad after the shower.


• Deodorant? Don't think this is the reason either. The guy uses a pretty strong smelling chrysanthemum deodorant (don't ask), but it doesn't work. It just doesn't.


• Laundry? I think this is a possibility. If you don't wash your clothes, or you let bacteria set in, its hard to get them to smell so fresh and so clean again.

I guess some people just naturally smell bad. But wouldn't he want to fix this?

Where are the Mythbusters when you need them.

In the Name of Progress...

We would all like to imagine that in this day and age, people would progress the proper way. Through science, technology, and experience, we'd like to say that we're doing the best we can for our people and our world. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In the name of progress (or shall I say in the name of the RMB), companies are transforming villages in order to build factories. Clearing out the vegetation is bad enough, but these factories kick it up a notch and carelessly dump their untreated waste. This has created these "cancer villages" that are spreading across China. The villagers have no choice but to breathe unclean air and drink toxic water. They complain to authorities, but they are given no response.

A woman at the village decided to write her own diary about the conditions in the village. This diary has slowly evolved into a "deathnote". It records all the people who have died in the village of various cancers. Their illnesses and deaths are a direct result from the surrounding pollution. Despite this obvious correlation, the corrupt government is doing nothing.

People are suffering right before our eyes, and there is nothing being done. In the name of progress, they say.

Thoughts on why "Chinese People Suck Again"

I was browsing through the blogger tools and came across one of my posts from April 2006 that had a whopping 11 comments. Turns out some people commented a month after I posted it, and another person commented just last month. Quite a surprise. I need to read those notification emails more carefully!

Here is the entry.

The reason it received these late comments is the touchy and direct title, "Chinese People Suck Again". I found it interesting because it seemed like the readers thought that I was not Chinese (despite me saying "my people" in the last line of the original post). Some boneheaded reader proclaimed that I was racist. That's quite intriguing to me because for the first time I'm pondering whether its possible for me to be racist against my own people. It was interesting to see people dismiss this as being a racist post, and assume that I was not Chinese. They then felt compelled to "educate" me as if I were an ignorant foreigner, butchering the Chinese way of life. Anyways, I'm going to respond to those comments here:



LOL, this guy's a winner. However, I must thank him/her for introducing the notion that I may be prejudice towards my own people.



I don't understand. Show some respect for whom? The family that bought a ton of souvenirs and attempted to take over my storage space? The two girls who violated airline rules to be the first to exit the plane? The people dumb enough to not be able to form a line? "These people live like that". Well, I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and let's just say that I have a little higher expectations for my fellow HKers. I certainly don't believe that this type of behavior is our "way of live". I was "bragging"? How so? Also, I fail to understand the analogy of people laughing at someone who walked barefoot. If you want my respect, please earn it.

I'm glad this guy agrees with me "portionally"(sic), but pulling out the "atrocities" card is a bit much. It has absolutely (and I don't use this word often) nothing to do with my post, except for the fact that there were both Japanese people and Chinese people involved (like WWII did). If this guy's excuse for Chinese impoliteness is WWII, then I have nothing else to say. There is no relation, and it makes no sense. We all know that Japanese people aren't perfect, but for the most part, they respect people, they respect cleanliness, and they respect their land. A majority of Chinese people have trouble doing that.

Finally, someone with a more civilized comment. He or she is Chinese, and that's fine and dandy and so am I. I'm going to assume this person was trying to say that because Hong Kong is overcrowded, so we should excuse them for pushing and shoving and not respecting the space of one another. As a Chinese person, I cannot accept that, nor can I respect people for acting this way. I also think that our friend, modo, has the wrong idea. I'm not asking people to say please or thank you or make small talk. I'm asking them to simply show some respect. If you want that job, you run instead of walk, but you don't break the rules. If you don't want to "lose a meal", wake up earlier, but don't cut in line.

I don't buy the idea that China is an "impolite country'. China is perhaps the oldest civilization in the world. I don't accept that they are so behind other developed nations in terms of politeness. China has such a rich cultural history, it is inconceivable that they missed the session on "how to be polite".

Here's the thing: being truly polite and respectful comes from the heart. Right now, most Chinese people are polite only when money is involved. If Chinese people want the world (or even their own people) to respect them, they have to adopt a positive mentality, not just play the role.

Spineless or Clueless?

All I can say is that I'm truly disappointed in US tech firms, for not knowing when to take a stand. What do these people believe in? Is it really all about the dollar sign? If they somehow have some hidden agenda of taking over China's internet, then becoming ethical when their roots are established, that would be great. Perhaps that is just a distant dream... my hope of an alternate reality.

A bit at a loss. Will there ever be free speech in the Mainland? Will Hong Kong have free speech in the future? I have no answer for that. I don't even dare speculate. The answer is too frightening. When you have some of the biggest American corporations bending over backwards for the Chinese government, the future certainly looks grim.

Censorship, yes, at this moment it is somewhat expected in China. I'm uncomfortable with the tech firms promoting censorship, but it is a price they pay for breaking into the market. When it comes to protecting the identity of users and the preventing innocent (perhaps not so innocent in a totalitarian government) people from going to jail, I expected more from the Googles and the Yahoos and the Ciscos. I expected them to grow a spine and put their foot down. I expected Jerry Yang to apologize to the Chinese government (for being unable to reveal private user information), rather than apologize to the mother of Shi Tao (for basically putting her son in jail).

Go Team Go!

After a season of ups and downs, some disappointing acquisitions, awesome rookies, and a combination of clutch performances, the Sox have plowed through the Colorado Rockies to win another World Series title. The truth is, the Sox were dominant since April. Despite the roller coaster season, they never relented the lead of their division. Despite all the talk of failure, and the "see you in 2090" idiot talk, the Sox dominated and dominated and dominated and dominated. They won their division, won the ALDS, the ALCS, then the World Series.

After years of disappointment, this team charged through the season and never took their foot off the pedal. People ask how it feels to have your beloved baseball team win their second series in 4 years. Here's the difference:

2004
This win was surreal. You almost didn't believe it was happening. It was a dream come true. It was a life changing experience. I get the chills, goosebumps, and start tearing up every time I see the Dave Roberts steal, or one of Big Papi's walk-offs, or Foulke tossing the ball to Mientkiewicz (I can't believe I spelled his name right) for the final out. There were so many magical moments.

Sox fans had to go to hell and come back for this championship (and that's after coming back from 86 years of purgatory). People outside of New England simply didn't understand what its like for your team to come so close to the holy grail so many times, only to lose it at the final moment. They didn't know what it was like to have a rich arch rival with one foot on your shoulder as you tried to climb that arduous mountain. For the 2004 team to break through, not only beating the Yankees in the ALCS, but coming back from being down 0-3, then steamrolling through eight games straight to win it all. Hell and back, my friend, hell and back.

After 86 years of heartbreak, the 2004 team finally found all the pieces and glued them back together. The final piece being the final out that sealed the deal. Sounds great, yes. Was it all peachy? Definitely not. Every pitch was a nail biter. Every out (in some instances every strike) was a minor victory. Sox fans really had to grind through the Series and ALCS. I was nervous until the last out, and though overjoyed, the journey to victory took a toll on my mental energy. I'm sure the rest of Red Sox Nation went through the same if not more.

2007
Of course it was different this time around. We started the season a brand new team. We had a whole bunch of expensive starters, and some promising new young stars. Soon enough, we found out who was good and who wasn't, but we were still dominant. Schilling was still good, Beckett had a new game plan and had reached Ace status, Paps resumed his solid closer role, a bunch of guys (Pedroia, Okajia, Lowell) ended up being big surprises despite some initial mishaps. We were winners. We were winners who had won before.

Though he said it at the end of the season, Manny put it best when he said that losing isn't the end of the world. I think that was the feeling of Red Sox fans. Though losses were still disappointing, not winning the Series wasn't the end of the world. Losing to the Yanks sucked, but it really didn't mean much in the whole scheme of things. I know I cringed as our lead over the Yanks diminished in August, but I was still very relaxed and upbeat. I had no doubt that we would make the playoffs.

Would we win the WS? I've seen a lot of good teams crumble before. There are no guarantees, but this time it wasn't do or die as Bill Simmons put it. I admit that I cried over our ALCS loss in 03, but this time it wouldn't matter. Not winning it all this year would just be a speed bump instead of a brick wall. Why? The main reason was that we had 04. Other than that, 08 looks great! In 2008 we will still have plenty of young talent and seasoned veterans. Pitching, hitting, bullpen, coaching, speed, you name it.

This year's series was just as exciting as 04, but there's less of an aftereffect. I'm still happily clicking MLB.com for WS Champion gear, still checking Boston.com for new articles about the series, but as said, the win wasn't (and no win ever will be) as huge as 2004.

Right now I feel content. Seeing that 2007 World Series banner next to the 2004 one makes me feel prouder and more giddy than ever. The Red Sox are on a roll, and I can't wait for next season to start.

Imbecilic Revolution

Wynn calls Mao's rule 'imbecilic'

By DANIEL
SORID

LAS VEGAS

Billionaire casino developer Steve Wynn criticized former Chinese leader Mao Zedong on Monday, telling more than a thousand investment advisers at a conference that the communist revolutionary's "imbecilic" Cultural Revolution "almost ruined" the country.

The chief executive of Wynn Resorts Ltd., which operates a casino-resort in the Chinese special administrative region of Macau, spoke during a question-and-answer session at the Charles Schwab IMPACT 2007 conference. Most questions were about the political and business climate in China.

"That imbecile Mao Zedong almost ruined that country," Wynn said.

Later, Wynn clarified his remarks, saying: "I said the Cultural Revolution almost ruined the country. It was imbecilic. I didn't call him an imbecile, I said it was imbecilic."

"I said that Deng Xiaoping was the father of modern China, and then I went into a long dissertation about how well I thought they managed their affairs."

In most of his speech, Wynn praised the Chinese government for the country's economic growth and its efficient bureaucracy. He spoke some Mandarin, a language he began learning after attempting to do business in the country several years ago.

While Wynn's view of the violent 1966-76 Cultural Revolution is widely held, he acknowledged his comments could ruffle some Communist Party members in China.

Wynn said he wasn't aware reporters were in the audience, but that wouldn't have altered his presentation.

"The hard line Communists might not like it, but the facts are pretty clear the Cultural Revolution was pretty damaging to the country," he said afterward. "They haven't turned their backs on communism, but the more repressive measures of the Cultural Revolution have been abandoned, and I think everybody in China thinks that was the right thing to do."

In 2002, Wynn won one of the coveted licenses to develop casinos in the former monopoly gambling enclave, and he opened the $1.1 billion Wynn Macau in September 2006. The company later sold a sub-license for $900 million.

The company plans to add an upscale 400-room Wynn Diamond Suites, costing as much as $600 million, in 2010. It also said in August it was awaiting approval from the government of Macau to develop a separate 52-acre site.

During his talk, Wynn also waded into other controversial topics, saying that if the Dalai Lama were to visit China it might cause some unintended disorder, and he named terrorism as the biggest threat to global business.

"The biggest threat to commerce and every other institution in this world is the insanity of terrorism and fundamental jihadist Muslim lunacy," he said.

Wynn also addressed China's relations with Taiwan, which broke away from the mainland after a civil war in 1949.

"Taiwan is like Maine, or Washington. It was theirs (China's). And it got taken away. It's like Hawaii. And they want it back. And most of the people in Taiwan want to go back."

Taiwan's elected president, Chen Shui-bian, has said he is against reunification with the mainland and has claimed China aims to take the island by force by 2015. China
considers Taiwan to be a part of its territory.

Wynn said his comments about Taiwan were prompted by his conversations with businesspeople who operate in both jurisdictions.

"Taiwan will join China ... on some terms yet to be defined," he told the conference. "There's an amateur opinion from a casino operator."

When he's not running casinos, Steve Wynn isn't afraid to speak his mind. Agree with him or not, its a good thing. Rich, powerful people are often too afraid to speak their minds, fearing they might step on the wrong toes. Its good to see Wynn isn't afraid of doing that.

They're Back!

It seems strange calling the Patriots underdogs in the match-up against the Colts just a couple hours ago. The Pats, who in years past had dominated the Colts, had lost three straight games to them, including most recently, the AFC title game. A tough loss. With both teams undefeated, the Pats came out winners: scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Defense also stepped up and stopped Peyton Manning in his tracks in the Fourth.

I didn't stay up to watch the game, but maybe I should have. Last night I didn't sleep well at all. I had dreamt about the Pats winning four times. I dreamt about discovering the Pats' win in four different scenarios: 1) opening up ESPN.com, 2) friends excitedly SMSing me, 3) hearing the result on the radio on the way to work, and 4) having a colleague reveal the result in person. The last two scenarios are pretty unrealistic as the Hong Kong media would not pick up the results that quickly, and none of my colleagues have any idea what American football is. Facts aside, it just goes to show how much my mind was on this game.

I had a strong feeling the Pats would win, but football is the type of sport where you just never know. All the pieces have to come together. Every player has to do their job in order for the team to succeed. Football is the ultimate individual team sport. You must do your job as an individual in order for the team to succeed. Your job may seem insignificant or that it doesn't affect your teammates directly, but it does. In fact, the effect is immense. Football is also a team sport where every player on the field is always doing something. If you're not throwing, you're moving, blocking, trying to break free, get through, or cover your defender. If you're able to do exceptionally well, and if you can elude or overpower your opponent, you may be able to help the team gain some yardage.

A lot of people don't like football. That's fine. I understand how it may not appeal to everyone. However, from my experience, the people who say its boring usually don't understand the game. If you don't know what's going on, it just looks like a whole bunch of guys running towards each other. Its the same with baseball. There's so much more going on than just the pitch and the hit. You have to know the game and pay attention in order for it to be interesting.