Monthly Archives: April 2015

Inanity of the Week Award goes to the South China Morning Post for the editorial headline ‘Let’s have rational debate, not chaos’. It’s so trite it verges on wacky – too obvious to think up. You might as well say … Continue reading →

Macau’s casinos experienced a hard-to-ignore 39% drop in gross gambling revenues last month, year-on-year. The number of Mainlanders arriving on the Individual Visit Scheme fell over 17%. Gambling mogul Steve Wynn saw his company’s revenues in the city fall 38% … Continue reading →

Earthquakes in Nepal come to a swift halt. Executions in Indonesia are postponed. Riots in Baltimore fizzle out. The planet drops everything to watch Hong Kong in shock and dismay. The Big Lychee’s reputation as a world city lies in … Continue reading →

Exactly on-time, the open-topped bus careened onto Smithfield and sped 50 yards up to the MTR station, as advertised. At the corner where the protesters were gathered, it turned a sharp right and accelerated away towards the steamy sub-tropical greenery … Continue reading →

I leave this city for a few days and all hell breaks loose as people who should know better indulge in blatant stupidity. First, lawmaker Regina Ip feels a need to wade into a subject no-one really wants to think … Continue reading →

…for the next few days. Might Twitter something (see ‘Twitter’ thing on right), subject to availability of wifi and Tweet-worthy occurrences. Meanwhile, saw the April 9, 2015 edition of Rolling Stone. Last time I saw this magazine was several decades … Continue reading →

To most Hong Kong residents, less tourism means relief from crowds and retail market distortions. But to the government and its friends, the recent pattern of declining tourist numbers is a cause for alarm. The response: a hyped-up exciting promotion! … Continue reading →

The Standard puts the bankruptcy of Barry Cheung on the front page. Most other papers do not, because – well, it’s a slightly gloomy human-interest story and little else. As well as occupying various public-service positions like Chairman of the … Continue reading →

The South China Morning Post reports that Hong Kong’s latest whisky auction attracted eager collectors willing to pay over HK$90,000 for a bottle of Japanese (no less) Scotch. And so up-market liquor joins wine, vineyards, racehorses and incarceration of offspring … Continue reading →

Young protestors in Hong Kong get a bit wild and drop the dreaded word ‘independence’ into their slogans. Result: the Chinese government takes action within weeks – curbing unlimited cross-border trips by Mainlanders despite infuriating Shenzhen authorities and public opinion. … Continue reading →