SCMP tries to stirs up youth discontent

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Like a dentist’s drill barely halfway through a major root canal, the South China Morning Post’s post-Occupy/Umbrella ‘Moving Forward’ series grinds on and on. It begs to be skipped, but coming straight after Financial Secretary John Tsang’s comments that HK$12,000-a-month dishwashers threaten our economy, we must take a quick look. Condescending blather from the bumptious and out-of-touch can be entertaining. It might even offer us a tantalizing glimpse of how soon we can expect Umbrella Uprising II.

Sure enough, we are not disappointed. There must be subversive elements within the SCMP who arrange for pro-tycoon/Beijing content so offensive in its bias that it undermines the proprietor’s patriotic and shoe-shining aims. Or it could be that the newspaper’s Party Secretary robotically insists on politically correct messages set at maximum shrillness, unaware that they are self-defeating.

Today’s profound thoughts on how rebellious young people can think less and obey more come from one Poman Lo, daughter of Lo Yuk-sui of the Great Eagle real-estate empire. The interviewer’s approach is not merely uninquiring, not even deferential, but horribly tongue-jammed-up-orifice…

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OK, you think – that’s enough fawning. Time for a real question. But no…

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So her ‘enviable’ (heiress) background contrasts with people whose background is ‘not good’ and thus less able/likely to be successful in business. While this seems stomach-churning, it makes a bit more sense if you define ‘business’ as ‘inherited share in rent-seeking cartel’.

Hong Kong’s real-estate moguls benefit from the collusion and the government-rigged land scarcity that keep property prices high. But they could always squeeze more profit out of development if the labour were cheaper. Poman therefore subscribes to the John Tsang/Edward III theory that keeping less-skilled workers’ wages low is a Good Thing…

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The last question is: “Would you like to give us an example – preferably a bit garbled – of how immensely grasping and out-of-touch people like you are?”

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“Screw people who want affordable homes, and screw people drowning in the flood of Mainland shoppers – just gimme gimme gimme money money.” We can only conclude that the SCMP really wants the kids out on the streets again, quicker than you can say ‘We’ll be back!’

(If you missed it – check out the ‘total returns’ of the companies of which Poman’s daddy is chairman/MD/CEO.)

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17 Responses to SCMP tries to stirs up youth discontent

  1. Stanley Gibbons says:

    Tongue? Orifice?

  2. RSG says:

    “But you know in this TMT [technology, media and telecommunications] space, everything is changing. The technology is changing. Consumer behaviour, technology trends, everything is changing day by day. So we call it ‘flexible focus’. On the one hand you can’t be shifting your focus all the time. On the other hand, you have to be adjusting your strategy, almost on a daily or weekly basis by looking at how your current strategy is, whether it is giving the sort of result that you have in mind.”

    In other words, “I have actually no idea what I’m doing at any given time. I’m not even sure what strategy is and I’ve clearly inflated strategy, focus, and tactics to all mean the same thing. My ‘good background’ apparently didn’t afford me a decent enough education to allow me to even remotely cover up my ineptitude. So instead, here’s some complete blather that sounds like a third tier chamber of commerce event description thrown into a blender. Yours sincerely, Poman Lo – 2015 Outstanding Young Person of the World.”

  3. reductio says:

    I don’t understand all this sarcasm. What we have here is a talented lady who has the aspiration to make a real difference and is actually doing so using her vibrant personality and vision. The naysayers on this site want to ask themselves “Could I match her business acumen via the production of cuddly toys?” No I don’t think so. Let the leaders lead.

    (Can I have my check now Mr Lo? Actually, looking at your business returns, I’ll take cash. Cheers.)

  4. Stephen says:

    Presume Dad’s money afforded Poman an education most of us could only dream of. Now in fairness the girl looks young however she, like John yesterday, seem to have no realization of how their comments resonate on the 99% (in fairness The PCMP readership is unlikely to be 0.99% of the population). In John’s case its his woeful political realization but he’ll be gone in 18 months. But young Poman comes across as a vacuous, little heiress unable to add any critical thought to Hong Kong’s predicament. Now maybe that’s what the Pro-China Morning Post wants but Poman doesn’t have to involve herself.

    A year ago most of the good and great in our society shut their fecking mouths as they did not know how things were going to pan out. Now out they come spouting their privileged drivel not realizing the sores have not healed. Governance is still in the toilet and we all still rejoicing because Hong Kong is still number one in the property charts and boo because dish washers have the audacity to ask for $12K a month.

  5. Big Al says:

    Poman – what a bimbo! Sound’s like she could be Hong Kong’s Paris Hilton but without the searing intellect.

    I really do love webb-site. How else would I be able to share the pain that despite his good background, Poman’s Daddy seems to suck at running his businesses, even with government collusion and cartels operating in his favour. Maybe he was educated at the same place as our Financial Secretary?

    Webb-site also tells me that Poman’s Daddy was a “courtier” at HKU. WTF is that? Would love to see the job description – pretty sure it involves “tongues”, “orifices” and possible bending over as grasping one’s ankles at the same time …

  6. PCC says:

    The linked music, “Poor Little Rich Girl” by Steve Lawrence (where’s Eydie Gorme?), may be the worst song I’ve ever heard. Perfect.

  7. Joe Blow says:

    HK tycoons and their sons have a habit of marrying bimbo beauty queens and starlets. Can you blame their off-spring for being dim, shallow and self-entitled ?

  8. Dr Do me a little says:

    Poman is on the board of Cosmopolitan International, together with her daddy. Two other members of this board are both aged 101.

  9. Cassowary says:

    Considering the leading nature of the questions, I’m surprised that Ms. Lo didn’t come out sounding even more reactionary. She probably thought she was being diplomatic and “balanced”. Among the red wine sipping, British boarding-school attending, evangelical church-going, name-dropping, minor advisory board aspiring classes, this sort of blather counts as bland, uncontroversial platitudes.

    Which is exactly the problem. They have not got the faintest clue.

  10. Big Al says:

    Cosmopolitan International? An excellent example of pleonasm and utter toss!

  11. A Poor Man says:

    I am sure Big Daddy Lo is just like the rest of the tycoon class and keeps all of his worthwhile and income producing assets in his private company, and just uses his publicly listed companies to get financing from the unwashed gambling masses.

  12. LRE says:

    There is far too much of this arse-licking nonsense in Hong Kong — TVB has that fawning, feckless Sean Lee-Davis (a rich chap who is apparently so talent-free he can only get work if his mum is the boss) doing much the same: interviewing the offspring of tycoons on their “secrets” to running a successful business (spoiler alert: their secret is basically making sure you have an enormously rich family).

    As Jeremy Hardy acerbically puts it:

    People say “it’s not their fault because they’re born into privilege and they don’t understand, they’re just disconnected from how ordinary people live.”

    I don’t think that’s the problem: I think they do understand; I think they don’t care.

    After all, it can’t be that hard to figure it out — all you’ve got to do is think of all the stuff you’ve got and then imagine your life without any of that stuff. It can’t be that hard for well-educated, intelligent people.

    So clearly, they just quite like the idea of grinding the noses of the poor into the dirt — 

    “If people haven’t got the get up and go to be born into money and have an offshore trust fund, then you have to incentivise them by having food removed from their house.”

  13. Diane Butler says:

    “There is far too much of this arse-licking nonsense in Hong Kong…”.

    When I was a society queen, many years ago, together with my BFF Crystal Li, we would be in Tatler magazine every month. If you want to know what REAL ass-licking is all about, subscribe asap, puke bag at the ready. And yes, you can see Sean whatshisname’s picture in virtually every issue, together with his PR company-mum.

  14. LRE says:

    @ Diane
    I am all too familiar with the titan of arse-licking ghastliness that is Hong Kong Tatler — as indeed was Mr. Talent-Free, who was Vice-president of Squandering & Long Lunches at Asia Tatler during mummy’s tenure as Director of Editorial, PR & Strategy and Tsarina of photoshopping of herself and the rest of the botox brigade — Wilde’s unspeakables writ large.

    Which is why I particularly abhor this latest flaccid obsequiousness intruding on the already interest-poor awfulness interspersed with pointlessly expensive watch adverts that is TVB Gweilo.

  15. Mary Melville says:

    Credit where it is due, I find Sean to be a bit of a piss taker.

    If you can make a living polishing egos then go for it. Beats getting dermatitis washing dishes 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, plus an hours commute either end, for a miserable $12,000 any day.

  16. Chinese Netizen says:

    Can’t wait to see “Poman” in the next Edisen Chen style photo scandal!

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