Brand Hong Kong (taxpayer-funded exponent of etiquette to visiting barbarians) declares that ‘Hong Kong is On’ and launches its new hit video, explaining that…
After a difficult time last year, #HongKong is fully switched-on to the opportunities ahead as a free, open and welcoming society … with a raft of freedoms intact.
(Why does ‘raft’ make me think of ‘sinking ship’? Anyway, do be sure to scroll down the link for a multitude of delightful comments from Hong Kong taxpayers expressing fulsome and warm appreciation of the PR office’s creative efforts.)
With exquisite timing, Hong Kong Immigration turn away the head of Human Rights Watch at the airport. Beijing promptly declares that it makes the decisions on these things. (Here is a quick and incomplete list of other people denied entry.)
Wait! There’s more! One of the SCMP’s once miss-able but recently amusingly irritable columnists suggests that we trash the ‘Asia’s World City’ branding as redundant. His suggested alternative approach would leverage the ‘energetic, chanting crowd’ as a symbol. Which sounds clever. Then we recall that the government is determined to keep the populace ‘energetic and chanting’ by trying to push through the National Anthem (Compulsory Standing-Up in Adoration) Ordinance. So maybe not.
Readers’ Poll
The media need to decide on a pithy description for Luo Huining, the new director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Should it be:
C) ‘a veteran troubleshooter’ with yes really uncanny parallels to Chris Patten
D) ‘a knuckle dragger’
A trouble-shooter in the sense of shooting troublesome protestors?
E) Salon de Pro brand ambassador
I am voting Knuckle Dragger
Freedom of travel.
Just don’t be an employee of a HK based airline that tries to express one of your raft of freedom opinions. It’s ON!
Who the hell in our useless government thought “Hong Kong is ON” wasn’t going to be quickly transformed into “Hong Kong government is ON9” by the local populace?
For the non canto speakers “ON9” or “ON99” means (very rudely) a mouthbreathing knuckle dragger aka “a capable administrator”. In the same way “clueless wanker” does.
You have to wonder whether some freedom-loving civil servants are deliberately undercutting the HK government’s propaganda by making such a blatantly untrue video, then deliberately releasing it just as Kenneth Roth’s exclusion makes a nonsense of its claim that Hong Kong is “free, open and welcoming”. Good for them if so.
Knowing the HK government’s lack of creativity and clued-upness, I’m not surprised really that they came up with such a lame slogan. Some witty alternatives I’ve seen are; Hong Kong is on hold; Hong Kong is on fire; Hong Kong is on bail; Hong Kong is on crack; Hong Kong is Over Now.
@Private Beach ~ nice thought, but I doubt it.
@Hermes: you just gave some protestors an idea of what to spray-paint to complete the sentence the next time they see a “Hong Kong is On” billboard.
A raft of freedoms? That doesn’t sound very stable or long term reliable!