Hong Kong Watch says there have been 140,000 applications for BNO visas to migrate to the UK. That’s getting on for one in every 50 Hong Kong people. If a roughly similar number are going to Canada, Australia, Taiwan, etc – and, yes, Japan – that would be one in 25, or 4%. Now assume most are in the under-40 age group, and of above-average education levels, and you’re looking at a real demographic event.
The SCMP puts a more patriotic spin on the story: BNO applications down 8%.
Genius former pro-democrat Ronny Tong’s recommendation to counteract the brain drain: golf not housing.
Some weekend reading…
HK Free Press on Hong Kong’s most dangerous stretch of road.
DW looks at Hong Kong’s jury-less trials.
Bitter Winter on the Hong Kong courts’ treatment of a man accused of violence against Falun Gong members.
An explainer on China’s United Front in the UK, by the Conservative Party-linked China Research Group.
Second part of Michael Pettis’s article on China’s real-estate woes.
China Media Project dissects the latest People’s Daily rant about Nancy Pelosi (yes, they’re still going nuts about her).
Drew Pavlou – Australian anti-CCP enfant terrible – is on Substack.
The Guardian on how and why dictatorships make crap decisions…
…[Putin’s] approach to the current Ukraine conflict has clearly been deluded.
…“There are no incentives to tell the truth on the ground to the higher command…”
From Asian Review of Books – a history of tigers in Hong Kong.
And a review of Hong Kong novel Price’s Price by Chris Maden.
How the Qing empire semi-colonized Taiwan – link to overview of a National Palace Museum exhibit.
Have they found Genghis Khan’s grave?
…the numerous skeletons buried on top of the structure were most likely the slaves who built it and who were then massacred to keep the secret of the location.
…The [16] women are presumed to have been wives and concubines of the leader, who were killed to accompany the warlord in the afterlife.
His horses didn’t have it any better.
For map fans (or, more to the point, everyone who isn’t a map fan), the best simple illustration ever of the distortion in Mercator’s projection.
Like Regina, Ronny, as a member of ExCo and the golf club, should not comment on plans that require final approval from the CE in Council.
He has also been recruited by the obviously misnamed NOT FOR PROFIT organizations/property developers to join the push for more international schools.
That these international schools are commercial in nature and enjoy tax free status and peppercorn land grants make then a very attractive real estate investment.
“Recently, the SAR even doubled the quota for local student admissions to international schools, and the lack of such school places is contrary to the purpose of attracting overseas talents.” Why was the quota doubled?
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3102165/hong-kong-officials-relax-cap-local-students-international
Ah yes ‘Hong Kong officials to relax cap on local students at international schools, citing pandemic-related spate of expat departures”
So this quota can be adjusted down at any time.
These schools were after all “originally created to ensure that expatriates and diplomats could get a “western” education for their children while working in far-flung countries”
The international schools, some of which have undergone expansion recently, have been losing pupils at the same rate, if not higher, than local school so bleating that we need more of them is not supported by the data.
The developer lobby is obviously greasing the wheels to accommodate further proposals to rezone sites and chop down trees for zero land premium and tax exempt development.
Mary – What are the Girl Guides building on Jordan Road? It seems that they have a large piece of very valuable real estate and are building something huge.
Strange that no rich expats enjoy sailing or visiting/living in charming Cheung Chau, Peng Chau and South Lantau and might not want to see it destroyed by the ‘Lantau Tomorrow’ monstrosity…
I heartily recommend Chris Maden’s book for some weekend reading. Definitely one for us old Hong Kong timers.
I need a gin and a good lie down after reading that Ronny Tong article.
Hong Kong Population Stats:
https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/web_table.html?id=1B
HK is getting old awfully fast.
Change in population from mid-2020 to mid-2022:
Age 71+ = +10.2%
Age 0-25 = -9.9%
Ages 19-24 (graduating H.S. or college): = -19.8%
One out of every five HK kids getting out of school has left HK in the past two years.
Covid killed the baby-making business.
Children ages 0 & 1 = -22.3%
Re: A Poor Man:
The Girl Guide’s gin palace development on Jordan was approved back in 2009
“The Government today (April 1) announced that the Chief Executive-in-Council had approved the grant of a site for the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association (HKGGA) to develop its new headquarters at the junction of Ferry Street and Jordan Road, to support the association’s growth and development. HKGGA’s existing headquarters site at Gascoigne Road will be surrendered to the Government for other uses.
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200904/01/P200904010206.htm
Construction was delayed because of the high speed rail project and related infrastructure.
There have been some tweaks to the original project to incorporate it into the youth hostel programme.
https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr19-20/english/panels/ha/papers/ha20200414cb2-724-3-e.pdf
As the current premises on Gascoigne are in a low rise belt one can only assume that the development is some kind of ‘the boys got a bigger pad, we gals want one too’.
No doubt as with the scouts BP International, in the news recently for large parties held during Covid restrictions, the outcome will be another commercial operation masquerading as a community facility with zero transparency with regard to how the revenue is disposed of.
Plus ça change!
Mary – Thanks for the information. I suspected the Girl Guides were envious of what the Boy Scouts have on Austin Road and we’re planning to out do them.
According to RTHK News, but no link on website, Ronny has had to ‘defend’ his article as it has triggered a ‘mini-crisis’. Interpretation not “telling the good story’.
Re Girl Guides, these ‘hostels’ built on community zoned lots are cash cows, Scouts BP, YMCA, Wesley Hotel (Methodists), etc. are just a few examples.
Like the vaguely worded NS, the term ‘hostel’ in the lease can be interpreted ………………… as whatever justifies the current usage.
One thing all have in common, and ditto for private hospitals, is that the ‘not for profit’ excess revenue over costs is never accounted for.