In a pickle for next few days

More relatives of exiled Elmer Yuen’s family members are taken in for questioning – including the woman (or one of the women) he got divorced from way back. 

That last link counts as weekend diversions/trivia, of which some more…

CK Asset puts new apartments at Yau Tong on sale at surprisingly low (by Hong Kong standards) prices. The developer says it…

…”does not have to earn as much as it can” because it has the responsibility to help solve the housing problem.

That’s so nice of them. The Standard’s editorial describes the company as the ‘bad boy’ of the industry, quoting a real estate boss as saying that ‘CK’s move would instantly freeze the secondary sector in Kowloon and the New Territories’. One of those times when the local property trade finds market forces hard to cope with.

Security Secretary Chris Tang delights Mainlanders with his warm and cuddly online manner. That’s not the only thing they find unusual…

…some users have called attention to the different internet freedoms between Hong Kong and the mainland. On June 30, Chief Secretary of Administration Chan’s Xiaohongshu account posted a graphic celebrating the third anniversary of the national security law. “What are the two app icons in the bottom right corner of the graphic?” a user from Henan commented, referring to icons for Chan’s accounts on Instagram and Facebook, sites which are banned in China. “How come we’ve never seen them?” 

Beijing invites the ‘whole Chinese nation’ to join in the struggle against foreign espionage via an app. How can Hong Kong not be included before long?

The Reuters story adds…

Political security is the top priority of national security, and the “core” of political security is the security of China’s political system, Minister of State Security Chen Yixin wrote in an article in a Chinese legal magazine in July.

“The most fundamental is to safeguard the leadership and ruling position of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” Chen said.

A mildly snarky Guardian review of a well-connected Chinese academic’s sanitized account of modern Chinese economic governance.

For fans of weird stats: Covid death rates among Democrats and Republicans in Florida and Ohio.

And of even less relevance…

My latest fermentation project: Indian-style pickled carrot. Unlike cabbage, daikon etc, there’s no need to pre-salt separately – so process is quick.

Shred or julienne carrot. Grind up chili flakes, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, curry leaves (I added some turmeric too) and sea salt (the usual approx 3% of weight formula), and add to carrot with some lemon juice, mix well and pack tightly into a jar with some plastic wrap pressed down on top to keep air out. Leave at room temperature for a few days. Burp and press bubbles out daily.

I was a bit unsure about lemon juice, as the acid could inhibit the lactobacillus growth. I added a teaspoon of goo from a previous batch of kimchi to help it start. Fermented slowly, but after four or five days it’s fine and ready for the fridge. Crunchy and, of course, tasty.