Author Archives: biglychee

Inspired perhaps by chefs who lure suckers to special feasts of caviar with truffle and gold flakes, Ocean Park is offering exclusive VIP opportunities to ‘meet’ its baby pandas. Expect to pay… …HK$1,500 each for a special, 30-minute visit before … Continue reading →

Former Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s taxpayer-provided secretariat is to move from Pacific Place, where the rent is HK$5.6 million, to the government’s Immigration Tower, where renovation will cost a mere HK$2.8 million. (Look – gold toilets aren’t cheap these days.). … Continue reading →

It’s not just me: Hong Kong really is infested with pandas. Aesthetically displeasing renderings of the creatures are all over public transport, on government publicity posters, in parks and foyers, and in senior officials’ speeches. Check under your bed.  The … Continue reading →

Two arrested for allegedly perverting the course of justice – helping people wanted by police following the 2019 protests. And police question relatives of Carmen Lau, former district council member and current ‘absconder’ with a HK$1 million bounty on her. … Continue reading →

Jimmy Lai’s 1,500th day in prison (last Friday) gets attention from such bodies as Hong Kong Watch, CFHK and Independent Catholic News… Lai, who is now 77 years old, a British citizen and a devout Catholic, is held in solitary … Continue reading →

The government issues data on ‘restaurant receipts and purchases for the fourth quarter of 2024 and whole year of 2024’. Stats geek Joel Chan provides the summary above. In real terms, restaurants saw a 2.4% drop in revenues in 2024. … Continue reading →

HKFP lists retailers who have recently downsized or pulled out of Hong Kong. The article blames the 2019 protests and Covid, which spurred middle-class emigration and changed consumer habits – including a trend of leisure spending in far more affordable … Continue reading →

Former Transport and Housing Minister Anthony Cheung calls for a civil service pay freeze to help solve the government’s budget deficit. He notes that fiscal reserves of HK$1.1 trillion in 2018 are now at HK$570 billion. Much of that went … Continue reading →

Easing into Snake Year gradually. Yesterday’s Standard reports Financial Secretary Paul Chan’s suggestions for tackling the government’s budget deficit… Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has put forward potential areas for cost-cutting within education and health care and says adjustments will … Continue reading →

The year ends with a strong smell of NatSec. A Twitter post… Hong Kong pro-democracy politician / activist Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人) — who’s being jailed for organizing protests/ rallies in 2019 — was seen restrained in chains like a felon … Continue reading →