veuda archiv.

China, Fifteen
One Month Countdown
Update May 21 2006

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Well, with only one month left in Shenzhen I feel that I'm obliged to write something about it. Strangely I think that I actually might miss China, quite a lot too.

I just finished reading a book called One Billion Customers: Lessons from the front lines of doing Business in China, by James McGregor. It is hands-down one of the best books on China that I've ever read. The thing is that it doesn't go to too much technicals, so it suits very well pretty much anybody who actually wants/is/will do business in China, anyone who's interested in China in general, and anyone who's interested in economics, people behaviour, and history. One of the greatest incentives in reading the book is the ability to look into many high-profile business deals that have proliferated in the news over the years, much through a well-researched, anecdote-like narrative. This way the author has made the otherwise caste-specific book into an accessible bestseller.

There are few numbers in the book other than the stats that actually count, and it was such a pleasant read that I actually had trouble putting the book down during the week-long read. It is highly-recommended to any regular China Series reader.

ve.

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Guiyang
vincent's sixth business trip
Update 21 May 2006

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It would have been very very very unlikely that I would have headed to Guiyang, Guizhou if it were not for a business day-trip for what would likely be my last assignment while in China. I have to say that it was probably (and interestingly) one of the most anticipated trips this year.

Set in south-western China, it is one of the poorest provinces of the country. Landlocked as it is, it's main industries are aluminum, precious metal mining, coal, and tobacco. Of course, to have had such a short trip it was hard to see any signs of poverty in the city, especially as the seat and largest city in the province.

I have to say that I was quite impressed with the city. Unlike Beijing, it doesn't have many historical or even natural sites of interest (within the city). I suspect it was my pre-travel impression that the city would show many signs of backwardness, but almost startled the hustle and bustle of the city. Still, the city's apparent development and receptiveness to western brands was not as impressive as the feeling of development and a brighter future throughout the city. This is one of the rare occurances that I've felt in China, as first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are becoming economically-mature (relatively-speaking), and second-tier cities such as Xi'an and Changsha begin to develop to its critical mass, you truly feel third-tier cities such as Guiyang are one of the best investment opportunities.

ve.

From Left to Right: Downtown Guiyang | An underground Walmart: under People's Square and ironically facing a giant Mao statue | Tianxiang Pavilion, a former school of the Ming Dynasty

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De-Icing Point
china, thirteen: A critique of the Nation's Educational Future in History
Update 24 February 2006

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On February 21st, 2006, China Daily reported that the former spokesman to UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, Frederik Eckhard, would be teaching as a faculty member in Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

No offense, as I think that it is great news that our fellow Chinese students will become exposed to an "insider" to world politics, and in fact Zhejiang University is known in the country as one of its top institutions. However, as the role of tertiary education is becoming a hot topic in Hong Kong and throughout East Asia, I think that it's worth me to express my two-cent's worth of comments on the issue.

Ask any professor who studies East Asian society and they would tell you that while secondary education is ruthlessly tough, tertiary education is relatively easy, and some even say impossible to fail. The philosophy of commanding discipline while young inherently has no problems, but why, may I ask, would countries like China not sport top-of-the-line researchers, scientists, philosophers (modern, not Confucius or Lao Tzu), and architects within its nation's boundaries? Surely the time-and-again mentioned fact that East Asians score well in secondary school math and science scores must have some in-roads to the advancement of knowledge? Certainly the expertise would have trickled-into society by now.

Then we turn the table to another discipline of personal affection: history. Recently the closure of the Chinese weekly Bingdian (Ice Point) spurred outrage in China, Hong Kong, and overseas media. The crisis began with an article written by Zhongshan University professor Yun Wei-Shi, with criticisms of the 19th century Boxer Rebellion, much revered by the Chinese Government as a symbol of patriotism, but in fact nothing but hoards of farmers of the late Qing Dynasty who fanatically murdered and burnt in order to rid China of the "foreign barbarians". Only later to be suppressed by the European, American and Japanese armies under Qing consent, it was a rather brutal chapter in Chinese history.

Of course, the article, later republished in Hong Kong's Ming Pao, briefly touched sensitive issues such as the Cultural Revolution, which was probably the main reason why Ice Point was ordered a closure by the Chinese Censor's Bureau. It was allowed to resume publication after its editor and management were sacked. The original article was renounced by other "scholars" in Ice Point's republication issue.

Preposterous, it is, that such a historical issue can be of imminent threat to the Chinese Government. But this episode precisely exhibits the problems of education in East Asia, whether it is in China, Hong Kong, or even Japan. If a kid said that he wanted to become the Chief Executive of Hong Kong when he grew up, the typical reaction would be "good that you have ambitions"; recently, when a Legislative Council member told the press that he and his party aims to one day become the ruling party in Hong Kong, he was immediately ridiculed by conservatives as childish!

Superimpose this with the Icing Point incident, and it begs the question: does the Chinese Government, or moreover, the Chinese culture, allow personalities to challenge authority? Is there tolerance to different opinion?

I remember my first lecture for my American History Until the Civil War class. The professor, Kristen Hogenson stated a very important principle in her instruction: that history was more about the analysis of facts and viewpoints, in order to foster a hypothesis/conclusion, and less about politically correct "yes men". She prudently exhibited this spirit of analytical thinking towards previously undisputed issues such as the purity of Boston Puritans, and the happenings at the Alamo. Sure, such predominantly singular views of history exist everywhere, and media bodies like of Disney have distorted history through media (as seen in "Remember the Alamo"). Differing views of history, as shown by Professor Hogensen, only promote independent and creative thinking amongst our college graduates. It is undisputable of its importance towards the respect of knowledge, and advancement in human thinking. The world cannot afford to lose a Galileo, Da Vinci, or Martin Luther of the modern day.

More thought needs to be given to the role of tertiary education: of course, how it is executed is always an issue under debate. Regardless, the nurture of today's children will become the basis of pillars that serve our society in the future. Convection Chinese wisdom promotes the mass-production of "followers", while it is of better interest to allow the growth of independent thinkers.

As for those commentators going "Non, non, non", for those who stress the nation-state over the diversity of opinion, it is inevitable that one is ultimately confronted with a very touchy subject: the mandate of governance. This would likely be the root to political skepticism toward China.

The reason that the Chinese conservatives are fretting about the issue of free press is because they see it as an ultimate threat to their authority: that free press will one day become the hole on the hull of their ship. From this we see a lack of self-confidence amongst these petty few that realize the deteriorating (or at least trend-deteriorating) credibility to its mandate over the nations sovereignty. Back in the days of the Chinese Empire, the Heavens endorsed such mandate upon the Emperor. Shall the Emperor show inability to rule, it would be the sign for its peoples to renounce its mandate, and begin a new dynasty. In consequence, the Emperor maintains its mandate through virtue towards its people.

The current ruling party won its right to rule as a third solution over the deteriorating (actually, then already non-existent) Qing monarchy, and the Nationalists (rather weak, with not much visible-presence but a bunch of power-hungry warlords). Revolution-after-revolution, Communist purges and the destruction and murder of Chinese culture into anarchy, the party sought to win-back its legitimacy to the mandate through economic reform, pulling many out of poverty, and transitioning into an economic powerhouse as never seen before.

Now that its economy is set on course, many ask what the solution to the next legitimate mandate is for China. I think that the solution is obvious, as popular mandate, as a political system, has worked in many countries. There is certainly much validity to applying it, and there is no reason why China and Chinese are of any difference to the rest of the world. If the British, Canadians, Iraqis and Palestinians can do it, it ought to be pretty good a solution! Of course there are still many steps toward popular mandate, but ultimately it would occur to everyone that it is the simplest and best solution.

So it is pretty obvious to the reasons for my reactions upon hearing the news of Mr Eckhart and Zhejiang University ("how would he possibly be able to speak freely?" "Does a celebrity make a university good?" "Are its independence and credibility more important?"). With the issue of Icing Point, one is even more suspicious of the magnitude of a free hand for our fellow scholars in China. Then, if China really wishes to jump out of its infinite loop, there is need for a more whole-hearted change in mentality of its peoples. There is always need for more respect for those who think different.

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Xi'an
china, twelve: A Business Day-Trip
Update 23 February 2006

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I have been very fortunate to have had the chance to travel a bit for business purposes. Recently I was able to visit Xi'an, the ancient capital of China (in fact, one of the most endured seats to the government in the history of the Dynasties). Of the 8-hour whirlwind tour of the city, 3 hours were spent on sites, and we managed to see its most famous cultural relics, leaving only the Terracotta Warriors for a future visit.

Left: The Wild Goose Pagoda, built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), one of the finest architectural works of that period | Right: Our site, 1 km south of the pagoda

Left: The bell tower, of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), is located at the center of the city

Right: The drum tower, west of the bell tower

Left: A well-preserved and very quaint street, near the drum tower | Right: Built during the Ming Dynasty, the Xian wall is one of the best surviving city walls in the world

George looking at the City Wall

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Happy New Year!
A Happy Year of the Dog to All, Gong Hei Fat Choi!
Update February 4th, 2006

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Happy Lunar New Year to everybody.... it's again the end of a long holiday and i'm all recharg'd up and ready to get back to work.... 4 more months to go and i'll be packin' up to get back to the states. i guess it's been quite a nice holiday so far, as i'be been able to get plenty of family time, as well as relaxation in coffee shops, book stores, the movies and around hk in general... heard news of the media center mac coming up in a couple of months,... and i can't wait since it seems the most attractive of of all upcoming intel macs.... and since i've just received a nice fat bonus i should be able to afford a little bit of something.... maybe that or a PSP would be nice..

went to lamma island yesterday... by the way, if you're planning to go to lamma island some time soon you should check out the new windmill out there (well, that's really a romantization, since it's technically an electric wind turbine)... nonetheless it's very impressive, especially as it is set on the top of the lush green hills amidst the great blue sea..

The Windmill | Me and the Windmill

Mom and Dad | The Beach

Trees | The Sea

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Concert Review
Stefanie Sun Live in Hong Kong
Update 24 January 2006

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Few artists of our time are able to capture the vibrancy and positive attitude as Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun Yan-Zi. Making her third appearance at the Hong Kong Coliseum within half a year, she has once again been able to capture the crowd with great satisfaction.

Her rather simple but well-designed stage once again reflects upon Stefanie's no-frills approach to her work. Fashion-wise, she maintains the short, red hairstyle as seen in her latest album A Perfect Day (

). However, I must say that I prefer her wardrobe of tank tops and jeans to the yellow dress she wore during her performance of Wo Yao de Xing Fu (

). Nonetheless, the performance was much more than expected, with exceptional interpretations of Wo Yao de Xing Fu (

), Lu Guang (

), and Silent Al These Years.

Cai Jian-Ya, Lam Yut-Fung, and Andy Lau made guest appearances, each performing one song while Stefanie was at backstage changing outfits. While all of the guests were able to capture the crowd, their performances were not very startling. Incidentally, when Andy Lau appeared, the crowd went wild, with fans storming the front lines to catch a glimpse of him up-front. His singing was slightly disappointing, although I later learned that Andy had been with director Ang Lee at the premier for Brokeback Mountain before arriving at the Coliseum.

A competent singer as Stefanie Sun, she sang with great thrust, and, surprisingly, a great ability to dance. Her proteges on the dance floor also did a well-done job, well-choreographed dances and not-so-bad outfits.

Personally, it was great to be able to experience two touching points within the performance. The first was Wo Yao de Xing Fu (

). Leading into the song with a simple, but very cool statement of the name, the melody was led by her and two others on the piano. Her rich voice added to the coolness of having three full-size pianos on stage. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if she wore a tank top with jeans.

Left: The Artist performs Wo Yao de Xing Fu (

) - Right: Audience at the Coliseum

Stefanie's health has been a rather well-covered issue amongst the press for many months. In fact she had to catch breath after singing Lu Guang, and, surprisingly, was given a Wrightean chair on the middle of the stage to sit on. With such a move (or lack thereof), she was able to introduce the song Silent All These Years, a song that greatly captured my attention in her album

. Again, it was performed with great coolness and control.

In general, Stephanie Sun's latest concert was very pleasing. While the guest appearances were rather unexpected, her performance still was the most rewarding experience of the evening. While she is unlikely to perform again for some time, I look forward to see her again at the Coliseum.

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Confetti
Let's turn off the backburner...
Update January 17 2006

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Work has been rather busy the past month. So today I'll tune in to more casual topics to get the stress out of my system.

I was looking through the South China Morning Post last Friday, to find out that a teacher of mine, Mr Micheal Rippon, had passed away two years ago. I later learned that he had been suffering from a long-term illness. Mr Rippon was the head of the school choir at my school, Yew Chung International School, while I was a choir member in primary school. I still remember his strong voice and the fun I had throughout our events in the school, Hong Kong, and later on a choir tour to Shanghai. I still remember that I was one of the three selected to perform with him at a bar near Lan Kwai Fong (although it never realized).

I take this chance to express my most heartfelt thanks for Mr Rippon's time and work in our choir.

* * *

With the MacWorld expo over, and the unveiling of the new intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro, I must say that I am rather disappointed with the relative lack of significant announcements during the event. I do speculate however, that Apply will rolling out a new widescreen iBook (the "MacBook"?), as well as a media-center iMac.

* * *

Cafe Luna

Cafe Luna offers an exquisite palette of American, French, Spanish and Italian dishes in a rather bistro-esque setting. A person like myself, who enjoys good food in small quantities would adore the bistro, as it is one of the few of its kind (if not the only) in campustown, Champaign, Illinois, USA.

Located along the busy intersection of Green and Fourth, Cafe Luna is located in a rather unpronounced brick building, half a story above grade. Despite being a rather small eatery, probably only able to serve a dozen tables at any given moment, the setting is intimate and very cosmopolitan. For this I must say that the owner? have done a great job in its location, as most restaurants in the area are fast-food cafeteria-style settings, more in tune with the average perception of the campus eatery. Thus, Caf?Luna is a great place to eat, whether it is for your date, friend, or family. For the four months between learning of the bistro, until my graduation from the school, I had already eaten there at least 4 times: twice with my roommate and his family, once with a faculty friend, and once with a date!

As for the menu, Cafe Luna offers an exquisite, precise, and well-balanced palette. It is best known for its tapas during the evenings, of which I highly recommend the artichoke, which is carved, sliced, and dipped into Swiss cheese, molten into the shell of the artichoke that produced it. The cheese is well selected, with strong, pungent aroma; the artichokes themselves very fresh and fine; the combination of the two, magnificent.

The steaks served in the bistro, for my taste, rather toward the rare-side when ordering for "medium-rare". Hence be prepared for that when ordering. Despite the slight difference in interpretation of preparation, the beef is tender, and the sides well composed and exhibited, considering the bistro? location within a campus setting.

As for wines, it is here where I was introduced to the Beaujolais-Villages, and since then become addicted to it. As I cannot call myself a wine connoisseur, I can only say that Caf?Luna has a wine cellar suited for my tastes.

Cafe Luna offers a great environment for selected dishes, which would have otherwise not been offered in the area. It is a great place to bring your date or family on special occasions. For faculty, a good place to go to once in a while, although there are similar eateries in both downtown Champaign and Urbana. Nonetheless, I give a pat in the back for the owner? bravery to open such a restaurant in campus.

A votre sante!

---ve.

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The jardine's lookout editorial
WTO part 2: For all of us, something to learn from
Update December 16th 2005

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As we have mentioned earlier, other countries have no ability to compete with developed countries and their dumping of agricultural produce at the developing world. The latest row between the US and EU, each pointing fingers at one another and promoting themselves as philanthropic angels.

They have first offered to cease food-based aid and instead offer monetary support to nations in need. Knowing this, we should ask ourselves: is that the best way to solve the problem? Of course, the monetary offers most likely will have strings attached, for instance, the contributors will have a say in how the many is spent, US dollars for US products, Euros for European produce. If this is so, the monetary aid is a brute brush of colors with little substance. If the poorer nations do have a say in how the money is spent, it is necessary that NGOs participate to offer advice on how to improve farming methods for its farmers, and the development of small, home-grown industries that produce according to local traditions and talents. This model has argueably been more preferable as I have leant in my geography class in grade 8.

Yesterday our farmer friends from Korea staged a protest that inevitably touched many hearts in Hong Kong. Between Victoria Park and the Wan Chai North, a distance of over a mile, they got on their knees and kow-towed for every 3 steps they took--a similar approach of principle exhibited by pilgrims to the Potala Palace in Tibet. The few days of the Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong have been a valuable lesson for many Hong Kongers, of the relation between politics and economy in developing countries, as well as an educational opportunity to learn about the effects that globalization may have in these places and their peasants.

Regardless of whether you were in the front line or behind the TV set, I believe that every Hong Konger has undergone an evolution of mentality, much in sympathy toward the protesters, especially the farmers from Korea. Certainly, their strength and unbelievable discipline are things that we as citizens of "Asia's World City" should learn from. Their restraint and matter of principle stand in stark contrast to the many new rich: the greedy, impolite, and uncultured people in Mainland China.

I think, for the 257 million dollars spend by the government, the least that our taxpaying, child-bearning middle class citizens can do is to bring our children to Victoria Park and teach our youngsters--and ourselves--of this global phenomenon that will inevitably have great consequences in our country in the near future.

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a look at agriculture and world trade
the jardine's lookout editorial
Update 15 December, 2005

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Halfway through the biannual WTO ministerial meetings, it is assumed that the impasse between the industrial rich and poor are not to thaw anytime soon.

To be honest, the thinking of the Hong Kong government toward the WTO is superficial and mediocre at best. For starters, Hong Kong's success in thus far has nothing to do with the WTO. In fact, if the world was really to be all "free trade" A) Hong Kong would be obsolete, and B) the respective government would deflate their currencies in order to artificially improve its exports. The establishment of the WTO in 1995 was to replace the various international trade treaties in order to regulate trade. Most importantly, as a platform to settle disputes in a "civilized" manner, and not to resort to violence and aggression as seen in the World Wars that have scarred us in the past century.

The most crucial disagreements, although not lone, are the disputes between the developed and less developed countries concerning agriculture. Hong Kong, having eradicated its agricultural populace for over a decade, is an outsider to the issue. Thus it is not surprising in a way that the Hong Kong government maintains to the sophistication of merely cheaper oranges in its pro WTO advertisements. While mainstream media have reported on issues regarding the issue of agriculture, few have done so in depth.

Although I am unable to comment in depth of this issue, I'll try and give my few cents' worth of understanding.

In addition to the massive farm subsidies that countries like the US give to its farmers, one gets another clue just by studying at a university quite literally in the middle of a large cornfield. Driving from Chicago to Champaign, one observes the vast plains of farmland. This abundant natural resource--vast fertile land has blessed the United States since its conception and is the prime reason for its economical and technological superiority.

Your average Chinese farmer, if brought to Illinois, will be startled. They would ask: "where are all the people?" Indeed, technology has made the United States a prime producer of agricultural products. In fact, for a population of over 200 million, the country produces so much food that it literally dumps food to other countries, either by cheap agricultural produce or as form of aid.

The mechanization of farmland, from tractors to irrigation systems to dust cropping and chemical fertilizers, make the US farm yield enough to intimidate any other farm at any other corner of the world. Farmers in the country benefit greatly from this, as they are able to work upon their hobbies (my friend's father is a farmer, and he writes books on Javascript and .Net for O'Reilly in his spare time). Farmers can concentrate on business, and such education brings in even more profit. The second issue regards the collection of information. The widespread use of the internet, satellite imagery, and close communication between researchers, markets, academics, and producers allow a seamlessly efficient management style that ensures farmers of the produce of cash-crops. That's why corn and soy dot the Illinois landscape--these staples are commodities that pin the basis of South American and Asian diet, respectively.

In fact, the process is so efficient that China imports soybeans from the US!

The third issue regards distribution. Distribution is the prime reason for the success of many corporations in the US: Walmart, Dell, and Coca Cola are very good examples. Some so-called economists in China often brush over this point, and instead they only concentrate on branding as a main reason for success. Thus, Chinese corporations are continuously plagued by distribution bottlenecks, especially when you move away from the industrial south and east coasts. In addition, probably more importantly, are the vast inefficiencies due to unclear expenses and corruption.

The United States has an extremely low-cost distribution network: usually by truck on its Interstate network, but also by rail distribution. Soy and corn for instance, is transported to silos in Illinois, put on trains owned by Canadian National (which is in turn partly owned by Bill Gates), and transported either to Chicago for redistribution within the US, or to New Orleans for export.

Even at the hay-day of the 1920s, without the interstate network, America greatly relied on its canal systems and waterways. The La Salle Canal put Chicago on the map, and the Erie Canal is what made New York the great trading port of its time.

Indeed, farming in many other countries, especially those outside the G7, are greatly disadvantaged. It is therefore reasonable for small nations and their farmers to speak out of their hardships. Violence, unfortunately, is the only method to have their voices heard in the public, as it is easy for the bureaucrats to easily brush aside these issues. For a place like Hong Kong, in the past many decades so fortunate to have carried economic growth after economic growth, its peoples and its government is incapable of understanding life under such oppression, and the necessary struggle in order to survive. While free trade and globalization is inevitable, governments have the responsibility to its citizens to provide a path for survival, either by restructuring its employment structure, increase its anti-corruption and judicial systems, or by greatly improving farm efficiencies.

In a sense, Chinese farmers should have been the largest demonstrators in this meeting: firstly because it began as a socialist state, secondly for its unbelievably large agricultural population. The 500 million farmers of China face unprecedented challenge in the coming years, with the mass liberalization of agricultural imports. Their lack of time to adapt, modernize, and their lack of support for the government will only lead to great disputes in the near future. If 97% of these people are not able to become blue-collars, and if the remaining 3% cannot consolidate their farmland and massively increase yields in time, the economical structure of the populace will meet very challenging times.

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china, eleven
The dealer writes the rules, but it is a game of wit
Update 29 November 2005

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With such widespread debates, inflammatory rhetoric, and vicious coercion from both sides, the Hongkonger is once again placed at a crossroad. As we move closer to December 4th, the media buzz has surrounded around nothing but the question of how many people will take the streets this Sunday. The unfolding of events of late: the poorly received Commission on Strategic Development, the language of a philanthropist, a knight and a gambler, and yet another audit scandal, point to us that odds in favor of the pan-democrats is mounting.

With this taken into consideration, and claims that the President is to take the protests in a "relaxed" manner, it is sensible for the pan-democrats to sit down and take a look at their cards. They will gain badly needed political capital following Sunday, and it is important for them to come up with a strategy and united front, shall they successfully lead many to the streets. In other words, given that it is possible for Beijing to play along with their game, they must conclude with reason what exactly they are struggling for. More importantly, a plausible alternative strategy for constitutional reform, and a mode of conduct fellow democrats shall follow strictly when dealing with the administration.

Anyone on the streets know that direct elections on 2007 are ruled out. While some argue that it is still "possible" to have direct elections at such year (as 2007 has not arrived yet), only the stubborn, misled, naive, and utterly brainless will keep on insisting that it is possible. Stubbornness only reveals that one is too concerned of the details, and has lost the big idea, thus wavering from the original aim of democracy. It is possible, however, that measures can be taken in lieu of direct elections in 2007, measures that will facilitate to the betterment of elections in the future.

Secondly, if Beijing and the Tsang Administration are willing to put a revised edition on the table, the democrats should do their best agree to the new terms: as Beijing is willing to take a step back, they'd expect you to return the favor! Knowing so, to avoid Beijing from ceasing the chance to blackmail the democrats, and to avoid embarrassment on either side (certainly a lose-lose situation), representatives from the democrats (or would-be traitors) should cross the line to broker a deal, under the counter, before it is exposed to sunlight. Otherwise, the distrust from Beijing, whether you like it or not, will burn down the house, and all progress from the 4th will backfire. It is important to keep in mind that, in politics, one must be able to weigh-in principles that are core, versus principles that are expendable.

Third, despite the editor's belief that many are likely to take the streets Sunday, one must put in mind that 80% come with universal suffrage and the Fifth Report as part of their grievances. In fact, I would say with confidence that 97% will come because they support universal suffrage, while not necessarily rejecting the Fifth Report outright. This will reveal two issues: of whether the debate of universal suffrage and the Fifth Report ought to be packaged under the same umbrella of protest; secondly, the need to define the reasons for the grievances amongst the middle class, which will compose the majority of protesters.

Now that Beijing is potentially a game-player, we are to expect compromises on the timetable/roadmap issue, if not immediately, certainly in the next 2 years. The hidden dagger is, however, that there will be provisions to retain central control. After all, the dealer writes the rules, and the addition of a dozen provisions will only make the poker game that much more tricky. Direct elections can be set up in many ways. The American electoral system is one way; controlling the choice of contestants is another; the functional constituency is yet another. Even if Beijing suddenly turned into a Miss Barbie-Doll, the big merchants of Hong Kong will certainly seize the chance to limit the powers of the democrats. There are many toll booths ahead, as the game has just begun. The game players must know when and what cards to sacrifice in order to win the game.

More importantly, therefore, is to ensure the longevity and augmentation of the freedoms as previously mentioned, that is, the rule of law, the freedom of speech, and the fight against corruption. This will ensure that everyone negotiates under known rules and prevent things to get out of hand. That said, Beijing would inevitably become a rational player, if she hasn't already. By that time, the democrats will realize that the have already gotten their hands dirty-- also inevitable. To quote common American rhetoric: Freedom isn't Free. After Sunday, we will also realize that we have long lost our innocence.

--ve.

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china, ten
Who's Hu
Update November 18, 2005

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Today is the 90th anniversary of the birth of late Chinese leader Hu Yaobang. For those who are unfamiliar with the history of China, Hu was known as a ?clean? politician who pushed for political reforms in the People?s Republic. Later to be disposed by larger forces within the party. His death in April 1989 sparked, in the beginning, mass mourning, which developed into protests, a prelude to the crackdown in June.

Thus, the late Hu has historically been a taboo subject within Chinese society, in fear that it would once again spark fire from top to bottom. Interestingly, the top crop of the People?s Republic is once again celebrating his anniversary. Albeit, in a very low-key, closed-door ceremony.

Previously, we talked about the problems of economic development in China. Today, we will turn the spotlight to Hong Kong.

The Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force (the Fifth Report) has been of wide debate in the past month. Basically a document outlying political reforms within the Special Administrative Region, it serves as a hint and outline for steps to lead to the eventual universal suffrage in Hong Kong. The main debate so far has been whether the report has adequately served for the benefit of the Hong Kong people.

Article 45 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong?s de facto constitution, says:

The method for selecting the Chief Executive shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.

For anyone familiar with legal documents of sort, the definition of ?gradual and orderly progress? is elusive to a point it is almost trivial. The problem belies on the fact that it may be used as evidence to indefinitely postpone universal suffrage in the SAR. Incidentally, the suggestions of doubling the electorate of the Chief Executive, if again doubled every election year, will not lead to universal suffrage until after 2046. Certainly we didn?t think that ?Unchanged for Fifty Years? was so literal!

The aim, of course, is not to initiate universal suffrage as an end. However, it is a matter of principle that one uphold this aim. Firstly, such has proven to be the most stable and efficiently self-checking system that man has ever come upon. Again, it makes much sense in the view of the Social Contract: that the government is accountable to its citizens, which elect it to represent them. This is a two way balancing act that ultimately cancels off all extreme outcomes, thus, theoretically, will lead to the least political sway or upheaval.

The second matter of principle, which stems from the first, is to better the check of government to uphold the benefits of the majority. The problem of the current system is basically a form of taxation without representation, which leads to an eventual glass-ceiling for economic development. The middle class, well-educated and the core of the economy and social vibrancy of Hong Kong, is being taxed with little lobby representation in the government. Instead, the majority of benefits either go to the poor?who are easily identifiable and the most potential initiators of social unrest, or the ultra-rich?owners of companies, conglomerates, a majority of which also are double-benefitting through the lobbying across the PRC.

As a result, the middle class is being squeezed and deoxygenated even further. The weakening of the middle class will eventually jeopardize the economy of Hong Kong: no middle class, no more unwilling payers of expensive and tiny apartments, no more consumer base for the products of the conglomerates that were borne from the system.

Therefore, it is a matter of principle that voices of this be heard, and one must strive to petition for a better resolution for our political system. A resolution that is more sustainable and representative of our economic development and educational maturity. It is a gasp to control our own destiny.

Nonetheless, it is even more important that we defend our freedoms in the midst of petitioning for democracy. One must not waver from the freedom of expression and the freedom of press. Therefore, the petitions must be simple (i.e., the petition for a constitutional timetable) and reasonable (i.e. To petition to ask when and how reforms are to take place, and representation within this process). At the same time, the pro-democracy camp must try harder to convince the larger powers that democratic reforms, such as universal suffrage, will only being a greater prosperity and peace to the country. It must be reiterated that no democratic government, of the level of freedom and economic maturity as Hong Kong?s, has ever witnessed a meltdown of its social and political system. In addition, one must stress that Hong Kong is the most mature testing ground to exhibit the potential of the future of China. The SAR has, unlike its brothers in the north, already undergone mature economic, educational, civic, and social advancement. Democratic reform will certainly convince the world that China is indeed a responsible player, and that it is dedicated to develop at peace. Thirdly, it must be stressed that a severance of state has never crossed the mind of any Hong Konger: Hong Kong needs the rest of the country as much as rest of the country needs her. Forth, the pro-democracy camp, for the benefit of its own survival, must refocus to convince the middle class that their hardships are results of social and political disproportion.

The protests in coming December, I believe, are the only organized method to petition. Odds are that the Fifth Report will actually not be passed, as the sentiment from legislators has increasingly become lukewarm. While it is childish to think that universal suffrage be possible in 2007, it is reasonable that checkpoints be set, and timetables be scheduled, of what exactly constitutes a ?gradual and orderly process?.

As Beijing attempts to realign its stance on Hu, a subtle smile must be appearing on the faces of our dove-loving friends.

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china, nine
China as a Responsible Nation
Update November 20, 2005

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The history of China, according to my EALC 199 East Asian Civilizations class, has been a history defined by the recurring notion of ?China?. What is China? What defines China?

Therefore it is interesting in the situation when China was at one of its weakest hours, the Song Dynasty. In the past the conqueror who ruled that land south of the Great Wall was the legal ruler of ?China?. But then in the 11th century when Kublai Kahn successfully advanced through the great wall, forcing the collapse of the Northern Song, which fled south to establish the Southern Song, based in modern day Hangzhou. This, startling many scholars, began the need to define ?China?: were they the rightful rulers of the great empire? Or have they already ceded to their Mongul neighbors?

Ironically, this began one of the most culturally rich stretches of Chinese civilization. At a time when Hangzhou was at its pinnacle of trade, and China began it unconscious experiment upon global trade and mass production.

For one, China is now not the picturesque, scholarship-based country anymore. Sadly many of its virtues have been lost, in its stead given to brute selfishness and shortsightedness. ?To get rich is a glorious thing?, indeed, but has it misled many into thinking that getting rich is the only glorious thing? It is evident that the sharp declination of natural resources within the country has already had repercussions upon our natural environment, and one day the economy will be at mercy: when resources run out, and the country will need to scour for more to run its machine.

One can argue that the development of nations have generally taken two tracks: one where a country invades, occupies, or colonizes in order to gain resources, another where a country simply advances deeper into its territory to supply its needs.

The latter, to my best knowledge, has only occurred once in history, and that is the development of the United States. Actually, ?Go West? was not such na?e westward advancement into ones own territory. Quite to contrary, the development of the country was done on the expense of the Native Americans. The United States Government, in its history, had repeatedly broken treaties in order to bring about economic development, the Trail of Tears, and the Removal Act to name a few.

Indeed, it is of utmost political correctness as much as morality that one urges the peaceful development of China. But to do so must require strict law, discipline, and principle, all of which does not exist within the country, at least not on the minds day-to-day workers, local, and provincial officials. Indeed, it is sad that the head cannot control the movements of his limbs. The main culprits, interestingly, are the very issues that China is criticized most about. The first is corruption. This greatly undermines the power of the central government. Along of which is the need of a just, widely-upheld judicial system, which as an organ regulates the running of the country. Thirdly is an efficient manner for information distribution, to allow a system that self-polices in compliment to the armed forces. To us mere-mortals we have not perfected upon a single system, however it is best described to be a free and respected media, a broad level of freedom of speech.

Therefore, the development of China shall not be an argument of whether it is to build a Great Motherland of the Chinese People. It is rather more essential that the nation strive to become a more responsible player of this resource-scare planet, that we construct sustainability of its whole from its roots. A rethinking of Chinese society will most certainly perpetuate the notion of the Chinese Nation. Sustainability in the minds of people leads to sustainability of the people themselves.

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china, seven

Update 20 October 2005

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Today we will discuss the position of Hong Kong in our flagship China series.

First, it must be understood that Hong Kong was put on the map from its beginnings because of cultural and geopolitical clashes. In the beginning it was a lot more simplistic: the British and Chinese had a trade dispute, got into war, that resulted in the ceding of the island of Hong Kong to the British ("in perpetuity").

Things have changed since then and have gotten a lot more complicated: first was the Chinese Civil War, then came the Cold War, especially the clashes that occurred in Korea and Vietnam, both of which Hong Kong had profited from handsomely.

So it was for purely political reasons that Hong Kong hot it name on the map, plus, of course, some entrepreneurial refugees, a ruthless but well-managed government (basically, a "benevolent dictatorship"), and a hard-working population.

The debate that we face today in Hong Kong is a typical culture-clashing situation. The fact of the matter is, there are significant cultural differences between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Another is that Hong Kong is subordinate to the PRC. Both aren?t inherently problems themselves, per se, as Hong Kong had prospered amidst (or even because) of it. The problem arises when a person that does not get the big picture leads the city. Hong Kong?s success is based upon three pillars: the rule of law, a culture that promotes a corruption-free society, and the freedom of speech.

Therefore, it ought not to seem surprising when these basic issues are threatened, taxpayers will begin to wonder where their money is going to (Disneyland?), and whether those that have spent the money have fully represented us ("taxation without representation", under a different circumstance, but rhetorically valid).

These are really basic concepts in political thinking. Alas, it seems that many are still doubtful of democracy, a system that has worked generally well under our contemporary society, worldwide.

Geographically, Hong Kong enjoys an excellent harbor. A fine natural harbor facilitates trade (thus a low cost in developing its port infrastructure); trade leads to the need for bodies to act as intermediaries in the transaction of money versus product. Supported by a sound economic policy, the need/excess of money leads to a sizable establishment that maintains its wealth (banks), which leads to a sizable financial sector. Therefore, it is rather unintelligent to say that Guangzhou or Shenzhen would take over Hong Kong as a financial center by simply building a business district and pumping in taxpayers? money to fire skilled analysts. It is a little too na?e for modern politicians to think that way.

Shanghai, in fact the entire YRD on the other hand, stands as an imminent threat to the economy of Hong Kong. Ironically, it has nothing to do with population or cost (as most Chinese or even Western economists may argue). The carrot is really the fact that it lies at the estuary of the Mighty Yangtze River. With inexpensive access from the interiors of China (with help of the new dam and canal lock system), an agriculturally fertile hinterland, it is obvious that this would lead to an outcome similar to Chicago and the LaSalle Canal, plus, again, the Mighty Mississippi.

Another issue is its location, strategically placed, close to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and facing (albeit very far) America, allowing it to serve as a logical logistics node. Traditionally its hinterland has been the most fertile and prosperous of all of China (until recently, with Guangdong surpassing it. Yet again, the YRD is catching up fast). In the Northern Song, as-a-matter-of-fact for pretty much the entire history of China, it was the center of trade and one of the greatest regions of the world.

It is easy, therefore, to brush aside over everything else and be worried for Hong Kong. But why is Hong Kong geographically undesirable anyways? Mainly because economies lying in the West of China are currently less profitable than those East and across the pond.

Thus, the emergence of Western China, India, and Vietnam are very important to our survival and importance. It is also necessary that we defend the three social pillars of ours rigorously, as it will most certainly be for our benefit when the inevitable change of tide occurs in the Middle Kingdom. Second, we must work very hard to combat sexual and racial discrimination, in other words, the need to promote a more open-minded, tolerant society. Third, is to orderly reform our education and strategize and train our professionals for pedagogy for the sake of our youngsters. Specifically, there lies the need to encourage debate, reasoning, and discipline--even if it is at a purely cream-of-crop level in society. For the record, the ball is always on the student, to (somehow miraculously) "get-it" by their quarter-life crisis. Last, but not least, we must learn to trust the Central Government and, vice versa, the Central Government must learn to trust us likewise. This is the only way in which we can truly bring about a more democratic citizenship. Democracy is not necessarily the only way, but in Churchill?s words: "Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government-- except all those others that have been tried from time to time". Of course, this is the matter of another debate.

In many ways, Hong Kong already carries many of the traits of being "Asia's World City", and stands proudly along side New York, London, and Tokyo alike, as one of the greatest cities of our time. It is increasingly multi-cultured, tolerant, liberal. It is necessary that those who can make a difference to stay focused on the infrastructural qualities that have contributed to the cities success, and to stay informed in order to foresee global trends.

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china, five
the magic kingdom comes to the (sort of) middle kingdom
Update 12 September 2005

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Today is september 12, the opening day of the world's 5th disneyland themepark, asia's 2nd, and china's first. us here in hk have heard a lot in the press about the various glitches that have happened with the park, but i think the coming weeks would be a crucial test to all of us: the public opening of the park, means that it would be open to the 30% hongkongers, 30% mainland chinese, and 30% southeast asians. it's already interesting ever since our brothers and sisters in china have been allowed to travel freely in hong kong, but it'll be interesting to see all of us squeezed closer together in the world's smallest disney theme park.

the main issue is cultural difference. this is really difficult for people not familiar with china, or heck, even mainland chinese to understand. it is true that the two populations have been separated for over a century, thus concepts, from the sophistication of law and order, down to queuing in line, to the concept of productivity, to the inappropriate use of the car horn (i just heared a truck squabbling along with its horn) are really differently understood. for hong kongers, at least, it is a public nuisance.

the last time i came back to hong kong, december 2004, i was walking in our downtown, in the standard chartered bank building. when i was walking down the stairs leading to queen's road, i saw a young girl, about 6 years old.

she was crouching.

so i kept on walking, she stood up, pulled up her panties, and left a puddle. Her mom then held her hand and left, as if nothing happened. To make matters worse, the puddle was right in the center of the stairwell. I was shocked, and my brother looked at me with with a mixed sense of shock and awe.

How can someone do such a thing at the most prestigious area of someone else's home?

What really was surprising to me was that both the girl and her mother were dressed well, and they didn't have any notable trace of being of any lower class. At that point I was pretty outraged. for once, I decided that I could justify my own suspicion toward the mainlanders.

The fact is, an act of public urination would never cross the mind of any person in hong kong, just like it is common sense for hong kongers to leave the left lane of any escalator for people who walk, even when it is rush hour traffic. The fact is, there is a public washroom across the street, right next to the steps leading to battery path.

So I will be observing hong kong disneyland through our LCD TV, for now. At least I want to reserve the right to laugh at such stories.

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china, four
Just another blog
Update 25 Aug 2005

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Well, haven't worked on the China Series for quite some time so I've decided to just babble a little over my lunch break on anything that comes into my mind. It's that time of the year again when we all go back to school again ( and for our friends from Britain, a month?s countdown). Too bad I'm not in college anymore cause I really miss quad day and the first day of school.

I can't say that it's been uneventful or anything, but definitely it hasn't been very amusing the past while over here at work in Shenzhen. The hospital project I'm working on has been quite an ass and it's only going to become increasingly irritating until our deadline on our 2nd of September deadline. The main problem, I think, is the fact that the functions in a hospital are extremely tedious and organization-intensive. Hopefully our functions fit the requirements of the hospital so we can move on.

Did have a chance this week to try out a one-day commute to Shenzhen for work. Since I had to go back to HK Monday night I just did a day trip to Shenzhen for work... it was great as al ways to be in hk for an extra night, but I have to say that waking up at 5:45 for work is not fun... well, I guess you can't have everything!

Been spoofin around and I've heard of news on the net that Apple is planning for three 8000-12000 s.f. Apple Stores in Hong Kong. So far these are the only China Apple Store rumors out there, but it's pretty certain that Apple's been looking around China for retail locations for the past year. I hope it happens since it?ll be really awesome. Another interesting Apple rumor out there is that they might be replacing the 4GB iPod mini with flash-based RAM (specifically the new NAND RAM from Samsung). Another interesting note is that Samsung might be selling this RAM for 40% of its cost of production.

It's been 2-1/2 months since I arrived here and so I've had some time to go around Shenzhen. Nothing much, I find, actually I'm both surprised and disappointed how little there is to do in this city. Even in terms of shopping, I find it lacks the variety of hong kong. Most stuff here is cheap stuff, so if you're short in cash, you can find something a bit cheaper here. But certainly there's nothing here that you can't find in hk.

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technology journal
google
Update 5 August 2005

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OK, this blog will be extremely geeky, but bear with me. There is no need to explain what on earth Google is? I guess all of you know already unless you?ve been hiding in the Philippine Jungle for the past 50 years. A bit of history on Google, started by Larry Page and Sergy Brin, as part of their PhD thesis when they were studying at Stanford. The main reason for their success is an entire rethinking on the search process on the computer. First, a simple, no-frills user interface; second, it works, third, it works.

In a gist, Google compiles its database by sending an electronic ?Spider? that ?walks? around the internet and scans the pages. The more links that direct to your page, and the more people that visit your page, the higher chance your page gets hit when googled (try ?veuda?, for instance).

Get me on Google man.

Some must-trys:

1) Well, Google Search, of course. Works so well its changed the way the computer industry thinks about search. Firefox and Safari get credit for integrating it to their browsers.

2) Google images: search images from a keyword

3) Google News: Another great feature, a good way for integrating computer technology to progress the freedom of press. Basically it uses a technology called RSS (really simple syndicate) to automatically compile a webpage that contains all the major headlines with links to stories from various sources.

4) Gmail: Man, this is absolutely the best email ever? doesn?t even make me wanna use POP3 anymore.. the search is excellent, the organization method is brilliant. We still can?t figure out how on earth they can afford 2.4GB (and counting) per user.

5) Google Earth: If you have a PC, a must-download. Search and see satellite images of anywhere in the world, take a spin, look for your house. Actually it was programmed by another company and bought out by Google, nonetheless, one of the best things out of Google. Mac users, sorry, they?re still coding an OS X version?

6) Which leads to Google Maps: Pretty much the same as mapquest, but for geeks like me, many more tweaky features and listen to this, it?s ALL done on Javascript. Find directions from anywhere to anywhere (in the US and Canada).

7) Blogger: hmm? wait, does google own Blogger??? Well, it?s a great site anyways, although I don?t use it

8) Google-in-a-box: Ok, corporate users, you?ve got a kazillion webpages and the total lack of organization turns down your most avid users? what do you do?? Well, go buy a Google-in-a-box. Basically a yellow 1U rackmount server, plug it into your network, and the Box will automatically Spider around your site and reorganize it. That?s why you see all those ?Powered by Google? labels on the Internet.

9) Google Labs: This ain?t a feature per se, but a pat in the back for Google to go around US colleges and pulling up full page ads of IQ and math questions, and offering those who can solve all of them a job a Google. Another point for their binder dividers that remind us on how to maintain our ?High-Performance Brain?.

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technology journal
podcasts
Update 3 Aug 2005

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This isn't a regular column, but I just figured I would make a comment or two once in a while.

For those of you who have been hiding in a cave for the past few years, the music industry has been undergoing under a total revolution not seen for at least a decade. Most of this development have been undoubtedly attributed to Apple Computer's iPod mp3 music player. Ever since its introduction in 2001, users have been able to literally hold their entire lifetime music collection in their pocket.

I remember my first iPod, the original 5GB firewire mechanical scroll wheel, only for Macs. It was quite a marvel.

Based on the technology of the iPod, Apple Computer has amazingly rolled out a series of associated services and products. One of these is the iTunes Music Store, which has basically allowed a legal way to download music into your computer, transferred to you iPod, and listened on the road. In other words, Apple has been able to totally reinvented the way we buy, store, and listen to music under a simple process and tools.

Another interesting emergence is the Podcast. This was actually developed by consumers in the past year or so. Basically it is the 21st century radio, by allowing the users to download radio clips from the internet, transferred to their iPod, and listened on the road or at work. This is interesting that it has developed a plausible channel for information distribution on a wide level.
www.scmp.com.

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"reasons for choosing the course of study" (preview)
a memoir of justification
Update 2 Aug 2005

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Design does intrigue me greatly. But convectional explanations to this phenomenon lack an edge to the blade. Sometimes I feel that it is required for one to be modestly intelligent, slightly naive, and very stubborn in order to fully dissect the situation. After all, success is not an entitlement, it needs to be earned.

For my college/university application, I explained how inspired I was, as a child, growing up in Hong Kong, how great skyscrapers were to me, how I would be an asset to such and such a school, given my background and origins were however rich and unique, how I learned sketching, Chinese painting, and Chinese calligraphy when I was young.

After five years of traveling, studying, working in America, Europe, and now Asia, I've slowly realized that the issue doesn't lie as to who I am. After all, I think, therefore I am, that's all that we need to prove of ourselves--Identity is an elusive matter, identity is trivial, seductive, distractive, even superstitious. After identities have been verified, and abilities been rectified, one begs to ask for more.

The study of architecture, therefore, is not to search for a language. I have slowly realized that language is too, trivial, for that good literature is not always within the English, Chinese, French, or Hindi.

Instead, it is, Thought.

It is a search for reason "why", amidst the evidence "existence".

Ricardo Daza has summarized my mission concisely. Looking for Mies.

Thought is very powerful, because it directs the mind; the mind directs the brain, the brain directs the body, the body produces contribution. An accumulation of contribution leads to a formation of identity. Therefore, that, which nourishes thought, leads to inevitable contribution. Contribution to the collective human basket.

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china, three
it began with bibimbab
Update 24 July 2005

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I went out for dinner with George a couple days ago, we went to a Korean restaurant, and I told him that it was a delicate balance between getting comfortable with China, and at the same time keeping my distance.

It is true, that, in my search for an identity, I consciously realize that this isn't a personal ideal, but in fact it is done on behalf of hong kong, as a place.

Having lived in so many places for quite a while, I've experienced many personal ups and downs. There was a period while I was studying in the US when, due to circumstances, I consciously decided that I wanted to initiate an identity change. It was really simply done, by totally immersing myself, as a Chicagoan, Illinoisan, American, and distancing myself from what people would normally attribute to one's "roots". I distanced myself from the hong kongers, the chinese, all my high school friends. in fact the only people i kept in touch with were my parents and family. So for a period of about a year i completely vanished from my old cliques and circles.

I took this path out of psychological desperation, in order to retire myself from another matter that was bothering me. But when I look back at the move, I find it to be rather interesting, and, actually useful.

Identity is really quite a vague term. To me identity is quite an elusive matter, and, because of that, can really only be attributed under the unit of one person. A group of people can't really have one identity --the can have acquaintances, attributions, and associations, but collective identity is quite an impossibility. This is because we all have a past, history, and conscious that is unique to humanity. Therefore, actions and consquences of a person cannot be understood and fully rexperienced without having the exact historical context applied to another person.

So this is really the psyche of hong kong, if it were a single person. I think our social discussions of city issues are healthy, but as I mentioned before on adolescent /hk., the hong kong identity can't be represented by the traditional chinese motif (as seen in the hong kong "heritage" museum), neither can it be done so by the classical western approach (as in the hong kong central library). Ask the average hongkonger, they probably associate more freely with other things... old disintegrating buildings in mong kok, shopping mall culture, crowds, loud people, hustle and bustle. Heck, I don't think many people would have visited Chungking Mansions, but the feeling of it, from the outside and from within, is really quite hong kong. On the other end of the band, the escalator is also really hong kong. it really represents it in scale, ingenuity, and the approximity in relation between government intervention and citizen response.

So when we talk about the future of hong kong, some say that we ought to further integrate with china. but to make this discussion more worthwhile for the title "china, three", i must say that the best way for hong kong to serve the country, and in fact, itself, is to be more assertive of its own identity. hong kong certainly has, and probably will, be what new york is to the united states. We think of new york as the stereotypical of what we think of the US, whether it is its policemen, citizens, cityscape, lifestyle, thought, etiquitte, etc... but in fact, and I say this with 100% assertiveness, that New York is not the US. In fact it is one of the few places in the US that carry a sort of self-sub-culture that is quite different from the rest of the country.

I would say that the stereotypical united states exists in movies like American Beauty -- the suburb, suburban life, cars. New York is a culture shocker to Americans, for its liberalness, its majority of first-generation immigrants, expats alike, its expensiveness, its richness as an urban enclave.

So really, when you talk about an international city, it is a great city because it is international. It is culturally liberal as it accepts anything foriegn -- foriegn culture, peoples, religions, languages.

Actually, hong kong, like new york, is quite attuned to taking their roles for their respective cities... It's large immigrant base, it's economical prowness, and to a relative degree, liberty in thought. Hong Kong has a slight advantage, since it is in the process of soul-searching, having taken one identity before 1997, and one after. But really, that itself is an identity.

The city isn't one thing or another: because if it is, that means it's actually both.

So the best way to perpetuate and grow hong kong, for the sake of china, for the sake of this city, and for the sake of its people, is to be different, and stay different. Sure, we should learn mandarin, and we should improve our english skills, but this isn't about sacrificing one thing for another, this is about being more competitive. We should be fluent in three languages, we should be open to all cultures, chinese, indian, british, japanese, phillipino, french, german, korean, american etc.... We should do the best to attract the best people to come here, and encourage them to make their mark in hong kong.

And for those who are still worrying that our tight grasp on Cantonese is still a problem, let me tell you this: Cantonese carries much of the real traditional Chinese pronounciations and tones, therefore the reading of Chinese poetry, for instance, sounds better in Cantonese. Fact two: standard Cantonese doesn't exist in Canton/Guangzhou anymore. Because of cultural white-washing, the standard lies in Hong Kong. Fact three: if you travel to the Chinatowns that carpet the US and Canada (actually, even london and paris), you'll find that Cantonese is the major, if not the only language spoken. This is because southern China is a traditionally merchant and trading-oriented region of China, and that region, in the 19th century, was centered in Guangzhou/Canton. Because of that, the region "exported" large amounts of labor to north america during the late 19th, early 20th century. The Chinese you see in Chinatown may be decendants of these "coolies" (basically, chinese slaves), sent to North America to build the railways, and who later settled in North America. With no particular skills, they opened laundry shops and restaurants, and up until the mid 20th century, along with other minorities, were treated as second-class citizens.

As a result, I was really surprised when everyone in Boston Chinatown spoke Cantonese. For the first time in my life did I truly feel that Cantonese was a useful language.

For the first time, I understood what it meant to feel like "home".

I can't claim that I know everything, but sometimes I feel that people are easily mislead by others into believing something that is totally untrue, usually for the motive of what can be classified as "right-wing extremetism" or "conservatism". To be fair, this phenomenon, whether political or social misinformation, exists all over the world. Regardless, ultra-conservatism serves no benefit for a country and its peoples.

The Master once said :"

" [people] are the same in nature, it is just the way we do things that make us different

The world is really too small for us to fight. Let's all live in Peace.

Peace. V_

ve. /china

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list /hk.
hong kong top ten
Update 16 Jul 2005

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1) The Star Ferry Ride

2) Riding on the MTR

3) Central: going in the banks: Bank of China, HSBC, Standard Chartered

4) Central: the escalator and SOHO

5) 24 hours in TST: stay overnight on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui. Get a beer and sit at the harbour front as the skyscrapers switch off their lights after midnight. experience Nathan Road completely empty at 4 in the morning. Sit at a 24-hour McDonalds. End you night at a Karaoke Bar.

6) Breather on the Outlying Islands: Cheung Chau, Lamma Island. Experience nature close to the city.

7) Taking on a Typhoon: If you're lucky, you get to experience the pounding winds at this major Chinese metropolis. At the worst typhoons, you'll feel your 40-storey apartment sway.... don't worry, all buildings are designed for Typhoon-grade winds.

8) A bus ride on Island South/en route to Stanley: South of the island, it's 30 minutes from downtown. experience fantastic Mediterranean-like vistas, nice beaches, and of course, Stanley Market. Off the beaten path... take a walk to Stanley Cemetary, a nice place to take some lone time, or with a special friend.

9) A walk on the Hong Kong Trail: Many go to the Peak, they take a photo, go to the mall, then head back down... instead you should take the Hong Kong trail, which is a 2-mile circuit beginning and ending at the Peak Tram station. Also known as Lugard path, named after a former Colonial Governor. Expereience fantastic views of the city, the Kowloon, the container terminal, Lantau Link, and Disneyland. weave in an out of mother nature.

10) Mong Kok & Causeway Bay: The coolest places to be in hong kong. they are the places to be. Both are shopping districts of mid to mid-low pricetags. lots of people, great on street shopping, great street culture. if things get too hot, stop by at the malls (for Mongkok, Langham Place, and for Causeway Bay, Times Square). Mongkok is in Kowloon, 3 stations north of TST; Causeway bay is on the Island, 3 stations East of Central.

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china, one
blogging from the far east
Update 1 July, 2005

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Today is the first of July, 2005. To many Canadians, it is Canada Day, to Americans, it's the beginning of a long weekend that leads to Independence Day, to the Taste of Chicago, fireworks, sun tanning in Miami. To Hong Kongers, it's the 8th Handover Anniversary.

Today was a work day. Most people over this side of the border don't know of the Handover festivities in Hong Kong, or maybe, they just don't care.

So I am living in Shenzhen, China right now. It's a city born in the 1980s, and now home to some 4 million residents, and another 6 million migrant workers from all over China, and the world. It's been quite an adventure coming here, and I have to say, I've been truly culture-shaken through and through, ironically, in a place just a stone's throw away from the city of my childhood.

It's really interesting from an urbanization standpoint, Shenzhen that is, in fact, the whole of the Pearl River Delta. It has been the result of not historical hierarchy, culture, but contemporary politics and economic theory. Shenzhen though, is a really boring place. In fact I constantly hunger to run to the border and get back to hong kong. it's weird though, that if you take a section through hongkong-shenzhen, it'll be like this:

Central (Hong Kong downtown) -> Tunnel under victoria harbour -> tsim sha tsui shopping district -> kowloon (urban)
-> lion rock tunnel (tunnel running under a mountain) -> Shatin suburb -> Tolo Harbour/Chinese university -> Taipo suburb ->
fanling suburb -> small villages -> sheungshui suburb -> small industries -> farmland -> preserve areas/restricted area -> Downtown Shenzhen

After working here for 2 weeks, i can't help but feeling shenzhen as a sort of, empty shell... it's prosperous all right, it's the great economy that so many people talk about when they talk about china, but it seems like there lacks a culture, there lacks substance beyond the commerical activity, factories, work, money. It seems like, that if money was taken away, people would be wandering around not knowing what to do.

I think it's really an issue of society, that very very few are curious beyond what they do, yes yes, maybe they're curious about the outside world, but it seems that its more about material wealth than culture and thought. few seem to question about existence, few seek reason, and over time, it becomes quite an inhibitation into architectural design, to say the least.

It's a void

then i realize, that architecture is really a smoke screen. I think my interest in architecture lies upon a curiousity of life, humanity, existence. I obviously down know the answer yet. In fact, I don't even know the question, other than the fact that it begins with: "Why?".

architecture is really a smoke screen. some people use literature, some use poetry, paintings, photography, speech, or the like.

to define what i'm doing

it's really, in a gist, "Looking for Mies"

"Looking for Mies" would be my objective in life. Not really the person per se, but I think it is the spirit. Because, why do we go all the way to do difficult things? maybe it would have been easier to look for a job in hong kong, or the US, but then, I wouldn't have been able to do the things i like to do with my life, and with my intellect.

So it is really a blessing, to do what you do, because you like it.

ve. /china

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retrospect on america
writes on journey [back] to china
Update 29/30 may 2005

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the four years past are remembered to be a great four years of transformation, where i have reaped great strides in understanding. At this point I consider myself entitled to talk about my thoughts on the United States.

the US, by far, is one of the greatest countries that I know of. I don't know how to describe it, France is the place that epitomizes european civilization, but the US is charming to a point that it is unparalled. I think one of the greatest things I have seen in the country is its unfathomable capacity of diversity. Of course the country has undergone countless debate of its own tolerence/intolerence, especially in the light of september 11th, but i have to say as an understatement, that I've never imagined a country where such racial and cultural diversity plausible, until i arrived at the US. I suppose the college atmosphere has helped it, nonetheless, diversity here is a largely successful work-in-progress (except things like affirmative action sometimes boggle my mind, and make me wonder whether people have outbalanced diversity over equality). But overallm american multiculturalism is something that maybe myself, as chinese, as a hong konger, should learn.

freshman architecture student

the morning of september 11th, 2001, a tuesday, I had just come out of my 8 am math class, my instructor was late that morning, which everyone in class didn't take to much notice.. I remember getting out of altgeld hall and bumping into my roommate, Dennis

"did you hear what happened?"
"no, what do ya mean?"
"didn't you hear? a plane just crashed into the world trade center?"
"you kiddin me"
"no, the towers have fallen down, another one's gone into the pentagon too..."

I had been in the US for less than a month, I had even toured Chicago for the first time with my friend, Jack, just several days earlier. I can only say that, I had just witnessed a pivot point in the history of the nation.

is one of the first things that I noticed. interestingly, I think its one of the last things that comes to the mind of an average american. the perception i get of ye citizens is the dangers of the city, and the comfort and safety of the suburbs. suburbanization is really an american issue that has completely changed american culture. the large, rather inefficient system of interstates, commuting, personal space, SUVs, american dream... suburbanization is, i think, a dilemma of a quest for material realization of the american "dream". The problem is, while everyone is in pursuit, there is a decreasing number of people who really grasp what they are pursuing. Sadly, we are all pursuing a status, that can hitherto only be satisfied by posession, and when we do, we are all lost.

another thing with suburbanization, that is a well known issue but ignored, is the false perception of safety, esepcially the supposed safety for kids in suburban life. Supposedly, the burbs have provided a transcending zone between the dangers of humans and the safety of country lifestyle, a delicate balance with the driving economies of the US, and its own agricultural backwaters. Supposedly, guns and drugs are a big problem in cities, while non existent in the burbs. the truth is, while kids are locked in their protective suburban homes, and parents cannot afford the time with them, the kids become curious of the outside world. They have spare change, they have the TV to tell them what is cool to do, and before you know it, you have gun and drug problems in your own backyard.

Perhaps we haven't really decided whether we prefer Jefferson over Adams, or vice versa, at least not yet.

democracy

we tend to forget that democracy, at least as a form of government that the United States has so greatly adopted and spread, has been a 229-year-and-ongoing experiment. it is a great notion though, and as winston churchill once said "democracy is the worst form of government-- except for the others". it's true. democracy is really a conscious form of government, one which we always must remind ourselves that we are in, to spare us from insanity, and maintain ourselves civilized.

i think the most interesting feats of democracy that i've seen in my time here in the US, occured in the years of enlightenment. specifically, to represent democratic form of government, choice, the architects of the past devised the gridded street system for our cities-- philly, then new york, chicago, and then other cities throughout north america. it was really the greatest physical departure from the absolute. begone were the roads that pointed to edifices of religious or political significance (except for, of course, l'enfant's plan for Washington, D.C.). in plan, it was impossible to devide hierarchy, therefore, parcels were all equal and open to those who were able to afford it. interestingly, in the face of regularity there sprang up two forms of chaos: one was the notion of the park, and the other, the notion of the third dimension to the city: height.

When we talk about the park, it is really an issue of scrapping a couple of blocks on the grid and give way to greenery. of course it had to be placed somewhere.. so in new york it was placed in the center of the gridwork (ie "central" park), and in chicago it was place on a city dump ("grant" park). here, it revealed great contrasts between the two cities... the more laissez-faire, chaotic new york (despite the park being a planned park, the architects adopted a more english subliminal sytle that mimiced the natural); the more overtly planned and directed grant park of chicago (in a french beaux-arts style, opened during the famous columbian exposition of 1891).

height

the skyscraper was a great american invention, partly because it allowed heirarchy within a supposedly utilitarian framework. it is truly magnificant, and represents the ingenuity of developers, architects, entrepreneuers, and engineers alike. really we have been accustomed by these people to look at the city from afar, the "skyline" that seems to contain a hidden language of logic that underlies its undulations, that somehow two summits are linked, always, by a valley of shorter buildings, creating an interesting rhythm of form.

Boy, are architects geniouses

The second is that because we're so accustomed to see buildings from a distance, due to their sheer size, one must view the city in full through a car, windshield or side window. That's what I90/94, or the Eisenhower were designed for, as vistas, gateways to the city. The American is inseparable to the car. Because everything is so big, the only inhibition to our physique has been our size, as humans. Cars have provided the necessary boost in sheer volume of the human, not to mention its speed.

retro

I hope my observations have been at least somewhat insightful/amusing, to both foriegners and Americans alike; I really like the US, it's really a very great country. While its politics, foriegn policy and image have taken a rather disappointing turn over the past few years, there are many things within the United States that many other countries should learn, and, to the same degree, many should avoid. I think we should all make a effort to understand each other. sometimes it's as simple as mere respect, sometimes its integration, sometimes it's adoption, and sometimes it's tranformation.

and so, I arrived in the US, four years ago as a Hong Konger; today, i return to Hong Kong as a Chinese-Hong-Konger-Canadian-American who lived in France for a year.

bonjournee, salut!

ve.

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adolescent/hk.
vincent leung writes on culture and identity in hong kong
Update April 18th 2005

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adolescent/hk. began as an investigatative study on the culture of hong kong and its relation to spatial manifestation of the city.

In effect, there was an attempt to bridge the gap between the extreme physical manifestation of its architecture, explain it, and document it through a historiographical and architecturally theoretical perspective.

This article was finally realized as a history project for my Twentieth Century Architecture class, which I studied under my history professor and friend, Mr Anthony Scibilia while studying at the Versailles Study Abroad Program of the University of Illinois, around March 2004.

In it's completion, it was compiled with a set of other articles and interesting perks/advertisements that realized a fully-fledged propaganda machine for ve., my corporation/firm/philosophy/way of life.

I hope that you find the articles interesting, as I found it enjoyable to write and produce.

ve.

adolescent/hk. (pdf)

copyright (c) 2004-2005 by ve.
By downloading, you agree that Vincent C H Leung retains full rights to all articles and images in the file, with exception to images drawn from external sources, which are owned by their respective producers.

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an excerpt
from Good Will Hunting
by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Update March 23rd 2005 <

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The following excerpt may contain obscene language, user discretion is advised
The excerpt is quoted from the original script, by the authors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and all relevant parties.

           CHUCKIE
           Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way, but in 20
           years, if you're livin' next door to me, comin' over watchin' the fuckin'
           Patriots' games and still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you.
           And that's not a threat, that's a fact.  I'll fuckin' kill you.


           WILL

           Chuckie, what are you talkin'...


           CHUCKIE
           Listen, you got somethin' that none of us have.


            WILL
           Why is it always this? I owe it to myself? What if I don't want to?


           CHUCKIE
           Fuck you. You owe it to me. Tomorrow I'm gonna wake up and I'll be fifty
           and I'll still be doin' this. And that's all right 'cause I'm gonna make
           a run at it.


           But you, you're sittin' on a winning lottery ticket and you're too much of
           a pussy to cash it in. And that's bullshit 'cause I'd do anything to
           have what you got! And so would any of these guys. It'd be a fuckin' insult
           to us if you're still here in twenty years.


           WILL

           You don't know that.


           CHUCKIE
           Let me tell you what I do know. Every day I come by to pick you up, and we
           go out drinkin' or whatever and we have a few laughs. But you know what
           the best part of my day is? The ten seconds before I knock on the door
           'cause I let myself think I might get there, and you'd be gone. I'd knock
           on the door and you wouldn't be there.  You just left.

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Festival Walk, Hong Kong, China
celebratory editorial
Update Mar 16 2005

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First Take

It was quite worrysome to see this monstrosity being built when I was studying in a school just across the rail tracks from it. At first I didn't know what it was, until I was curious enough to go to the other side of the tracks to find out, this place called "Festival Walk", a upscale shopping center developed by Swire Properties, best known for its Pacific Place shopping mall in downtown Hong Kong, as well as Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flagship airline.

It didn't take long for Festival Walk to be known within the school as "that giant thing" or "the largest shopping mall in the world" etc. I was obviously curious as to what it would look like, since it couldn't have been built on a more difficult site. Built along a cliff, which was excavated and the building fit snuggedly on it, creating a building that acts as, in a very Hong Kong was, a geological feature. This mammothness was expressed with its own dismonumentalization through clever and careful stratification of the east facade, which was originally the cliff wall. Yet again, this reinforced the idea of the synthetic, while maintaing its naturalistic roots.

At that time the airport had still now been moved yet, therefore airplanes were constantly whizzing over it during construction. The mall however, managed to open around the time when the airport was moved.

On the Beaten Path

My first visit to the mall.... wow I remember it clearly. It was an ordinary school day and I decided to pay a visit to the newly-opened mall. I accessed through what is now (and really what has ever been) the major passage, through the MTR subway tunnel. Boy, was it an amazement to come up from the underground into a 3 story atrium.... you see back in those days Hong Kong mall design was pretty much limited to the ultra pragmatic box-approach, maybe one atrium, but definately the shops were prime and the environment taking a back seat.

Chemistry

I think that the chemistry that made the entry so seductive was a sort of known prequel, that by seeing this rather small, atrificially-lighted atrium I sensed the coming of more atria to come. Another issue of this approach is the unexpected distortion of the space, it wasn't necessarily a frontal experience, therefore one was not inclined to simply walk straight into the atria void, but instead weave along its S-shaped plan, and, with the diagonal placement of the escalators, change your trajectory acute to the direction of the storyline.

Storyline

In retrospect, it was indeed a storyline. The mall was one of those great breakthroughs in Hong Kong that interpretated the shopping experience in a much revolutionary way that augmented it. Of course all modes of approach were tolerated, but it must have been very clear in the early stages of development that there was a primary mode of path for a majority of the visitors. Therefore, the small atrium led to a compressed one-story space, which led to the main atrium, a 7 story, 50-60 meter wide puncture of steel and glass perpendicular to the main flow, S-curvature of the shopping mall. This was an explosive space, and, of course, the center of all events to the mall. To further materialize this explosiveness chaos, the escalators were deliberately stacked in an ABA rhythm. As opposed to the traditional approach to have a 7-story tall elevator zone neatly packed on one side of the structure, therefore, the escalators were objects in themselves, actually, the centerpiece of the atrium.

Festival Walk, then, celebrated the movement that generated the mall; not the object that generated the movement.

Canyon

Because of this ingenious think-outside-the-box yesnonsence approach of the S-Shaped plan, with the help of the escalators, the architects were able to channel movement in its most inefficient way: it was not possible to go from one story to another without passing some shops. The architects did, however, optimize this delicate balance between channeling users to shops en-route to other places, and making the act so inefficient that it annoyed users. It was just fine.

The fact that the passage was in such an S-shape also reinforced the impression of the synthesized nature: a canyon within the stratification. In effect it was a natural phenomenon turned inside out and back in again. The theme simple made the space successful and enjoyable.

Climax/Anti-Climax

Interestingly, there wasn't really any climax to the building. This possibly made the experience that much better, since the climatic undulations were, in effect, spread across the entire complex, at different points of the narrative. In another sense there is a sublimity present that is pretty much like the English garden, say, Stourhead, where throughout the passage one experiences "drops" of delight, but not necessarily an overwhelming existence of something in particular. Likewise, the detailing of the building also reveals a sort of a man-made chaos of the English garden, an engineered perspective of nature: if the place were to, as a whole, mimic to look like a natural scene, it was only to the careful eye that one realizes that there is indeed rhythmatic proportion and placement to this chaos, and indeed it was well laid out.

The Ice skating rink, which is just next to the cinema multiplex are such things. These were placed at, if approaching from subway, the other side of the site. It may seem rather random of a combination, and, being set right under the office tower, weird. But in terms of architectural proportion this act totally made spatial logic: that it was the antithesis of the entry. The one end emphasized the reality extreme, and through the passage of purification, one arrives at the ultimate of Hong Kong shopping culture: the ultra-active indoor sport of ice skating, and the ultra passive sport of movie-watching. In the pure business sense, as it is already obvious, anything in between will benefit from this cross traffic.

Final Take

I can say with great certainty that Festival Walk was the first work in my career that led me to seriously consider the implications of Hong Kong culture in relation to architecture, especially in a more retrospective sense of combining aesthetics, taste, business, and pragmatism as the main proponents of Hong Kong architecture. Although it was done by a group of Miami-based archtects, nonetheless it could have only been justifiable in Hong Kong, where the geographical and political, and demographic conditions could only have made it possible.

I believe that Swire Properties, a great patron to good architecture, and its manifestation the Festival Walk, opened up a new page for design in the city, also opening the enlightenment to others to encourage inverventions toward a better city.

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celebratory note
post birthday evening
Update Mar 11 2005

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I just wanted to thank everyone for a really great birthday that I've had, especially yoojung, ki, johnson, tze ming, arthur, matt, anthony, irene, laurie, chris, jessica, and tiffany, and of course my mom+dad, and my brother daniel... and all the friends that i may or may not have seen yesterday... i just wanted to thank all of you who gave me such a blast of a time, one that i don't think i've ever had in my life, and a birthday that makes me want to stay in champaign for the rest of it...

and all the surprises, arthur making a special appearance, an iPod mini, an El Croquis book on Rem Koolhaas, a box of Guylian chocolates, and, of course, the conversations we've had that I cherish most... ; )

thanks irene for your cartoon that reaffirms that I am indeed, the the mac guy! : )

thanks everybody, God Bless!

ve.

a card from yoojung + ki + johnson!!!!!
iPod MINI WOWOW!!!!!!!!~! thanks yoojung ki johnson tzeming and arthur!
iPod Family
WOW A GIANT BOOK ON KOOLHAAS!!!! Thanks guys!!!!!!! (Matt laurie irene anthony chris jess tiffany!)
irene and anthony make me wanna go back to belgium!

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IFC 2, Hong Kong, China
celebratory editorial
Update Mar 11 2005

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To celebrate the month of march and arrival of spring break, I've decided that for the next couple of entries I will focus on reviews on skyscrapers (well... maybe, we'll see)

First Take

It'll be good to begin this series it one of the most dominant new buildings in the Hong Kong skyline: IFC 2. A massive office/retail project, it was built above Hong Kong Station, which was one of the core elements of the Airport Express of the Airport Core Project in Hong Kong, which ran thru until 1998. Planning actually began with suggestions of 3 towers, not one, but eventually it was decided to be a single, 88-story 420 meter building. Along with the Union Square 7 project in West Kowloon, the two towers will literally mark the gateway into Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.

Designed by Cesar Pelli and Rocco Yim, the orginal renderings seemed to call for a similarly boxy, but taller incarnation of Rocco Yim's IFC 1. I think that the genious of Pelli's alterations for the new building were, however much you can say that he copied from Yim, that Pelli was able to show unmatchable eyes for fine proportions. Indescribable the magic as it is, the proportions of the window mullions, leading to main verticle members along the facade, to the setbacks, the size of the crown, and the overall height fit perfectly with each other, as if it was always supposed to be so (isn't that the tell tale sign of great design??!).

Therefore, it is quite amazing that I began as a skeptic of the building (When Pelli came over to the U of I in 2003, I went did actually question him about the massiveness of the building, worrying that it would over dominate the skyline, and, admitting as a Pei fan, overshadow the Bank of China-- nonetheless I was realy thrilled to get his autograph!! :D). Now, I realize that the tower has dominated the skyline, indeed, but has led to an amazing phenomenon that I have never witnessed in my life. I think the massiveness of the building has not only been awe-drawing in the traditional view of the Hong Kong skyline from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront view, but also successfully (and I mean really successfully) led photographers in capturing Hong Kong from an alternate view, from Morrison hill in North Point, or Fei Ngo Shan in East Kowlooon, or the container terminal in Kwai Chung. These are all unconsidered vistas in the past, since they did not render a satisfactory view of the Centeral district. The IFC 2 has successfully created this new (out)look of Hong Kong as one of the greatest cosmopolitain cities of our time.

Seduction

I was on a taxi along Jordan Road in West Kowloon when I first saw IFC 2, completed. There was nothing between us-- we bonded.

I can't describe how amazing the feeling was. I left a city for college in the US, and I came back to a megalopolis.

It didn't take me long (maybe the next day) when I went to IFC to document the building itself. The project is indeed an urban renewal project, and, excitingly urban. I remember Pelli, in response to my question, said that his aim was to augment to social scene of the Central business district. At that time I was skeptical indeed, afterall, when we consider the World Trade Center, Sears Tower, or even the Bank of China, they haven't been able to attract people closer to the building than their vistas, or otherwise inside the building itself.

On the Beaten Path

I was very impressed with the complex. The bridge-shopping center linking the existing IFC mall with the new wing, was well concealed as the shopping complex, with the exception when the IFC 2 appears in the midst of the skylight glass, and sometime covered in the fog, gives a subtle feeling of the sublime.

As you enter, there is a prevalent theme of curves, basically, and its centerpiece the oval atrium. The oval atrium draws thoughts of exclusivity, the posh, extravagance, like Michelangelo's Capidoglio.

The main walkway is well organized, although when compared to Langham Place in Mongkok (which I hope to comment on later), there is slightly less intrigue. Still it is probably on par with veterans of great shopping experience such as Festival Walk. On great thing about IFC 2 though, are its treats. Palace IFC is a particularly exciting part of this medley. Although it was not designed by Rocco or Pelli, this work by James Law Cybertecture is a good organization of a collection of functions within a very limited amount of space. Certainly there is the investigation of media and presence, and it's relation as a billboard to people walking on the main avenue. When one puts this into model context, as the firm had did in its diagramatics, there is an understanding that this space is almost organized to be a form of The Sims, a sort of subtle outrageousness and absurdity as a doll house.

Unfortunately I was not able to go inside the cinema (I heard it is a very expensive cinema), therefore I cannot comment on the actual interiors. Hopefully I can next time.

Another great surprise was while exploring the inner depths of the Mall. Traveling down the elevators on the West end of the Mall, one arrives at the series of elevator lobbies for underground parking. These are designed with fine taste, delicateness of the balance of materials, and a strong sense of excitement through lighting.

Climax

Most rewarding of all, however, was a trip I made one day up the Oval Atrium. At the top, I arrived at the roof garden of the complex, and, to my surprise, was extremely pleasant. Here Pelli and Rocco created a regular plane and inserted elements at a very jovial expression. Sculpture was commissioned and put off-grid. Skylights in fact also are sculturalized as objects. There are planes of grass, areas for seating, an outdoor bar, and a long water fixture extending the entire length of the roof garden, pleasantly bringing the sound of soothing water throughout the place. Interestingly the architects created a sort of folie by having some of the water channel to streams, and toward the harbour, falling down to the patio at the lower level, yet creating another waterfall. This space was extremely rewarding at the end of the exploration, and it was a great place to contemplate the skyscrapers of Central, and next to us, of course, IFC 2.

Search

I was looking for a known light fixture by James Law Cybertecture that involved tunnels lined with colors of flourescent lighting. This was in fact the main reason I wanted to visit the IFC Mall. Unfortunately, even after tirelessly asking people for directions, none of them knew of any tunnels in the complex. I just found out today that this was a temporary installment by the engineer/architect/artist not long after the Mall was opened, before any shops moved in. It is a really unfortunate thing to have found out, like how the Hong Kong Berlin Pavilion by Rocco Yim was disassembled and forever shelved. Hopefully some day Mr Law may display this work of his once again.

Final Take

IFC was greatly rewarding, and was one of the greatest steers I have seen from my past skepticisms. The mall itself is a symbol of CBD urban regeneration, and, most importantly, the tower signifies the renaissance of Hong Kong the greatest city of China.

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Mar 10 2005: on affairs of the city.

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Obviously, it isn't news that Tung Chee Hua, the first chief executive of Hong Kong, has handed out his resignation. Even if I told you yesterday it wouldn't have made a difference... rumors in the media have been flying all around the city and, through the internet, into the world.

There's one comment I saw while browsing through the BBC webpage that made a lot of sense to me. To many, this news has been quite a pleasant surprise, that an unpopular leader has finally handed his resignation, and, to make things even more pleasant, a very well respected individual is taking over. I'm rather surprised (or maybe i shouldn't) that the rhetoric in the western media has been rather skeptical on the issue, quoting possible worries that this opens the door to more hands-on control from the central administration in Beijing. But in the midst all of us takling about democrary and how great it is and that we should "spread" it, one would feel that this whole talk of democracy, the "path to democracy" is extremely trivial. After all, wasn't democracy a means of achieving something? As the great Winston Churchill once said: "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried".

It's like saying that one studies for the sake of it, that it is important that one studies. That is a valid statement, but, one can also argue that I wtudy in order to, say, get a good job, or, be a more knowledgable person. One can even say that, to achieve this goal, I should quit school and work, or maybe just become a monk, become a hermit in the mountains, and contemplate life and its meanings.

Maybe we're all in pursuit of something great, but we don't quite know what it is.

or maybe one wakes up one day and achieves Enlightenment.

Anyhow, I think it is fair to saw that we are here for a better world.

A toast, to Hong Kong.

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Update Feb 26 2005 II

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There are really only two things that provide the greatest non-living inspiration and insight of life for me, (the living being the people you know, and love.); these would be song lyrics and movies... I think i've learned from movies the most, really, I'm a person who much prefers cinema that i get something from, rather than to just laugh and forget about i it. Yi yi was one of them, lost in translation is another... I guess I've explained the reason why lost in translation is such a terrific piece of work, so I won't go into much about it here.

Yi yi is really the same type of movie... an underplayed, steady, crafted piece of work. I think that the insight really relates to the way of which I think about life,.. that the future relates to the past, that it is the result of the past. And sometimes, life is such of contradictions, that we try to perfect, and yet, there is always that externality that puts us "off course", but in the end, it doesn't really matter, because what we cherish, is usually what we think we should have done, or not done. but if we were able to go back, we probably would have done the same thing; it wouldn't have made a difference.

lyrics

that are well written is something that i really admire of songwriters... of course "well written" is a rather vague term that suits taste. but i think songs like ???????????????????????????????????????????????? and ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? really have a sort of mezmerization to them precisely because they are ellusive, at least at first glance... i feel like i know the feeling of the artist, and, that some people won't understand, the feeling of it. the smell of the sun as it sets, or of the randomness of branches, that so confuses us, who all try to put everything in logic, and make sense of why things are the way they are.

that we put ourselves off the course, just because of care, and the feeling of importance, of trying to speak when you can't, trying to diffuse this feeling to somebody, who doesn't understand, but you know will benefit so much from it.