#hong kong news

[museeanime]

Today in Hong Kong

It’s how being colonised is still better than being ruled by Columnist 🤷🏻‍♀️People are sad, really sad

Human are emotional because they’re losing something familiar but they can also be critical to history and system. Why not both?

[hk-chinanews]

[防騙] 曼谷炸彈案生還者 - 星級騙徒「莫佩瑤」(新2)

由之前Hi畢樓主 到而家明點解樓主咁嬲 因為樓主唔止輸錢，輸埋友情 不過都係要Hi畢你架啦 應該由一開始就唔應該轉帳$2000落人地到, 超個100蚊?野我一定面見面交收 Btw 真係做衰人個個先係活得最耐 佢一個表姐一個朋友分分鐘鐘又係心地善俾佢呃果種，偏偏好人就死先

[mowgliproductions]

Breaking News: Prasad Pujari Gangster From Mumbai Underworld Arrested in...

[reasonsforhope]

"Discarded shells from restaurants and hotels are being used to restore damaged oyster ecosystems, promote biodiversity and lower pollution in the city’s bays...

Nestled in between the South China Sea and the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong has been seen historically as an oyster hotspot. “They have been supporting our livelihood since ancient times,” says Anniqa Law Chung-kiu, a project manager at the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Hong Kong. “Both oysters and their shells are treasures to humans.”

Over the past five decades, however, the city’s sprawling urban development, water pollution, as well as the over-harvesting and frequent seafloor dredging by the lime industry – which uses the crushed shells to make construction material – have destroyed Hong Kong’s oyster habitats and made the waters less hospitable for biodiversity.

The more oyster colonies falter, the worse the problem gets: oysters are filter feeders and purify water by gobbling up impurities. Just one Hong Kong oyster can filter up to 200 litres of water a day, more than any other known oyster species. But decades of rapid industrialisation have largely halted their water-purifying services.

The depletion of Hong Kong’s natural oyster reefs also affects the ability of local farmers to sustainably cultivate their oysters in a healthy environment, denting the reputation of the city’s 700-year oyster farming tradition, designated by Unesco as an “intangible cultural heritage”.

Inhabitants of the coast feel abandoned, says Ken Cheng Wai-kwan, the community leader of Ha Pak Nai on Hong Kong’s Deep Bay, facing the commercial city of Shenzhen in China. “This place is forgotten,” Cheng says. “Oysters have been rooted here for over 400 years. I ask the question: do we want to lose it, or not?”

A group of activists and scientists are taking up the challenge by collecting discarded oyster shells and recycling them to rebuild some of the reefs that have been destroyed and forgotten in the hope the oysters may make a comeback. They’ve selected locations around the island where data they’ve collected suggests ecosystems still have the potential to be rebooted, and there are still enough oyster larvae to recolonise and repopulate reefs. Ideally, this will have a positive effect on local biodiversity as a whole, and farming communities.

Farmers from Ha Pak Nai were among the first to hand over their discarded shells to the TNC team for recycling. Law’s team works with eight oyster farmers from Deep Bay to recycle up to 10 tonnes of shells every year [over 22,000 pounds]. They collect an average of 870kg every week [over 1,900 pounds] from 12 hotels, supermarkets, clubhouses and seafood restaurants in the city, including some of its most fashionable establishments. About 80 tonnes of shells [over 176,000 pounds] have been recycled since the project began in 2020.

Restaurants will soon be further incentivised to recycle the shells when Hong Kong introduces a new fee for waste removal – something that is routine in many countries, but only became law in Hong Kong in July and remains controversial...

Preliminary data shows some of the restored reefs have started to increase the levels of biodiversity, but more research is needed to determine to what extent they are contributing to the filtering of the water, says Law.

Scientists from the City University of Hong Kong are also looking to use oyster shells to increase biodiversity on the city’s concrete seawalls. They hope to provide tiny, wet shelter spots around the seawall in which organisms can find refuge during low tide.

“It’s a form of soft engineering, like a nature-based solution,” says Charlene Lai, a research assistant on the team."

-via The Guardian, December 22, 2023

[justaguyinhk]

Voting in Hong Kong For The First Time

The line up was out of the school, down the street, then down another street. People brought their kids. They got up early and got ready to go out to do something others in Mainland China can’t do – they went out to vote.

It was my first vote and the one I will remember most after voting in every possible election back home and now my first in my adoptive home of Hong Kong.

The vote is for members on one of the 18 district councils around the city. Their job is minimal – mostly looking after garbage cleanup, bus routes, and other smaller local issues. Elected members need to have a second job since the pay is not much, but they are important in the Hong Kong government system.

Under the current system, they hold 10% of the vote for the leader or the Chief Executive. They also hold an additional five seats on the Legislative Council having more say on how the region is governed. The regional councils were all dominated by parties and politicians loyal to Beijing and the Mainland government. This election was different. There was going to be a change.

We filed into the gym in a single file. The election officials divided into different rows based on the first letter of our ID card, making the process of voting easier. The ballet is in colour with a picture of the candidate, along with their name in both English and traditional Chinese characters. Attached to the ballot was a stamp or chop.

To mark the vote needed to be perfect. It had to be in the white circle beside the name. If it was outside the circle – invalid. If it was not facing the right way – invalid. Helpful on-line voting tips helped voters vote and make sure they don’t invalidate their vote. There is a push to make sure all the votes counted. They needed to.

After six months of protests, canister after canister of tear gas, Hong Kongers had a chance to vote on what was happening in their city. The government of Carrie Lam continued to claim there was a ‘silent majority’ who support their ways of ending the demonstrations with tear gas and force. The election was a chance to show how wrong her assumptions were.

The weeks leading up to the election saw wave after wave of protests stopping everything in the city. Demonstrators occupied twoUniversities. Thousands of rounds of tear gas, pepper spray were fired by riot police. In the days before the election, there was a cease-fire. Hong Kong returned to as normal as it can be. Both sides feared the vote would be canceled. It’s a break from the chaos.

My guy won. My entire district went for the pro-democracy parties. The election showed there was little or no support for the government. It showed the tactics by its leader Carrie Lam are not working. The government and the police need to back down and listen to the people of this city. The people have spoken, and now we wonder if the government is listening.

[mangodelorean]

Lee Dong Wook for Vogue Man Hong Kong [April 2024]

[X]

[obsessedbyneon]

The celebration of Lunar New Year, Hong Kong, early 90s.

Scan

[disease]

"EVERYTHING VISIBLE IS EMPTY" @ EMPTY GALLERY, HK | SEPT 9–NOV 18, 2017 TOSHIO MATSUMOTO 松本 俊夫 | 1975

Everything Visible Is Empty seeks to embrace Matsumoto's trenchant critique of 'the visible—the ideologically constructed gaze which conjures social reality—by forgoing a curatorial approach based on stylistic or chronological groupings and instead presenting a non-linear mosaic of works from different contexts and eras.

[lgbtpopcult]

Best WLW News Stories of 2023

Meet South Korea’s first lesbian couple to have a child

[museeanime]

Hong Kong people's "Stockholm syndrome" towards colonisation history(?)

(It's only a sharing about the colonisation issue in Hong Kong. I can't speak for Indians, Africans, Australian, Scottish & Irish people. Colonialism is a cruelty, it's the darkest page of history.)

History of Hong Kong is complicated and the identity of "Hong Kong people" is also complicated too.

Most Hong Kong citizens are not "natives" but the refugees from the rules under Chinese Communist Party. (Added that the natives Hong Kong people own tons of land in this city, most of them are rich as hell now. Just imagine you own tons of land in New York.) For a group of people experienced WWII, civil war, cultural revolution and losing their original homeland, the British Hong Kong is where they settled and rooted their identity. Then they experienced the booming economy and when Hong Kong becoming the Asia wealthiest international city from a fishing village. (And yes, free education with English classes - that's why I can communicate in English)

Do Hong Kong people feel like they are "Chinese"? Almost nobody in Hong Kong under 30 identifies as“Chinese". But then who are they? None of us experienced the Opium Wars but prosperity, laws & orders and freedom were so real, which people can relate to. The colonisation history became one thing people can identify themselves and differentiate themselves from "Chinese".

Circumstances have changed dramatically since 1997 in human rights, freedom of speech & expression after the handover. Is independence a choice? It's THE FUCKING COLUMNIST PARTY. It may only happen when something like dissolution of USSR happen in China. I can only dare to say this because it's an anonymous account and I’m not in Hong Kong currently... A lot of young people are now in jailed because what they published or publicly said. It’s how columnist party works.

So People here tend to romanticize the colonial period and experience, some even want UK to takeover Hong Kong again. Is it pathetic? Yes, maybe. But it's their only form of escapism. Is it a "Stockholm syndrome"? Yes, maybe but they are all humans. They are just a group of desperate people.

I built this blog for sharing & discussing about manga, esp Rumiko Takahashi's works. Writing about political can be sensitive and irritating to some people. But after the AO3 election issue, I feel like politics and cultural shocks are EVERYWHERE, even in fandom. And interestingly, the America-centric mind & critics are often found in manga fandom too, eg: a manga is "bad" and "boring" just because the Americans didn't get the jokes, "and obsession towards exotic cultures, etc. Some of them are just so IGNORANT and embarrassing to see. What bothered me is: whenever things happen, Americans are always the noisiest. They care things for few days without much in-depth understanding and without asking how & why people think or feel. But still, I love talking to people from different cultures, both online or in-person. Love and sympathy are always inside people's cores, no matter what's their nationality, stands and even fandom. Tumblr can be a window to say something or record something about a place I lived and I always love. Ya....Just in case you are interested @artistefish @inusmasha

[hetalia-club]

Hetalia Fantasia

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?

I thought I had seen every piece of media involving Hetalia. I've never even heard of it. And the quality is so terrible it's like it is from another universe.

i tried to track this down on a better website or possibly dubbed but there is only mentions of it. so enjoy the 240p

[hetalianhistorian]

Happy Mayuge Day!! (03/03)

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Cameos & Familiar Faces

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized by favs in each category. No numbered lists anymore, tumblr be buggn'.

End of Aug Start Sept 2023

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 8fin - Oh the DRAMA. Why does the insane ex (my true love) remind me of the cartel leader from Romancing the Stone? Even the sides got HEA! It was fucking great!!!!! Charn remains a bonkers spoiled evil murderous brat with a cruel smile beloved by his one true paladin. Also: post it love note trope! Been a long while my old friend. NO SINGING!!!!! I do love that wedding jacket frock coat cape thing Charn wore. 

In conclusion: This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. Charn may be my favorite lead character of 2023. However, this show is not entirely BL, more on the fringe, like Manner of Death. Add that to several "singing incidents" and pairs being a little weak in the chemistry arena, and this lands safely in 9/10 territory. It’s tons of fun tho: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Sat grey) ep 3 of 12 - This show is getting more and more lakorn each ep. Apparently the straights are having a class divide arranged marriage crisis. Who cares? Our boy is ALWAYS in trouble. Crazy that he has to save the people who betrayed him in a previous life - but I guess he chose revenge! That's unexpected.

Had to switch to grey and couldn’t find a working rip. It was frustrating and I wouldn’t have bothered except I like this show so much. Still, it means no screen caps because the rez is naff.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - Uh oh. Kang wants to save Sailom and be his hero. The fact that K’s Pa puts no pressure on him whatsoever, makes me wonder if K's Ma committed suicide or something? It’s definitely the opposite parental dynamic we normally see in BL. I have to say, the pacing is great in the show. And the acting is on point. It’s really great. 

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - these two just kiss well. I mean not "rip your clothes off Taiwan-style," but sweet young boyfriends-esk. Joke wants to be claimed so bad. It’s great. I enjoyed this ep, unfortunately it looks like we have a manufactured angst drama drop in the next episode. Is this a 10 episode arc? I thought it was 12. It’s odd to have doom happening next episode already.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 4 of 10 - Back story time! Ray and Mew are HARD to watch. Incestuous friend group gay is the worst. Omg I got such QAF vibes from this ep. Nick Boston Sand chats = very throw back 90s gay soaps. 

Location game moment: Top's hotel room is also Chan’s apartment in Laws Of Attraction. 

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 1 of 8 - Ooo. Est is back! Hi handsome. Head of security suits you. Please lead out the new Waterboyy remake? You’re perfect for the role. (If it must happen.) Yi’s Pa is GREAT. Please give daddy a nice boy? Could that be our secondary couple for this series? 

Meanwhile, with the leads (sorry I was distracted by daddy) we got us an arranged marriage, run away bride, and an amnesia trope. Put in a secret baby and it's squarely 1980's Harlequin. Will there be Vikings? Sex herbs? Pirates? Dub con?

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 9 of 12 - Again with lovely sex scenes, it’s just the plot stringing them together is frayed. Also don’t fuck in an onsen. Both yech and ouch.

That goes for all y’all.  

Wedding Plan (Wed YT & iQIYI) ep 7fin - Trash watch here! Honestly this was an okay ending, I’m not mad at it. If you can tolerate Mame and liars (kinda the same thing) you’ll be fine with this show.

Summation: An innocent wedding planner falls haplessly and hopelessly in love with a groom who relentlessly pursued him, even though he’s about to marry someone else. A somewhat lackluster mame offering with less of the usual stellar chemistry, but all of the usual lies and manipulation. 7/10

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - I skip everything to do with Tammy and it’s fine. There’s only about 20 minutes of fine but that’s more than enough. On the bright side. So far. No singing.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 24 eps - Cassanova Begins Part 2. Aw. It was sad. Another variation on the “my ghost boyfriend” trope (usually sad). 2/10 I don't do sad BL.

Next up is Merry Go Round featuring the pair from Destiny Seeker (we likey) who want to marry each other, but end up fake engaged to the same woman. Beard squared? Looks silly.

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - There are 2 things I like about this. I bet you can guess what they are.

Lee Long Shi

The whipping boy trope

There wasn’t enough of either in this first ep. ALSO the captions, sound effects, and voice over are truly next level bad. Utterly atrocious.

The 2 leads fucking around in the end credits was the funniest part of the whole show. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thur Viki) ep 7 of 8 - I am confused and frustrated about what the communication delay is between the two Juns. It feels artificial and narratively manufactured. But since this is a short form KBL and I know it will be resolved quickly, I’m not as annoyed as I would be if this were Thai BL. Still it feels audience manipulative. I also feel sorry for Simon. BUT it looks like it’ll be a sweet boyfriends final episode.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 10fin - Omg they’re so cute!!! Taiwan the purveyors of ultimate sappy gay domesticity. I am going to miss having these to nonsencing all over my dash.

This show was an interesting take on the "ghost boyfriend" trope. About a boy who is tormented by hearing the dead, except when he is around one other boy - desperation+proximity = love. Unfortunately, the story was erratic and waffled about. While the leads turned in solid performances and the sappy domesticity was off the charts, it never really had the strength of the narrative convictions such a strong concept should have supplied. Highly rewatchable and enjoyable for that sappy domesticity but not a whole lot more. Still I always give extra credit for the diabetes-inducing sugar content and rewatch capacity. 8/10 

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) eps 3 of 13(?) - I love the punching thing - there is a lot of violent flirting in this show. I’m not mad about it. Ugh, poor thing has real abandonment issues. And now trust issues. I see why we’re getting 12-14 eps. This gonna be MESSY.

Meanwhile, does EVERYONE have a guest cameo? Not that I’m complaining. Hi BLIHID boys! Now I need to rewatch that show. 

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 7-8 of 10 - Oh my God the next morning w/ couple 2 was so darn cute. They are all such terrible flirts with each other. Honestly, this show makes me laugh more than any other BL currently airing. I’m not sure it is meant to be as funny as I find it. While couple 3 (the mature characters) is by far my favorite, I actually think they don’t work with the other two pairs, they feel superfluous to the show. I like the show better because they’re in it, but it feels like two different BL‘s stuck together. KBL certainly can’t handle more than two couple threads at the same time. 

Why R U? (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - Ugh. I am such a sucker for the FighterTutor dynamic. Why so good? Uh oh. Real kiss! KBL you're spoiling us. But, isn’t sad-seme-hyung dating some chick? Argh. Poor Sunwoo. This show is even worse at repping Fighter's character sympathetically. Who knew that was possible?

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - The date episode! Even Japan is doing it now. And these two who have been living/fucking together for ages still dance around each other like junior high kids. I gotta say, I watch this one twice because Vicki has different subs from Gaga. I feel like it’s easier to understand if I watch two different translations of the same script. But it’s still quite a taciturn piece. 

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - Sides are great. It was mostly a cute ep with tiny bits of Progress and a proper Confession. I miss Shin’s siblings. And then… the much loathed amnesia trope. Really?

Everyone say it with me: Must you, Japan? 

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) ep 5fin - It ended happier than I was expecting. Optimistic for one couple, and most likely optimistic for the other.

Summation: What to say about this offering from Hong Kong? It’s different, a mix of early CBL, Taiwanese shorts, and Pinoy visuals. It felt like the story was 2 independent shorts that had been lengthen and then stuck together, and I wish they'd been approached as separate and tighter entities. Nevertheless, this was a complex little piece,  interesting in a sweaty grungy way, with a certain aura of queer authenticity that made it simultaneously tense, unpredictable, and refreshing. I’m not sure I would necessarily call it BL, but any county’s early foray into the genre usually starts out this way, so perhaps nascent BL? Worth watching, especially if you enjoy stuff from the Philippines and Taiwan. 7/10

In case you missed it

Dinosaur Love ended its run but the final 2 eps are behind a paywall. Word on the street is they aren't good anyway (shocker) so I'm marking it as DNF and moving on with my life. If I can find em grey I'll watch 'em merely so I can give it a rating, but I can't imagine it will get more than 5/10. Seriously, do not bother.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Coming September

9/15 You Are Mine (Taiwan Gaga) Secretary has to deal with grumpy boss.

9/15 Bump Up Business AKA Bump Up Project (Korea movie) suspected cinema release? I don't know much about what's going on. Last status update. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency. Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf has signed up to star in this idol-based BL (based on a webtoon). They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. It’s from Idol Romance who will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You).

9/26 I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other.

9/27 Absolute Zero (Thai iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally bring us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance. We don’t always get HEAs from them, so I'm on my guard.

9/? Venus in the Sky (Thai iQIYI) 10 eps

9/? Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam YouTube?)

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Hidden Agenda hitting us up with a hug + lap + kiss. Very nice.

I think these two might be GMMTV's best cuddlers.

Boys, I think your JoongDunk is showing.

(Last week) 

[to-be-loved-by-death]

Proud of this one I hope people like it!

[katabay]

for context, sometimes I volunteer at (redacted) running the live stream broadcast. it's come to my attention that I'm not exactly dressed for the location, even though those dress code suggestions are not meant for the tech desk lmao

also! hourly comics day is the first of feburary! I did exactly 1 (one) hourly comic before calling it a day. this is that singular comic a few days late.

[haveyouheardthisband]