Ordinary Gweilo

100,000 people marched through Hong Kong yesterday in support of democracy. This was more than the organizers estimate of around 20,000 (which I thought was rather pessimistic) but significantly fewer than marched in July. The police issued a rather mysterious estimate of the number they believed had gathered in Victoria Park before setting off (37,000) but declined to estimate the number of marchers. The government issued a weird statement saying they would listen carefully to the aspirations of the citizens who marched. How do you listen to aspirations, I wonder?

Meanwhile, the latest news on the possible SARS case in Guangzhou is that it probably is SARS, but no-one is sure yet. Remember that after the SARS epidemic was over, the government revised the figures for the number of cases and number of deaths, concluding that many people who had been thought to have SARS did not have it.

Even if this is confirmed as a SARS case, the encouraging thing is that it hasn’t been covered up and no-one else appears to have been infected. Even if we carry on getting a few isolated cases of SARS through the winter, there seems to be every reason to believe that it will be kept under control.

Meanwhile, only 44 Hong Kong firms have so far registered under the Cepa arrangements. Damp squib or what?

TVB Pearl’s review of the year was (unintentionally) hilarious. They sent the presenters (Chris Lincoln and Regina somebody) out and about in Hong Kong to present the links between the filmed reports, and both of them had great difficulty walking and talking at the same time and just didn’t know what to do when they weren’t talking (look at the camera? nod in agreement? look at their fellow presenter?). Marvellous.