Ordinary Gweilo

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Now That Should Create More Publicity

An email from George Adams is a rare treat, especially when he manages not to be offensive.

His reason for contacting me was that his website is apparently not available to anyone who has Netvigator as their ISP, and he felt that I might be outraged by this.

Well, up to a point, Dr Adams. If you have a long memory, you may recall that a while back there was great celebration over at George’s website because some blogs were being banned in China. This was hailed as a public service since all blogs are trivial, dreary things that serve no useful purpose.

So unlike George’s website, which has lots of *important stuff*. Like, er, amusing photographs, pictures of George’s girlfriend, tales of how much weight George has lost, whinges about how his part of Hong Kong has been spoiled by this or that development, jokes about Gweilos and their Asian girlfriends (irony alert) and even more amusing photographs.

George thinks that he has upset Li Ka-Shing, a theory that has been bolstered by news that HGC are also "blocking" his website (Hutchison Global Crossing is part of Li’s empire, whilst Netvigator is owned by his son). I love conspiracy theories (especially when they are set forth on websites that use large fonts and brightly coloured backgrounds) so I do hope that there isn’t a simple explanation for all this.

Update: I have just noticed that both Sun Gai Gweilo and BWG mentioned this yesterday.  Randall at BWG seems to think that there is a problem somewhere other than in Hong Kong that is preventing access to George’s website. 

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13 responses to “Now That Should Create More Publicity”

  1. BWG avatar
    BWG

    Interesting. I haven’t got an e-mail from him yet.
    Perhaps he didn’t like what he read …

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  2. Chris avatar
    Chris

    Actually, my email was a week ago. I only just got round to dealing with it.

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  3. spike avatar
    spike

    I’m on Netvigator. Each time I’ve seen a posting referencing blocked access to that website, I’ve tried and reached it with no problem. I haven’t referenced it in my blog because he once listed me as one of the top ten worst blogs – and I took it as a point of honor, considering most of what passes for content on his site.

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  4. BWG avatar
    BWG

    Ah, I see.
    I had forgotten about the Chinese ban on blogs. Good catch.

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  5. Tree Hugger avatar
    Tree Hugger

    I can get NTSCMP in my office using pacific.net but can’t get it at home with notvigator. I checked with a friend who uses HGC and he also gets an error. In Australia, mum can’t get it.
    I wrote to netvigator twice, so did one of my friends. we all got the same answer. OFTA is looking at my complaint too.
    Gorgeous George ain’t my first choice on the web, but everyone has a place. I am not even a fan of free speech as I feel it comes with responsibilty, however, the whole thing about access to his site stinks.
    You have to agree Adams spotted a nice special on the wine at PmS.

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  6. gunlaw avatar
    gunlaw

    It is almost the only memento that I have of my dearly loved, departed ones.
    It happens to be over 300 years old.
    It is a “heavenly clockwork” wallclock, Su Sing-style. The day hours are longer than the night. A little brassy-fishy moves down the hours, marked off by the Chinese zodiac, chiming and charming. The care and craftsmanship with which it has been made, make it something else. It was, and remains, state-of-the-art technology, encapsulating the solar sytem and imitating the movement of the planets.
    Once, at huge expense and milky-mothering, I replaced a tiny wonky brass spindle. Nothing more has been done so far as I can tell. The escapement still spins regular, after 300 years.
    Can any amongst us make a thing which will adorn an ordinary wall in 300 years’ time?
    However, being over 300 years-old it needs to go to the doctor. Who shall I ask?
    Dr. Adams has all the answers. Details please.

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  7. fumier avatar
    fumier

    I’m with George (and Mr. Hugger) on this one, for what it’s worth.
    I wish someone would ban my blog, by the way; then I wouldn’t have to keep on churning out inane drivel.

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  8. Chris avatar
    Chris

    My point is that blogs definitely were/are blocked in China and NTSCMP thought that was a jolly good thing. Yet when he thinks the same thing is happening his own site, George protests loudly (and milks it for all it’s worth).
    If his site were providing some real analysis of the way that the Li family dominate Hong Kong life then I might put this to one side and support him – but he doesn’t, so I don’t.
    I mentioned the the 10 cent reductions in PnS some time before George, but admittedly I didn’t have an out-of-focus picture of the price label to go with it.

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  9. fumier avatar
    fumier

    I think that Mr. Patkin’s marvellous think-tank should be providing us with an analysis of the Lis’ (and other ologopolists’) effects on free trade in Hong Kong, rather than just worshipping Starbucks and MacDonalds.

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  10. BWG avatar
    BWG

    The photos must come from a camera phone, which is why the quality isn’t great.
    And yes, the 10-cent discounts are ludicrous.

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  11. Chris avatar
    Chris

    Ah, Simon Patkin. Funny you should mention him.
    To be fair, he has been been criticizing Richard Li here.

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  12. fumier avatar
    fumier

    He has indeed. Goodness, you stop visiting a site for just 8 months, and they start posting something sensible!

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  13. Tree Hugger avatar
    Tree Hugger

    Wow. Something I can agree on with Mr. Simon Patkin.

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