Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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  • Don’t do it!

    From today’s Technology Post

    Q: I  really want to blog but I have no idea how to get started. I put blog into Google and there were just too many hits for me to follow. I am very much a beginner and I am not all that technical. Is this going to be really difficult for someone like me?  Name and Address supplied

    A: This is an enormous subject. There are all sorts of ways to blog and it can be fraught with many difficulties, but the technology aspect to it all should not be one of them.

    It reminds me of wanting a pet when I was a child. My mother said: "Are you aware the dog must be fed and taken for a walk every day? Are you prepared to do that? If you are not, there will be no dog."   You may not have to blog every day but people have begun to expect a certain amount of regularity. And, if you cannot deliver, you may discover there are not many interested in your blog.

    It is also important to spend some time on the name. A name can really make or break you, assuming you want a lot of people to read your blog. A blog can take up a great deal of time. Not only must you write your entries, you may have to answer others and in general manage the whole thing.

    Indeed, indeed.  A blog is not just for Christmas.  Before you know it you’ll be signing up for Simon’s blogging convention and discussing the latest add-ins for Movable Type, and writing posts about trackbacks.  It’s a slippery slope.  Quit now before you’ve even started.   

  • No help at all

    Simon has done a fairly effective job of demolishing Hong Kong Phooey’s latest rant, on the subject of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs).  As Simon says, Mr Phooey makes some good points, but the problem is the way that he presents them in his posts.  If he had written a short ‘rant’ of 2–3 paragraphs about the way that some Hong Kong people treat their helpers (something like this), I would probably have been nodding in agreement, but instead he tries to present it as if it were an academic paper (though a fairly poor one, scattered with gratuitous insults) and left me shaking my head with frustration.

    Mr Phooey seems to feel compelled to cite references to support his arguments.  Unfortunately the references he cites are neither relevant nor helpful.

    He mentions Hong Kong’s status as the “world’s freest economy” (a dubious accolade awarded by a right-wing think tank), takes this at face value and then complains about Hong Kong people having the “freedom to enslave and exploit domestic helpers”.  I fail to see the connection here, given that the government does set a minimum wage and even prosecutes a few people each year for breaking this law.

    He also cites an article from the Christmas 2001 edition of The Economist.  I read this article at the time it was first published and have subsequently recommended it to anyone who wants to gain some insight into the life of a Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong.  To place it in context you need to understand that in the Christmas double issue, The Economist runs a large number of feature articles that are not about current affairs, economics or politics.  The theme of this piece is the contrast between the “virtual slavery” of the Filipina helpers and the fact that they appear (at least on their day off) to be the happiest people in the city.  However, Mr Phooey is much more interested in writing about the appalling behaviour of Hong Kong people.  The Economist alludes to this and mentions a couple of court cases brought against Hong Kong employers for physical abuse of their helpers (something that Mr Phooey oddly fails to mention) but the article is really about how Filipina helpers can be so happy, not how Hong Kong people can be so beastly.  So the article doesn’t really assist Mr Phooey in his line of argument. 

    However, The Economist does highlight the irony of the current situation:

    Two generations ago, the Philippines was the second-richest country in East Asia, after Japan, while Hong Kong was teeming with destitute refugees from mainland China. Among upper-class families in the Philippines, it was common in those days to employ maids from Hong Kong. But over the past two decades Hong Kong has grown rich as one of Asia’s “tigers”, while the Philippines has stayed poor.    

    Mr Phooey is not interested in any of this either, and merely uses The Economist as a reference for some (out-of-date) statistics on the number of Filipino helpers in Hong Kong, though I suppose he regards the “virtual slavery” line as justification for his use of the term “enslavement”.  It’s not clear what The Economist means by “virtual slavery”, but the reality is that Filipinas and other foreign nationals willingly come to Hong Kong knowing what to expect, and are free to leave at any time.  They certainly work long hours for a low wage, but that’s not the same thing as slavery.   

    (more…)

  • Hong Kong blogs

    [This list is now very out-of-date and most of the links don't work]

    Anson Mak

    Batgung.com Maybe not strictly a blog, but some interesting musings on life in Hong Kong by two expats married to local ladies.

    Big White Guy Is it a blog?  Not sure. A Canadian photographer and writer living in the New Territories offers comments on life in Hong Kong.

    Bunny Bytes Quite an amusing personal blog from a German-Filipino lady living in Hong Kong.

    Cha Xiu Bao It's a blog. About food. Mainly Chinese, but not exclusively.

    Capitalist Solutions in Hong Kong A disciple of Ayn Rand tells us what's wrong with Hong Kong.

    Chatter Garden An online community for news and discussion about Hong Kong regional politics and public affairs created by journalism students at the University of Hong Kong.

    Cloudless A photoblog about Hong Kong

    Combustion Engine

    Dave’s Wibblings

    Dai Tou Lam An American on Peng Chau.   

    Dim Sum Mum Triplets and a toddler and apparently time for blogging. Yikes.

    Discombobulated Mia A British lady writing about her life in Hong Kong, her love life (or sometimes the lack thereof) and other personal stuff. 

    Dreams can come true

    Earth Blue

    EastSouthWestNorth  Probably the most serious blog on this list.  Some interesting articles translated from Chinese, and as many estimates of the number of marchers on July 1st as you could possibly want.

    Edg176

    Evolution in a Revolution

    Faintly f'kd    A fan of Hong Kong Cable TV

    Flying Chair    Long-time blogger with opinions on current affairs in Hong Kong. 

    Friends Disenchanted A Brit newly arrived in Hong Kong, and living on Lamma.

    Fumier    Writes about driving (poor standard of) in Hong Kong.  Can be quite amusing in a droll sort of way.

    Gai Zao

    Glory Glory Tottenham Hotsblog    Not really about football

    Gino888

    Glutter   Very personal blog about democracy in Hong Kong, music and other stuff.

    Hemlock’s Diary   Possibly not a blog, but can be very funny.  Bills himself as Hong Kong’s most obnoxious expat.  A combination of a fictionalised diary and commentary on the shortcomings of Hong Kong’s government.

    HKMacs       Lives on Lamma.  Does things with Apple Macs for a living.  Photographs his dinner to fill space on the blog.

    Hongkie Town      An American in Hong Kong who obviously enjoys the “nightlife” here. 

    Hanzi Smatter

    HK 1997

    Julie Leung

    Juni's Fut Fut Forever

    Keaner Dot Net

    Kee Yeung

    kinglychee

    L’il read writerhood

    London Calling

    Madame Shutterfly       A photographer publishes her photographs, sometimes with a commentary.

    Milton J. MadisonMing and Ping

    Misohoni Diary of a web designer and football fan

    Nevin's Photolog

    Nude King

    Present Perfect   

    Procrastinating Muddle Puddle

    Pulled in many directions Thoughts of a kindergarten teacher in Hong Kong

    Racing Mix

    Ranhasadotcom    Bit weird, but worth a look.

    See Lai   Rather odd combination of tales of the author’s experiences doing business in China, his personal life, and girlie pics.  Hugely popular for one of these three.

    Shaky Kaiser   Another Brit living the expat life to the full.  Geeky but amusing.

    Simon World    Over-keen blogger, nice guy, quite comprehensive updates on business-related and political issues in Hong Kong.  Used to have more about his three kids, but now focused on blogs and politics.

    Shit Sandwich

    Silent Dreams 2.0

    Stone Camel

    Siuying

    Sky

    Spirit Fingers   Amusing commentary on fashion disasters. 

    Super K

    Sweet Chariots    Another Brit, a colleague of Simon’s, writes about rugby and buying marmalade in Hong Kong supermarkets.

    underneath the microbeats

    United Bingdom

    Waah!   Bits and pieces from another Brit who appears to work in the IT industry. 

    Yoga Yuga

    ZiYix

    Blog Guides

    Hong Kong Blogs

    Rice Bowl Journals Hong Kong Listings

    Blog You.com

    Best Blogs in Asia

    Hemlock's Guide ("The World's Most Authoritative Guide to Hong Kong Blogs")

    Glutter's guide

    Asia Blog Awards

  • This charming man

    One of the more puzzling aspects of doing this blog is that I can write a long article and get zero response, whilst sometimes a short piece dashed off in a few minutes can provoke a lively debate.

    The short piece I wrote about Hong Kong Phooey’s Hong Kong Blog (see below) falls into the latter category. So, much as I try to avoid spending too much time blogging about blogs, I have to follow up on what I wrote a couple of days ago.

    The author of this blog is apparently an academic working in one of the universities in Hong Kong. The point of the blog (at least so far) seems to be to complain about the behaviour of Hong Kong Chinese people. The problem here is that whilst there is undoubtedly some truth in what he writes, the author exaggerates to the point of absurdity.

    Two examples will suffice.

    • We all know that people here are heavy users of mobile phones, but if every member of an extended family group were really on their phones continuously throughout a dim sum lunch that certainly isn’t typical.
    • Yes, people do tend to sit on the "aisle seat" on buses and minibuses, but it is patently absurd to say that they "always – without exception" do this.

    The other problem is the implied racism. It stands to reason that in this city, people who behave in an anti-social way will probably be Chinese. However, that doesn’t mean that all Chinese people behave boorishly. Or are stupid, or lazy, or whatever insult you care to choose. Yet this blog refers throughout to the behaviour of Hong Kong Chinese people, as if people of every other nationality living here always behaved impecably.

    I just wonder what the reaction would be if a Hong Kong Chinese visitor to the UK were to write something similar about life in London? Probably wouldn’t go down very well.

    That’s not to say that there isn’t some interesting analysis here, but it comes across in such a negative and arrogant way that many readers will simply switch off. In short, what it lacks is the lightness of touch that allows Hemlock (for example) to make similar comments in a much more entertaining way.

  • Not nasty enough (apparently)

    A few months ago, Fumier and myself were berated by NTSCMP for some fairly harmless comments about the way people walk in Hong Kong.  The headline was something like "Is it time for Fumier and Ordinary Gweilo to leave Hong Kong?".

    Now someone has produced a whole blog whining about the horrible behaviour of Chinese people in Hong Kong.  So you’d expect NTSCMP to disapprove.

    Er, well, no, not exactly:

    At last, a literate blog which promises to be more objectionable, vicious and pointed than NTSCMP – after he gets a few things off his chest about portable phones, lazy locals and ironing board figures.

    The author of this blog also seems to share Conrad’s view that people who live in the New Territories are uneducated savages. So, in summary, it’s OK to be rude about Chinese people and the inhabitants of the New Territories (so unlike those civilized chaps in Stanley, don’t you know), but not OK to make general observations about how some Hong Kong people behave. 

    No, I don’t quite get it.  Can you explain it again, more slowly?

    George presumably likes this blog because it recommends his book, which also has things to say about the way people walk in Hong Kong – amongst many other subjects.  Things, one might add, that are not all that different from what NTSCMP criticized Fumier for saying.

    It’s a strange world.   

  • Chinese New Year

    Well, I seem to have survived the first three days of CNY.

    At least there isn’t too much to think about – you stuff money into Lai See envelopes and buy various boxes and tins of cookies (preferably from Denmark, for no discernable reason).  You give cookies, you get cookies.  You give out lucky money to other people’s children, they give lucky money to yours.  Everyone is very happy!

    We went to the flour market, but I was very disappointed.  Endless orange trees and those curious yellow things that look vaguely like plastic lemons on sticks, but absolutely no sign of any flour (we’ve just got a bread machine, but the supermarket has run out of wholemeal flour).  Ah well.

    The big news story seems to be that some elderly rich bloke is getting married to his long-term girlfriend (or "Two old gits to marry" as one disrespectful British newspaper put it).  At least we didn’t get hours of "rolling news" coverage on TV, but what was it doing as the second story on the Chinese TV news, on the front page of the SCMP (with a full page inside) or on an outside page of Apple Daily?  No relevance at all to Hong Kong, I think you’ll find.

  • Kung Hei Fat Choi

    Have a very happy and prosperous Year of the Rooster, and

    Kung Hei Fat Choi

  • Don’t stop

    (with apologies for encroaching on Fumier‘s territory)

    To the driver of a people carrier, registration LL 1380 (or similar):

    • The reason that large white KMB bus was stopped was because of the red traffic light.
    • The reason that several people on the pedestrian crossing looked at you incredulously (not that you noticed) was that you nearly killed us all by driving through the red light.
    • Driving at 60-70 kph in a busy town centre is both dangerous and illegal.  If you insist on doing it, at least pay attention.

    Good grief.  I can’t help thinking that if I hadn’t waited for the bus to come to a complete halt before I started to cross, I would almost certainly have been hit by that lunatic. 

    One more thing whilst I’m here.  Yellow boxes.  The idea is that you don’t drive into them unless your exit is clear.  This is to allow other vehicles to get across the junction rather than blocking everything up.  It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t work if drivers are so stupid or selfish that they just carry on regardless.

    That’s all.  

  • Cold front

    This is like living in the UK!  Cold, windy, and wet.  It’s not supposed to be like this, is it?

    I always thought that the deal with Hong Kong weather was that we have to endure a few hot and humid months in the summer (made bearable by aircon and swimming pools) and a few cold days in the winter – and then we could enjoy the rest of the year walking around in shirt sleeves (or, of course, ski gear and scarves from November onwards if you’re a local). 

    Unusually, this year we seem to have had cold weather almost continuously for the last 5-6 weeks, and it’s always cold over the Lunar New Year so there’s at least one more week of this, and probably another month, before things return to normal.

    It’s almost enough to make you want to move to Singapore, where the only thing that changes through the year is whether it rains in the middle of the afternoon or it doesn’t rain in the middle of the afternoon.  Cold weather is not something they do – what with being on the equator, and all that. 

    Which reminds me of one of the more surreal discussions I had in a previous company – whether staff from the Singapore office should be granted a special allowance to buy cold weather clothes if they were sent to Beijing (and all points north).  Having meetings on subjects like that really is an excellent way of putting off doing any real work.

    Personally, I’ve got over my earlier ‘denial’ phase when I insisted that it "isn’t cold really".  I still think that 20 degrees is pleasantly warm, but I have to accept that 12 degrees with a cold wind is anything but pleasant, so I do now have some warm clothes.  The problems are that whereas it’s easy to keep your home comfortably cool in the summer, the average Hong Kong apartment is much harder to keep warm in the winter, and (of course) those freezing cold buses and trains.  What’s that all about, then?

  • Conrad has left the building

    Our old friend Conrad (Gweilo Diaries) suddenly disappeared a few weeks ago, and then his domain was acquired by someone else (who hoped to profit from all the traffic), which seemed to be fairly conclusive proof that he had gone for good.

    Now he has offered a brief explanation (via Shaky) for his sudden and unannounced disappearance:

    He learned that someone was trying to uncover his real name and identity, and since his career would suffer if that happened he decided what the hell and just went off the air.  (I understand that completely, by the way.  I often wonder whether it was wise for me to use my real name.  Thankfully, it’s an incredibly common name.)

    Actually, I thought everybody already knew Conrad’s real name.  I have read a few bloggers who don’t like Conrad making allusions to his real name, and have been told where he works by more than one person (obviously I wouldn’t divulge it – unless I was very drunk or offered large sums of money).

    I have always assumed that anyone (well, anyone who could be bothered) could discover who was behind any blog – unless the individual kept a very low profile and used a service such as Blogger.  Conrad did neither of these things, and he also made a few enemies along the way, so it seems quite possible that there was someone out there trying to cause him problems.

    There have indeed been a few recent cases of people being sacked because they ran blogs, and even though Conrad only wrote briefly (and in the most general terms) about his job, and never mentioned his firm, they might still have objected.  I suppose if I had to choose between my career and spending many hours slaving over a hot blog, I’d probably do the same as Conrad.