Occupy Central with Love and Peace - A Civil Disobedience Campaign

Edited for typos...

I finally got a chance to go to one of the protest sites for Occupy Central. These photos were taken right in front of the main group of Government buildings in Admiralty, Hong Kong. The tents are basically set up in the middle of the main thoroughfare through this district. It’s a road we travel often. Needless to say, the blockade is causing quite a few traffic issues on the north side of the island.

So if you don't know, protesters have been "Occupying" the streets in front of a group of Government buildings in Hong Kong. They are protesting for universal suffrage. 

Currently, the SAR (Special Administrative Region) enjoys most of the same freedoms and liberties that folks in traditional democratic societies enjoy. They can travel or move to any country in the world, work when and where they want, send their kids to a school of their choosing and basically buy and sell goods on the open market. Not much is restricted. Truth be known, it’s a pretty sweet deal.

But, they can’t choose their own government. They can, and do, choose local representatives for their own districts, However the top job, the Chief Executive, is chosen from a slate of candidates hand picked by Beijing. Going forward, the CE will have to be chosen from a pool of two or three individuals as selected by a 1200 member Nominating committee made up of politicos who are chosen by, and are loyal to, Beijing.

It’s quite a bit more complicated in that firstly, the CE from HK has to submit a report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Then those guys have to approve and send their suggestions back to HK. Then they vote and send it back or some such nonsense and it eventually ends up in a bureaucratic hell hole that no one understands or gives a hoot about.

Except for these kids protesting in Admiralty. Well, kids is a relative term. Young college students all born 1990 or later.  

The Occupy Central movement idea had been around for the last year or so. All stemming from the desire to have true, universal suffrage. Not the Beijing version. The cause had been championed mainly by adults who are working for a living and was scheduled to start on October 1. But the students got a bit of an early start by starting the occupation on Friday,  September 26. Then, on the night of September 27, the police went in with tear gas and everything escalated from there.  

While the working adults are still involved, the center stage has been taken over by the students. When the first negotiations started, it was a group of students across the table from HK government representatives. I watched of bit of it on TV but my Cantonese is a bit rusty and the subtitles were in Mandarin so, uh, I didn't catch much. But all other news outlets indicate the students held their own.

The beauty of the whole thing, other than that it’s the students leading the way, is that it is such a peaceful and strong showing of the will of the people. These were taken on a Saturday around noon. Not a cop in sight. There have been some instances of violence, the tear gas (only once), the occasional shoving match, the Anti Occupy groups trying to take down the barricades even a group of cops that took away a handcuffed man and beat him ala Rodney King. The guy was okay and the cops got suspended, but for the most part, it’s remarkably calm. Cool heads are the norm. Some of the most intriguing photos were of the students holding their umbrellas over the heads of the police who were on the front line during a rain storm. It’s all just the nature of the Hong Kong people.

I walked out of the exit from the subway and walked right into the middle of the movement. Broke out the camera and all was okay. I guess they may be used to the expats and other gawkers who come by to take photos.

It was humbling to see the dedication of these people standing up for their beliefs and their human rights. Especially since this is a right I frequently take for granted.

Not really sure what this is implying.

Second tallest building in HK. The Bat Man building.

See the umbrella?

Weird art thing. Duct taped mannequin. The umbrella here is made of small packets of mustard.

Here's what it's all about. 

Umbrellas strung between two over head walkways.

The Umbrella tree made from tiny folded umbrellas with messages on them.

Umbrella Man

Lots of Lennon references

Yet again. Peaceful guy. Just like the protesters.

Cool building.

Central Government Offices

Chinese New Year - 2014

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

What was intended to be a running commentary on our observations and musings while living in Hong Kong, has transformed into a travelogue of our ventures. Well, as they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men and yada yada yada."

Which brings me to our most recent adventure. Boracay Island, Philippines. See the photos here.

Our troupe consisted of our good friends the Rogers. We've been running with this family for a couple of years now and we always have a great time. This time was no different.

It all started out on a rather dubious note. We were booked on a Saturday am 7:45 from HK to Manila and then on a 11:55 into Caticlan. From there, we were looking at a short boat ride that would have us lounging pool side sipping San Miguel Pilsner by around 3 pm. Well one debacle turned into another and we finally got there at 12:45. AM. On Sunday.

Instead of going the usual hotel / resort route, we decided to rent a house for the week. As far as I'm concerned, we'll choose this option from here on out. We got a great deal and ended up with a great place with great amenities. The house came with a driver and two helpers as well as a very willing manager who helped us really enjoy our time without having to worry about all the particulars that would normally come with staying off the reservation.

The island itself is only about 3 miles long. But, with only one road (frequently only one lane on the one road) it took a little while to get any where. We were riding in an air conditioned van but the majority of the transportation options were of the three wheeled variety (see the photos). Still, easy enough to navigate and become immersed in the local culture. Did you know cock fighting is still legal in parts of the world? It is and the practice is alive and well in the Philippines. But, as with most situations, there's usually a silver lining. There certainly is in this place.

Boracay truly has some of the best beaches I've ever been on and certainly the best I've been on in the SE Asia region. White sand like talcum powder and crystal clear blue and green water underneath azure blue skies. Great diving, lots of  inexpensive boats for hire and some pretty decent nightlife.

However, take just a few steps away from the beach and you get snapped back to reality and to the plight of the locals. Maybe plight is too strong of a word because honestly, these folks don't see their situation as unfortunate or even difficult. They plug along making the best of things despite living in huts with dirt floors, spotty electricity and questionable plumbing.

These are the nicest, friendliest people we've met since we've lived in this area of the world. All of them are good looking, clean and hard working. Certainly makes for a great vacation.

Since our place was a bit off the main road, we had to drive through a typical neighborhood every day. I don't know if there were more kids, dogs or chickens but judging by the amount of roosters crowing all day, the chickens were probably accountable for the majority of the population.

Charles and Annette, having lived in Nicaragua, were familiar with this type of situation and came up with the idea to put together some care packages. So we ponied up some cash and the house staff put together about 30 packs of staples like rice, sugar and coffee. Then we got a trunk full of toys to hand out to the kids. Again, check out the photos.

That was the crowning jewel on a stellar week. Can't wait to go back again.

Halong Bay, Vietnam, Fall 2013

Great trip to Halong Bay. Here are the photos. Flew into Hanoi then took a 5 hour ride to get to the bay. Three days and two nights on the water. Good fun was had by all.

Hong Kong Island at night

These were taken from the Avenue of Stars in Kowloon. This is the view of Hong Kong island, where we live. Truly spectacular at night. Daytime, eh....

Convention Center in Wan Chai

Central - Bank of China on left, IFC 2 on right

Bank of China and HSBC (red and white)

IFC 1 and 2 in Central (the Batman building)

Graduation name calling

Click here to hear his name being called.

After clicking the link, double click on the photo and it should load as a video.

Class of 2013 Motto:

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

Winston Churchill 

Quite appropriate. 

Graduation Day 2013

What a great day! Here are the photos from Alex's Graduation ceremony. I don't want to be too cliche, but they always said time flies. Truer words were never spoken!

Almost 200 Seniors in this year's class. Good speakers from the Administration and from the Student's sides. If I said this was better than most Graduation ceremonies I've been to, would that sound biased? It should because I am! We are all so proud!

Here's what's in store for our recent Grad. Monday, he hits the skies to fly to Koh Samui, Thailand. He and about 30 of his pals, girls and guys, have rented a couple of swanky villas. In all, there will be upward of 50 kids from HKIS as well as a smattering of kids from schools all over the region. We did lay some ground rules:

1. No drugs
2. No mopeds
3. No drunk swimming
4. Don't insult the King
5. Watch out for ladyboys (after all, this is Thailand we're taking about!)

Back to HK and then off to the US for a few weeks of summer fun and family. Back to HK again before heading out to Tucson, AZ where he starts at the University of Arizona. Graduation was a joyous day. That will be a sad day.

From there, who knows?

The Stage is set

What an angel. She's proud of big bro too!

"Quit taking my picture!"

Could be in the military, eh?

"Another picture?"

BEAR DOWN!

Dashing, indeed.

Happy campers.

This is more like it. 

Christmas 2012

After last year when we all spent Christmas in much warmer climates, this year, we decided to head for the snow. Of course, what good is snow without skiing! We ventured to Hakuba in the Nagano Prefecture in eastern Japan. Referred to as the Japan Alps, this area hosted the Winter Olympics in 1998.

We flew from HK to Tokyo with a quick stop in Taipei. Once in Tokyo, our schedule necessitated us taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel. Pretty normal except the taxi took six and a half hours! Partly because it's a long way and partly because we had to circumvent the closed tunnel that collapsed about a month ago.

Once we arrived in Hakuba, we either walked or used the local public transport. We skied for four days at three different resorts. It snowed everyday but we actually had a bit of rain mixed in. Consequently, the skiing was a bit icy on a couple of days. The last day we had great snow and spent all day on the mountain (once our young intrepid schussers got out of bed!)

On Christmas day, we took a bus back to Nagano, the we caught the bullet train back to Tokyo. A short taxi ride to the hotel but us right near the Ginza district. Great for shopping. Which was good since I forgot to pack a crucial part of Sydney's Christmas outfit. After a little exploring, we headed to the American Club, Tokyo for Christmas dinner. All the traditional turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing etc. complimented by some out of this world sushi. I mean, really, you can't go to Japan and not eat sushi, am I right?

The next day we caught an early flight back to HK and were back home to open gifts by about 4 on the 26th. A quick trip but lots of fun. Click here to see the photos.

Various photos

Here's a few more pictures from around the house.

Orchids on the back patio.

Red flowering bush. That's the technical name.

These are souvenirs that I got from Dad. He brought these from Thailand when he was stationed there. Years ago. They work quite well here. 

Window ledge in her room.

Window display. Chinese fashion at it's best.

Photobomb.

Sculptures by a famous Chinese artist, Yue Minjun.