Economist.com Cities Guide: Hong Kong Briefing - July 2006

News this month

Pro-democracy stumbles

Over 30,000 people took to Hong Kong's streets on July 1st to demand speedier democratic reforms and to mark the ninth anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China. Although attendance was well below the 500,000 who took part in similar marches in 2003 and 2004, organisers were pleased. That so many people demonstrated during an economic boom and in the scorching heat, they said, showed a genuine desire for universal suffrage.

Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, refused to comment on the march. Having celebrated his first year in office on June 24th, his approval ratings have taken a beating recently, dropping nine percentage points to around 60%. Mr Tsang was installed by Beijing to replace the unpopular Tung Chee-hwa, and his emergency term lasts for only another year. His critics complain of the slow pace of reform and his aversion to controversy. Anson Chan Fang On-sang, a former chief secretary of Hong Kong (the second-highest position in the administration), has re-emerged to possibly challenge Mr Tsang for his job next year. Unlike her potential rival, she staged a rally before the march and urged mass participation. Mrs Chan will hold talks this month with pro-democracy parties about what further role she can play in their campaigns.

Hacks and suits

A journalist who broke the news about the start of the second world war is engaged in a battle of her own. Clare Hollingworth, who was first to report the German invasion of Poland in 1939, is suing another journalist over his management of her affairs. The nonagenarian is asking the Court of First Instance, one of two courts that make up Hong Kong’s High Court, to force Ted Thomas to reveal the whereabouts of HK$2m ($257,000) he withdrew from her bank account. Mr Thomas, who had control of Ms Hollingworth’s accounts from 2003 until May 2005, claims he acted in her best interest and that much of the money was invested on her behalf.

He has already returned a significant portion of the claimed money, but Ms Hollingworth's representatives say some HK$1.18m remains outstanding. A judge will rule on July 12th on whether Mr Thomas will have to present a full account of what happened to the money.

Spreading its tentacles

Hong Kong’s Octopus card, an advanced version of London's Oyster card, will be accepted in the neighbouring enclaves of Shenzhen and Macau by the end of 2006. Brought in as a way to improve ticketing across Hong Kong’s transport network, the electronic stored-value card can now be used in convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food restaurants and some government departments. The cards have proved so popular that 13m are in circulation among Hong Kong’s 6.9m residents. Plans are afoot to extend the service to bars and cafés in Hong Kong by using portable card-readers, and a trial has begun in taxis in the New Territories. For the moment, the rechargeable cards will be sold only in Hong Kong.

Dancing all the way to the bank

Hong Kong’s elite are not averse to conspicuous consumption. But in this city of big spenders, news that a top banker agreed to pay HK$120m for eight years of dancing lessons still came as a shock. Details of this transaction came to light when Mimi Wong, the chief executive of private banking at HSBC, sued her former dance teachers—Mirko Saccani and Gaynor Fairweather, a 15-time world champion Latin dancer—for the return of HK$62m she had paid them up front. Ms Wong claimed in the Court of First Instance that Mr Saccani had abused and threatened her before a group of 50 other dancers in August 2004.

The case has cast a spotlight on the world of competitive ballroom dancing, a popular sport among Hong Kong’s elite. It was claimed that Mr Saccani’s outburst, during which he allegedly threatened to throw Ms Wong out of a window, came after he was shown up by a former student during a practice session. A judgment is due in late July.

End of the Dragon?

Hong Kong’s rapacious developers have one of the city's most magnificent gardens in their sights. The private, eight-hectare Dragon Garden in Sham Tseng was designed in the 1940s by Chu Pin, the architect responsible for restoring Beijing’s Forbidden City. Once a retreat of the late Lee Iu-cheung, a tycoon who made his fortune selling building materials, the garden is now to be sold to a developer for HK$130m.

Cynthia Lee Hong-yee, one of Mr Lee’s grandchildren, led a campaign to stop her family from selling the plot. She highlighted the garden’s unique heritage (it has served as a location for numerous films, including the James Bond thriller “The Man With The Golden Gun”) and its place as one of the city's few remaining private gardens of significance. But on July 6th, Lee Him, the tycoon's fourth son, cast his deciding vote in favour of the sale.

Catch if you can

July 2006

Ancient Chinese Weapons

Until September 20th 2006

This exhibition concentrates on bronze weaponry from the pre-Han period, between 4,000 and 2,000 years ago. The Chinese were big fans of bronze, not just for agricultural and military tools, but also for ceremonial purposes. The craftwork of the carvings on display here is often remarkable. Visitors can witness the evolution of Chinese weapon design, according to the ethnic group that created them and the circumstances of their use.

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. 175 Tung Hei Rd, Shau Kei Wan. Tel: +852 2569 1500. Admission: HK$10. Open: daily, except Thurs, 10am-5pm. See the website.

More from the Hong Kong cultural calendar