Hong Kong will be in the news a lot this week as the World Trade Organization talks are taking place there as are all the associated protests and police actions to prevent protest. Over the course of this last year, I have discussed numerous happenings personally and in the destinations that Eric and I have been lucky enough to visit. I thought it'd be good to post a couple of links that I use regularly to stay up to date on the news and happenings in some of our favorite places.
Hong Kong
The Economist's Monthly Briefing on Hong Kong (The Economist has surprisingly great list of monthly city and coutry briefings as well as travel guides.)
http://www.economist.com/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=HK&CFID=69130412&CFTOKEN=34fb4c5-b16c8a1c-3b24-4d37-a11e-8e09de7eb0be
The South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com
US News
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com
The Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com
The Topeka Capital Journal (Eric still follows the Topeka press (Eric still follows this (especially their weddings and births. Once a Kansas boy, always a Kansas boy.)
http://www.cjonline.com
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Frosty Morning Bike Ride
I am back in Kansas City currently and Eric is to return shortly. On Thursday we were hit with a heavy snow storm that has made the task of getting around without a car more difficult than I thought. Luckily, I have some really great friends that have offered rides without guilt thus far.
As I sat as Starbucks, enjoying the serenity of the scene and sipping away the frustration that could have built from waking at the absurdly early time of 4 am, I was surprised by another early morning adventurer. There amongst the 8 inches of snow that was quickly being piled into 8 foot piles by the Plaza's snow removal crews was a bundled man on a mountain bike. At first glance, he appeared only an odd commuter, but then he did a seemingly unexpected thing. He took dead aim at one of the snow piles. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet and he was accelerating. With contact, Flipping Fred, as I think I shall call him, sailed over the handle bars, doing a backflip and landed safely in the snow.
I promise that my lack of sleep did not contribute to the unexpected nature of this extreme sport. Snow flipping on the Plaza at 5:45 am. Who would have guessed?
As I sat as Starbucks, enjoying the serenity of the scene and sipping away the frustration that could have built from waking at the absurdly early time of 4 am, I was surprised by another early morning adventurer. There amongst the 8 inches of snow that was quickly being piled into 8 foot piles by the Plaza's snow removal crews was a bundled man on a mountain bike. At first glance, he appeared only an odd commuter, but then he did a seemingly unexpected thing. He took dead aim at one of the snow piles. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet and he was accelerating. With contact, Flipping Fred, as I think I shall call him, sailed over the handle bars, doing a backflip and landed safely in the snow.
I promise that my lack of sleep did not contribute to the unexpected nature of this extreme sport. Snow flipping on the Plaza at 5:45 am. Who would have guessed?
Thursday, December 08, 2005
The March for Democracy
This past Sunday Eric had the opportunity to be a part of Hong Kong and China history. He along with one of our friends Sarah, took part in the democracy march. With several hundred thousand people taking to the street, the people of Hong Kong seemed to unite in a way that I have never seen. In peaceful protest, they streamed along the streets of Hong Kong’s harbor for the entire day, erupting with purpose in a way that the mainland fears.
As a special administrative region (SAR) of China, Hong Kong (like Macau and to some extent Taiwan) enjoys a unique arrangement that encourages commerce and integration with the mainland while maintaining two systems, separate government, economic policy, and other key governmental functions. It is not this that the people seem opposed to, in fact, from what I’ve seen, complete independence is not the goal. Rather, the people of Hong Kong want the right to elect their own head representative and to move towards a democratic government.
Oddly, at least in the media and press that I’ve seen, there has been little international support or discussion of this movement. America is quick to endorse Taiwan and where is the support for Hong Kong? At the march, Eric reported seeing no other foreigners (at least of different skin color) at the march, which in a city that is packed with foreigners is quite a statement. People at the march were amazed to see gweilos (white people or foreigners) marching with them in support and they loved it.
Hopefully when Eric stops for a holiday break in a few weeks he’ll have some time to write about the experience so I can post more. I can’t express how proud I am of him and Sara for going. These pictures are really moving for me in a way I would never have expected. I am sad I was not there to participate in what was an amazing statement about the power of reasoned people acting together.
As a special administrative region (SAR) of China, Hong Kong (like Macau and to some extent Taiwan) enjoys a unique arrangement that encourages commerce and integration with the mainland while maintaining two systems, separate government, economic policy, and other key governmental functions. It is not this that the people seem opposed to, in fact, from what I’ve seen, complete independence is not the goal. Rather, the people of Hong Kong want the right to elect their own head representative and to move towards a democratic government.
Oddly, at least in the media and press that I’ve seen, there has been little international support or discussion of this movement. America is quick to endorse Taiwan and where is the support for Hong Kong? At the march, Eric reported seeing no other foreigners (at least of different skin color) at the march, which in a city that is packed with foreigners is quite a statement. People at the march were amazed to see gweilos (white people or foreigners) marching with them in support and they loved it.
Hopefully when Eric stops for a holiday break in a few weeks he’ll have some time to write about the experience so I can post more. I can’t express how proud I am of him and Sara for going. These pictures are really moving for me in a way I would never have expected. I am sad I was not there to participate in what was an amazing statement about the power of reasoned people acting together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)