Hong Kong Remembers the Tiananmen Square Massacre

June 4th, 1989 - the government of the People's Republic of China begins a crackdown on protestors (mostly students) in Tiananmen Square. The protestors, who had lived through a decade of economic reform was demanding political reform and democracy. Instead of change, the PRC set the army to attack their own people. The death toll is still unknown and there are still families out there wondering what happened to their relatives who participated in the protest.

In the PRC, the government takes great lengths to wipe the event from the collective memory of the people. The June 4th massacre is also officially described as a "counter-revolutionary revolt." Nonetheless, there are many who still remember the horrors of June 4th and although public remembrances are not tolerated on the mainland, the biggest candlelight vigil for the June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre is held every year at Victoria Park in Hong Kong. According to the organizers on the stage, there was a record-breaking number of people who came to the candlelight vigil this year and I was proud to be among the crowd.

I'd like to take up some space and a moment on this blog to remember those who decided to voice their opinions and stand up to authority in an attempt to make life better for themselves and their fellow citizens. The widespread support in your cause proved that you dared to voice the hopes and dreams of others. May your courage and spirit never be forgotten.

Here are pictures of the candlelight vigil. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture shots that would really represent the sea of candles you see in the news reports.

When you walked out of the MTR, there were tons of political parties doing fundraisers and advertising.

The sign reads: "The people will not forget."

My camera would not give me a decent shot of people with their candles. This blurry picture was the best I could get.

I won't forget.

A bit of hipster Toronto in Hong Kong

It seemed fitting that the release of "Iron Lady" in Hong Kong coincided with International Women's Day. Even as a lefty and consequently, in disagreement with Margaret Thatcher's political stance and policies, I can't help but admire the fact that she was a strong woman and the head bitch in charge in a world dominated by men.

In any case, off I went to a movie theatre I've always wanted to go to: the Broadway Cinematique in Yau Ma Tei. I stumbled upon it one day while wandering (I'm a hopeless wanderer) and initially, I was attracted by the bookstore. There are a variety of books, mostly in Chinese though there are a few English books here and there. A lot of huge volumes on films are also available and cute little arts and crafts from, I believe, local artists.



When I walked into this building, I also realized that the bookstore was attached to an Indie cafe, complete with the smell of London Fog. Heart. It's like someone took a chunk of my neighbourhood and put it randomly in Yau Ma Tei. Kubrick's is a legit cafe, complete with tables, outlets for your laptop and I'm guessing wifi to go with it.




Already, this place was paradise to me and I thought it couldn't get any better. But it did. Attached to the cafe was a small store with environmentally sustainable and fair trade products. Just like the hippy part of the Danforth in Toronto.





This place was already bursting at the seams with amazingness but it went even further. There was a DVD rental and film store with tons of films (local and foreign), movie soundtracks and posters for sale. It was glorious.





Just when you think that this is all this place had to offer, you look out and see that there's a concession stand and a movie theatre attached to the place! To see the films, you had to go up to the first floor (as opposed to the ground floor) and when you do go up the stairs, you're greeting with these wooden beams that's reminiscent of the interior of the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto.



Seriously, how perfect can this place get?

I highly recommend this place for anyone who's looking for a break from the mad rush of Hong Kong. Here's the address for you to google map:

3 Public Square Street Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong

Enjoy~!

Pink heart explosion day

Valentine's day. Usually, right after Christmas, Valentine's day decorations explode all over North America but in Hong Kong, this is delayed because of Chinese New Year. Depending on when it falls, the crazy pink explosion could be totally avoided just because CNY is just that much more important. This year, there was a 2 week gap between the end of CNY and Valentine's day so there was still time to bring in some pink stuff.

I happened to set out onto Sai Yeung Choi Street where there are tons of buskers and street vendors at night the day before Valentine's and found an array of interesting things. Here are some pictures.


Glass candy: the candy is soft until it hardens. You can make the candy into a balloon and blow into it. If you make the candy balloon bigger than the hoop on the stand, you got a lollypop on the top row. If you didn't, you got the consolation prizes seen on the bottom row.


Ostentatious bead presents - shiny flowers/cute things. Good present?


This guy has no fingers and made these clay/dough roses. Really pretty and a win-win gift for your loved one. You look good helping out the guy making the roses AND your loved one gets a beautiful handmade gift AND it lasts longer than real flowers. Total win.


There were quite a few buskers on the street. These guys danced to Lady Gaga. My friend and I got second-hand embarrassment from them. It was THAT bad. At least we got a laugh over it.

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

This comes a bit late but I figure better late than never, I suppose. Life has been busy as usual and it does take a while before I get the motivation to write on this blog. Without further ado, here are a few things that I did for Chinese New Year in Hong Kong.

CNY came as a huge surprise because of how quiet it was. Suddenly, almost everything was closed and the streets were devoid of people - a first. One place that's usually quiet but full of people, however, were the temples.


The statues at Wong Tai Sin temple were decked out in bright red ribbons.


In Macau, the Amah Temple was setting off firecrackers.


A visiting friend and I also braved the HUGE crowds in the Chinese New Year fair/flower market in Victoria Park.



Such colourful plants and flowers!


The Che Kung Temple is a popular destination for CNY. A few Chief Executive candidates went the date before I did.



What to do when you're at the Che Kung Temple during CNY: spin the wheel of fortune and bang the drums to herald the New Year!


For some reason, buying whirligigs is very common around this time. I got a little one though there were big ones as well!


There was also tons of CNY paraphernalia! So cute!


The Mandarin Oriental also heralded the new year with this centrepiece in the cake shop!

Cake cake cake cake cake cake cake

So I have to make a confession. I have an obsession. With desserts. Yum. So when I found out that the cakes at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central were absolutely fabulous, I would not rest until my foodie friend came with me to the fancypants hotel (which was intimidating to my proletarian soul) to try it.

All I can say is yum. I got a lychee raspberry mousse. The flavours were amazing and fresh and the texture was creamy but light.



My friend got a chocolate cake which I took a bite of. Also very delectable.


Here were some cakes on display. Yum.

Can you believe this teddy bear was made of cake?



I love this rose pattern. This could appear in the Sunday Sweets section of Cakewrecks.


So adorable!



A cake modeled after their famous rose-petal jam.


I plan on trying every single cake they make before I go home.

HAPPY NEW YEAR~!

It's been 2012 for 2 hours already in Hong Kong and the festivities are dying down.

So what do people do for the solar new year here? Well, there are parties in Lan Kwai Fong (aka the expat district) and a countdown at Times Square and then as always, an occasion for people to take pictures of stuff aka a fireworks display at Victoria Harbour.

Let me tell you now - watching these fireworks may seem like a tame activity but it is not something for the faint of heart. First of all, there are massive crowds. The main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Nathan Road, was pretty much pedestrianized and shut off from normal traffic. Then there was the harbour. The Avenue of Stars was PACKED. Did I also mention that we were there starting at 9PM? (The first little display - a star on the ifc and a little firework shooting from the roof - was at 11PM...) Here is a picture of all the people standing directly behind me.


And when I mean packed like sardines, I mean, there were awkward moments when the lady beside us was shimmying up and down in front of her man friend. I dunno what they were doing but the awkward turtle was definitely swimming about. My friend also got an elbow in her ribs for prolonged periods of time.

My friend and I couldn't get a viewing spot by the Avenue of Stars and had to settle for a spot near the Ocean Terminal shopping mall. Or near the ostentatious ad for Toy Storyland to be precise. We couldn't see the fireworks that were blowing up from the buildings left of the ifc but at least we got a clear view of the ifc. It was a grueling wait. We literally stood in our spots packed like little sardines for 3 HOURS. (Yes, we're crazy, I know.) Starting at 11PM, the ifc would have a little star on it and a little firework would go off. This happened every 15 minutes and each of the stars were different colours to symbolize different things. I only bothered to take a picture of the red star, which is supposed to symbolize love.


And finally, in the last minute (literally), there was a countdown (the crowd around me was counting down in Cantonese) and fireworks! Cool! Though it should've been way cooler with all that waiting we did. (I didn't take a picture of the fireworks because I figured I should fully enjoy the spectacle after waiting for so long.)


My friend and I lingered for a bit before heading back but in the end, we still had to face... THE CROWDS. You seriously don't understand unless you've been there. Crowds and crowds of people filling the sidewalk and the road on Nathan Road. Police blocking certain streets for crowd control. Crowd control was pretty well done though I'll have to wait for tomorrow's news to see if anything horrible happened. (Can you spot the foreigner in my picture of a crowd?)

Foreigners tend to stick out literally because of their height. LOLs.

Anyways, whatever you did, I hope everyone has a great 2012~!