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Tsuen Wan / Kwai Chung Protests 25 August 2019

25 August 2019 – Another weekend of protests but this time it started off at Kwai Chung Sports Ground (葵涌運動場) to Tsuen Wan Park (荃灣公園); bowing to pressure from Beijing MTR Corp decided to close down a few underground stations to make it more difficult for protesters to get to the demonstration site. This also happened yesterday to the demonstrations at Kwun Tong.

Congestion at Texaco Road, Tsuen Wan Hong Kong – 7:45pm 25 August 2019

These protests have been started by Carrie Lam the chief executive of Hong Kong who tried to bulldoze through the extradition bill – she has had many opportunities to diffuse the situation but instead has dug herself into the Fuhrer bunker.

Rain was bucketing down and as I walked from Tsuen Wan West to the Texaco Road I saw a convoy of about 15 police vans rushing from Tsuen Wan West station to Yeung Uk Road at about 7:35pm tonight; from the pictures you can see that bricks had been dug up from the pavements.
Vi

Tsuen Wan West – 25 August 2019 7:34pm

Looking down Yeung Uk Road – Facing East

people crossing Yeung Uk Road

Bricks Dup Up – Tsuen Wan Protests

Tsuen Wan West – 7:35pm

As I try to get to Texaco Road, I go up a footbridge and the main action is in Yeung Uk Road where a number of police cars are stationed.

Police Vans on Yeung Uk Road

On Texaco Road I notice makeshift road blocks had been set up presumably by protesters. Some of the railings had also been taken down.

Railings on Texaco Road, Tsuen Wan – Taken Down

Many cars tried to get through Texaco Road but instead had to go around.

Texaco Road – Makeshift Barriers

As I approach the roundabout connecting to Texaco Road, the flyover, Tsing Yi, etc. the traffice is completely blocked up and doesn’t seem to be moving.

Massive Congestion on Texaco Road

For more information about the exact routing and information this news site seems to cover the events quite well.
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/08/25/hong-kong-police-lift-ban-sundays-tsuen-wan-protest-organisers-change-route/

Begging Carrie Lam to Step Up | Protests 18 August 2019

Carrie Lam and the government seem to have completely buried their heads in the sand. Why can’t she just withdraw the damn extradition bill? Why is she so stubborn and irresponsible? Hong Kong is crippled every weekend by these protests. Today it was estimated that 1.7 million people attended the demonstrations even though it was pouring almost all day.

Carrie Lam must go, she had so many opportunities when she could have diffused the situation and could easily have nipped it at the bud but instead her pigheadedness and genuine belief that she is superior to all Hong Kongers has lead us into this political disaster. At this current juncture I cannot offer a proposal on how we could diffuse the situation. The protesters are furious because of the police abuse and their collaboration with triads in the Yuen Long attacks; the fact that police have not charged a single one of the white-clad thugs who beat up people in black indiscriminately is testament to their collaboration. The government cannot back down now because they would lose face. Carrie Lam has prided herself on being Number 1 her whole life and at school when she came fourth one year she cried and then the next year she regained the position of Number 1. In a similar way when she first became the Chief Executive she was only fourth (after CY Leung, Donald Tsang and CH Tung) in terms of how many people she managed to get to the streets. Her determination did not falter and quickly she gained number 1 position and managed to get in one day more people than all the chief executives managed to get in each of their respective tenures. She will go down in history as the only Chief Executive of Hong Kong to have achieved (cumulatively) tens of millions to demonstrate; this number is still growing so we must wait before we start counting how much of a number 1 she is.

Today is the 18th August, 2019 (Sunday) and we see demonstrators leave from Victoria Park in droves and many continued until late into the evening. Here are some pictures from the various parts in Wanchai and Causeway.

Protests at Henessey Road

Henessey Road Wanchai 18 August 2019 Protests

Evening Henessey Road Protests

Wanchai Evening Protests

匯港置業地產有限公司(Reacon Property Ltd) 信貸評分”極低”

匯港置業地產有限公司(Reacon Property Ltd)是一間註冊香港公司，信貸評分極低，註冊地址為： –

香港新界葵涌青山公路303號IPLACE 3樓02室

公司註冊號為2742051，於2018年9月4日註冊。

該公司的負責人是袁敬彬先生，香港身份證號碼：Y ??? 727（9)

香港九龍黃大仙上靈街33號新蒲崗廣場2座

匯港置業地產有限公司(Reacon Property Ltd)在小額錢債審裁處案件SCTC044617 / 18中損失超過10,000港元，自2018年11月以來仍未還款

匯港置業地產有限公司

Reacon Property Ltd 匯港置業地產有限公司

任何未在90天內還清小額錢債審裁處案件的被告者都會獲得“非常差”的信貸評分。

類別：物業標籤：信貸評分 ，信用評級，Yuen King Pan，信用評級低，香港，匯港置業地產有限公司，袁敬彬

Hong Kong Extradition Law 2019 Explained

The government of Hong Kong has out of the blue proposed the enactment of an extradition law. This proposed law will give China powers to extradite any person it wishes from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Before delving into the details of the law one should ask why such a law and why now. Is it because Meng Wanzhou (CFO of Huawei) was arrested in Canada whilst en route to Mexico? And China wishes to extradite a few people it doesn’t like from Hong Kong or Macau as a tit for tat with Canada? Or did China just realise what a useful law it could have in its back pocket?

A number of countries that believe in and practice the rule of law have extradition laws; with Canada Meng Wanzhou was still entitled to a lawyer, she was allowed to stay in the comfort of her own home whilst awaiting trial provided she met the bail conditions, she has been able to sue the Canadian government for unlawful arrest and she was and still is innocent until proven guilty. Whereas in China, the practice is somewhat different. For example, the bookseller Lee Bo who was abducted on Hong Kong soil, brought to China illegally (nobody knows how) because he didn’t have any of his travel documents with him when he was abducted, was not given a lawyer, held in captivity at secret location for months and to this day we still do not know what crime he had committed. When he finally returned to Hong Kong he was visibly traumatised and has completely disappeared off into darkness. His cohort Gui Minghai endured an even more harrowing fate where he was obviously tortured or coerced to give a video confession (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxxY73pY6QE). The party officials did such a shoddy video editing job that half way through the interview the colour of his vest changes colours from Grey to Black even though it was supposed to be the same interview.

So, is the extradition law a way for China to legalise abduction? Would it not backfire? Imagine if the bookseller was actually told what crime he had committed and the communist party had to apply to the courts in Hong Kong with evidence to support their case. Imagine if China had to allow Lee Bo a legal representative and be sued if the arrest process did not follow official protocol. I don’t think the communist party would be open to these ideas… Or were they thinking of continuing with the abduction program and use the extradition law as a back-up plan?

Reacon Property Ltd Hong Kong | Credit Rating : Very Poor

Reacon Property Ltd (匯港置業地產有限公司), which is a registered Hong Kong company, has a very low credit rating and the registered address is:-

WORKSHOP 02, 3/F, IPLACE, 303 CASTLE PEAK ROAD, KWAI CHUNG, N.T., HONG KONG

The company incorporation number is 2742051 and it was registered on 4 September 2018.

The main director of this company is Mr Yuen King Pan (袁敬彬) with Hong Kong ID : Y???727(9)

TOWER 2 SAN PO KONG PLAZA NO.33 SHUNG LING STEET ,WONG TAI SIN ,KLN, HONG KONG

Reacon Property Ltd lost in small claims court case SCTC044617/18 of over HK$ 10,000 which they have still not settled since November 2018.

Reacon Property Ltd 匯港置業地產有限公司

Any party that does not settled small claims court cases within 90 days are given a credit rating of “VERY POOR”.

Seraphine Gutekunst owes HK$95,584.50 in Rental Arrears

The Swiss, generally speaking, have a reputation of honouring financial obligations; but there are occasionally a few rotten apples and Seraphine Gutekunst is one of them. She decided not to pay rent for almost half a year. Her landlord is not a well-heeled property mogul with thousands of units but instead is a single mum who suffered stroke a few years back and has become hemiplegic. The rental income goes towards this old lady’s care home fees. Ms Seraphine Gutekunst is well aware of this situation. She exploited it and precipitated the old lady’s son to go through the rigmarole of applying to the Small Claims and then Lands Tribunal to recover the unpaid rent. With advice from property agent friends Ms Seraphine Gutekunst knew that any application would take a good few months so she stayed in the flat without paying rent until the bailiff application finally came through.

The below are the court orders:-

Small Claims : SCTC029026/18 (HK$ 32,820.50)

Seraphine Gutekunst Small Claims Court Order

Lands Tribunal : LDPD2023/18 (HK$ 62,764.00)

Court Order – Seraphine Gutekunst

Lands Tribunal Order – Seraphine Gutekunst

The information presented herein is factually correct and as of writing the total amount of HK$ 95,584.50 (~US$12,254) is owing. The reader should make their own decisions on Ms Seraphine Gutekunst’s ethical and moral position. The Swiss Benevolent Fund paid for Seraphine Gutekunst’s flight back and all other expenses to Switzerland but have declined to help settle any of the outstanding rental arrears racked up by Seraphine Gutekunst.

Arrest of Huawei CFO | It’s just Karma

Arrest of Huawei CFO. When the communist party abducted the bookseller Lee Bo on Hong Kong soil in 2016 they did so illegally and they kept him under arrest for months without allowing him to communicate with the outside world. Upon his release, he was so frightened by the ordeal he dared not to mention a word of what happened to the media or press. It was illegal because it contravened the laws of the Hong Kong SAR, it contravened one country two systems and violated his basic rights as a human being.

Whilst the US and China are engaged in a trade war, the arrest of Huawei CFO (Meng Wanzhou) for most political observers would be throw a spanner in the recent trade ceasefire but for many in Hong Kong the arrest of Huawei CFO is seen as karma. It makes me laugh when I read this on the BBC “A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters: ‘The detention without giving any reason violates a person’s human rights.'” because it is hypocrisy in the purest form. Lee Bo the missing bookseller has rights too no different to the CFL of Huawei so why is the detention of one a violation of human rights and not the other? Meng Wanzhou is already 100% better off than the missing bookseller; at least she’s been given legal representation – Lee Bo just disappeared from the world for a couple of months.

For many of us in Hong Kong who saw the abduction of Lee Bo as a direct affront to our legal system (yet were powerless to do anything against the violators i.e. the communist party) view the arrest of the CFO Huawei as just karma. In fact when the Chinese foreign ministry spokeperson said that the detention violates a person’s human rights I think the reporter should have responded with “when did the communist party ever respect a person’s human rights unless it was in its interest?”

So in closing, for the communist party to know what it feels like to be on the receiving end on violations of human rights I think we should extradite this miscreant to the US, lock her up for 2 months without any communication to the outside world or legal representation and then maybe release her if the powers that be feel like it. When this is done then karma would have gone the full circle.

Typhoon Mangkhut | First Hand Account from Hong Kong

2 weeks on and we are still clearing up the mess from Typhoon Mangkhut. We are based in Hong Kong and have lived here for almost 2 decades and this typhoon is the most powerful and devastating one yet. The Hong Kong Observatory even gave it an unofficial T11 which was higher than the highest signal ever given. We live on the South side of the island which was quite badly affected and the typhoon effectively hit us head on because it was coming from the Southerly direction.

Repulse Bay Damage – Belleview Drive

The reparation efforts are ongoing, I have never seen so many trees felled by a single typhoon and the whole area where we are is still to this day in a bit of a palaver. The narrow lane of Belleview Drive is just wide enough for two small cars and the accessibility by the industrialised vehicles needed for clear up is limited hence the somewhat lacklustre clean-up effort.

Damage from typhoon mangkhut

The above is a view looking up Belleview Drive a week after the typhoon; it is already a lot better because now you can drive through before the road was virtually blocked. Half of the beach in Deep Water Bay had moved inland and the roads were covered with a thick layer of sand which made driving difficult.

South Side Damage from Typhoon Mangkhut – Repulse Bay

On the day of the typhoon, I tried to leave the house to assess the extent and the ferocity of the typhoon first hand but the wind was so powerful that I could barely open the front door using my full strength so I decided that it would be better to stay indoors. From inside the house you could hear the immensity of the wind beating relentlessly at the windows and hear this whirring sound; occasionally you thought the windows would crack any moment under the pressure but fortunately they held and for us we were fortunate that no damage was done to our property.

Trees Felled – Belleview Drive – Typhoon Mangkhut

Rubbish in front of Circle Lodge Sign Rubbish in front of Circle Lodge Sign

Rubbish in front of Circle Lodge Sign

Typhoon Mangkhut – Repulsey Bay

Transunion Hong Kong probably Hacked

I am very worried that Transunion Hong Kong’s site (transunion.hk) has been hacked because my original login and password no longer work and also the forgot password function does not work.

transunion accounts all locked out

After entering the correct login and password, I get this screen:-

transunion hong kong locked out

It’s quite possible that their site has been hacked since there was no notification to users that all of their login / passwords have been changed. I had used the correct login and password to login and I had previously been successful in logging in but as of today (4 August 2018) the login and password seized to work. Transunion Hong Kong did not contact me about the fact that they had changed my login and password at all so I can only come to the conclusion that either their site had probably been hacked and the hacker had tampered with all user’s logins and passwords.

I filled in all of my personal details and was returned with the following:-

transunions hong kong probably hacked

With no means of contacting them; I wrote to them by email and didn’t get a reply. I called them on +852 2577 1816 and couldn’t get through to anyone.

It is very troubling that Hong Kong people’s sensitive data are being handled by such an unprofessional team of amateurs. Nothing on the site works and I think Transunion owes the public an apology for this complete screw up.

The decline and fall of Cathay Pacific

There is good reason why Cathay Pacific’s earnings have declined so much whilst others in the industry have seen earnings growth.

My wife and I flew to Bangkok from Hong Kong today on the CX635 flight; we booked a connecting coach to a resort area near Bangkok; this is the second such trip in the last 8 months or so. The flight was late departing by exactly the same amount of time as the last time we took the CX635 flight. The cabin crew were generally professional but the equipment and the cabin had dated fittings; none of the seats actually reclined – they just slid under. It is hard to describe what happened but it amounted to the upholstery on the seat semi-detaching from the back of the seat so that your body slid down with it – which sort of gave you the illusion that the seat was reclining.

The flight was delayed by 1 hour which meant that the coach we had booked was missed and we were in limbo for 3 hours waiting at the stuffy airport to catch the next one. The same thing happened last time because we didn’t book our coach tickets ahead of times but this time we did but forgot to account for the delay from Cathay.

Thanks to Cathay the holiday starts off on the back foot.

We take many flights and Hong Kong Express, albeit a budget airline, is much more on-time and is much preferred.

So, this is the last time we will be taking Cathay Pacific.