Schedium

As I wrote in a post a week ago, Hong Kong is currently experiencing a social and political reform movement aimed at introducing universal suffrage. Hong Kong has never held fully democratic elections, neither under British rule nor as a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. I find the desire of the people to play a more active role in their community's decision-making process absolutely legitimate. However, not everyone agrees. For instance, in today's edition of the South China Morning Post, Alex Lo, one of the leading columnists of the newspaper, has criticized those who take on the streets to ask for democratic reforms.  " Young men and women, take real risks ," he urged the pro-democratic camp, " Travel the world, read widely, strike out on your own, start a business [...]. Then come back and fight for democracy. " Mr Lo's article is one of those spectacular examples of what I would call  a neoliberal o...

During the Easter holidays I went with two friends of mine to Macau, a former Portuguese colony and now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. Macau is known for its mix of Eastern and Western culture, and as a gambling and tourist destination. In recent years Macau's gambling revenue has surpassed that of Las Vegas, making it the world's top casino market ( note ). But if you expect a vibrant, glistening city you might be disappointed. Macau is a quiet place, with huge modern casino and hotel buildings that, in a clumsy attempt to appear luxurious and elegant, actually look ostentatious and colossal, giving the impression of a surreal capitalist version of former Soviet-style cities. That is not meant to suggest that Macau is charmless, on the contrary. The most gracious, appealing and interesting part of Macau are the numerous historic areas, with Portuguese buildings that make it look like a European enclave in the middle of A...

From Chater Garden it is easy to reach Queen's Road, which is connected to Battery Path via a stone staircase.  View Larger Map When you get to Battery Path you will see on the left the red-brick building of the former French mission (below), which is now the seat of the Court of Final Appeal. It was originally built in 1868 for the Russian Consul in Hong Kong. Later it was used by the American trading company Heard and Co., which subsequently went bankrupt (Wordie 2002, p. 22). In 1915 it was bought by the French Mission Etrangere which renovated it and added a chapel and a dome (Vines 2002, pp. 38-39).     The Court of Final Appeal. Apparently this is a nice spot where to take wedding pictures The Court of Final Appeal as seen from Chater Garden Facade of the Court of Final Appeal opposite St John's Cathedral Court of Final Appeal with the grave of Roy Maxwell's, a Eurasian serving in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps who was kille...