Young Ng Chun-yeong, spokesperson from a concern group against CLP's future sea-based wind farm about 9 kilometres off Clear Water Bay
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation for females; Rare for males; Phonetic-based
Monday 29 September 2014
1448 HKSAR Name of the Day
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation for females; Rare for males; Phonetic-based
Saturday 27 September 2014
Thursday 25 September 2014
1446 HKSAR Name of the Day
Alvin Lam Tsz-pun, director, Midland Surveyors, Hong Kong
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare
Tuesday 23 September 2014
Sunday 21 September 2014
1444 HKSAR Name of the Day
Antonio Chan, chief engineer, hotels, Hong Kong Disneyland
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare
Saturday 20 September 2014
How To Cut Corners ... By Putting Them In
Q: How many lanes does a rectangular running track have?
A: Who cares! It's crap ... and hilarious.
Running Posts
Reference
Hurried Chinese officials cut corners to rush out rectangular running track (SCMP; paywall)
A: Who cares! It's crap ... and hilarious.
Not for turning: A runner struggles to turn the corner of
the running track. “It is difficult to turn and easy to fall,” a local
resident said. Pic SCMP Pictures
Running Posts
“Lightning” Bolt vs Duracell “Battery” Bekele
Chinese Students Compelled to Cheat in International Marathon
Born To Run
Reference
Hurried Chinese officials cut corners to rush out rectangular running track (SCMP; paywall)
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 29 July, 2014, 2:59pm
Agence France-Presse in Beijing
Chinese officials painted a rectangular running track at a stadium as they rushed preparations for a visit by their superiors, state media reported on Tuesday.
Pictures posted online showed the running surface had the normal oval shape, but the white lines marking out each runner’s lane were angled at 90 degrees.
Internet users leaped on the revelation.
Watch: Hurried Chinese officials rush out rectangular running track for superiors' visit
“Leaders, this is the newly developed right-angled running track,” wrote one poster on Weibo, imitating the tone of a lower-ranking Chinese official reporting to his superior.
“We have become the first country in the world to have such tracks! I believe [Chinese athletes] will outperform other countries’ [athletes] after scientific training on such a running track!”
China National Radio described the forestry administration stadium in Tonghe county, in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, as having “rectangular tracks” around the football pitch.
Curves in all the wrong places: Officials painted the rectangular running track as they rushed preparations for a visit by superiors. Photo: SCMP Pictures
“It is difficult to turn and easy to fall,” local resident Gong Xiaona told provincial television programme Newsnight.
It quoted a member of staff at the stadium as saying the previous track had become worn down by long use.
“The current tracks were laid in a rush to deal with the visit by some provincial leaders,” he said.
“We ourselves feel it’s ugly. But who can change it if our bosses don’t care?”
It is not unknown for local officials in China to come up with eccentric ideas to curry favour with their bosses or cope with inspections.
A publicly-funded orphanage in Jieyang in the southern province of Guangdong had its facilities transformed into government offices and dormitories, according to previous state media reports.
When provincial authorities mounted an inspection last year, social welfare officials attempted to borrow orphans from a nearby temple.
Friday 19 September 2014
1443 HKSAR Name of the Day
Andre Leu, a vice-president of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare
Wednesday 17 September 2014
1442 HKSAR Name of the Day
Hamish Low, a member of Green Drinks Hong Kong, an informal gathering of people interested in green issues, Hong Kong
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare
Tuesday 16 September 2014
Rafael Hui Is a Rat Not a Hamster
The unfolding saga of Penfold (aka Rafael Hui Si-yan), in particular his business and personal life, is beginning to be revealed in court ...
The 66-year-old former Chief Secretary, like many high-status Hong Kong males, has admitted tobeing a rat having a mistress (unsurprisingly, a "young woman from Shanghai"). This in itself is not particularly shocking. Rather it is the amount of money Rafael Hui, a retired civil servant, has at his disposal that is of public interest.
Related Posts
Reference
Rafael Hui 'gave HK$8 million to young woman he was having intimate relationship with' (SCMP; paywall)
The 66-year-old former Chief Secretary, like many high-status Hong Kong males, has admitted to
Rafael Hui said that he spent up to HK$8 million on an “intimate” young female friend from Shanghai. Pic Dickson Lee
Related Posts
ICAC Swoop to Arrest Penfold
HK Doppelganger 2
Men With Money Have Affairs ... Probably
Reference
Rafael Hui 'gave HK$8 million to young woman he was having intimate relationship with' (SCMP; paywall)
PUBLISHED : Monday, 15 September, 2014, 1:26pm
Stuart Lau stuart.lau@scmp.com
Former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan told a court today that he had given up to HK$8 million to a young woman from Shanghai with whom he had an "intimate" relationship.
Giving testimony at the city's biggest graft trial, Hui admitted showering the woman with several million dollars, and gifts such as handbags and watches.
“In the year 2008, and the one or two years that followed, I gave some money to a female friend in Shanghai,” said Hui, who was a non-official member of the Executive Council at the time.
“I had not known her for a long time,” he said. “When I first met her, it was in a social gathering in Hong Kong.”
Hui’s counsel, Edwin Choy Wai-bond, asked: “Is this Shanghainese female acquaintance a young woman or a married woman?”
Hui answered: “Maybe I would say, a young woman.”
Choy then asked: “Is it right to say your relationship with her was at times intimate?”
Hui agreed. He said he sometimes met the woman in Hong Kong and sometimes in Beijing. But they did not meet too frequently, he added.
Hui recalled giving her “several million” Hong Kong dollars.
“I do not recall the exact amount. But I think at least seven or eight million,” he said.
Some of the money was for her to buy property while some of it was used to make investments, the court heard.
“I did give her some gifts,” Hui added.
“Like bags and watches and that type of thing?” his lawyer asked. Hui answered yes.
“You were generous in giving her those gifts as well?” his lawyer went on.
“For the value of those gifts – of course it was not low. But I would not say they were luxurious items either,” Hui said.
Hui, 66, faces eight charges related to bribery and misconduct in public office.
He allegedly received HK$27 million in cash from the property magnate Kwok brothers, also standing trial, in return for being their "eyes and ears" in government.
Thomas Kwok, 62, faces one charge of conspiracy to offer an advantage to Hui and two counts of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
Raymond Kwok, 61, faces four charges, including one with Hui of furnishing false information. SHKP executive director Thomas Chan Kui-yuen, 67, and former Hong Kong stock exchange official Francis Kwan Hung-sang, 63, each face two charges.
All have pleaded not guilty. The trial continues before Mr Justice Andrew Macrae.
Monday 15 September 2014
1441 HKSAR Name of the Day
Rabee'a Yeung Lok-ting, local celebrity, TVB, Hong Kong
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation
Saturday 13 September 2014
1440 HKSAR Name of the Day
Mallory Ng, Shun Lee, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 31 August 2011)
see Mallory Wober and 1143 HKSAR Name of the Day
see Mallory Wober and 1143 HKSAR Name of the Day
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare
Thursday 11 September 2014
Tuesday 9 September 2014
1438 HKSAR Name of the Day
Hoiz Au, Tai Wai, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 29 August 2011)
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation
Sunday 7 September 2014
1437 HKSAR Name of the Day
Aali Tong, Shun Lee, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 29 August 2011)
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Deletion for female; Insertion for male
Friday 5 September 2014
1436 HKSAR Name of the Day
Mini Mok, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong (SCMP letters 27 August 2011)
(see Mercedes, Capri, Minnie) and Mini Me from Austin Powers. And 1182 HKSAR Name of the Day
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation; Brand-based?
Wednesday 3 September 2014
Tuesday 2 September 2014
Miss Hong Kong Becoming Too Normal
Surprisingly, not one of this year's top three Hong Kong beauty queens had a novel or compelling name ... Veronica ... Erin ... Katherine.
This contrasts with previous contestants with names like Hyman Chu and Edelweiss Cheung.
Is Hong Kong becoming more prosaic and boring??
Is Hong Kong becoming more conformist and conservative??
Food for thought ...
Related Posts
Healthy And Fit From My Perspective
Veronica Shiu Pui-sie, a 24-year-old university student, was crowned Miss Hong Kong after winning more than 156,000 votes, far outnumbering the first runner-up, Erin Wong Cheuk-ki (left), 23, who received about 28,000 votes. Second runner-up was law degree graduate Katherine Ho Yim-kuen, 22. Pic Nora Tam.
This contrasts with previous contestants with names like Hyman Chu and Edelweiss Cheung.
Is Hong Kong becoming more prosaic and boring??
Is Hong Kong becoming more conformist and conservative??
Food for thought ...
Related Posts
Healthy And Fit From My Perspective
Monday 1 September 2014
1434 HKSAR Name of the Day
Mikki Yao, model, Hong Kong and quite clearly not healthy and not altogether there when, after a 5-day trip to the Maldives, said: "The Maldives has no good food. I'll take cup noodles with me if I have to go there again." (SCMP 29 July 2011)
see 1319 and 1329 HKSAR Names of the Day
see 1319 and 1329 HKSAR Names of the Day
Sunny Tsang and Mikki Yao. Pic SCMP
About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Creation
Of Further Interest ...
Battle lines drawn on instant noodles after US study cites heart risks (SCMP; paywall)
US study linking the Asian staple of budget eating to an increased risk of heart disease has sparked a passionate South Korean defence
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 24 August, 2014, 3:30am
Associated Press
Instant noodles carry a broke-college-student aura in North America, but they are an essential, even passionate, part of life for many in South Korea, Hong Kong and across East Asia. A US study on their health effects has caused the emotional heartburn among their loyal consumers.
The Baylor Heart and Vascular Hospital study linking instant noodles consumption by South Koreans to some risks for heart disease has provoked feelings of wounded pride, guilt, stubborn resistance, even nationalism among South Koreans.
Koreans eat more instant noodles per capita than anyone in the world. Many of those interviewed vowed not to quit. Other noodle lovers offered up techniques they swore kept them healthy: taking Omega-3, adding vegetables, using less seasoning, avoiding the soup. Some dismissed the study because the hospital involved is based in cheeseburger-gobbling America.
"There's no way any study is going to stop me from eating this," says Kim Min-koo, a freelance film editor who indulges in instant noodles about five times a week. "This is the best moment - the first bite, the taste, the smell, the chewiness - it's just perfect."
The heated reaction is partly explained by the omnipresence here of instant noodles, which, for South Koreans, usually mean the spicy, salty ramyeon that cost less than a dollar a package. Individually wrapped disposable bowls and cups are everywhere: internet cafes, libraries, trains, ice-skating rinks. Even at the halfway point of a trail snaking up South Korea's highest mountain, hikers can refresh themselves with cup noodles.
Elderly South Koreans often feel deep nostalgia for instant noodles, which entered the local market in the 1960s as the country began clawing its way out of the poverty and destruction of the Korean war into what's now Asia's fourth-biggest economy. Many vividly remember their first taste of the once-exotic treat, and hard-drinking South Koreans consider instant noodles an ideal remedy for aching, alcohol-laden bellies and hangovers. Some people won't leave the country without them, worried they'll have to eat inferior noodles.
" Ramyeon is like kimchi to Koreans," says Ko Dong-ryun, 36, an engineer from Seoul, referring to the spicy, fermented vegetable dish that graces most Korean meals. "The smell and taste create an instant sense of home."
Ko fills half his luggage with instant noodles for his international business travels, a lesson he learned after assuming on his first trip that three packages would suffice for six days. "Man, was I wrong. Since then, I always make sure I pack enough."
The US study was based on South Korean surveys from 2007-2009 of more than 10,700 adults aged 19 to 64. It found that people who ate a diet rich in meat, soft drinks and fried and fast foods, including instant noodles, were associated with an increase in abdominal obesity and LDL, or "bad," cholesterol. Eating instant noodles more than twice a week was associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, another heart risk factor, in women but not in men.
The study raises important questions, but can't prove that instant noodles are to blame rather than the overall diets of people who eat lots of them, cautions Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovascular nutrition lab at Tufts University in Boston.
"What's jumping out is the sodium [intake] is higher in those who are consuming ramen noodles," she says. "What we don't know is whether it's coming from the ramen noodles or what they are consuming with the ramen noodles."
There's certainly a lot of sodium in those little cups. A serving of the top-selling instant ramyeon provides more than 90 per cent of South Korea's recommended daily sodium intake. Still, it's tough to expect much nutrition from a meal that costs about 80 US cents (HK$6.20), says Choi Yong-min, 44, marketing director for Paldo, a South Korean food company. "I can't say it's good for your health, but it is produced safely," he said.
About 1.85 trillion won (HK3.9 billion) worth of instant noodles were sold in South Korea in 2012.
By value, instant noodles were the top-selling manufactured food in South Korea in 2012, the most recent year figures are available, with about 1.85 trillion won (HK$13.9 billion) worth sold, according to South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
China is the world's largest instant noodle market, although its per capita consumption pales next to South Korea's.
Japan, considered the spiritual home of instant noodles, boasts a dazzling array. Masaya "Instant" Oyama, 55, who says he eats more than 400 packs of instant noodles a year, rattles off a sampling: Hello Kitty instant noodles, polar bear instant noodles developed by a zoo, black squid ink instant noodles.
In Tokyo, 33-year-old Miyuki Ogata considers instant noodles a godsend because of her busy schedule and contempt for cooking. They also bring her back to the days when she was a poor student. Every time she eats a cup now, she is celebrating what she calls "that eternal hungry spirit".
In South Korea, it's all about speed, cost and flavour.
Thousands of convenience stores have corners devoted to noodles: Tear off the top, add hot water from a dispenser, wait a couple minutes and it's ready to eat, often at a nearby counter.
At the comic book store she runs in Seoul, Lim Eun-jung, 42, says she noticed a lot more belly fat about six months after she installed a fast-cooking instant noodle machine for customers.
"It's obvious that it's not good for my body," Lim says. "But I'm lazy, and ramyeon is the perfect fast food for lazy people."