The National Meteorological Center issued a red alert for the typhoon Monday afternoon at 2:00, warning of squalls, heavy rain and rough seas. The typhoon made landfall Tuesday morning at 3:35, moving northwest at 25 km per hour. Nida’s winds were clocked at 151.2 km per hour.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a signal 8 typhoon alert as the city shut down transportation and education services. Mainland cities Zhuhai and Shanwei issued red alerts, while Shenzhen issued a yellow alert.

Some 100 flights were cancelled by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair at Hong Kong Airport as of 2pm Tuesday. As well, 220 flights out of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai were cancelled due to the typhoon.

Railway service was cancelled for some 200 trains scheduled to depart Guangzhou. Service to Nanning and Guiyang, the two respective capitals of neighboring Guangxi and Guizhou provinces, were among the most affected.

Zhou Yawei, deputy mayor of Guangzhou, ordered all construction sites to halt work and suspended classes at area schools. Zhou encouraged residents to stay indoors. All emergency shelters in the city were open to the public.

Businesses and companies not deemed as essential services were encouraged to provide a day off to employees on Tuesday.

Although Monday marked the end of a fishing ban, fishing boats were ordered to be sheltered, and maritime travel was suspended. As well, ferry services connecting Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong were suspended.

Flooding was reported in Zhuhai, while local store shelves were empty as residents were told to save up enough supplies for three days.

In Foshan, 60 residents sought refuge at an emergency shelter.

The post South China Picks Up the Pieces After Typhoon Nida appeared first on The Nanfang.

The average life expectancy of Hong Kong women was 87.3 years in 2015, overtaking the 87.0 years of Japanese women, according to statistics from Japan’s Welfare Ministry.

Spanish women ranked third at 85.6 years, followed by South Korea at 85.5 years.

The average life expectancy for Hong Kong men also ranked first at  81.2 years. Iceland and Switzerland tied for second place at 81 years, while Japanese men were fourth at 80.8 years. Prior to last year, Japanese women had the longest average life expectancy going all the way back to 1985.

As for a scientific reason for the longevity of Hong Kong’s residents, opinions vary. An official at the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare attributed Hong Kong’s extended life expectancy to the city’s success in fighting cancer through medical treatment and drugs.

HKU public health professor, Lam Tai-hing, attributed the longevity of residents to a dramatically decreased smoking rate, and the availability of first rate healthcare.

Civic Party member and doctor, Kwok Ka-ki, attributes the high life expectancy to the city’s healthy diet of “less meat and more fiber”.

As welcome as the news is, it also highlights Hong Kong’s need to address its aging population. Professor Chung Kim-wah said Hong Kong’s low fertility rate and high life expectancy will cause problems in the future.

“People living longer lives is supposed to be a good thing as it shows that they are healthy,” said Chung. “But in the long run, it will have a negative impact on the labor force, resulting in fewer people working,” he warned.

The post Hong Kongers Tend to Live Longer Than Anyone Else in the World appeared first on The Nanfang.

Rounding out the top ten were Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Tianjin, Beijing, Suzhou, Macao and Wuxi. The report studied a total of 294 Chinese cities; not one of the top ten cities was located in central or western China.

Being economically competitive does however have its drawbacks such as pollution, traffic congestion, and overcrowding, factors which the report refers to as “urban disease”. And while Shenzhen tops the list of economically competitive cities, it also leads the so-called urban disease list. Close behind Shenzhen are: Beijing, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Guangzhou, Jinan, Shanghai, Xi’an, Foshan and Shijiazhuang.

Shenzhen made news last year after it toppled Hong Kong for the top position as China’s most economically competitive city. The report cited the city’s sky-high per capita GDP and low GDP energy consumption as reasons why it took first place.

Last year, the China Institute of City Competitiveness ranked Hong Kong as 12th out of China’s most competitive cities. Hong Kong’s demotion was due to its reliance on core industries, societal friction, and the ineffectual nature of local government. This was the first time the former British colony had fallen out of the list’s top ten.

The post Shenzhen Tops List As China’s Most “Economically Competitive” and “Urban Diseased” City appeared first on The Nanfang.

While his previous books simply described modern Hong Kong social dynamics, the latest is explicitly political and an altogether different style than the others. Now that he has written book-length political commentary, Ng has become a crucial player by being first to record the 2014 “Occupy Central” protest movement in any English-language book. It is certainly a must-read.

Umbrellas in Bloom covers a lot of ground. The complex political system of Hong Kong is detailed in very readable fashion, with all the grievances spelled out. Various charts explain how the economy has left the majority of citizens behind, and why so many were upset enough to camp out in protest for all those months. Most of all, the mainland Chinese government is shown to blame for suppressing universal suffrage for the former colony under the so-called “one country, two systems.” Indeed, observers of Beijing and Asia as a whole would do well to read this book and understand the climate of Beijing in relation to Hong Kong.

The language of the book does reflect a specific point of view; do not mistake it as a scholarly, objective report. Ng delves deeply into his unique experiences and certainly takes sides. It makes for a good read, and it’s refreshing that he does not censor himself and expresses his informed opinion with confidence. Perhaps there is an element of preaching to the choir, even getting repetitive at times—“blue ribbon” supporters probably won’t change their minds after reading—but for international readers seeking to understand, the writing style works.

The book is very personal as well. It begins on September 28th, 2014, the day tear gas was fired into crowds as the whole world watched in horror. Then, the tone jumps around as it looks back on the history of Hong Kong politics. The central villain is Chief Executive C.Y. Leung, known as a corrupt stooge of the mainland Chinese government, although the entirety of the Legco system in Hong Kong is highly unrepresentative. As 2017 approached—the promised time for universal suffrage, the Occupy Central movement grew. There was also the Scholarism student movement, led by famous student Joshua Wong (Wong wrote one of the book’s forwards). Then the tale of three villages: the occupied areas of Admiralty, Mongkok, and Causeway Bay. Different ideologies and challenges are showcased, from the police to thugs and internal struggles between different factions and nativists. Some of the most heartwarming sections are about the young people he met, such as Kent and Renee and Hinson, engaging characters all.

In the end, due to a court order of all things, the Admiralty occupation fell. Four days later, on December 15th, the police cleared out the other encampments and the Umbrella Revolution was left to ponder its own legacy. Ng is quite optimistic; surprising considering nothing on paper seemed to get enacted yet, but he does point out that other famous social justice movements throughout history took decades to achieve their goals. His conclusion is definitely that it was worth a try. “The 11 weeks I spent in Umbrellaville were the happiest in all my years in Hong Kong,” he writes. Perhaps the soul of Hong Kong has been changed in subtle ways that are not clear yet, but in the long run history will prove that things did change…

There is so much to learn from Umbrellas in Bloom. However subjective, it is definitely required reading for expats and Sinologists. Whether you were there or only watched on the news from afar, the fallout is still occurring today and enlightened observers should learn what they can.

Highly recommended for all China watchers.

Umbrellas in Bloom is available in Hong Kong bookstores, and can be ordered from Blacksmith Books.

Follow Ray Hecht on Twitter at @RayofChinarabia

The post Book Review: Umbrellas in Bloom – Hong Kong’s Occupy Movement Uncovered appeared first on The Nanfang.

The video footage captured the woman and her male partner entering the elevator before she hiked down her pants and squatted on the elevator floor. When she stood up, a puddle was seen between her feet. The man seemed to be keeping an eye out for would-be witnesses. The pair left soon after.

Although it’s unclear why the woman wasn’t able to find a restroom in one of Hong Kong’s densest tourist areas, what is clear is that they had plenty of time to go shopping, as evidenced by the shopping bags that could be seen in the video footage.

True love is not easy to find; but, finding a man to keep watch as you relieve yourself doesn’t seem to be that hard.

In April 2013, a woman defecated on the elevator at a Shenzhen metro station while her boyfriend kept lookout for witnesses. Like our Mong Kok couple, this pair simply walked away from the mess they created, thereby making it someone else’s problem.

The post Woman Urinates in Hong Kong Mall Elevator appeared first on The Nanfang.

Taiwan and Hong Kong media identified the two tourists as mainland Chinese, although their identities have yet to be revealed. Chinese media quoted Taiwanese reports that mainland tourists were often not willing to pay a number of expenses when travelling abroad.

The tourists were observed in a 24-hour Bank SinoPac ATM vestibule on San Fung Street in Sheung Shui. They were photographed sleeping on newspapers while their shoes, handbags, and luggage were placed closely by their side.

Naturally this drew scorn online, with comments such as “no dignity.” Not all comments were negative, as one person explained. “An ATM vestibule (is great for these women because it) provides 24-hour AC as well as security in the form of video surveillance. But most importantly of all, it’s free. Using it, you don’t have to pay for staying at a hostel or hotel.”

Chinese netizens had a decidedly different perspective:

火火炎炎焱燚过：
Maybe they lost their money and now have nowhere to turn. Since they’re out on holiday having fun, who would want to rest like this?

Backt0bas1cs：
Nothing matters as long as you’re happy.

宝丁的微笑：
Here’s Taiwan making yet another sick joke.

长大的CK：
I believe that the Taiwan media is finding any excuse to slander Chinese people! What if these are Japanese, Korean, or Taiwan Provincial tourists, huh? What if they couldn’t find the hotel?

卷阿毛45：
Actually, I don’t think this is significant at all. If this was a foreigner, I guarantee you that nobody would say anything about this. Everyone has different choices available to them; for these two, it’s obvious that they are people who can afford to pay for a hotel room. They probably just think that it’s not worth it. Don’t use your own system of values to maliciously see and judge other people’s choices. Only by doing this can the world become a better place.

RingRingRing要爱不完美：
What are you doing? Why don’t you go to McDonald’s…? (a popular hangout for vagrants who need a place to stay overnight in Hong Kong)

IMASICKO：
I don’t understand; people who approve of this type of behavior must be crazy. Aren’t these two people causing an obstruction that is interfering with other people? Isn’t this a pain for people who need to go (into the ATM vestibule) to take out money?

The post Hotels Expensive, Mainlanders Make a Home Beside ATMs in Hong Kong appeared first on The Nanfang.

Qian Bo, Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the provincial Department of Public Security, made the remarks at a press conference following the five-day Guangdong crackdown. The crackdown involved ten criminal gangs engaged in cross-border crimes.

“Police seized more than 1,000 kilograms of narcotics, 33 guns, 19,509 bullets and froze bank accounts with deposits of more than 58 million yuan ($8.92 million) when they cracked down on 198 cross-border cases during the five-day operation,” Qian told the press conference.

While Qian said he will continue to be tough on Hong Kong and Macao criminals, of the 783 suspects arrested, only a few dozen are believed to be from Hong Kong and Macao.

The gangs involved in the arrests are suspected of engaging in organized crime, drug trafficking, online gambling, the sale of fake identification, prostitution, weapons smuggling, illegal immigration and telemarketing fraud. A number of suspects are believed to be affiliated with the Triads.

Despite the success of the crackdown, Qian said Guangdong will spare no effort to further advance their co-operation with Hong Kong and Macao counterparts, and will engage in future joint-operations in the coming months.

The post Hundreds Arrested In Guangdong Organized Crime Crackdown appeared first on The Nanfang.

Anyone old enough to remember what the letters “KFC” stands for will also remember the fast food franchise’s well-known slogan “finger lickin’ good”, which brilliantly explained the experience of eating its food in just three simple words.

Although KFC discarded its famous slogan back in 2011, the fried chicken chain is now doing a new promotion in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia that is banking that consumers haven’t forgotten it. KFC is debuting its own brand of edible, flavored nail polish that smells and tastes like the franchise’s signature fried chicken.

The edible nail polish is described as being made from natural ingredients and said to be ready for tasting within five minutes of application. The KFC nail polish comes in two flavors/colors: original recipe, and hot and spicy.

The promotion coincides with KFC’s 30th anniversary of doing business in the region. But the nail polish isn’t available for purchase just yet; the results of an online survey will determine which kind of edible nail polish will be sold to the public.

KFC has enjoyed tremendous success in mainland China, mainly because the franchise is willing to cater to local tastes by subverting its own menu. This means that although you can buy fried chicken at KFC China, certain items like the family-sized bucket isn’t as popular as it is the West. Instead, Chinese KFC patrons are more likely to purchase sandwiches, or bowls of congee for breakfast.

And so, without the cultural touchstone of eating chicken by hand or its “finger lickin’ good” slogan, the edible fried chicken-flavored nail polish promotion might come as a complete mystery to Chinese people.

One netizen reacted to the edible nail polish by saying, “This will make dogs chase me on the street,” while another flatly rejected the whole idea, saying, “This is something I completely don’t want. Goodbye.”

Another person simply didn’t understand the point of it, saying, “Can’t you just make chicken, and do it well?” And then there was a netizen who was trying to figure out the next logical step, asking “Does this mean there will also be hot pot-flavored perfume, BBQ-flavored lipstick, and braised chicken-flavored eyelashes?”

And then there are cultural differences to consider as well. Mainland Chinese don’t make a habit of licking their fingers during mealtimes, considering it to be an unhygienic practice.

KFC has taken a number of successful gambles to make it the leading fast food chain in China over the past few years. KFC China has offered black and pink sandwiches, become the first fast food outlet to operate in Tibet, and debut a digital concept store where a voice-activated AI robot takes your order.

Will the edible fried chicken-flavored nail polish be a big hit for KFC in China? Here’s Hong Kong starlet Myolie Wu suggesting that it will by sticking her fingers into her mouth for a group of photographers:

The post KFC Takes “Finger Lickin’ Good” Literally With New Edible Nail Polish appeared first on The Nanfang.

A spokesperson for the park confirmed to China Daily that although there had been layoffs, fewer than 100 employees were let go. The spokesperson also confirmed that some of the terminated employees had been working at the theme park for 10 years.

The layoffs were explained as a strategic move to make the park more efficient by merging various jobs. “We regularly make operational adjustments to ensure we deliver great guest and cast experiences in the most efficient way possible in order to pave the way for future development,” she said.

This past March saw the departure of former managing director Andrew Kam following losses of HK$148 million ($19 million) in 2015. The park attributed the decline in revenue to a 20 percent drop in mainland Chinese tourists, which comprise 40 percent of the park’s visitors.

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the decline in mainland Chinese tourists in Hong Kong is due to the region’s politically-charged incidents such as the Mong Kok riots, the Occupy Central demonstrations, and the anti-parallel trader campaign.

Meanwhile, Disney continues to prepare for the opening of Shanghai Disneyland, reported to be the largest of its kind when it opens June 16. Recent reports show the theme park will have its own subway station and specialized police force. Disney has also recently unveiled its new Disney-themed China Eastern airliner.

The post As Shanghai Disneyland Looms, Hong Kong Park Hit by Round of Layoffs appeared first on The Nanfang.

According to a Weibo post from the Shenzhen police department, a 38 year-old Hubei woman named Xu and two other suspects have been arrested for Bower’s murder. “Due to a dispute over their relationship, a 38-year-old woman surnamed Xu was unhappy with Hilary St John Bower and conspired with suspects (a man surnamed Sun, 28, and a man surnamed Liu, 23) to kill Bower in her apartment in the Nanshan district of Shenzhen on March 22.”

Bower was last seen alive on March 22 crossing the Lo Wu border from Hong Kong into Shenzhen, where he lived. Xu was the last known person to speak with Bower – on a 9pm phone call that day – but didn’t report his disappearance to police until March 30, eight days later.

While Xu had been in a relationship with Bower for 17 years, she was not the only woman in his life. Earlier reports claimed Bower shared a six year-old son with Xu, but in fact, the mother is another woman, named Shi Xiumei.

Local media believe Bower was involved with several different women, and that a lover’s quarrel may have resulted in his murder. Bower’s corpse was dismembered and several of his body parts were removed from the Shenzhen apartment where he was found, reported the SCMP. The investigation of the body is ongoing.

A motive has not been established by police, but Bower is believed to have recently completed the sale of a Shenzhen property worth over $1 million.

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