HONG KONG CHRONICLES — Friday, 12th May 2023

MY WEEK THAT WAS.

THANK YOU AND GOOD BYE, ZUNZI.

Ming Pao newspaper has pulled a 40-year old comic strip by political cartoonist Wong Kei-kwan, better known as “Zunzi.” No official explanation was given but his cartoons have been criticised by a number of government departments in recent months.

A Zunzi cartoon published on Tuesday about the revamp of the district councils was condemned by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Alice Mak, who said the strip was misleading and distorted the government’s proposals.

Regular readers of this column may recall his cartoon in October about a headmistress calling the police to deal with unruly children. This was after 14 pupils at St Francis Xavier’s School in Tsuen Wan were suspended for three days for showing “disrespect” because they had failed to turn up for a national flag-raising ceremony.

ACHOO.

Hong Kong is experiencing a minor flu and Covid uptick at present, with more than 6,000 patients visiting public hospitals; double that of January. Public hospitals are facing increasing pressure as the number of hospitalisations has risen from 900+ to 1,200 daily admissions this week. However, the medical director of the Hospital Authority’s Infectious Disease Centre, Owen Tsang Tak-yin, has assured us that the flu outbreak has peaked.

EXHIBIT, WHAT EXHIBIT?

This week we heard about the Hong Kong Police Force’s removal of an “exhibit” related to a case of incitement to subversion from a location in Yuen Long.

The exhibit is believed to be a sculpture known as the “Pillar of Shame”, which was in storage after being removed from the University of Hong Kong campus in 2021.

In a statement, a police spokesman said the “The HKSAR government will continue to handle the exhibit, including the arrangement after the judicial proceedings, in accordance with the law.”

FLYING AS FAST AS IT CAN.

Cathay Pacific has announced it has resumed 50% of its pre-pandemic capacity and is now serving 70 destinations. Demand continues to outstrip supply, however, and a manpower crunch is holding the airline back from returning to normal levels, which is now only expected by the end of 2024. The company is focusing on recruiting talent from local and overseas markets, as well as expanding its in-house and supply staff.

Having just flown CX to and from Australia in the past two weeks, I can certainly vouch for the restoration of its service levels and charm. As in pre-pandemic days, it felt like home as soon as I stepped on board. No, sadly, I didn’t get an upgrade.

Until next week …