HONG KONG CHRONICLES — Saturday, 4th November 2023
𝗠𝗬 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦 —
𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 ‘𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗡’ 𝗡𝗢𝗧 ‘𝗦𝗟𝗢𝗧’ 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚
Hong Kong received some good news from mainland Chinese authorities this week as they scrapped the final Covid-19 border crossing restriction — the “black QR code” health declaration.
Speaking of travel, I spent Thursday and Friday in Macau, taking part in the offsite workshop for the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma. The Black QR code did not impact me, but a little warning to those who have either forgotten the protocols of international travel from Hong Kong or, like me, were just distracted. When the Residents scanning machine flashes its slot to insert your ID Card, ignore it like the plague and remember we now scan our ID cards instead on the plate on top of the machine.
Well, I did forget, and inserted my ID card into the flashing green slot. This caused a mild panic among the staff. Two officials could not retrieve the card and eventually an engineer had to be called to disassemble the machine to rescue my ID. Doh, I felt such a dolt!
𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗬 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡
It’s that time of the year — the season of the hairy crabs. I confess I have never taken to this so called delicacy, but each year, thousands of these little crustaceans make their way over the border either legally or illegally to be served up on hungry Hong Kong plates.
This has led to a ‘healthy’ smuggling trade, and on Thursday, customs officials, stated they had seized about 3.4 tonnes of suspected smuggled hairy crabs with an estimated market value of HK$2.3 million at the Man Kam To border checkpoint.
A major issue with this hirsute creatures is that, if not treated correctly, they are known to carry bacteria and other charming health hazards. Apparently the seized hairy crabs did not come with health certificates issued by the relevant authorities of the exporting economies, and failed to comply with the requirements of the Shell Fish (Hairy Crab) Permit.
𝗚𝗔𝗬 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗡𝗚
The Gay Games kicked off in Hong Kong on Friday. Called the world’s largest inclusive sports, arts and culture event, anyone over 18 years old is eligible to enter, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, or training level. In effect, the Gay Games represent more of a festival than a sporting event. Despite some protests, the organisers insist the Games are not a platform for advocating LGBTQ+ rights.
They also serve as a reminder of the Olympic Games between 1912 and 1948 (no, I wasn’t there) when among such activities as running and rowing, poetry was a recognised sport.
Well, as far as I’m concerned, as long as everyone has fun, I wish the Gay Games every success!
Until next week …
