HK and the olympics

Well the Olympics just ended. If you followed it, you may have noticed that hong Kong was a participant. I was at my father's friend (Lawrence)'s family dinner with the TV on the Olympics. It was interesting to see Hong Kong vs. China in Ping Pong ("Table Tennis" as those of the English persuasion call it). As any connaisseur of the Olympics knows, China has dominated the game of Ping Pong since the Ming Dynasty, the dynasty for which the sport was named (the sport used to be called "Ming Mong" with "Mong" as a derogatory term poking fun at the rivaling "Mongs" or Mongols. It wasn't until China's Olympic bid for the game that the name of the sport was changed to "Ping Pong" to lend a more conservative name. After continued complaints from Mongolia when it entered into the Olympics in 1964, an even more conservative and descript name was necessary, so it was changed once again to "Table Tennis". The name will likely be changed once again to "Paddle and Ball on Tiny Court") I guess the world gives up trying to compete in this game, as we often see China in the finals competing with China for silver and bronze after China already wins Gold.

The Question
So, the logical question you should be asking is "Why is Hong Kong in the Olympics? Aren't they part of China?" Ah, this is where the olympics gets political. You need to ask "What is a country?" Perhaps a SAR is not a country, but a level of sovereignty. Perhaps the Olympics is only open to sovereign nations. Is Hong Kong sovereign?

So, let's reanalyse our question. Hong Kong is part of China. Before it was part of China, it was a colony of Britain. Was it part of Britain before? Can colonies compete in the Olympics? How about pseudo-colonies? If not, there goes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and a slew of other British special administrative regions (heh).

Are the olympics open only to countries? Where is the line between country and non-country? Is a colony a country or not?

"Doug, answer the question."
Well, I don't know why Hong Kong is a separate delegate from China in the Olympics. Maybe we won't ever know how this happened. What seems clear in these International procedures is a change of status quo is permissible if the parties involved have no complains. What I presume is the case is that Hong Kong proposed to the IOC (Int'l Olympic Committee) to allow it to be a separate member of the Olympics, and China did not object. Whether there were any backroom deals involved in the negotiations between HK and China is anyone's guess.

HK results : 1 silver
So Hong Kong got one medal, in, who guessed; Ping Pong (Men's Doubles). I wonder if that has the Chinese officials re-evaluating the HK membership in the Olympics, when that medal could have been China's, earning them another medal among their 3 in the 6 medals possible in that sport (Tied for 3rd place is HK, Denmark and North Korea with South Korea in 2nd place).

And the HK medal-winners are heralded as modern-day heroes.

They are on magazine covers and newspapers. I guess when you're a small member of the Olympics, you appreciate the medals you get. When you're a bigger country, you have the novelty of then counting the medals.

China shocked the world with its enormous 2nd-place Gold medal count of 32 Gold, (3rd in overall medal count, 2nd was Russia).

2008 - Beijing
So, our next summer Olympics will be in Beijing. This is an interesting development since China did so well this year, lest we ignore the Olympic's lesser-known sibling the Winter Olympics, typically dominated by those few industrialized cold-loving nations. I can understand how the Winter Olympics are less popular - how are tropical nations to relate and admire sports they never see? The conditions for many of the Summer Olympics are low, if the sport does not involve the cold or snow, it's a summer olympic sport. Ping Pong,is an indoor sport. For risk of players losing consciousness, Fencing can't be done in the Summer heat. Winter Olympics has slim pickings of the popular sports. You need ice or snow and the cold. This can be a difficult investment for tropical nations.

Politics of national self-determination
Remember some 4 years ago when the 2008 Summer games were deciding a venue? The politics of the Olympics were more apparent, especially here in Canada where Toronto was vying for a bid amidst Mel Lastman's yammering mentionables. Perhaps it was our national sense of pride that churned out the rhetoric and fogging our views, or actual legitimate concerns, but the backlash against Beijing was huge. Citing human-rights abuses and the political regime of the communist state, Beijing was seen under a political microscope that exists with the Olympics. And then we had Toronto mayor Mel Lastman proclaim something inherently racist. I hate to repeat hearsay as legitimate rhetoric, but he said something about his experience in Africa as feeling like he was in a cauldron about to be eaten. I should really look this quote up to be fair to the poor guy. Knowing that his city had a surefire Olympic bid, I'm sure he meant well. I recall seeing on the news some people who still had an iota of effort left after Toronto's bid was rejected, they were holding signs that read "Thanks Mel". Ouch. I happen to know that Mel Lastman is supportive of Toronto. I don't think any other mayor woul dhave the audacity to support the Hell's Angels enough to sport their jacket when they went to Toronto to hold their national convention. Boy did he get heat for that.

Olympics and politics
So...the Olympics can be pretty political. The world reacted to Korea participating united, North and South. Hitler wanted to prove Aryan superiority at the 1932 Olympics in Berlin Germany (he failed). Who gets to participate is political, largely in the realm of powerful nations. I still think the Olympics is about sport, and political people can see politics in anything, absolutely anything if they try hard enough. So Hong Kong is in the Olympics. The questions we ask can be political, as this whole tirade would indicate. And the questions can be sports-related, like "So, who were the gents who won Silver?"



Great! Can I be sovereign too?
Political conclusion: Sovereignty is the realm of powerful nations. My brother asked me if he could be sovereign - I said sure, just read my "How-To Guide on having your Own Sovereign Nation", out on this blog soon.

Insomnia, a great night of drinking, a preview of your sovereign nation and Chinese Tea

Insomnia
It's Sunday night, night - like midnight. My bout with insomnia got a boost from waking up at 2pm this morning (Sunday). I was so tired from all the waking up that I got another 4 hours of sleep at 4pm to result in a very-much-awake-Doug now watching the Sun Rise over the beautiful mountains that mark the HK horizon.This after a Saturday night of excessive drinking with a bunch of locals introduced to me by Apple. The night ended at 3am and I was provided a taxi ride. I suppose I was quite drunk as I fell asleep in the taxi and woke up insisting I tell the driver how much I thought I woke up in a mini bus. I felt I had to tell him because I was trying to tell him to let me off at the next stop, despite the fat the taxi was stoped, in front of my building, and that I was in a taxi, and asked to get out. The bill for the taxi was not particularly excessive, and though you are not expected to tip the taxi drivers in HK, my $10HKD ($2 Cdn) on a $60HKD ($10 Cdn) goes far as a tip and was well-received.

A trip back to my Saturday Night
Last night was very fun. I was expecting an evening of drinking with Apple's friend who was in Canada, but instead I met over 6 people with better English than they would admit, none as far as I could tell were in Canada. There was one cool guy from Seattle who revealed to me a trick for me to pronounce my Chinese name properly. If I shoot out my finger as I pronounce "Chung" I can just get the right tone. The embarrassment of having pronounced my name wrong for so many years is replaced with embarrassment of protruding my name outwards, prompting confusion from others that I am instead pointing out to someone else having the name. "Wai- CHUNG" (while pointing forwards).

(me learning how to properly say my Chinese name. Making the face adds an interesting "Booya" touch)

Saturday night games
The evening had many bottles of beer, many games of dice - cups with 5 dice in each are a staple at the tables in HK bars. I learned this one fun game one called "Cheat". You guess the number of dice with a particular face value. This goes round and round or back-and-forth, increasing the stakes (4 dice of 2! 4 dice of 3! 5 dice of 2! The 1 face is wild) until someone calls bluff or doubt and reveals their dice. If they are wrong, they drink. If they are right, the last person to raise the stakes drinks. After losing 3 games in a row I stood up and proclaimed loudly I was going to drink with the only other white folk in the bar. The chinese version of this story is funny.

I think he was actually saying my name as he was pointing out. Honestly. But I did have a few beers. Notice the dice.

There is Karaoke at many bars in Hong Kong. I recall the first time I was suprised by this. I was drinking with Apple when I was suprised to hear particularly bad music. I looked over to find this guy at a table with friends who were seemingly disinterested in his musical expression, singing to chinese characters on a TV hanging overhead. This Karaoke thing is everywhere. CDs of music accompany video discs of musical performances with Karaoke text so you can sign along. Last night Apple pointed out to me the two white men were singing very well. I was very impressed, they were singing Chinese damn well, wow, I guess foreigners can integrate well...hell, maybe the only foreigner there was me - who knows, maybe they were locals with a lineage in HK more extensive than I. I look at hte screen to find they were singing some Elton John song or something. the words were English, and their singing was so bad I couldn't understand it. Back to drinking.

Among my rants, games AND drinking I managed to have conversation with Milly AND try to ignore the camera taking this photo.

Tonight I ate
So I took a bus to another area here in Diamond Hill to get some variety from the deliciously cheap soup I have as a staple meal just a few steps from my home. Resorting to pictograms my food was great. The rest of my evening was composed of visiting my aunt to go over my family lineage and some bills and arranging to get cable. Although I am averse to getting brain-sucking cable, I am committed to understanding HK better. Cable TV with news about HK would get me more in touch with HK and understanding local developments.

Your own sovereign nation- a preview
The rest of my evening is composed of writing input for my blog, which led to a composing the mass content for my "How-to guide to setting up your own nation/state/country". I hope to publish it soon. I offer a preview:

You need to consider a title for yourself and a political system/structure. The
title of "President" is suggested, as it is the most common and better
understood by other countries. You may choose a more unique title, however it may have unforeseen political consequences. "Tsar", "Emperor" and "King/Queen" are seen as being like a dictator. "Chancellor" and "Chairman" aren't bad, but France and China may dislike you for copying their title.

After writing this guide, I went and bought a newspaper and read about the local scene here. There is a huge election coming up, for the legislative council. There are soooooo many posters up EVERYWHERE asking people to vote. There are also posters soliciting for a particular party, but nowhere near the number of posters up asking people to vote. It's a big election, and may be the last of its kind here, since China has ruled out elections in 2007 and 2008. The party posters are interesting - each has a huge number indicated on them - I guess the ballots identify the parties by a particular number. I have asked my Aunt to vote. After some insistence, I pulled out my last trump card and asked her to vote for me, since I cannot. And for any party if she doesn't know which. Then I took the micrawave she offered me, and I was on my way. My Aunt is great to me.

More of the night.
I read my newspaper on the park bench here in Diamond Hill. I was finished it when I saw this man here setting up a table for tea. Wondering if I can have some, he led me into the diner here to get some. I guess he works here, I dunno. He helped me set up a table and here I am. What a nice man - despite my pleas of not understanding him, he continues to talk to me in Cantonese. This fuels my desire to learn the language more. I put variety into my comments that I don't speak Cantonese and I don't understand him with facts about myself. "I don't understand... I don't know... I am 24 years old... I am named Wai-Chung...I don't speak Cantonese...I am Canadian...Yes, I am Canadian...my mom is a HongKonger, now she is in Canada...I don't know....father? My father is Canadian...I don't know...my aunt is here in Diamond Hill..." The man is either very patient with me, or he is a very friendly man, or the guy is damn stubborn thinking the Cantonese will just sink in and I will give up and speak the language. "I don't know...I don't speak Canto-[switch to perfect-speaking Cantonese] Okay, you got me! How did you know, Wong? (his name really is Wong) I thought I could keep it up, but you got me! Good for you!" Not today. Not yet.

Eat a bowl of Bo-Lei Tea.
So I am here drinking my tea. I drink "Bo-Lei", a tea that has a tradition in Canada as "Doug's mother's tea". I know my mother doesn't choose a Chinese restaurant based on their tea, but if they don't have her Bo-Lei "tsa" (tea) and aren't willing to go out and buy some right then, we leave. Since my mother's hard-line policy, Montreal's Chinese restaurant have made sure to have a supply of this tea. As you can guess, my mother enjoys this tea. "It's tea you can drink all day long". A puzzling admission since we only drink it in Chinese restaurants, but it would explain why we often stay there for much time after we have finished eating - to drink the tea. Hey, don't knock tea. Wars have been fought over tea. You can have parties with tea. You can have a break from work with tea. My mother's hard-line Bo-Lei policy has had the unfortunate circumstance of giving her son, me, the impression that Bo-Lei was Hong Kong's tea. That Bo-Lei was the staple of tea in the land of my mother's heritage. Well you can guess it ain't. "It's the old people's tea" I am told, over and over again. "But it's tea you can drink all day long!" I tell them, "Yeah, if you're old and drinking tea all day" I'm told. I have imported my mother's hard-line tea policy (back?) to Hong Kong, with more polite requests for the Bo-Lei. Oh they have it alright, and plenty of old people to drink it too.

Now
It is now 5:50am. I haven't been writing this since 12am, but writing in spurts. I am having some Dim Sum over here. I am trying to manage to get something that doesn't resemble the animal it came from. All the while drinking my Bo-Lei tea .

Sorry for not writing sooner

Sorry for not having written in so long. I hardly have an excuse except for lacking time. I know that this blog will be very useful for me to look back on, and from some of the feedback, it has been quite entertaining and useful for others.

I've no other reason but for lack of time. Actually I do have other reasons, and I will explain. This whole blogging phenomena that has hit the internet (even Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore and George W. Bush are blogging) is new to me, and I feel I have to maneuvre it with care. So far the experience has been positive - it is an easy way for me to keep my friends and family updated. Also there's only been maybe one situation I know of where some posts/pictures have been used to tease others, prompting a consideration to restrict my already-restricted posts or even restrict access. I need only be as neutral and indecript as possible. I post what I would otherwise say publicly to friends and strangers who may be overhearing. The posts are not as personal as I would prefer, but not too personal as to embarrass anyone. Do feel free to get in touch if you object to content - but rest assured I do not publicize my blog, not even (for the time being) on my personal website- my blog interests only those who know me personally and is seen by those who have been informed by me personally or someone who has been informed by me personally.

Busy, with what?
My time has been split between my professional and personal pursuits. Nothing I want to describe soon until later. I cannot describe now. I will not. But I have to mention that being tight-lipped has nothing to do with Communism. Nothing. I repeat, it has NOTHING to do with Communism. Just because I am volunteering the fact that it has nothing to do with Communism should not suggest in any way that it does. Because it doesn't. Can we drop it? I'll pick it back up later.

With that, I have about 20 topic subjects to blog about. I welcome your visits and, as always, your feedback. On with the show.