Good morning.

This didn’t happen in Hong Kong, but too funny to not mention: officials in Taiwan are asking citizens to not change their names to “salmon” after 150 people went to government offices to add the Chinese characters for salmon into their names so they could nab a free all-you-can-eat sushi meal with five friends. I wish I could make up something so bizarre.

If absurd stories and memes like this tickle your fancy, join HT’s latest Patreon tier ‘Meme Fiends’ to get the best serotonin boost $1 can buy.

– Jasmine Lee

News 🗞️

Photo: Zhang Xiaoming speaks to the press on March 18, 2021 / RTHK screenshot.

• Experts under the CHP indicate that the BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine that is effective against all variants. 

• Reports have come in of COVID-19 isolation ward staff tying infants to beds. The Hospital Authority said, “Generally speaking, the hospital will only consider the application of physical restraint on paediatric patients for the safety and well-being of the patient."

• A Beijing official said democrats were included during closed-door talks on electoral reform, but three of HK's major democratic parties said none of their members was invited.

• Li Ka-shing's Hutchison and CK Asset profits dive in 2020. Reported net profit for CK Hutchison fell 27% to HK$29.1 billion, and CK Asset's underlying profit was down 32.5% to $19.34 billion.

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Stop to Smell the Roses 🌹

Starting today, you can enjoy the Hong Kong Flower Show online for a month until 19 April. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has organised activities that include a Theme Flower and Tulip Display, flower planting demonstrations, flower photography tips, and interactive games for children – fun for flower loves of all ages!

Attend the HK Flower Show

Learn 📚

Photo: Jessica Wei by Jessie Lau.

In the latest edition of her newsletter, Jessica Wei, a journalist with five years of experience writing and creating content for magazines in Hong Kong and Toronto, expresses her rage while sharing powerful insight in light of the recent racially and sexually motivated massacre in Georgia. This incident that took the lives of six Asian women and two others has led to a wave of Asian women speaking out on the widespread issue of racism and sexism at play against women like themselves in America and other spaces where they are considered visible minorities. Wei’s piece is important to read for those who have not had the same experiences; and for those who have, the stories she shares are all too familiar.

CW: adult language and mentions of violence.

What is the point when someone can go on a killing spree and murder eight people, six Asian women, and walk out alive, not say anything about the people who were shot and have the police and the media on his side? What is the point of working so hard every day, getting your pronunciations right, eating your scent-free sandwiches, getting into good schools, staying quiet until asked a question directly, satisfying your bosses, getting along with your coworkers, sipping your bougie cocktails silently, swallowing your crappy paycheck? […] What’s the point when at the end of the day, someone who looks like you can be assaulted on the street or spat at or shot dead in their workplace just because they look like you?

— Jessica Wei, I cannot begin to say

Read 'I cannot begin to say'

NOT a Fashion Store! 👗

Photo: NOT a Fashion Store exhibition pamphlet.

The Hong Kong Art Museum’s latest exhibition features artworks and items related to fashion from its four core collections, spanning time periods, locations, and genres. The event is free and is on display from today until 5 January, 2022.

Visit the exhibit