🌊 WTA outTA ChinA
🌊 WTA outTA ChinA
Everything - including literal train doors - going off the rails
Good morning,
No I didn’t take a week off, I was at BEC live tweeting stuff about sustainable water. If you didn’t get a chance to join (why not?? I’ve been posting the event for a week?? and the online tickets were free??):
Maggie - if you’re reading this - please send me some treated water.
~ Cyril
On Today’s Tide:
WTA leaves China (including Hong Kong)
COVID news
Train door off the rails
Events
For Paid Subscribers
Government “review of AIDS”
Apple Daily wins press freedom prize & other media news
WTA Leaves China
The Women’s Tennis Association has announced a complete boycott of the Chinese market (including Hong Kong - special mention) due to complications with the Peng Shuai case.
Peng, one of China’s top tennis players, said in early November on a weibo post that she was coerced into sex by former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli. The post was deleted and she then disappeared for two weeks, after which an email saying the rumours were false surfaced; followed by pictures (posted by a state affiliated journalist on his twitter) of Peng playing with stuffed toys and her cat; followed by a video of her playing tennis with some kids; followed by a video of her having dinner with friends; followed by a video call with the International Olympic Committee - which has continued to support operations in China.
Steve Simon, chairman of the WTA, says that the decision to pull out of China and Hong Kong was difficult but that the lack of independently verifiable evidence for Peng’s freedom led the organisation to worry about what might happen to other tennis players - many of which have been outspoken about Peng’s situation.
COVID news
Coronavirus in Hong Kong
New cases: 6
Omicron spread a’la ‘The Terminal’, transit rules tightened
Authorites on Wednesday found that a man who had been stuck inside HK Airport Terminal 1 for three days (24 Nov - 27 Nov) due to visa issues had the omicron variant.
The case has been linked to Nigeria, his last main location. Nigerian authorities were like oh whaaat and found that they had data of cases in October which predate the announcement of omicron from Southern Africa by two weeks.
16 airport staff have been put into quarantine over the unfortunate airport lodger and the airline he travelled with is under investigation (transits must be completed within 24 hours under normal circumstances).
Transiting passengers are also now under more scrutiny, having to now produce a negative COVID result 72 hours before arriving in Hong Kong, even if Hong Kong is not the final destination.
Train door off the rails
An MTR carriage door disloged at Causeway Bay station around 6pm leading to services between Wanchai and Quarry Bay to stop for three hours. Preliminary investigations point to the door having hit an advertising panel that had come loose. There were no injuries but everyone got super very confused about how to travel without the MTR.
Actual interview from RTHK from a man surnamed Fong:
“I mean it’s not their first time, so what more can you expect from the MTR. Is it last year or the year before, the MTR [train] kind of went off-track, so of course, I have safety concerns. Normally it takes me 10 minutes or so to travel from Admiralty to Causeway Bay, but now… my friend suggested me: you’re better off just walk there”
Let’s look at a map
Speaking with Transit Jam, Former Tuen Mun district councilor Michael Mo argued that an incident like this shutting down the city was unacceptable and points to issues with MTR’s monopoly over Hongkongers view of transport:
“The railroad as core public transport strategy effectively made a single-point-of-failure for the city’s commute system. We’ve experienced for so many times that train breakdowns would put the city into a halt. Too many lines/extension have been delayed… which should supposed to serve as redundancy. If there’s a Northern Island line now, the impact won’t be that chaotic,”
Michael ‘no mo MTR’ Mo
Wanchai Ferry, normally quite an empty ride despite upgrades to the precint, also saw massive crowds as a result. So…maybe that’s a bonus? Idk lol I’m stuck on the train.
Events / Exhibitions etc
We want to make sure that what we advertise is interesting for our readers, so if you go to an event that you saw here, let us know by taking a selfie and tagging us on Twitter or Instagram ( both @harbourtimes ).
We’ll throw in a free month of Paid High Tide for yourself or a friend!
Events from the Diplomatic Community
Jewish Life in Germany and Escape Destination Hong Kong
For the next month, the German CG and the Goethe-Institute are hosting a group of and events detailing the lives of Holocaust refugees who fled to Hong Kong. The gallery itself shows images from the Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen and the United Nations Outreach Program. In the Art Centre’s Black Box studio, a multimedia performance QING explores the relationship between dance and the ‘body luggage’ of forced migration.
Where: Goethe-Gallery & Black Box Studio. 14/F Hong Kong Arts Centre. Wanchai
When: 11/11 to 11/12 // 9:00am - 8:30pm (Mon - Fri) 9:30am - 6:00pm (Sat)
Events from our partners
Humour along my Hairline - Vivek Mahbubani's solo English show
Looking for something funny and fishy this Christmas? Bilingual comedian Vivek Mahbubani’s latest show at Ocean Park is sure to drown you with laughter. Also he may run out of hair half way.
“It's the same venue that big names like Jim Jeffries have performed in and this time I'm using the ticking timebomb that is my receding hairline as a reason to do my solo show so people can at least one day say "I saw him when he was still hairy!"
Vivek ‘yeah I guess that’s pretty funny’ Mahbubani
Tickets available here.
Paid readers have access to an exclusive 20% off discount code.
Want your events on Tide as well? Let us know!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to High Tide to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.