Schedium

Kowloon Walled City before its demolition in 1994 "The Walled City did have a strange status and a peculiar life of its own: it was not governed by law. As a result, it had become a haven for illegal immigrants, criminals and vice of every kind." Jackie Pullinger When one looks at the pictures of the Kowloon Walled City Park one can hardly imagine what was to be found in this very place less than two decades ago. Until the beginning of the 1990s some 40,000 residents lived within this 6.5-acre (0.026 km2) area, cramped in unhygienic, infested houses, built illegally by all sorts of people who, for whatever reason, chose to take refuge in that "city of darkness", as it was known in those days.  View of Kowloon Walled City Park, built after the demolition of the Walled City  An alley inside the Walled City. There were no proper streets separating the buildings Before being demolished in 1994, Kowloon Walled City w

Flag of British Hong Kong (in use from 1959 to 1997) Hong Kong is a unique place. It was Britain's first and only direct colonial possession in China; and it was the last big British colony, the last remnant of the Empire that ruled a quarter of mankind. Under British administration, Hong Kong rose to become one of the richest, most exciting, and densely populated cities in the world.  Yet it has always been a thoroughly Chinese city, in which East and West met, but didn't merge into one single people, one single civilization. When Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer of the Royal Navy took possession of Hong Kong in the morning of 26 Januray 1841, in a place that is now known as Possession Point, the island of Hong Kong had nothing in common with the vibrant metropolis that we see today. Dismissed by Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston (1784 – 1865) as ‘a barren island with hardly a house upon it’, Hong Kong was nothing more than a remote outpost of the Chinese E

Taipei street scene 1) People Wearing Surgical Masks If you go out wearing a surgical mask in Europe you'll probably see people staring at you in panic, wondering whether you want to spread a mortal disease by mingling with healthy people instead of putting yourself into quarantine.  Don't worry, it's not that in Taiwan millions of people have serious diseases. It's just a habit to wear surgical masks, and no one will think you're weird and no one will look at you if you wear one. I don't know if the habit of wearing masks comes from Japan, or if it is a consequence of the SARS panic from a few years ago, which led East Asian countries to care more about public health in their overcrowded cities. Actually, wearing masks is not a recent phenomenon; I remember reading a book written in the 1930s about Japan, in which the author described a group of Japanese soldiers' wives in occupied Manchuria wearing surgical masks. Definitely, East As

Yesterday I finally arrived in Hong Kong and moved in my new temporary flat, where I will be spending the next two months. Hong Kong is known for having one of the most expensive property markets in the world. As South China Morning Post reported ,  "prices per square foot now exceed HK$10,000 even in drab, unglamorous districts such as Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island, where thousands of 700 square-foot units sell for more than US$1 million apiece, more than a large cottage in Provence, France, a 2,700 square-foot bungalow in Hawaii, or a 1,300 square-foot flat on Manhattan’s Upper West Side." I now have the privilege to experience myself the consequences of the shortage of land and high population density that characterize Hong Kong (and also of recent years' speculation). My new really tiny room (it's the smallest room I've ever lived in) costs 4,000 HKD (around 400 Euros). Hong Kong's lack of space and huge population are the reasons why the c

And so the time has finally come for me to say good-bye to Taiwan for a longer period of time: tomorrow I'll be moving to Hong Kong. I must admit that it was really hard for me to write the previous post, because I am so excited and couldn't concentrate.  I will be living in one of those huge buildings where thousands of people house (I will post pictures when I have the chance). And I will experience and explore the life of this amazing metropolis. On the one hand I feel relieved. Somehow I just couldn't stay in Taiwan any more. Although the country and its culture as such are very interesting, and although I tried to understand and learn as much as possible, I am probably not very good at coping with the environment here. I want to give you an example, just to vent my anger a little, if you don't mind. I have already written in another post about the habit of many Taiwanese people to cancel meetings as they please, giving just a short notice. I am sorry g

Yesterday I had once again a conversation about the alleged habit of Westerners to take a shower in the morning. I was surprised when, a few years ago, a Chinese friend asked me for the first time the question: " Do Western people really take a shower in the morning ?" I had never thought about this before. But apparently, a lot of Chinese/ Taiwanese notice (and disapprove of) this habit. When you live with a Chinese family (which could for example be your girlfriend's/boyfriend's family) you might have noticed that they are not very happy with your going to bed without taking a shower or bath first. It seems as though they considered it disgusting, and they wish you had brought your own bed sheets.  First of all, I don't think every Westerner takes a shower in the morning. I guess it depends on the person and the mood. I, for example, usually take a shower in the morning, but when it's hot outside, I prefer to take a shower immediately after coming back