Jasper Tsang finally takes a holiday in Asia
Although Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing is a veteran Beijing loyalist, when it comes to travelling he usually prefers visiting Europe or the United States rather than going to the mainland. This year, Tsang opted for nearer destinations, citing a tight schedule since Legco's summer recess began last month. He visited Hokkaido, Japan, and will go to Maldives next month. "So I have visited the north, south, east and west of the globe now," Tsang joked. The 68-year-old has been seen as at odds with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying since the botched Legco vote on electoral reform, but he said it was Leung who made his trip possible. Tsang was worried the half-hour boat trips between Maldives hotels and tourist spots would make him seasick, until Leung told him about a hotel that did not require any. Tsang did not say what kept him busy over the past month - may be it was getting ready to lead the Policy Research Institute once he retires next year?
There is a common saying in show business with regard to political correctness: When a show is set in the past, change that past to fit the prejudice of those currently in power. Whether TVB staff went too far in applying the principle or are just ignorant about Chinese history is anybody's guess. Either way, the August 23 episode of TVB's current affairs programme committed an embarrassing blunder when it aired a graphic showing the five-star red flag of the People's Republic of China to represent the Chinese government during the anti-Japan battles in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The People's Republic of China did not exist at the time. Rather, the Nationalist government ruled the Republic of China on the mainland. The mistake sparked a public outcry and much online criticism for the TV station - which has in recent years been accused of self-censorship in its China news reports - for twisting history to suit the taste of the Chinese Communist Party. The Communications Authority was reportedly flooded by more than 600 complaints within 24 hours after the programme was broadcast. One of the four crew members responsible for the episode has been sacked, while the rest were given warning letters, sources said. TVB, which declined to comment on personnel matters, publicly apologised, and quickly rectified the mistake online.
Pro-democracy activists might not be fans of Leung Chun-ying, but they actually have big plans for the chief executive's birthday today - albeit unpleasant ones. Leung, who was born on the 14th of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, has always been mocked by internet users as that specific date is also the Yu Lan or Hungry Ghost Festival. Many Chinese people burn joss paper and paper replicas of clothes and fine goods to pacify the restless spirits they believe usually wander around during the ghost festival. Activist Tam Tak-chi, of the radical political group People Power, plans to burn props bearing Leung's face in Mong Kok tonight alongside other pro-democracy supporters, hoping to send the unpopular chief executive to be a servant of the spirits.
