Happy 70th birthday Elvis.......

I think that the date is January 8th. But it difficult to tell from Elvises website since there is a calendar of several days worth of celebrations.

Happy birthday to the King of Rock-n-Roll.

China gets credit for its tsunami disaster relief efforts....But some things never change

China is getting involved with the relief efforts for the victims of Tsunami disaster on December 26. I have always been amazed with PRC officials and their form over substance approach to problems outside of the country. However, this time, it appears as if there is a real effort to become involved in the relief efforts as outlined in an article here.

The Chinese emphasize that they are just trying to respond appropriately to the massive disaster. But others say that there is another reason that China is taking such an active role: As a rising regional power, it is eager to recast itself as a kinder and gentler neighbor.

However, China continues it juvenile antics with regard to Taiwan when it threatened Japan it it allowed the 81 year old former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to visit his former alma-mater Kyoto University.

The Chinese government had warned Japan that it faced a "fierce reaction" if it allowed Lee to visit, saying he would use the occasion to promote Taiwanese separatism.

Read this article here. Of course Chinese officials were babbling on for days about the private visit of the former Taiwanese President even while people's lives were being snuffed out by the December 26th Tsunami disaster and immediate help was needed. Of course the US military was one of the first on the scenes, delivering vital aid quickly.

Of course, I think that the China donation to the Tsunami victims of US$60 million was orchestrated only to top the donation of US$50 million by Taiwan.

Smog getting worse and worse here in Hong Kong

The filthiest day of the year fell on September 14 when the air pollution index nudged for the first time above the critical 200 level: a reading of more than 100 is classified as "very high" and triggers an automatic health warning.

Its getting very bad here these days. According to the article [read it here] 80% of the pollution originates in Southern China and there was low visibility 18% of the time. This reading is the highest on record.

For those that have never had the opportunity to enjoy our Hong Kong weather, visibility on the worst days is reduced to few hundred yards. Just from observation, however, I have to dispute the claim that 80% of the pollution comes from Southern China. The street level in Central or in Mongkok is chocked due to pollution from cars, busses and trucks and is particularly noxious. China puts down a good base of pollution but Hong Kong does more than its share of polluting.