Hi Mon, You must know that I enjoy our Internet conversations because you are one of the completely honest thinkers in our e-group. I completely understand where you are coming from, and I know that you understand my perspective. Always.
I want you to know, however, that what you sense in my perspective as that which stems from the lower 98% of society has it roots to my life in the Philippines. You did not know it then, when we were in school, but I'm sure you know it by now since I've talked about it from time to time. It is the fact that during our college years I tasted poverty. After my father lost our family's fortune as a result of his ill-advised candidacy for councilor of Manila's fourth district in 1959, my family's finances went into a tailspin. I was not immediately affected because I had a work-study scholarship at La Salle. But, we were so poor then that to this day I still identify with the poor and exploited people of the world. I consider myself affluent - even by American standards - but I will always see the world from the point of view of "the people on the pavement" who, as the famous Richard Corey poem tells us, looked up to him. "He was a gentleman from sole to crown," the people on the pavement said of Corey, until one day Corey put a bullet through his skull. The point of all this is that we don't know what is going on in the minds of others, including those Richard Coreys who we think are doing very well. I have never been, and will never be a Richard Corey. I am with the bottom 98% and will always be, even if miraculously my blog or my novel becomes so successful that I become overnight a billionaire. Anyway, I do appreciate our discussions because I consider you my intellectual equal and your talent for analysis is exceptional. C On Sat, Sep 14, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Ramon Franco <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi Chay, > Of course my impression is different. You are stating the obvious. Duh. > There is no doubt what your friend, Ken, says is correct. I am just a > tourist, not a resident and naturally I can only see the surface. Thank God > for that. I can say the same thing about Las Vegas, New York, or anywhere > else we have been to. In Hongkong at least it is very clean, at least > where the tourists hang around and safe. I did not see anyone sleeping in > the streets or in parks, unlike in down town New York (Washington Square) > or other places. Hongkong has always been like this, including what your > friend says. Ken is 100% correct. Hongkong has a problem that is natural > when there is more demand than supply. There are more people wanting to > live in Hongkong (or Singapore as well) that there is space for them. They > are a victim of their own success. Now more than ever with the influx of > the hordes coming across the border. It was bad enough for the average > Hongkong citizen when the British were there and when strict border > controls were in place. It does not take much brain power to see that the > situation will get worst. But to their credit, they are all working around > to fix it as best as possible and to learn to live with the reality of > life. Instead of killing each other. Hats off to them. We can all learn a > lesson from them. If you are really interested in scratching below the > surface when you visit Hongkong, I suggest you walk around the Mongkok > area at night (great night market)or take a train ride towards China > (Shenzhen) and get off at the New Territories and talk to the locals. You > won't be disappointed. Me, I would rather hang around with our friend who > lives in the Peak. > Have a nice day, > Ramon > =================== > > On 13/09/2013 10:22 PM, Cesar Lumba wrote: > > Hi Monching, > > Your impressions of Hong Kong are different from what that Ken guy told > me. Perhaps because you do not live in HK but instead just visit from time > to time. Of course Hong Kong has great infrastructure. Of course it is a > clean city. The Chinese government considers it as one of its showcase > cities. Of course it is peaceful. The full weight of the Chinese > government will be on your neck if you dare to speak out too loud. > > What my guy Ken was talking about was what was going on beneath the > surface. Away from the glitz and glamour. > > The people - not the tourists - are very unhappy, according to Ken. They > want to bring the British back. They want Hong Kong to invest in social > programs (health care, pensions, etc.) instead of on infrastructure. > > Anthony must have the perspective of the top 1 to 2% in HK since he is > one of the lucky ones there. It would be very interesting to know what he > thinks, but I'm afraid he will stay out of this discussion because we don't > know who's listening in. > > Anyway, on my next trip to RP I will take a side trip to HK. > > Regards, old chum. > > C > > > > On Thu, Sep 12, 2013 at 9:23 PM, Ramon Franco <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Ay Naku, Chay, I am afraid you may be right. Anthony Golamco who lives >> in Hongkong could easily verify this. It is the same everywhere one goes. >> I have been to Hongkong at least 4 times. The last time two years ago with >> our grandchildren, and yes that is true about how clean and safe the place >> is. My first trip about 20 years ago was really not as nice as it is now. >> We stayed in Kowloon and it was dirty and did not feel so safe, specially >> at night. But Hongkong is now one of my favourite places. It is very clean >> and very safe. The taxi drivers are great and honest and the fare is >> relatively cheap. The transport system is one of the best we have seen, >> specially the train from the Airport to Kowloon and Hongkong Island. Very >> fast and always on time, clean and again cheap enough. They have an Octopus >> card that is very efficient for use in travelling and buying stuff from >> stores. It is Australian Technology and very good and which we in Sydney >> have been trying to use the past 20 years, but our idiot bureaucrats don't >> have a clue. Dumb as hell. In Hongkong Island the old train that is about >> 40 years old that goes up and down the Island from one end to the other is >> very clean, efficient, popular with both the tourists and the locals and >> for HK$2.00 is a real bargain. The Star Ferry that goes across to Kowloon >> from Hongkong Island and back is the same and for us elderly people it is >> free. They do not even ask you for an id to prove your age, just one look >> and they know. Food is relatively cheap and very good. But shopping can be >> a bit expensive if one is not careful. And yes the place is booming and we >> find the hotels are getting a bit expensive, but nothing like Singapore, >> where it is worst. The Makati Hotels are imitating Hongkong and Singapore >> of late. In our last trip there 2 years ago, I stood for 15 minutest at >> the corner of a street in Times Square in Hongkong Island and I kid you >> not, I counted in that short period of time no less than 15 luxury cars >> passing by, everything from Mercedes, Lexus, BMWs and yes Rolls Royce. >> Hongkong is number one for Rolls Royce. Amazing. On Sundays while we were >> there, we saw all the Filipino domestics (there are about 500,000 of >> them)having their weekly picnic and they occupied every spare space they >> could find, from the parks (packed) to corner streets and under the >> overpasses. It is their day off and they are the only ones allowed by the >> government to congregate in such large numbers on side walks and only once >> a week on Sundays. It is something to behold. Marco and I where there >> after our reunion in 2009 and he can tell you pretty much the same thing. >> And their airport is one of the best I have seen, efficient, clean and big. >> I would rather go to Hongkong than Singapore or Bangkok or Manila if we are >> to travel to Europe from here. It sure is booming and it is the place if >> one wants to make money today. Anthony is in the right place at the right >> time with the right business. Kakaingit.LOL >> All the best, >> Ramon >> >> >> >> >> On 12/09/2013 9:20 PM, Cesar Lumba wrote: >> >> >> A guy who was absent from my dance club for four months decided to >> show up last night. His name is Ken (last name not for publication), who >> grew up in Hong Kong and was recently in Hong Kong for an extended period >> because he and his wife were taking care of their latest grandson. >> >> I told him that I had visited Hong Kong in 1967 on the way to Seattle >> from the Philippines. I said I found Hong Kong very progressive even back >> then, though it was not the safest place to be at night, since there were >> nightly bombings going on, courtesy of communist agitators. >> >> He called 1967 Hong Kong's "political" year. He says Hong Kong is >> peaceful now. However, it is not the place to be anymore, according to Ken. >> >> Every day almost, he said, people are protesting the high prices. >> People who make $10,000 HK a month have to shell out about $7,000 HK to >> rent a tiny tenement. That means they have to live on about $3000 HK a >> month, something that Ken says is almost impossible to do if you have a >> wife and kids. >> >> Most people in Hong Kong, according to Ken, are unhappy. The social >> services are terrible. Prospects are bleak. People remember when Hong Kong >> was a British colony. There was adequate health care, there were pensions, >> there were social services. >> >> Nowadays, health care is the pits, there is a very inadequate pension >> system, people rent almost all their lives because they can't afford to buy >> the super-expensive housing. The gap between the rich and the poor has >> widened substantially since the communist government of China took over. >> >> The difference between the British system of governance and the >> governance of the People's Republic is night and day, according to Ken. >> >> There are no labor unions because the Communist Party is *the* labor >> union. >> >> People are demonstrating daily, in small groups, and some are carrying >> the Union Jack flag, begging to bring back the British government. >> >> Maybe Americans should do the same. Maybe we need the British to come >> back here and install a more fair and just system. >> >> Here's the latest flash from Newsmax: >> >> *Breaking from Newsmax.com* >> >> *Richest 1% Earn Record Share of US Income* >> >> The income gap between the richest one percent of Americans and the rest >> of the country widened to a record last year, according to an analysis of >> Internal Revenue Service figures dating back 100 years. >> >> The analysis of IRS records back to 1913 found that the nation's very >> wealthiest — those making more than $394,000 — earned 19.3 percent of all >> household income in 2012, while the top 10 percent took home a record 48.2 >> percent of total earnings, The Associated Press reported. >> >> In 2012, incomes of the top one percent rose nearly 20 percent compared >> to a one percent increase for the remaining 99 percent. >> *Read More >> Here<http://news.newsmax.com/?KKO6.HlQ7Y063Azic701vG-HRDgfNLU1K&http://www.newsmax.com/US/wealth-inequality-income/2013/09/11/id/525061?ns_mail_uid=29895797&ns_mail_job=1537175_09112013&promo_code=14D6B-1> >> * >> >> C >> >> >> >> >> __._,_.___ >> Reply via web >> post<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DLSHS59/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJxNHQzYWRkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMTc3Njk5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NzYyNARtc2dJZAM3OTg4BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3JwbHkEc3RpbWUDMTM3ODk4NDg0OA--?act=reply&messageNum=7988> >> Reply >> to sender <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Hong%20Kong> Reply to >> group <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20Hong%20Kong> Start a New >> Topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DLSHS59/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmY2p1dW41BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMTc3Njk5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NzYyNARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzNzg5ODQ4NDg-> >> Messages >> in this >> topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DLSHS59/message/7988;_ylc=X3oDMTM1bGMxYTA1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMTc3Njk5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NzYyNARtc2dJZAM3OTg4BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3Z0cGMEc3RpbWUDMTM3ODk4NDg0OAR0cGNJZAM3OTg4>(1) >> Recent Activity: >> >> >> Visit Your >> Group<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DLSHS59;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbXY0aHQzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMTc3Njk5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NzYyNARzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEzNzg5ODQ4NDg-> >> [image: Yahoo! >> Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJldWRkZDZyBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzEzMTc3Njk5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA3NzYyNARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTM3ODk4NDg0OA--> >> Switch to: >> Text-Only<[email protected]?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Format:%20Traditional>, >> Daily >> Digest<[email protected]?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest>• >> Unsubscribe <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms >> of Use <http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> • Send us >> Feedback >> <[email protected]?subject=Feedback%20on%20the%20redesigned%20individual%20mail%20v1> >> . >> >> __,_._,___ >> >> >> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Center for Good Governance" group. 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