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Report from the WTO Demonstrations in Hong Kong

Charles Feng · 18:59

The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Hong Kong, 13-18 December 2005. Thousands of anti-globalization campaigners, especially South Korean farmers who has been opposing the opening of their rice market by an agreement South Korean government made with WTO, had protested across central Hong Kong, carrying huge banners, chanting, banging drums, and fighting with policemen of Hong Kong.

Most of the bloggers in Hong Kong who joined the demonstration against WTO personally were supporting the South Korean farmers’ appeals from the bottom of heart, which is similar to the demonstration for universal suffrage on Dec.4. HK bloggers played the role of not only civic reporters, but the practitioners of grass root power.

Majority of bloggers in the inmediahk (ZH) are strongly against WTO, and support South Korean farmers staunchly. They reported the daily demonstration using their first hand source. When the riot took place on Dec. 17, some of them were shot by water cannon, and nearly suffocated by tear gas and pepper spray. They condemned what HK police did against protesters, and described it was the shame of HK. Interestingly, if there was one person who expressed the different view with them, they besieged and censured him.

The Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong joined by HK’s reputable English newspaper, The Standard and the well-known EastSouthWestNorth blogger, Roland Soong established a dedicated blog style website for this WTO ministerial meeting named Curbside @ WTO .Curbside reported the daily meeting formally, and post personal feelings in the item of web log by its tens of master students in the journalism school. One of them, Jonathan Lee thinks Hong Kong Police's motto of “We serve with pride and care” is being exercised to the fullest, and he also believed that the unsung heroes of Hong Kong during the demonstrations are those street cleaners in HK.

The eloquent HK blogger, Glutter also joined the demonstration against WTO, and talked a lot about her observations and feelings in her rants during the meeting. She expressed deep disappointment to the protest in the WTO Diary: Genuine Concerns Turns First World Violent Entertainment. She said,

“the reason I left was I felt really disappointed by a lot of Hong Kong people who turned up were just standing around blocking the protesters and the police… The reason that really made me totally embarrassed and made me want to leave the whole thing was reading the “Declarations” of the Hong Kong hunger strikers. It was total bullshit, what they were demanding they wanted the negotiation on agriculture and fisheries removed from the WTO table meaning everything remains status quo and it doesn't help the cause at all”.

In her another post named Globalize Trade, Globalized Violence, Violence of poverty, and Having the Strength of Convictions to Deal with Consequences, she said,

“the police has my respect for being completely restraint. I have never seen such a lack of forward attack happen between police and protesters considering how violent it was. The South Korean farmers have my respect for having the strength of conviction with following up with what their threats were and dealing with the consequences with honor and respect. They put their bodies and lives at risk, they willingly put themselves out there because they feel they are being hurt by globalization and danced for hours and chanted for hours while surrounded by police in defiance and belief.”

Finally, she said, “all I can say is no matter what, how I feel is a complete failure of the Anti-WTO movement in being unable to express themselves in any logical way”.

Yahoo Hong Kong conducted a survey which 9594 people participate in as of Dec. 19. Responding to the question that if you agree with what anti-WTO protesters did, tremendously 68% of participants recognize, only 26% of them don’t. And yet 65% of the respondents think the action that HK police’s took against protesters are proper, even 14% of them consider it too tolerant. This is the public opinion of HK people. They love freedom and fairness, as well as rule of law.

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A Quick Trip into Chile

Rosario Lizana · 17:46

A good way make a virtual Chilean trip, is by getting to know Chileans blogs about, food, customs, and culture.

In La Buena Vida (ES) ( “The good life”) Alvaro posts about new restaurants and polls readers about the where to find the best “Pisco Sour” or the best “sandwich” in Santiago, Chile's capitol.
Also for the wine lovers, Andes Wine offers news and information about a variety of Chilean wines near the Andes mountains, and it is in English!

For deeper Chilean ancestral roots, the bloggers of Cultura Mapuche y Educación (ES) (Mapuche Culture and Education) post their concerns related to politics and education. In the music field, Super 45 (ES) covers news of national bands, their tours as well as international music.

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Nigerian blogoshpere this week

Sokari Ekine · 07:23

Following three recent airline crashes in Nigeria Chippla has written an excellent series of reports on the Nigerian Aviation Sector. The reports examine each of the crashes, the response of the Nigerian media and Government.

However, reforming the aviation sector demands more than that and would need to be extended to airline management, safety, proper and regularly updated training for pilots and cabin crews, airports with functional facilities and well-trained staff. This cannot be done in a day, or in a few months. It will take time. The domestic airlines market should be fully liberalized locally. Airlines should have the liberty of flying where they want to, and when a destination fails to make business sense, there should be no obligation on airlines to serve it.

“Built for eggheads manned by morons”Grandiose Parlour's focus is Nigeria's education system - something that has been steadily but surely going down hill since independence.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that the Nigerian education system is in doldrums. Past interventions have not worked, and the present attempts (if any) to revive the system and inject some life into it has not shown any promising signs so far.

Musings of a Naijaman reminisces about Christmas in Nigeria

…there's food as well, but it's chicken or goat and rice and moimoi with dodo and salad- Nigerian salad of course, nothing like the wimpy leafy things you get served here when you ask for a salad. I'm talking sardines, corned beef, hardboiled eggs and baked beans - in addition to the usual suspects- the lettuce, carrots,cabbage, tomatoes and onions all laced with a hefty dollop of salad cream…..not exactly what nutritionists have in mind when they sugest salads as healthy alternatives…..

In England? “Everyone eats and drinks too much trying to keep warm”!

Last weekend Nigeria held it's 2005 Internet Convention. Gbenga Sesun gives a detailed report on the convention, the main focus was on youth and ICTs.

Chris Uwaje was next, and he spoke on the need for Nigerian youths to become globally competitive. He spoke on the need for young people to chose to strategically focus — with an example of choosing an area of expertise within the IT landscape and focusing on that within 24 months. He also spoke on the need for proper mentorship, hinting that young Nigerians must learn the ropes of Information Technology from the elders..

Kayode of Kazey's Journal writes about religion in Nigeria which he says has become a cult.

Faiths in Nigeria, be it of the Muslim or Christian origin, is practiced in such an alarming way, and I do think that, it would be a threat to the future of Nigerian’s progress, peace and harmony

He comments on how different religions vie for supremacy and in some instances even in the same religion, different groups compete and condemn each other and takes a quote from a poster

Thank God, that in my faith, I am assured of heaven, not by my works but by the work of whom I put my faith in, and that is Christ Jesus. You’re! There is nothing we can do to be righteous, for man is evil by nature but my faith is on that which was sin-less and who bore my sins even before I was conceived and born. What else can I ask for?

Thought Line announces the opening in Nigeria of Africa's largest supermarket chain, Shoprite in the Palms shopping mall in Lekki, Lagos. This is the second South African store (Game) to open in a week!

Game was born out of the belief by its founders that shopping had become a tedious and boring pastime and they conceptualised retailing as a game and then pooled their limited savings to turn the concept into reality by creating a fun environment for shoppers, who were attended by staff in shocking pink, a corporate colour which has prevailed to this day.

Great Nigerians now have a new past time and exercise routine - the shopping mall - Sound familiar!
African Shirts has a joyous fit as he learns of the arrest of the man in drag - Alamieyeseigha aka Tina….

Who says the wheels of justice grind slowly? Let's see him escape Nigeria's jails dressed as a Benedictine monk with three breasts like in Total Recall.

Maybe someone will make a movie? “Alamaramalamadingdong arrested”

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