Glutter Plugs: Letters From Hong Kong On Australian Radio
Earlier this year, Scott Spark, an Australian Journalism Student lived in HK for six months through an exchange program between our City University and Brisbane University.
He made 12 Radio “Letters” about our city. All of which are currently playing throughout Australia, on the Australian Broadcasting Network, (their RTHK or PBS).
He found a really interesting range of people to talk to and introduced me to things about my city I didn’t even know existed. In turn I granted him an interview and under much duress I talked about my doco :).
Unfortunately the stories only comes in Real Player format: To Download Real Player
I really enjoyed his work, and I think it’s worth a listen.
Democracy for Hong Kong
Many questions were asked when Hong Kong returned to China, from British rule, in 1997. Most importantly, people demanded Hong Kong¡¦s self determination. Another big issue was, and remains, democracy for Hong Kong.
Will its government allow for this transition? Will mainland China hold Hong Kong back, or will Hong Kong be the locomotive that pulls China into the future? To Listen
Sunday Butchers (Fight Club)
To Listen
Dressing Up (Cosplay)As children, much of our time is spent imitating our favourite cartoon heroes. But then adolescence hits and, all of a sudden, we¡¦re grow out of these dressing-up games. In Hong Kong, many twenty-somethings are into dressing up as their favourite comic, cartoon or video game characters. These “cosplayers” (short for costume players) attend conventions, where onlookers gather with cameras and video recorders. To Listen
Canto Pop
In Hong Kong, the measure of a successful pop song is one which can be sung in a karaoke bar! Says composer Pong Nan: “A lot of the music is driven by karaoke power … how you can get people to sing that song karaoke”. This type of music is known as “Canto-Pop” and you’ll nearly always hear it somewhere amidst Hong Kong’s slurry of noise. Pong Nan and several Canto-Pop fans explain and perform their favourite Canto-Pop songs, including one which celebrates studying! To Listen
Foreign Domestic Helpers
Many people in Hong Kong are simply too busy to manage their own homes. That¡¦s why foreign domestic helpers, more often known as maids or amahs, are employed to do peoples¡¦ housework and look after their children. A lot of people employ foreign domestic helpers, including expatriates and local Chinese. And, while homes are often small, foreign domestic helpers usually live with their employers. The trouble is that foreign domestic helpers are an underclass in the very society they help maintain. And, as Scott Spark discovered, recent minimum wage reductions have only made these women¡¦s lives worse. To Listen
Chungking Mansions
We now take you to some of Hong Kong¡¦s dingiest boarding houses, Chungking Mansions. We could, of course, talk about the flashy inner-city buildings surrounding it, but Chungking is far more interesting. It¡¦s several towers, each seventeen stories high, and is infamous for murders, drug dealing, prostitution and gambling. It¡¦s also a ghetto for illegal immigrants from Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. But, if you can overlook its vices, downstairs are some wonderful bric-a-brac markets and curry outlets. We begin in an overcrowded lift. To Listen
Cally and Tai O
Cally Cheng is a twenty-year-old university student. She¡¦s lived in Hong Kong her entire life, but just doesn¡¦t feel best in the city. An hour and a half outside the CBD there¡¦s an old fishing village, Tai O, that she enjoys visiting. Scott Spark followed Cally on a daytrip to Tai O, and discovered why she is not a typical Hong Kong girl and how she survives in a city she hates. To Listen
Yan’s Chase
Sometimes you find a person whose pursuits not only convey something important about themselves, but also about their environment. Yan Sham-Shackleton grew up in Hong Kong, and loves her city. She finds it an inspiration, despite its lack of support for her making documentary films. Scott Spark discovered a woman, with a handy-cam, who climbs into the passenger seat with drivers who are all but otherwise mistaken for thugs. To Listen
Fetish Fashions
When thinking about Australia¡¦s primary exports, you might consider wheat, wool and beef. But Hong Kong bondage queen “Decima” loves our leather. She says Australia¡¦s leather is the best no the planet for her BDSM floggers.
Scott Spark just happened to be passing Fetish Fashions, so he dropped in and spoke with its proprietor Brenda “Decima” Schofield. (Who happens to be my highschool teacher, I have a lot of opinions on the situation, but I will keep it to myself). To Listen
Light Pollution in Hong Kong:
Peering into an evening sky, clear of clouds, is one of life¡¦s more rewarding moments. But if you grow up in Hong Kong, you may never experience this. The city¡¦s sheer amount of light brightens the sky to the point where stargazing is almost impossible. To make things worse, Hong Kong¡¦s new tallest building wishes to reinstate the city as the ¡§Pearl of the Orient¡¨ with a massive lighting fixture. To Listen
Sex and this City
Where did you first have sex? Bets are, if you grew up in Hong Kong, your answer won¡¦t be ¡§at home¡¨, because privacy is all too rare in the city¡¦s small and crowded living spaces. To make matters worse, many peoples¡¦ work-lives cut into their sex-lives. There just isn¡¦t enough time for sex when there¡¦s money to make. Scott Spark explored how a lack of space, privacy and time affected this seemingly conservative city¡¦s attitudes towards sex. To Listen
Why Bother with Hong Kong?
Hong Kong promotes itself as ¡§Asia¡¦s World City¡¨. However, in some ways, the city looks pretty grim. The SARS epidemic was only part of its troubles. Half a million protesters rallied against proposed internal security laws in July, deflation has gripped the city¡¦s economy for several years, its leader¡Xchief executive Tung Chee-hwa¡Xisn¡¦t popular, two executive council members recently quit, and local news-media continually talk of the need for soul-searching and redirection. Scott Askes, Why bother with Hong Kong? To Listen
You can also email:Spencer Howson
So he can share your stories or thoughts with his listeners all over Queensland, Australia.
photos by Scott Spark
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 