Mongkok Goldfish Market and Falun Dafa Protest

After dim sum in Mongkok with Rachel and Yomei, we strolled the neighborhood's "goldfish market", which sells fish of every fin and stripe, and numerous odd mammals as well (hairless guinea pigs, kangaroo rats). Since HK apartments are so small, people are more inclined to buy a koi or hamster than a dog for a pet. Kittens and bunnies were in abundance, but I was particularly drawn to the chinchillas that were about the size of fat cats and looked like creatures out of a Miyazake film. I don't think we're allowed to have pets in the Friendship Lodge, except perhaps fish, and I'm seriously considering a small black Siamese fighting fish in a simple round bowl for my room.

Later we went to Causeway Bay for Japanese food, and walked out of the subway right into the middle of a protest about the Chinese government's treatment of Falun Dafa (or Falun Gong) practitioners. Very intense street theatre. On one side of the display, people dressed in bright yellow uniforms went through slow taichi-like motions; on the other, people dressed as Chinese cops acted out slow-motion torture on people dressed as prisoners (complete with bruise makeup). I'm not sure what to think about Falun Gong-- most well-informed people say that they are actually a cult, but also that the Chinese government is actually persecuting them. This demonstration made me realize that Hong Kong is still a very different place than China. Even talking about the issue in the Mainland is taboo, and I remember that at the Yale-China orientation, my Mainland counterparts who will be teaching in Guangzhou and Changsha were told explicitly never to discuss Falun Gong (among other things) with their students for fear of the Chinese government.