Daisann

I got the English version

The Tai Po fire public response demonstrated that the Hong Kong collective spirit is alive and well, and does not need incitement nor instruction to guide their actions.

Breaking: remand prisoners in HK reach new record high Only 54.5% of HK prisoners are convicted

42.0% of Hong Kong's total prison population have not been convicted of a crime — a new record high, according to Webb-site.com.

The photo that became a symbol for Hong Kong's deadly fire Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades shattered Wong’s life: a walk to school became a desperate search as his wife vanished in the deadly blaze.

From @jamespomfret.bsky.social, the backstory behind Mr Wong in the photo that went viral

www.reuters.com/investigates...

do you know which afp reporter asked the question?

In the US this is called “getting ahead of the narrative” 🙄

Both heartbreaking and hopeful

Americans see buildings in flames and think “tragic”. But what they should also be thinking is: this is the inevitable outcome of an authoritarian-run society. Cronyism and corruption, punishment for those who dare stand up and question—these are structures that will bring infernos home to you too

‘We can’t get any answers’: grief and anger in Hong Kong after deadly high-rise fire With the blaze extinguished but hundreds still unaccounted for, the city is grieving – with questions being raised of authorities

Since the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, the government has made “national security” its overriding priority. There is a sense among some that while authorities have been chasing down any whisper of dissent, a building they knew wasn't safe burned down. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

The irony is that the HK gov will use the tragedy to stop the use of bamboo scaffolding, which will lengthen project times, and make new construction in tight urban spaces noisier, more disruptive, and probably more dangerous. In NYC, where steel scaffolding is used, it stays up for years and years.

..queasy pall over everything. Living this way is a nightmare for tenants. So if you are managing a building, you want renovations to run quickly + efficiently. The tenants of Wang Fuk Court had been living for 18 months in shadows, with no transparency about when their renovation would be over. 2/x

I lived in a Hong Kong high rise for more than a decade. While I was there the building underwent renovations and had to "daap pang", build scaffolding and hang protective netting that covered the facade like a Christo. It was horrific. The green net blocks air and sunlight, and casts a 1/x

The past offenses and convictions of Prestige Contractors were on public record. So why were they allowed to continue bidding on, and winning, million dollar contracts with only slaps on the wrist from the authorities? Most Hong Kong people can fill in the blanks, as I am sure you can, too.

Exclusive | Hong Kong contractor for fire-hit Tai Po project has record of safety offences Prestige Construction fined twice for offences in Mid-Levels project in 2023 before taking on renovation work in Tai Po, Post learns.

Hong Kong high rises are solid concrete. I lived in one for more than a decade. The danger is that things INSIDE the building will burn, not the the building itself. Unless it is wrapped in cheap illegal flimsy plastic netting by a supremely shady contractor. www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

This.

A Multitude of Fashion in Hong Kong

Let’s start the week with style, about Hong Kong style

(🎁 Free to read!)

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/s...

In Brooklyn NY I could often hear at least six languages on the three minute walk from my apartment to the subway (Wolof, Arabic,Korean,Spanish Fujianese, Kreyol). Seven if you count Jamaican English.

Not at all. Sooner or later Mamdani has to confront Trump. All his supporters know this. Best to do it early in the game.

As a born and bred NYer, let me explain. Trump holds a deep lifelong resentment towards the NYC elite, who have never accepted him. Mamdani’s election terrifies this NYC elite. This makes Trump happy! It’s all about the retribution.

Very important tip, and make sure you do it on all your different gmail accounts

Another observation: in past elections (pre-“patriotic”) large political banners (hoardings they are called in HK) had only limited spaces allowed for display. But now there seems no limit to the number or location of banners—we are swimming in a sea of faces that we’ll likely never see again.

I noticed something “interesting” about the Hong Kong “patriotic” election posters this year. In the past, political posters were a lively gaggle of colors, styles, typo + graphic design. Now all the candidates’ posters look virtually identical , as if they came from a single design shop.

Wifredo Lam: Artist-Poet of Tropical Dreams and Sorrows

Such a moving, rich essay on the Wilfrido Lam retrospective at MOMA by Holland Cotter. I may have to fly back to NYC for this one. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...

Noooooooo!

He's preparing to run for Congress, according to a few sources

Mamdani's victory wasn't only a repudiation of an old and exhausted political establishment in the city, it was also a triumph over the framing power of the political press, and none more so than the New York Times, whose coverage and editorials worked relentlessly to dampen his appeal.

Maybe Mamdani finally has a shot at the Schumer endorsement

Yes to 🧵. None of Kathryn Bigelow’s films stands up to scrutiny imo—peel away the tension and shock and there’s no there there, because she has nothing to say. And what a misuse/ waste of Idris Elba.

Yes, exactly. Besides the maddening (cop out) ending, it’s the lack of basic strategic common sense (in service of the plot I guess) that irritated me.

One of the rarest birds in the world finds a city sanctuary in Hong Kong Yellow-crested cockatoos have found a sanctuary in Hong Kong's urban parks, but they face housing troubles similar to their human neighbors.

Thank you #HongKong apnews.com/article/hong...