Dumped On

This came in my inbox today:

Subject: WTO - Things to avoid next week!

Dear friends,
Be alert and be safe! This is what I have heard from good sources.
Better be safe than sorry.
Got some info with regard to the world trade meetings this coming week, just a few notes to watch out as per various good sources:

1. Stay away from Wan Chai area as well as the Pacific Place area
2. Take other public transport instead of MTR during that week
3. Avoid Starbucks. (Starbucks is a possible target because of unfair trade between Starbucks and coffee bean grower)
4. Avoid TST area, especially Cultural Center and the waterfront area. Police forces will be concentrated in Wan Chai area, making TST area a vulnerable location for riots
5. Stay away from Victoria Park
6. Listen to radio frequently for updates of parades routes and STAY AWAY
7. Walk whenever possible because riots could put traffic to a complete halt
8. STAY HOME

First of all, if you need good sources to tell you to “be safe”, you’re already in great danger.

The proportion of news coverage has been suggesting that the WTO Summit is more anxiety-inducing for Hong Kongers than how disturbingly little we know about the avian flu outbreak being concealed in the mainland. The assumption being that farmers from developing countries—lacking decent education and having built up strong muscles from the daily hoeing—will resort to violent actions in their protests. So do watch out for those homemade crop bombs.

Secondly, coffee drinkers should realize by now that the coffee crisis is spread much further than your neighborhood Starbucks. There’s also poverty in every drop of that instant coffee you drink at home. Starbucks is no more of a possible target than your local supermarket, or anywhere else that sells milk, corn, coffee, cotton, chocolate, tomatoes, wheat byproducts, oranges, or peanuts.

Since we’re advised to stay clear of Wan Chai and TST, the only scene left for bar hoppers is Lan Kwai Fong. It’s the month of maximum alcohol consumption in our multinational city. The usual holiday / special event / Saturday night crowd will be out partying every night well into the new year, which makes the very happening Lan Kwai Fong the number-one terrorist attraction, naturally. I definitely agree that it’s better to be safe than sorry. So I’ve already taken the precautionary measure of partying in Lan Kwai Fong before the protestors even set foot in our city.

STAY HOME is apparently the only logical thing to do, since traffic could come to a complete halt anytime and the railways are said to be risky rides. “Home” may not be the best hideout for me though. While BEA’s decided to have its Wan Chai staff work from the Tai Koo Shing branch for the week, Delia School right next door is closing its gates and urging students to stay home. Guess I should feel lucky that I don’t work for the Asian Wall Street Journal and hence won’t be working from home. By the sound of all this, our office in San Po Kong might be the safest place to be for the duration of the summit. I sure hope everybody else buys the warning to avoid using the MTR. This might well be the only chance of me getting a seat on the train to and from work.

Hosting a big-boy event and having all eyes on a dot on the map for $256 million while bringing our routines to a standstill for two weeks in one of the busiest months of the year. Now this is fair tradeoff.

Fair trade, anyone?