Read: 推土機前種花

Yesterday was hot, yesterday was full of sunshine, yesterday was a sweat-fest. And finding myself in the area of Yau Ma Tei didn't help (urban heat island effect! Geography 101.) Thankfully Kubrick was nearby, providing air-con, a cafe with plenty of nice beverages, and a bookshop. Needless to say, where there are books, my wallet opens. 

So say hello to 推土機前種花 by 周綺薇 (Maggie Chow.) The book revolves around the neighbourhood of Sham Shui Po, with the introduction taking the reader back to a 2007 meeting at the Sham Shui Po District Council between government representatives and the residents affected by a 2004 government initiative to redevelop the area. The meeting degenerated into confrontation when the government accused the residents of 'illegally using government property'. Further exchanges between government workers and the affected locals resulted with the questions of the latter being met with obtuse non-answers and threats of police action from the former. Nothing shockingly novel about that scenario, since it is a widespread problem in current Hong Kong and is often reported in the media. 

But by introducing Sham Shui Po to the reader through the context of a conflict allows us to see that it is precisely these conflicts that emphasize, and render visible, the strong community ties that exist. The structure of the book is divided into six sections titled; the district and I; following the path of the neighbourhood locals; telling our story; love letter to the community; the flower gives fruit, the flattened land; and Postscript. 

The first section examines the nature of a neighbourhood, and the author makes such a narrative coherent by weaving her own background and experiences into the text. Instead of presenting her Sham Shui Po neighbours as 'faceless entities', she includes the names and backgrounds of those in her building, and show the linkages between them. By 'linkages', it refers to how they are situated within the physical space (e.g. Old Man 雷 lives in the flat under Uncle 李, Old Man and Old Lady 高 lives upstairs from the author on the fourth floor, etc.); or their role in the community (e.g. Old Man 雷 uses his medical training from his youth to give advice to neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. 馮 run a stationary shop that serves as a centre for news to spread around the locals, Limbu is from Nepal and runs a little corner store.) The best thing about these character introductions is that they are highly personalized, containing the little mundane details that are important to the author herself. 

The other sections takes the reader away from the seeming timelessness of the author's immediate social surroundings, and back to the the problematic world outside. The text then provides a chronological description of the major events that happened, detailing the neighbourhood's progression from voicing their ideas out in public, refusing to play the role of the victims, envisioning their ideal Sham Shui Po through the help of a Dutch activist by the name of Elena, and more. The book does a good job documenting the different events and discussions that take place at different moments in time. One event of particular interest would be the 2007 'Story Telling Gala' on Hing Wah Street, where the author helped erect huge posters formatted to look like the shop fronts of local business owners. People were allowed to interact with the store keepers depicted in the posters, and to leave write comments to stick onto the images. Another event infused with humour includes creating a series of worksheets for Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (Permanent Secretary for Housing, Planning, and Lands in 2003/2004 and later the Secretary for Development) including lessons asking Lam to think about what it means for the government development office to put 'people' first (and who these 'people' are interpreted to be), what directions development should take, and the way of life in Hong Kong. 

Ultimately, the efforts of the residents did not stop the Urban Renewal Authorities from tearing down the affected areas, displacing the community and severing the complex network of ties that were there. But the author concludes the book on an optimistic note, as from this episode there sprang a new empowering consciousness within the local population, manifesting as The Sham Shui Po Renewal Concern Group. I for one, am curious to know 'what is next?' and to see what sort of strategies the Group will employ in the face of future government development.      Other questions include; what does the author see as 'ideal development'? In the author's view, what is the degree of effectiveness in the strategies used? And while there are lessons learnt by the local residents, what can the government take away from all of this? How does development practices in Hong Kong compare to those abroad, and is there a model from abroad to learn and copy from? The book manages to force the reader to look with a critical eye at the term '活化' , and to rethink what 'urban renewal' really means (to replace or to rejuvenate?) 

On an unrelated note, is it hard not to notice the plethora of lovely illustrations and photographs in the book, rendering it almost into a graphic novel. 

Book retails for 110HKD at Kubrick (99HKD for Kubrick members). It is 148 pages long, published by MCMM Creations in 2011. Mostly written in Chinese, with a few pages of English translation in the back (though I must say that the English does not fully cover everything mentioned in the Chinese sections.) 

Weekend: Yau Ma Tei (through Wooferten's Mobile Bar Battle)

Yau Ma Tei was originally a village, though the exact meaning of the name 'Yau Ma Tei', and the industry the name harkens from, is unknown. (Funnily enough, the MTR tried to name the station there as 'Waterloo', after Waterloo Road, when it first opened in the 1970s.) Urbanization made it almost unrecognisable from its historical image; it once had its own bay and beach, and now it is a part of a densely populated hub quite a ways from the water. You can tell how the coastline has shifted thanks to the aptly named Reclamation Street to the west. Following Wooferten during one of their weekend events was a good way to catch a glimpse of just how fascinating the area is. 

Wooferten (浩化廳) is one of my favourite places, calling itself as a community art space, something that is rather lacking in this city. And they do take 'community' seriously, welcoming neighbours to gather and sit in their space on Shanghai Street, and initiating outreach events to bring people together. 


Last weekend, Wooferten (alongside 素人之亂 from Japan, and with the help of Mr. J) hosted the Mobile Bar Battle , with the slogan of 'Hong Kong Never Drunk'. The purpose was to hand out free alcohol to the locals in the area, but instead of making them come to the art space to get it, the alcohol was brought to them. The event featured the locally-brewed Yau Ma Tei beer (see previous post), also providing a fair share of store-bought canned-beer, and miscellany alcohol that Mobile Bar Battle participants brought. As the visiting Japanese activist at Wooferten said, alcohol is a social lubricant, bringing people together. And true to his word, the turnout was awesome. 


Some photos to share: 

Wooferten at 404 Shanghai Street, just before setting out for the neighbourhood. It was hot, it was very sunny, it was sweat-inducing. But it was well worth going

Waving banners, pushing trolleys and carts of beer around. The planned route took us through a couple of blocks in the area

So adorable! But never fear, no minors were given alcohol. This little girl contented herself with Vita brand lemon tea and some roast pork from the cart

Walking past the corner houses (more details about these in a previous post) that are so common in the area. The great thing is that you can still see how 'lived-in' these buildings are

Couldn't resist photographing this wonderfully illustrated bag (reads 'this city is dying'), especially since it echoes the current sentiments of many young people in HK. 

Sharing the roast pork around. Couldn't grab a piece, since the young'uns and the elderly were given first dibs

Heading down the wet foods market on Nelson Street

Pouring alcohol to anyone (over 18!) who wanted it 

Cheers, matey! 

Ending the Mobile Bar Battle route at this local park. Live music, casual chats, a jovial atmosphere all around

Credit goes to Wooferten for their effort in providing the goods used in the Mobile Bar Battle

Overall, the event was well-received by people in the locality. There was the occasional person who overtly comments on how the Mobile Bar Battle group was 'being pointless' and 'doing something rubbish', but who cares? Local stall owners waved and sampled the alcohol, people in windows waved, and a lot of people were smiling as the group walked by. Patrolling policemen jokingly said they might try some when their shift ends. And the fun wasn't only experienced by the people we encountered, but the Mobile Bar Battle was also fun for those of us who tagged along. 

Musings: Alcohol

It isn't fair to say that this is my musing, since most of the content of this post came from a conversation with Joshua (better known as Mr.J, check out his facebook misterjishere), a Hong Kong-based performing artist with a serious interest in brewing alcohol. I chatted briefly with him during an event jointly held by him and Wooferten last Sunday, where participants roamed the neighbourhood handing out free alcohol to all sorts of people, which will  be discussed with more depth in the next post. Here the focus will be the musings about alcohol itself, so now, thinking caps and beer goggles on! 

The brewing maestro

Together with Wooferten, Mr. J created a batch of beer that can truly be called 'local'. Brewed locally, using local ingredients. For example, the process of fermenting alcohol requires sugar, but rather than use the boxes of powdery snow-like sweetener you see in the supermarkets and coffee shops, peen tong (aka brown candy that comes in slabs) was used instead. It isn't commonly known that the use of peen tong in the kitchen is confined more or less to the Southern Chinese provinces, Hong Kong included. These small details are a big deal, affecting the overall taste of the product.

And most people were surprised to learn that it was possible to brew alcohol right in the middle of a densely populated, space-sparse, and aging neighbourhood of Yau Ma Tei. If one is brewing as a hobby, and the product is intended for self-consumption, the amount you can brew inside the tiny flats of this city* is limited to how big of a bottle you can find to contain it all (based on what I've seen on Sunday, it looks as though the 4.5 litre distilled water bottles were the most popular.) The fermenting process can take as long as you like; Mr. J would let a brew sit for two weeks, though Wooferten managed to produce a batch in a week and a half. The Wooferten mixture was a little murky to look at, but based on the reaction of those who sampled it, the flavour was nice, and the alcohol wasn't too strong (a plus or a minus, depending on who you are.) 

And viola! The product that made its public debut last Sunday, coming in three flavours ranging from oolong and mint to something akin to lemon tea. The label reads as 'Yau Ma Tei beer', with a design from Wooferten that harkens to the good ol' days in Hong Kong history (though someone jokingly said it looks like a bottle of medicine instead of a beverage... ) Classy and humorous 

If one is asking why there is such an emphasis on 'local', maybe it is better to ask why we don't seek locally-made products instead of relying on imports? Asahi is from Japan, Tsingtao is from mainland China, Corona Extra is imported from Mexico, Heineken is from Amsterdam. Sure, Hong Kong has its own breweries for brands like San Miguel, and the production of Blue Girl in South Korea is monitored by a Hong Kong corporation, but the former is partly owned by overseas stakeholders and the latter retains its German roots through its formula and the brewing process. Both beers aren't even marketed as local; with the San Miguel commercial playing up its European appeal, and Blue Girl featuring a bunch of foreign youths climbing up a tree in a tropical rainforest trying to photograph multicoloured birds. So is there an alcohol that can be seen as representing Hong Kong? And what sort of traits will it have to distinguish it from other alcohol across the globe? It was a challenge undertaken by Wooferten and Mr. J this past Sunday, and I think while this effort is still nascent, it is a good showing. 


The 'localness' of a beer ignites a few musings, but getting involved in the production of beer itself leads to other tangents of thought. Mr. J evoked questions of what alcohol really is, and what meaning lies behind the terminological divisions between wine, beer, ales, etc.; a rather philosophical vein of inquiry. As for me, the production of individualistic and unique alcohol relates to a concern resonating throughout current Hong Kong society; specifically the lack of consumption choices presented to the population. Most of what is ingested comes from large corporations, notably the titans of Wellcome and Park'n'Shop that overshadow and oust the smaller grocers. We've become accustomed to being provided for by these retail chains that we've forgotten the actions of making, and are instead transformed into creatures whose only action is to open our wallets and hand our money over to a cashier. Our role in the production of our own foodstuff is greatly diminished in this city, and while I'm not saying that everyone should immediately run out of their office habitat and start ploughing the land, we shouldn't completely discard the agricultural past and knowledge in favour of everyday conveniences. So be it a hobby or a profession, growing peas in a pot or brewing alcohol in a bottle, any means of re-establishing or maintaining a direct link to the land (and our stomachs) is appreciated.


Hm, who knew that a post revolving around alcohol can result with all this text? 


*Before any alarm bells ring regarding the legality of home-brewing, the government states that no license is required provided  the brewer is of age (18 in this city) and that none of it is sold. One is also limited to a maximum of  50 litres of home-brew, but it is doubtful that this quota can be reached by most people. 


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Read more: 


-Government legislation page pertaining to home brews
-New York Times article on Local Brews (though granted, this was written back in 2009, and given the high turnover rates in Hong Kong, who knows if any of the listed establishments remain today?)