THE NEED FOR A NEW HONG KONG HOME RUN.

If Hong Kong has a USP, it’s a half filled “Woe is me” glass and an unhealthy and bloated appetite for more and more wealth.

Does horse racing with its “Gamble Responsibly” warning and being promoted as “Hong Kong’s favourite pastime” help- even if trying to be seen as “entertainment”? 

But what are the choices these days with sustainability?

As for horse racing being served up as “entertainment”, could this come across as offering up mixed signals and leaves one open for criticism?

A former girlfriend said she can almost hear sucking sounds in Hong Kong to be rich, and if this fails, to at least be seen as being rich. 

Well…

I can’t really blame anyone for wanting to be well off, because this comes from various and different historical insecurities, either that, or else people don’t see a future in Hong Kong, nor do they have the means to uproot and go somewhere else. 

Go where, anyway? 

Better be with the devil you know and your usual group of mahjong players. 

The main problem is that Hong Kong has allowed itself to grow old, and with many now being highly age sensitive. 

While growing old, some might have enjoyed those “golden years” when everything was more than okay whereas those who weren’t part of all that showbiz constantly reminisce about those times though most were never ever part of it. 

They simply didn’t make the grade and didn’t know the right mamasans at places like Club BBoss, Tonnochy Ballroom and China City while those who participated in Deluxe Debauchery lived for the moment and never kept an eye on Father Time. 

Today, well, from being “Asia’s world city” and also an accepted hidden comedy of errors including the corporate faux pas that was HarbourFest, this was when the tail was wagging the big dragon, Hong Kong has been reduced to being a bit player desperately wanting to be part of the motherland and happy with whatever crumbs are thrown its way. 

We see the usual suspects from the West returning to Hong Kong to try and milk the city dry by seen to be needed because of their roller decks, but no one has time for roller decks that have lost their relevance.

Their time has come and gone, and if they do have any new and worthwhile ideas, there’s the need for funding. 

And even with the funding, what’s the idea and the ROI? 

Some tacky looking AI generated visual of a horse being fed carrots?

What I really miss is the Hong Kong that showed the world Lan Kwai Fong- a former rubbish dump that businessman Alan Zeman had the vision and wherewithal to turn into the coolest area in Hong Kong with restaurants and meeting places like California, Post 97 and Club 97.

It might still not too late for Lan Kwai Fong: The Movie.

This is where the government or the Hong Kong Jockey Club or Swire Properties or whoever with the entrepreneurial spirit who believes that Hong Kong has a future should use whatever clout they have to create a citywide campaign and find the most effective piece of communications that will enhance the brand personality of Hong Kong. 

This competition can be separated into something for professionals and those young creatives looking for opportunities to show their work. 

I tried something like this in my own small way recently with a Creative Challenge to show Hope in Hong Kong. 

And? And received were a handful of average work but plenty of cynicism. 

What did I do? I donated the promised prize of HK$30,000 to the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Then came more of the usual questions and whining, but, well, pfffft.

Perhaps, something like a citywide Creative Challenge cannot be initiated by a small potato that’s a spud? 

The judges? Three should be from Hong Kong- but, please not those usual suspects whose idea of creativity is to have a member of Mirror endorse the city- and three from overseas who know and understand the wants and needs of Hong Kong. 

Of course, this isn’t going to stop criticism- but it’s better than sitting on one’s backside and complaining that the sky is falling.

It’s also better than spending millions and billions of dollars of taxpayer dollars on producing things that are not relevant to Hong Kong, or else suffer from being terminal cornball ideas.

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