HONG KONG – An alleged assassination plot targeting one of the Hong Kong’s leading democratic politicians has provoked a wave of protest against China’s stringent gun laws.

The man charged with the attempted murder appeared in a Hong Kong court yesterday. If proved guilty, Huang Nanhua, 50, faces a lengthy jail term for “carrying arms and ammunition with intent to commit an arrestable offense.” He is also accused of unlicensed possession of firearms.

Huang, from the Chinese mainland, was arrested last August with a homemade firearm, five bullets and documents detailing the whereabouts of veteran Democrat Martin Lee, as well as contact information of newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai.

Today, Chinese Internet users called on fellow surfers to lobby the government to ease the country’s ban on private ownership of rifles, pistols and even gun replicas.

“When I heard how Lee and Lai might have been shot in the head at point-blank range but for the poor quality of Huang’s weapon, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Maybe Chinese gun laws are too strict’. If he had a decent gun,” pro-gun activist Meng Shilou said, “I have a feeling this senseless act of violence might have been successful.”

Meng also said he’s encouraging weapons buffs across the country to sign an online petition to legalize the sale of guns at state-run and private enterprises, including tobacco shops and Lawson’s and All Days convenience stores.

Meng’s call was echoed by thousands of gun enthusiasts online, including Feng Huabao, who wrote that while China is one of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, most weapons are destined for the export market. “We should name and shame those companies that export our best guns,” said Feng, “we Chinese should have the right to be armed to the teeth like the foreigners.”

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HONG KONG – Following The Fifth Annual Global Day of Prayer Sunday, devotees claimed higher share prices were god’s provision.

Hong Kong share prices opened 1.58 percent higher today, after similar gains in the past three days. The Hang Seng Index has risen 590.99 points to 19,680.07 since Sunday after an estimated 5,000 devotees offered “special prayers for the financial crisis” at the HK Stadium May 31.

“God has promised in His Word that He would never leave us nor foresake us!” said the event’s director Glenda Ma. “He has always provided for His own during time of famine – supernaturally!”

The turmoil in Hong Kong’s financial markets has triggered a spiritual response among many Christian leaders. Last week, cell phone text messages quickly spread calls to prayer. Christians in Central, the city’s main financial district, set up special prayer meetings in preparation for Sunday’s gathering. Extraordinary prayer meetings were scheduled at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and HSBC. On Friday, pastors held sidewalk prayer meetings outside of the stock exchange.

Henry Wong, who attended the Global Day of Prayer and helps manage USD 1 billion at Merrill Lynch said, “God is listening. There are encouraging signs that people are out there spending. What looked like a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel Monday morning is now starting to look like a beacon.”

Richard Chu, economist at Morgan Stanley Research, added that, ” As Christians, we must remember that God is our source, not our jobs or our government. No question, the economy is bad, governments are scrambling, so-called stimulus packages are being passed, but as the children of the Most High God, He has promised to supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. With more help from Him, a total recovery may be just a few months away.”

Some Christians in Hong Kong hope that God can use the crisis for good. Mike Lo, pastor of New Hope Church, says, “Honestly, I am praying God will bring healing and revival. The church should be available in every way for people in the financial district who maybe didn’t think much about God before. One should be comforted that righteousness will prevail.”

Indeed, some Christians working on Wall Street see it as working on “the dark side,” with an environment that is “absurdly secular,” “out of balance,” and “egoistic.” One trader says, “Some of the times when I get on the MTR to Central, it’s like I go to the dark side.”

Lately, the trips are especially bleak. One chief operating officer says that maybe Christian faith can stand out as a light of compassion and truth. “We should not be intimidated by the magnitude of the darkness of the times, but should realize how quickly the light stands out in all that darkness.”

In recent weeks, the heads of some of Hong Kong’s largest churches have complained that they have returned empty-handed from fundraising campaigns in the US and Europe, saying philanthropists hurt by the financial crisis are no longer willing to make contributions. “We don’t even bother to ask the local tycoons,” said one church leader, Ivan Cho, “they are as mean as Satan.”

Cho added that despite the difficulty of fund raising, God will prevail. “There are so many accounts of God’s provision in time of crisis. So, why would God want to give us supernatural provision? As a witness to the rest of the world of His goodness and grace. To show how He takes care of those who are His. To be light to those who dwell in darkness.”

Meanwhile, Arthur Chan, a non-affiliated analyst at the Bank of China, said that today’s gains by Hang Seng stocks were part of the momentum following Monday’s release of data in the U.S. showing encouraging home and auto sales.

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Hong Kong – Following the release of 240 guests and 100 staff quarantined for a week at Hong Kong’s Metropark Hotel, a number of guests at other city hotels have claimed flu symptoms in the hope of receiving free perks and accommodation.

The Hotel Nikko, Grand Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental and several other five-star hotels have experienced a rush of claims by would-be guests anticipating a week of rest and relaxation in comparative luxury.

Guests and staff members at the Metropark Hotel quarantined since last Friday to contain the spread of influenza A/H1N1 received free accommodations for seven days, according to a senior official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

While some guests at the Metropark claimed to have suffered hardships – basic food, no room or laundry service and the threat of swine flu – even the threat of and arrest for making false claims hasn’t discouraged the wave of would-be freeloaders at the city’s better hotels.

Inspired by scenes of Metropark guests celebrating their impending freedom drinking and dancing, Hong Kong resident Chen Yofu, an unemployed waiter, said in a telephone interview from his room at the Hyatt that, “after two months of fruitless job-searching and nothing more than noodles to eat, I’m looking forward to a week’s rest.” Chen added that he had heard the hotel’s room service “is second to none.”

Last Sunday, Hong Kong’s leader Donald Tsang said that even though the H1N1 virus had been successfully contained, we should not be complacency. “The battle is far from over,” said Tsang. “Next time a person comes with the virus, we will still aim for containment,” he added.

After hearing Tsang’s statement, Filipina Fortuna Ramos flew to Hong Kong and checked-in to the Mandarin Oriental. The next day, she complained of fever and was quarantined. When asked she risked the trip and possible exposure to the virus, she said that needed a week away from her husband with whom she’s having marital problems. “We both needed a holiday,” she said, “but I got here first. If they give me one of those ‘Hong Kong, Live It, Love It’ bags, Fernando will be green with envy.”

Ramos was referring to a press release during the Metropark quarantine in which Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan stated that, “The most important thing is to let our tourists take back with them a good experience of Hong Kong.

Each guest received a bag containing a polo shirt with a Hong Kong logo, some plush toys, money-off vouchers for restaurants. They were also offered free stays at other city hotels, calling cards, a travel card each valued at HK$100 and a free ride to the airport. In addition, each of them also received a “gift set”, with free movie coupons and admission tickets to Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ngong Ping Cable Car.

Ramos said she planned to take advantage of the calling card and call her husband daily, “just to rub it in.”

In response to the flood of dubious guests, the city’s hotels have already begun screening them for false claims. A night clerk at the Hotel Nikko, who wished to remain anonymous, said that obvious party types and any males attempting to check-in in the company of dubious females will be refused accommodation outright. “We just refused a young traveler from the U.K., who arrived with six friends. We searched his luggage and found several togas.”

At least one of the women trapped in the Metropark Hotel was believed to be a prostitute. She was stuck in one of the hotel’s 173 rooms with the guest who brought her in.

Meanwhile, no other cases have been detected, and all tests for the H1N1 virus among guests, staff and fellow passengers have come back negative.

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HONG KONG – The 85-year-old mother of late Canto-pop diva Anita Mui has been stopped from taking HKD 800,000 (USD 102,000) from her daughter’s estate to finance an adventure trip.

This Thursday Tam Mei-kam told judge Andrew Cheung she felt bored and stressed from last year’s unsuccessful attempt to gain control of her late daughter’s estate and needed to take along nurses, maids and family on the trip to Belize.

The trip was to include scuba diving, sea kayaking, rafting, saltwater fishing, whitewater kayaking, windsurfing, caving and surfing.

“I keep staring at the ceiling and daydreaming about Belize,” said Tam. “I’ve been in training for a month. I would have had the time of my life. The people, the sights, and the physical intensity would have made for a phenomenal vacation. It will be some time before I recover from this setback.”

Rejecting her application, Cheung said Tam’s demand was unreasonable and advised her to save money from the 120,000-Hong-Kong-dollar monthly maintenance she already received from the estate.

Valued at about 100 million Hong Kong dollars, Mui’s estate included 3.9 million Hong Kong dollars in cash which is used to pay her mother’s monthly allowance.

Last year, Tam waged an unsuccessful bid to gain control of Mui’s entire fortune after a judge upheld a will Mui signed shortly before she died of cervical cancer in December 2003 at the age of 40.

Fearing that if she left the estate to her mother it would be squandered, Mui left the bulk of it in a trust.

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HONG KONG – A steady stream of indistinguishable, uniformly beautiful actresses brought excitement and joy to millions of Hong Kong Chinese Sunday by donning similarly glamorous dresses that hugged their identical figures and marching past television cameras at consistent intervals. CSM Media Research ratings revealed more than half the country was transfixed by the procession of straight hair, white teeth, and vapid over-the-shoulder glances by each of the 100 percent transposable starlets. “It’s amazing to be here,” said any one of the striking females to an army of perky, unmemorable entertainment reporters. “Thank you! I can barely breathe in it. You look beautiful, too. I love your earrings.” At the conclusion of the hour-long parade, the homogeneous beauties were handed gold statuettes to honor their near-exact roles in impossible-to-tell-apart motion pictures.

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