Collecting Childhood Memories

December 18, 2012

Toys are not only meant for children

By Jennifer Lam

The walls are lined with glass cabinets packed with popular Japanese cartoon characters from the 1970s. Figures of the Transformer Mazinger, the lovable robot Robocon and the pigtailed candy mascot Peko Chan sit neatly on display in this local toy shop tucked away in a corner of a shopping centre in Wan Chai.

Ben Cheng Chun-nam is one of the employees at Waikukok which specialises in vintage toys imported from Japan. Cheng, who is 40, started collecting toys when he was in primary school and developed a passion for making models early on. He says building toy models brings the unique satisfaction of making things from scratch. He recalls that when he was in primary six he would walk to school in order to save money to buy toy models.

He once spent three whole days on building a Gundam model from the popular Japanese animation series featuring giant robots. Cheng says what he enjoys is the all-encompassing process of building toys. “You stay up all night to build the toy model and won’t even think of anything else,” he says with a satisfied smile.

Before working in Waikukok, Cheng used to run a restaurant. At that time he was a regular customer at the shop and would often work there for free in his spare time. Two years ago, he decided to quit the restaurant and work full time in Waikukok. “I love working in this particular industry; I love toys,” says Cheng.

Ironically, now that he has given his working life over to toys, he can no longer collect them. Cheng says there is a hidden rule in the toy retailing industry that retailers are not allowed to collect vintage toys, so there will be enough toys for customers to buy. “If we all keep collecting toys then there would be nothing for sale!” Cheng laughs. Nevertheless, he says he does not mind sharing the toys with customers because it is good for the trade overall.

Cheng admits collecting vintage toys can be an expensive hobby. He says he used to spend over HK$10,000 every month on buying toys and some customers of Waikukok spend as much as HK$80,000 to HK$100,000 a month on collecting toys. Cheng says vintage toys like robot models are not just pieces of plastic, but are channels through which people can relive their childhood memories, and that is simply priceless.

While Waikukok mainly sells vintage toys imported from Japan, some local toy collectors are enthusiastic about collecting old toys that were made or designed in Hong Kong.

Santa Mario’s Magic Kingdom

December 18, 2012

Mario Ko – the local magician who won third place in an international Santa Claus competition
By Vicki Yuen

Wearing a red costume, black boots and small-round glasses, the man with rouged cheeks, white beard and a big belly is dancing frenetically in a video, turning the viral Korean pop rap hit “Gangnam Style” into a promotion for the 2012 Santa Claus Winter Games. He is Marco Ko Tim-yu, who as Santa Mario, was the second runner-up in the 8th Santa Claus Winter Games in 2011.

A Hong Kong representative has competed in the Santa Claus Winter Games, held in Sweden, every year since 2007. The event was founded in 2003 by a retired Santa Claus, Santa Svensson in Gellivare, a small town in Sweden. The aim is to gather Santas from all corners of the globe and to test their physical skills.

The tasks can include riding on an electric rodeo bull, running around a massive candy cane, eating a traditional Swedish Christmas meal of porridge, kicking Christmas presents and competing in a sack race.

In order to better prepare himself for the games, Ko practised by running around a massive candy cane for a whole afternoon, training himself to finish the task within 15 seconds. But there were two tasks Ko could not practise for because they were kept confidential until the day of the competition.

Riding on the electric rodeo bull was one of the unexpected tasks. It required contestants to grab the bull tightly to stay on while it bucked back and forth and side to side. Ko managed to stay on for 25 seconds but found this task the most difficult and physically demanding.

Behind the Santa Claus costume and rodeo heroics, Ko is a magician who loves to perform in a humorous and playful way. He sometimes wears a Mario Brothers costume to attract his audience’s attention. With his mop of curly hair, and his slim frame, Ko who claims to have forgotten his age, appears to be a young man in his thirties. He is hardly anyone’s idea of what Santa Claus should look like.

It was his sense of playfulness that attracted Ko to the Santa Claus Games, an experience he believed would be amazing and unforgettable. He shows Varsity his prizes from the games – a bronze medal, a wooden sceptre and a red cape and says the Santa Claus Winter Games were not about victory or defeat. It was about spreading love and care. He did not care about winning the games, but treasures the interaction with the participants from other countries and the experience of being a Santa Claus in Sweden.

Stand by Our Gays

December 18, 2012

Mr Gay Hong Kong 2012 Benjie Caraig vows to support local community
By Matthew Leung

To the beat of the music and the endless cheers from the audience, five muscular young men walk confidently on stage and introduce themselves one by one. They are taking part in a beauty pageant with a difference. In addition to sculpted bodies, great personalities and the desire to make the world a better place, the contestants in this beauty pageant are proud to be gay and parading in the Grand Finale of Mr Gay Hong Kong 2012.

The man taking home the title on the night is Benjie Caraig, a 30-year-old fitness and dance instructor who came to Hong Kong from the Philippines almost seven years ago. With his tanned complexion, muscular build and sunny smile, Caraig lives up to the image of a pageant winner. But there is more to him than a pretty face.

Caraig has a passion for contributing to the local gay community, a passion he attributes to his strong connection to Hong Kong. He first came here to work as a parade performer at Disneyland, a job he did for five years. He says they were the most unforgettable years of his life and the experience shaped the person he is today.

“I’ve learnt to be independent, strong, brave, creative and to always be happy, trust my instincts and stand for what I believe is true,” Caraig says.

For Caraig, Hong Kong is “the place to be”, a place full of opportunities which has given him the chance to explore himself. But his mind is also never far away from the Philippines because that is where his parents are.

Today Caraig is very close to his parents and sisters but he remembers a time when he became a self-imposed “outcast”. Caraig says he first realised he was gay at the age of 18 and after that he isolated himself from the family, fearing they would find out.

Caraig was raised in a devout Catholic family. When he was in the Philippines, his family, including himself and his three sisters, took part in voluntary church work to help people with drug and alcohol abuse problems. Even today, he adheres to his mother’s teaching that he should put God first in everything he does. It is a message he takes to heart and he says he is grateful about everything he owns today, including the title of Mr Gay Hong Kong 2012. “When they announced the winner, I just shouted, looked up and said ‘Thank You Lord’,” he says.

Looking back on his childhood, Caraig recalls his parents would tell him how to live his life properly almost every day. But he says he was a rebellious kid who never listened to their advice. “I always ignored their opinions about me and their advice. I thought I can live my life on my own,” he says.

Caraig’s decision to come to Hong Kong to pursue dancing as a career was a turning point for both himself and his family. That same year, his sisters moved to New Zealand and the family was split into three. It was after this that he finally realised family was the most important thing and everything his parents had told him was true.

Gift of the Gag

December 18, 2012

Hong Kong entrepreneur Ray Chan profits from online laughs
By Astina Ng

The cramped Home Ownership Scheme flat would not strike anyone as being the base of a successful internet company that has attracted backing from venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. Almost every surface in this home-office is covered with books, papers, cardboard boxes, family photos and framed words of encouragement. Electric cables, extension cords and plugs complete the “look”.

The brains behind the business, Ray Chan Chin-ching looks similarly unremarkable. Dressed casually in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, he greets Varsity with sleepy eyes and an easy-going manner. He could be any boyish 28-year-old Hong Konger – except he is the founder of, 9GAG, which describes itself as the world’s largest and fastest growing online comedy community.

The name 9GAG takes its inspiration from the Cantonese pronunciation of “making jokes” and the site features jokes, memes and comics submitted by users. Since its launch in 2008, Chan says 9GAG has grown to more than 70 million unique visitors and more than a billion page views per month.

However, Ray Chan has not allowed success to turn his head. “9GAG is not very successful. It is just a good start,” says Chan who constantly makes such remarks during the interview.

Chan manages the feat of coming over as both confident and assured and modest and down-to-earth. This may be in large part due to his family background. One of three siblings in a family from the grassroots, he was taught to be self-sufficient and never be a parasite on society. He and his brother even made an agreement with their parents that they would start to earn their keep once they turned 15.

Chan landed his first job as a kitchen hand in a branch of the Fairwood chain of fast-food restaurants when he was in form three of secondary school. He has also worked as a summer librarian and done tutoring jobs to help the family make ends meet. He believes these early work experiences helped him understand how hard it is to make a living.

“Dad and mum want my brother and I to be men with their feet on the ground,” he says.

Although he has always been a driven young man, his ideas about what he wanted to do with his life have changed over time. When he was a secondary student, he was determined to become a barrister.

He scored good enough grades to qualify for university entrance a year earlier through the Early Admissions Scheme. But he forfeited the chance because his HKCEE results did not meet the admissions requirement of the Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong. Instead he went on to take A-levels and managed to get into his faculty of choice.

Getting onto his dream course at his dream faculty was one thing, but managing to excel once he got there was another. Chan threw himself into extra-curricular activities, becoming leader of the Chinese debate team and an active participant in hall life. He found it difficult to juggle academic study and extra-curricular activities and ended up skipping classes, believing he was smart enough to cope with the exams. He now regrets this.

“Being smart does not mean that you do not have to study. Even an open-book examination killed me, as I was not prepared at all,” he says.

Chan ended up with a lower second which meant he could not enroll in the examination for the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL). His hopes of becoming a barrister were dashed.

Saying Goodbye to Lung Mei

December 18, 2012

Text and photo: Derek Li & Nectar Gan

Public seizes last chance to view diverse and abundant marine life as government presses ahead with fake beach plan

Battle on the Table

December 18, 2012

The fantasy world of miniature war games
By Derek Li

“Charge!” roars Captain Angelos while smashing an orc’s face with his raging hammer. His squad sprints and shoots, the incoming bullets falling like rain. It is a bloody battle but Angelos pushes on.

The action is taking place on a table and the soldiers are the miniature pieces or figurines of a tabletop war game.

Tabletop war games involve two major elements: the miniatures and the terrain. You can choose between a brave knight, or a gigantic beast, made in plastic or metal. By putting up a few miniature buildings, you can easily construct your battlefield. If you ever get bored with the miniature scenery available you can always craft your own.

Unlike any other games, it allows you to customize your pieces and your board. You can paint the miniatures in whatever colours and combination you like, your miniatures can reflect your style. The player has absolute control over what types of strategies and units to deploy.

However, both players will have a limit on the number and varieties of soldiers they deploy. For instance, a basic squad needs 50 points while an armoured tank unit requires 100. Once the troops are armed, they can be sent to the battlefield where the show begins.

So how does the battle start?

Each time, a player can decide their move and whether they will trigger a battle. Every unit has its walking and attacking distance. Players need to strictly respect this rule and use a ruler to measure the exact distance. Any damage and kills are decided by the roll of the dice and the randomness adds thrill and possibilities to the game. Each step requires careful planning, as it is possible to lose in just one round.

All this means it can take hours to finish one full game. So with so many alternative games around, why do people still enjoy such a long-winded and complicated game? Walker Wu Chi-fai, a dedicated player for 14 years, has the answer.

“Unlike computer games that have endings, they [miniature war games] will not die out. You can keep playing them again and again, there are regular updates [of miniatures],” says Wu.

It is not just a game but also a hobby for Wu. He meets friends with the same interest through playing. He likes the game so much that he works for a miniature shop, teaches beginners how to play and holds tournaments for the senior players.

Tabletop games require actual players to compete against each other, so what if your friends are busy?

You are never alone.

The community of miniature war games is united and you can always find somebody at Fun Atelier, a shop that sells miniatures and provides terrains for tabletop war game lovers. Players visit the shop whenever they have the time. Sometimes they come to play, or just chat with friends. Since the game originates from the United Kingdom and is played in English, some of the players are expatriates living in Hong Kong.

If you have been fantasising about being a hero and saving the planet, or if you simply love painting models, join the battlefield of tabletop war games and the hundreds of fans waiting out there.

Light of the Party

December 18, 2012

The T-shirt that flashes to the beat
By Nectar Gan

Have you ever felt frustrated at not being able to follow the beat on the dance floor? Have you ever wished you could light the place up with your grooves?
Here comes the good news: with the assistance of the sound activated electro-luminescent (EL) T-shirt, a rhythmically challenged and shy person can also become a great dancer.

The “magic” of shining patterns is achieved with a built-in sound sensitive EL panel underneath. The patterns usually involve rows of colorful little squares, which look like a graphic equalizer on a music player. The bars of the graphic equalizer respond to the music around you, jumping in time to the beat: the louder the sound, the higher they jump. Other patterns can also be found, including stripes and signal shapes. In some stores, you can design your own patterns.

The EL T-shirt is a great choice of outfit for concerts, festivals, parties and even sports events. Putting on such a T-shirt will not only make you the focus of people’s attention, but also the life and soul of the party.

However, you might be worried about the potential safety implications of wearing an electric display panel right on your chest. Will the lights generate heat and burn your skin? You might ask.

Well, this is not much of a concern in the case of the EL T-shirt because of the special properties of the electro-luminescent sheet. The display sheet will not generate any heat or ultraviolet radiation while it transforms electricity into light, which is why it is also known as the “cold light” sheet. Besides, the EL sheet is thin and relatively flexible, allowing bends with a radius bigger than two centimeters. These properties have made it very suitable for use in clothing.

Since the EL panel requires electricity to function, a small battery box containing four AAA batteries is attached to the shirt. There is also a sliding wheel on the box, enabling you to control the sensitivity of the EL panel according to the volume of the music.

Care is needed with washing the T-shirts. They can only be dry-cleaned or hand washed. Both the battery box and the EL panel should be removed before cleaning. The panel is attached to the T-shirt with Velcro tape, which makes it easy to remove or replace.

As Christmas is approaching, the sound activated EL T-shirts could be a great gift for your friends and family. Shining along with the music and the Christmas lights might be a good way to celebrate Christmas Eve!

To get your own EL T-Shirt, please visit http://www.eltshirtco.com.

November 2012 – Read On

November 20, 2012

This issue of Varsity looks at books and reading in Hong Kong. The city is often described as a cultural and literary desert whose residents are more interested in shopping than reading. In Periscope, we look at several aspects of Hong Kong’s reading culture and as a market for book sales:

Eslite is Taiwan’s best-known bookshop, selling not just books but also a certain kind of lifestyle. Now Eslite has arrived in Hong Kong, we ask whether it can really boost book sales and reading culture.

Hong Kong is a shopping paradise for mainland visitors. It’s common knowledge that milk powder, cosmetics and toiletries are hot items, but perhaps less known is that banned books are also a favourite buy. Varsity visits the book shops that focus on selling books that are prohibited in the Mainland.

Hong Kong’s young people are often accused of not reading enough, or not reading at all. Varsity asks if this is fair – we conduct our own survey on the reading habits of young people.

Read On – Editor’s note

November 20, 2012

Greetings from the Autumn 2012 Editorial Board!

The November issue of Varsity looks at books and bodies. First off, we explore Hong Kong’s reading culture.

In August, the famed bookstore and lifestyle shop Eslite opened its first branch outside of Taiwan right here in Hong Kong. Crowds immediately thronged the store and it became the place to be seen. Some commentators believe its impact, if any, will be short-lived in a city regarded as something of a cultural desert. Others, including some local bookshops, hope Eslite’s arrival will usher in a few changes and boost interest in reading.

Although the reading culture in Hong Kong is not particularly strong, as a special administrative region of China, we enjoy freedom of the press. This makes Hong Kong an information hub for mainlanders as well as others from the Chinese-speaking world. Books banned in the mainland can be found in local bookstores. Mainland readers, hungry for information, stock up on books that are prohibited back home.

Teachers and parents are always emphasising the importance of reading and criticising youngsters for not reading enough.
Varsity attempts to see if this is true and looks at what the youth of Hong Kong are actually reading. Growing up in a digital age, we have access to many reading materials other than books and newspapers. Young people read online, so their reading habits differ from those of the older generation.

Apart from reading, this issue of Varsity looks at how we view our bodies. In the Our Community section, local Abercrombie & Fitch models talk about how Asian male bodies are viewed differently from those of western men. We explore the idea of the perfect male body.

In the Lifestyle section, local nudists tell us how comfortable they are in nothing but the skin that nature gave them.

Happy reading!

Can Eslite Fever Get Hong Kong Reading?

November 20, 2012

Taiwan’s leading bookstore shakes up local book scene
By Matthew Leung and Vicki Yuen

Queenie Wong Kwan-yi alternates back and forth between tip-toeing and kneeling as she scans the bookshelves in the handicrafts section. Each shelf reveals another collection of treasures. In her left hand, she holds a shopping basket containing almost a dozen books and two items of stationery.

The sixteen-year-old student is a huge fan of the Eslite chain of bookstores in Taiwan, where the company was founded, and has visited them no less than five times. But this is her first visit to Eslite’s recently opened and, perhaps, the most discussed bookstore in Hong Kong.

After spending over five hours looking around, Wong is ready to give her assessment. She is impressed by the variety of books Eslite Bookstore offers, especially the handicraft books published in Japan. “I have not considered my budget, I would buy anything that I am interested in,” she says.

Eslite is one of Taiwan’s best known retail chains and has been around for 15 years. The Eslite brand of lifestyle and culture has captured the imagination of not only Taiwan readers and shoppers, but also Hong Kong and mainland visitors. Its stores, which are more like trendy shopping malls than mere bookshops, have become tourist attractions.

Around 70 per cent of the floor space is used to sell stationery and food and drinks, leaving just 30 per cent of the space for books. Book sales account for 30 per cent of company profits.

The success and popularity of Eslite Taiwan means there are high expectations for the new store in Hysan Place, Causeway Bay. However, the business model for the Hong Kong store differs from those in Taiwan.

Under the terms of the lease of the shop, 85 per cent of the 41,000 square feet retail space has to be given over to books. There are 100,000 books in the store, 40 per cent of which are English books. Books in simplified Chinese are yet to be introduced. When the three-storey shop officially opened in August this year, Eslite fever swept the city and there was much discussion of the impact it could have on Hong Kong’s reading culture.