Hong Kong – “Impulsiveness is the most valuable trait for human beings,” said Ai Weiwei, one of the most headline-grabbing political artists in China.

“Ultimately, impulsiveness determines your passion, your instinct and who you truly are!” Ai told a gathering of cyber-acquaintances gathered on the outdoor terrace of a popular Hong Kong watering-hole on April 12.

His guests had one thing in common: their contact with Ai — and in many cases, each other — had occurred via Twitter, the micro-blogging service that limits posts to 140 characters.

To some, Ai is an insensitive, unyielding dissident, an adamant activist whose advocacy of freedom and human rights reveal him to be nothing more than a trouble-maker of the first order.

To others, he is a passionate artist, a courageous blogger, and a heroic figure who stands firm against repressive forces around the globe.

Twitter user at Ai Weiwei's CUHK talk. Photos by Michelle Yun.

Loathed and/or loved for his unrelenting activism, Ai relies heavily on the Internet and social media tools, such as Twitter and his personal blog to communicate his views.

His online discussions and cyber-exposures of controversial subjects have been blamed for fomenting a number of “internet riots” against government cover-ups. One of the best known is his Sichuan Earthquake Names Project that  listed the names of student victims of the 2008 disaster.

Ai is @aiww on Twitter. His mission, he said, is to leap the web-filtering system in China known as the Great Firewall. He hails the Internet as the foundation for individuality.

“The emergence of the internet refined the nature of human beings,” said Ai, “you are able to select information online to make your own judgement and expression without being restrained by your social and political status ”

Against a backdrop of shimmering Hong Kong high-rises, Ai and his cyber-friends — brought together via Twitter — dined and wined away a breezy evening. Though a seemingly carefree social gathering, Ai nevertheless touched upon serious issues in China today. But he was hopeful about China tomorrow.

In a conversation with Vox Asia, Ai emphasized the important role young people in Hong Kong could play in bringing about change.

“Hong Kong is a strategically positioned political city that contains all types of conflicts between history and reality,” said Ai. “Youth here have a solid education and thorough understanding of culture, so I think they should play a more dominant role to achieve social and cultural transformation.”

View the video collage below for a snapshot of Ai’s Twitter gathering.

The informal Twitter-generated evening gathering was followed by a more formal forum at the Chinese University of Hong Kong the following day.

This face-to-face meeting with Ai attracted scores of students of all age groups from a variety of departments. Many more joined in via live streaming and tweeting:

Living up to his reputation as the most outspoken, even brusque, Chinese contemporary artist, Ai pulled no punches: Examples:

Q: “Some say that art should be art and politics should be politics?”

Ai: “In our country, everything is related to politics. We are born to be victims of politics.”

Q: “Why don’t you leave the country that you hate so much?”

Ai: “I like filthy and smelly places. I can stay in China because I cannot tolerate it –- if one day I can tolerate China, that’s when I need to emigrate.”

Q: “How do you want to be remembered?” Ai: “A 280-pound fat man who spent some crazy and hectic time in the world.”

(Photographs by Michelle Yun)

Behind its red wooden door, however, lies the headquarters of Wokai (“I Start” in Chinese), a non-profit micro-finance service, registered in Oakland, California. Its mission is to provide small loans to China’s poor in an effort to help them lift themselves out of abject poverty. An estimated 200 million Chinese survive on less than US$1.25 a day.

Dubbed the “Facebook for Farmers,” Wokai has raised US$167,414 from 976 contributors to help 341 recipients.

Inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, who founded the micro-credit institution Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Wokai is one of a growing number of micro-finance initiatives in China.

“Seeing China today, you have cities that are growing at such a quick rate, and the countryside is basically stagnant,” Casey Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Wokai, said in an interview. “The only way to start addressing poverty in China is to create sustainable ways of building the countryside, and I thought micro-finance is one of the only tools to do so.”

Wilson describes Wokia’s methods:

With four chapters outside China and an office in Beijing, Wokai relies on its web site for its peer-to-peer loan matching structure that allows potential lenders to browse through the profiles of pre-screened borrowers and select those they wish to help. The minimum donation is US$10.

Wilson launched Wokai in 2007 with Courtney McColgan, a fellow student at a Chinese language programme at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. The two 25-year-old Americans shared a common interest in economic development in China, and Wokai emerged as their joint vision to empower the poor through micro-loans.

“You have about 100 small micro-finance institutions (MFI) of which many are doing great work in China, but they don’t have capital to expand to more clients and increase their impact,” said Wilson.

“We thought what if we can work with these institutions and connect borrowers to contributors around the world.”

The industry benchmarking service, MicroBanking Bulletin, estimates that of the 1,084 MFIs it tracks globally, the median asset size is US$6.4 million with an average borrowing balance of US$525 and an average lending balance of US$145.

Wokai offers loans averaging approximately US$300. This, it said, it sufficient to make a difference when it comes to meaningful investment in simple business improvements or entrepreneurial ventures, such as buying additional livestock or new products.

Most of the targeted loan recipients reside in Inner Mongolia and the quake-affected Sichuan province, and nearly 90 percent of the contributions come from the U.S.

Borrowers are charged an annual interest rate of 15 to 20 percent, which is significantly lower than the International benchmark of 30 to 40 percent.

The repayments are subsequently re-distributed, according to donors’ wishes, to help others in need, and are eventually pooled into a long-term investment fund to generate new loans after three years.

“Careful field partner selection, internationally proven micro-finance best practices and detailed diligence have all been crucial in keeping the default rate low at 0.5%,” said George Xiangwen Zeng, co-president of Wokai’s Hong Kong Chapter, in an interview.

Although a pioneering venture founded on a marriage of altruistic drive and business savvy, Wokai is kept at arm’s length by the Chinese authorities.

It is prohibited from registering as a foreign non-profit entity in China and so operates under a foreign business status that allows it to solicit funds from overseas donors for distribution by the domestic field partners — but prevents it from raising funds directly within mainland China.

Despite China’s gradual relaxation of lending regulations in rural areas, grassroots micro-finance institutions have experienced only moderate success. Some industry experts have identified the lack of government involvement as the root of the problem.

“The role of government is essential to business survival in the mainland, and it’s no different to any NGO efforts,” said Clare Pearson, overseas executive editor of the philanthropy magazine, Charitarian, the only privately-owned English-language publication with official publishing licenses in both China and Hong Kong.

To tackle the access problem, Wilson is seeking a domestic NGO partnership to allow Wokai to tap the domestic donor base.

It is not alone. Other financial institutions are seeking government approval to operate within the micro-finance sector — and to raise funds within the mainland. That includes Grameen China, a joint micro-finance initiative between the Grameen Trust and e-commerce solution provider, Alibaba Group.

This is good news, Daniel Goodman, co-President of Wokai’s Beijing Chapter, said.

“Wokai functions as a capital raising intermediary with the goal to raise funds for rural poverty alleviation in China,” he said. “The entry of additional players and the further growth of micro-finance will help strengthen the industry and increase the number of potential partners we can work with in the future.”

Wilson expects the company to have recruited 10,000 donors by the end of 2010, and to hit a sustainable donor base of between 50,000 to 100,000 in the next three to five years.

“Up until now we’ve been almost exclusively volunteer-based and obviously that’s not sustainable,” said Wilson, “we’d like to reach sustainability off the revenue coming in from our web site when contributors have an option to donate an additional 10 percent to support our operating costs.”

Half an hour before a scheduled meeting at a downtown café last Thursday, she was already sitting comfortably in a corner table, typing furiously on a compact laptop. With her brows locked in a concentrated frown, fingers skipping across the tiny keyboard, and body leaning slightly towards her computer screen, Pearson skillfully segregated herself from the noisy crowd, occasionally turning to her notebooks to flip through pages filled with seemingly illegible scribbles.

It was almost unnerving to disturb her. But Pearson looked up, quickly acknowledged her visitor, and immediately launched into a full-length lecture on philanthropy in China.

“The role of government is essential to business survival in the mainland, and it’s no different to philanthropic efforts,” she said. “The government is your oxygen, and your ability to succeed highly depends on your quality of relationship with the Chinese people.”

In addition to her full-time employment at the law firm DLA Piper, Pearson also works as the overseas executive editor of the philanthropy magazine, Charitarian, the only privately-owned English-language media organisation with an official publishing licence in both Hong Kong and China.

Its objective is to reconcile differences between rich and poor, urban and rural; the Charitarian does not strive to be the ultimate “free media,” but aims to offer a counterbalance to the western media on charity-related issues from an insider perspective.

“The government is pro-NGO now,” said Pearson, “and fund-raising is not difficult if you know how the guanxi system works.”

A system that involves heavy relationship-building, background-investigating, dinner-buying, alcohol-consuming activities, the goal of guanxi is to build up a network of relationships and obligations with the objective to being able to call on favours to some degree, sometime, somewhere along the way.

As an expert on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in China, Pearson emphasised the importance of being pragmatic when proliferating philanthropic efforts, a valuable lesson she learned from both her corporate and non-profit experiences.

“Business in China needs to serve the innate interest of the government, the political sectors and the population,” said Pearson, “and this year the big buzz word is CSR.”

As China adjusts its domestic development strategy to address fast-changing economic, social and environmental challenges, companies have begun to pay more attention on maximizing tangible social benefits to the community. With a mere 0.5 pct of GDP donated to charity in 2007, Chinese government intends to fuel philanthropic developments by encouraging social entrepreneurs, who are expected to contribute 85 pct of the total charitable donations in coming years.

“2010 will be a year of CSR revolution in China, or being a centrally controlled country, a year of GSR or Government Social Responsibility,” said Pearson, “foreign companies that commit resources to non-profits will be welcomed, but you’ve got to understand how differently CSR works in China.”

In the latest edition of the Charitarian, Pearson analyzed the shift of CSR programmes from U.S.-centric to China-focused in the post-recession era.

“Before the credit crunch your client might have been the CEOs of Wall Street firms and your CSR program might have prioritized New York Headquarters and downplayed Chinese government,” said Pearson, “but I would recommend you literally reverse this priority list post-credit crunch.”

And as a result of this fundamental change in the CSR paradigm, the Chinese government, Chinese media and GONGO (Government NGOs) have became the top three strategy-focuses for charities.

“In China any philanthropic efforts or CSR project would fail if it’s not aligned with government objectives,” said Pearson, “for grassroots foreign NGOs, the most sustainable method to executive non-profit projects is to either partner with a GONGO or function as a consulting company – it’s about access, access, and access!”

To maximise charitable efforts, Pearson advises foreign NGOs to keep local residents and enterprises in mind when conducting business.

“When in China, do as the Chinese do,” said Pearson, “so you make friends, not enemies.”

And that means no “sacking” because it leads to a loss of faith; no “squeezing” local businesses because it breeds antagonism; and a lot of “pleasing” to avoid angering the government.

With the highly anticipated “Charity Law” due for release in 2011, the philanthropy landscape in China has rapidly evolved over the last six years as the government assumed a more positive attitude towards the potential benefits to society brought by NGOs.

“Philanthropy in China is definitely flourishing,” said Pearson, “just as what the magazine advocates, ‘everyone can be a Charitarian’.”

Verdict: ****½ (4.5/5)
xxx

“Blurring the line between consumer and professional”

What is it in technical terms?

I won’t bore you with technical jargon here, but if you are keen to explore the specifications, check out the official Canon website and the video on Trusted Review.

And in plain English?

I’ll share with you my personal experiences of playing with the camcorder’s special features:

Dual Flash Memory & Relay Recording:
According to Canon’s specs, the camcorder’s 64GB internal flash drive can hold up to 24-hours of high-definition video. With five levels of video quality to choose from, HF21’s internal flash memory can store from approximately six hours to more than 24 hours of footage. If you set it on a medium quality level, you can easily go on a week- long trip without needing to delete footage — the dual memory functionality is a major plus.

Image Stabilization (Dynamic OIS):
The HF21 features Canon’s Super Range Dynamic Optical Image Stabilizer function, which reduces unwanted shake and movement across different zooming ranges. However, you can’t completely avoid shaky images when the camcorder is zoomed in. Though comparison shows that Canon’s stabilization is better than its rivals, I advise you to hold it at waist level for better balance when switching between zooming ranges.

Face Detection:
In addition to the normal face detection functions in most equipment, HF21 provides the option to select footage through the “timeline by faces” mode, which displays thumbnails of the scenes that include faces chronologically. This option allows users to search desired scenes quickly. However, unless you have a large amount of footage on a few individuals, I’m not sure you’ll use this function that much.

Night Scene & Low Light Mode:
New night scene and low light modes are added features to the digital camcorder. However, it is not ideal for shooting nocturnal scenes or any low-light situations – the screen gets very grainy. Frequent partygoers and night owls should look elsewhere.

Pre-REC Function:
One of the biggest challenges for avid documentary makers is missing the valuable yet unexpected shots. HF21 tackles this problem by introducing the “Pre-REC” function, which pre-captures three seconds of footage in the buffer memory before the REC button is pressed. Similar to the face detection function, this pre-rec option is unlikely to be used much for for leisure shooting, though it does come in handy in news sensitive situations. 

Dual Mode Function:
The photo & video dual function simplifies switching between the two modes — definitely a plus when filming news packages. 

Video Snapshot:
Sharing gets easier with this video snapshot function. It allows you to film live action in four-second segments, or choose clips from available footage, to merge into a montage via inbuilt editing software, forming a chic film reel. Then, you can select a rights-free soundtrack provided by the camcorder, and be instantly ready to watch your own blockbuster on TV, without the need for heavy editing. This fun function targets the casual users in the market.

Image Effects:
The camcorder incorporates Canon’s Image Effects, which include presets for altering color saturation and sharpening. The “customizable option” of which users can specify colour depth, contract, brightness is worth a mention as well.

What does it look like?

FRONT

Frontal view shows all lens with the camcorder’s built in lighting at the lower right side of the lens.

RIGHT

The camcorder features a rotating control dial to switch mode among photo, video and dual.

BACK

LEFT

TOP

BOTTOM

Overall, LEGRIA HF21 is extremely user-friendly – think video recording for dummies – and thanks to the arrangement of controls on the LCD, you can easily operate the camcorder at waist height with both hands.

In addition to the starter kit items, the package includes the following software for image and video editing:

• PIXELA ImageMixer 3 image & video tools. However this program is not compatible with Mac
• Digital Video Solution disk for saving, managing and printing photos
• Music data that can be used as background music during playback

How much is it?

Canon has a special package for HK$12,480 (US$1,608) if purchasing from Broadway in Hong Kong, and you’ll also get the following goodies for free (perhaps more depending on your bargaining skill):

• One tripod
• One extra battery
• One 16GB memory card
• One multifunctional card reader
• One HDMI cable connection
• One dust blower
• Cleaning wipes for both lens and camcorder

Lastly, and completely unrelated to the product, Broadway also gave way:

• A promotional mug (or door mat, bag, T-shirt, document folders, etc.)
• An air purifier
• Two adult tickets to Hong Kong’s Ocean Park

The Verdict?

All in all, the camcorder does live up to its reputation – “shoot a full day in full HD mode” – however, make sure you have extra lighting for night shots.

Pictured right: L-R: Albert Chan Wai-yip, Alan Leung Kah-kit, Tanya Chan Suk-chong, Raymond Wong Yuk-man, and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung. Photo by Nini Suet

CIVIC PARTY

1. ALAN LEUNG KAH-KIT
2. TANYA CHAN SUK-CHONG

Alan Leung Kah-kit

• Elected to Legco in 2008: Kowloon East constituency
• Vice Chairperson of Independent Police Complaints Council
• Chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association: 2001 to 2003
• Stood unsuccessfully against Donald Tsang in 2007 for selection as Chief Executive

• DOB: February 22, 1958
• Education: Law (Bachelor & Masters)
• Eldest child; three siblings
• Campaign slogan in the 2007 Chief Executive poll:

“The voting system was unfair and had to be changed in order to protect human rights and the rule-of-law as well as provide for better governance and quality of life.”

Tanya Chan Suk-chong

• Civic Party founding member
• Elected to Legco in 2008: Hong Kong Island constituency
• District Councillor, Central and Western District Council — Peak Constituency
• Chairperson of Young Civics

• DOB: September 14, 1971
• Education: Law (Bachelor & Post-Graduate Certificate)
• Nickname: Four-Eyes Chan / Zhou Xun of the Civic Party
• Personal Blog

• Brought up in a single-parent family by her mother
• Accomplished and enthusiastic amateur actor and performer
• Participated in the 1989 rallies in Hong Kong protesting against the bloody crackdown around Tiananmen Square

LEAGUE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

1. RAYMOND “Mad Dog” WONG YUK-MAN
2. ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP
3. “Long Hair” LEUNG KWOK-HUNG

Raymond Wong Yuk-man

• Co-founder and chairman, League of Social Democrats
• Elected to Legco in 2008: Kowloon West constituency
• Radical liberal Christian
• Radio chat show host
• Taught journalism at alma mater Chu Hai College in Tsuen Wan
• Owner of Yuk-Man Beef Noodles restaurant

• DOB: October 1, 1951
• Education: Journalism
• Nicknames: Din Gau (Mad Dog) / Beggar King
• Youtube Channel

• Took sabbatical from original radio talk show after being attacked by gangsters in 2004
• Failed publishing ventures (Mad Dog Daily and  Cyber Post) led to significant debt liabilities, since paid off
• Returned to radio with a new chat show in 2007

• October 2008 – interrupted Donald Tsang’s delivery of the Annual Policy Address by throwing bananas at the Chief Executive. He said he was protesting against plans to means-test the old-age allowance called “fruit money”
• March 2009 – Attempted to snatch the budget speech from the hands of Financial Secretary John Tsang Jun-wah part-way through Tsang’s speech. He said this was in protest about the absence of policies to help citizens weather the financial turmoil
  

Albert Chan Wai-Yip

• Co-founder, League of Social Democrats
• Elected to Legco 1991-1997, 2000 to present: New Territories West constituency
• Tsuen Wan District Councillor

• DOB: March 3 1955
• Education: Social Work
• Social worker, active in grass roots issues
• Believes the government is not genuinely committed to the electoral reform promised in the Hong Kong Basic Law

Leung Kwok-hung

• Co-founder, League of Social Democrats
• Elected to Legco in 2004: New Territories East constituency
• Self-proclaimed Trotskyist
• Member of the radical socialist April Fifth Action Group

• DOB: March 17, 1956
• Nickname: Long Hair (has vowed not to cut his hair until Beijing apologises for the Tiananmen crackdown)
• Personal Blog

Experiences:

• Jailed several times for public order offences such as disrupting Legco (before he was elected to the chamber) and for burning the Chinese national flag (resulting in involuntary haircuts)
• Refused entry to China in 2008 to visit earthquake-devastated areas of Sichuan

“My resignation is in keeping with my campaign promise. I want to fight for direct elections.”