Letter from Hong Kong (Manila Standard Today)

The last time we were in Hong Kong was during the New Year holidays in 2006-07. Celebrations then were muted because of the tsunami that had devastated Aceh in Indonesia and other places in the region on Dec. 26, killing a quarter of a million people.

HONG KONG WELCOMES 2009 WITH SPECTACULAR COUNTDOWN CELEBRATIONS (Thaipr.net)

Çѹ·Õè 5 Á¡ÃÒ¤Á 2552 08:01 ¹. Hong Kong was at the pinnacle of beauty and glamour.

See shows, shop in Hong Kong (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

HONG KONG – Chances are that by the time you get off a plane in Hong Kong, you’ve already spent half of your trip’s budget on that flight. Photo caption: A man buys a cake from Maxim’s cake, a Chinese bakery in Mongkok, Hong Kong. Photo by Associated Press photos

Chinese naval fleet carries out first escort mission off Somalia (People's Daily)

A Chinese naval fleet arrived Tuesday in the waters of the Gulf of Aden off Somalia to carry out the first escort mission against pirates. Four Chinese merchant ships, including one from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, were escorted by the fleet. &$ &$A helicopter of the Chinese naval fleet attends a landing exercise at night on Dec. 28, 2008, while the Chinese naval fleet ...

China's year of pomp and vigilance (Asia Times)

HONG KONG - While the Chinese generally like the number "eight" as it sounds like the word for "fortune", the number "nine" may prove more significant in the modern history of China, at least it did during the second half of the 20th century.