[Hong Kong News]Is high salary a curse? 200 bankers were laid off; after the death of the “iron plate god”, it is said that Zhou Enlai asked him for orders; the “May Day” parade may become extinct again | Investment Bank | Banker | IPO | Clear Water Bay | Water Spout | Dragon Absorbs Water | May Day Parade | Social Democratic Company | Huang Naiyuan and Dong Mujie | Iron Plate Divine Calculation | Huang Zhan | Ni Kuang | Leslie Cheung | Anita Mui | Zhou Enlai

[Voice of Hope April 22, 2024](Comprehensive report by our reporter Zheng Xin)

Is high salary a curse?200 bankers laid off in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s investment banking sector is facing a wave of layoffs due to the double blow of China’s economic slowdown and reduced transactions. A Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) analysis report estimated that 200 Hong Kong bankers lost their jobs last year.

Bloomberg data shows that the salary of senior bankers in Hong Kong is 40% to 70% higher than that of the same position in Singapore. Compared with mainland China and Japan, the gap even reaches 30% to 100%. However, under the influence of geopolitics, the performance of the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets has not rebounded, and foreign capital has left the Hong Kong stock market. Bankers’ excessive salaries have put pressure on foreign banks. It has become like a “curse” and has become a threat to being laid off by banks. fatal point.

Recently, Morgan Stanley laid off about 50 bankers in the Asia-Pacific region, of which 80% were bankers in China and Hong Kong. HSBC Holdings has also begun a new round of layoffs, affecting more than 10 bankers. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have also implemented unprecedented layoffs in Asia over the past two years.

Senior analyst Francis Chan said in the report: “More multinational banks may further lay off employees to save more costs, especially during China’s economic slowdown.” The investment banker industry is expected to enter a “cold winter.”

In addition, Hong Kong’s initial public offering (IPO) market is also showing signs of sluggishness, with fundraising last year hitting its lowest level in more than 20 years. In the first quarter of this year, IPO financing fell further by 29% to US$605 million, becoming the worst quarter since the global financial crisis.

Dong Mu, a metaphysician known as the “iron plate magician,” passed away before the festival at the age of 101. Dong Mujie is a celebrity in Hong Kong metaphysics circles. He was active in the 1980s and 1990s. Countless celebrities have come to him for criticism. There are rumors that he once approved orders for Zhou Enlai.

Last Saturday (20th), Dong Mujie’s grandson and sports publicist Zhang Cunhua posted a post on social platforms to confirm the news of his grandfather’s death.

Dong Mujie is known as the “iron plate magician” and “Tung Banxian” in Hong Kong. He was highly sought after in the 1980s and 1990s, but has faded out of the public eye in recent decades.

According to Wei Qianli, a Shanghai metaphysician and figure in the securities industry in the early Republic of China, in the monthly magazine “Fate and Luck” published in 1986, Dong Mujie was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, formerly known as Shen Junhui. His biological mother died early, his father married a step-in-law, and the family was at odds. .

In 1948, 25-year-old Dong Mujie failed in his cotton yarn business in Shanghai, so he approached Wei Qianli for advice. Later, he was taken in by Wei Qianli and introduced to Wang Huaijie, an old man who specializes in iron plate numbers. He learned it in less than three months.

Wei Qianli introduced Dong Mujie to do business in the popular Grand View Garden on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai after completing his studies, and Dong became famous. In 1959, Dong Mojie moved to Hong Kong and opened a business in Kowloon. At first, he told fortunes for dancing girls. Later, the business prospered and the business became popular.

Dong Mujie has written scripts for many celebrities, including the late lyricist Huang Zhan, writers Ni Kuang, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, etc.

Huang Zhan once said that the fortune book was “accurate in every word”. Leslie Cheung publicly stated that he was told by Dong Mujie: “Treat others with sincerity, and others will insult you”, and that he will “be good until he is 37 years old”.

The late superstar Anita Mui was also rumored to have had her fortune told by Dong Mujie. The fortune teller said: “Marriage is destined to marry a foreigner.” She was said to be destined to marry a foreigner.

Commentator Feng Jingqian wrote an article on Facebook a few days ago, and also mentioned that there were rumors that Dong Mujie had approving orders for Zhou Enlai in Shanghai. There was a line in the order book, “The one word inscribed is Qing, which must be guarded against.” Zhou Enlai originally thought it meant the sky was blue and the sun was red all over the ground. The Kuomintang, I learned many years later that it was Jiang Qing.

Feng Jingqian believes that “iron plate magic numbers” were very popular in Shanghai during the Republic of China. Celebrities, politicians, and intellectuals all criticized it. It was not surprising that Zhou En came to Dong Mujie for criticism. But only God knows whether Dong approved “Yi Zi Zhi Yue Qing”.

Feng Jingqian also said that in Hong Kong in the 1980s, everyone was living in a dream. Under such circumstances, it is a matter of course that “iron plate divine calculation” came into being. For example, when he turned 100 years old this year, he passed away in Hong Kong, which was undergoing a period of rapid change and prosperity, which seemed to mean that that dream-like era had finally dissipated without a trace.

No group holds a “May Day” parade and takes to the streets, the scene may disappear again

Next Wednesday (May 1) will be Hong Kong’s first May Day Labor Day after Article 23 was enacted. Many pro-democracy and pro-establishment groups have stated that they will not hold a parade this year, and it is expected that there will be no May Day parade in Hong Kong for the fifth consecutive year.

According to Free Asia’s report on the 22nd, when asked about a petition from a social activist who petitioned the Prime Minister last year, he said that he would “reply in two days” whether there will be relevant activities this year. Former trade union union chairman Huang Naiyuan, who expressed his intention to apply for a parade last year, responded in writing that he “does not plan to apply for a parade this year.” However, he prefers to set up street stations because he is mainly concerned about the impact of the garbage levy on frontline workers.

The “frequent” parades in the past, the pro-establishment unions AFL and FTU, also gave up holding parades this year. The Federation of Trade Unions announced on Sunday (21st) that it would organize a series of activities, including going to the government headquarters to submit the “May Day Initiative”, holding a cocktail party, and inviting Chief Executive Li Jiachao to visit the district.

When asked whether there would be no more May Day demonstrations next year, Wu Qiubei said that he would express his demands in different forms according to the social situation. He also emphasized that the union has no concerns and is not trying to avoid anything.

The police stated that as of last Friday (19th), they had not received any application from any group to hold a public event on May Day.

Jian (pseudonym), who has been involved in the labor movement for many years, told Free Asia that without the parade, workers can no longer freely take to the streets and openly express their demands for citizens and the government to hear them. This is a big disconnect with International Labor Day.

Jian also pointed out that if groups that claim to have labor rights as their core values ​​fail to follow tradition, we can probably see where the freedom index of Hong Kong’s civil society will go. And “Without this tradition, the workers will definitely be confused.”

On the first May Day after the epidemic last year, former trade union union president Huang Naiyuan and director Du Zhenhao tried to apply for a parade. In the end, Huang Naiyuan was taken away by the authorities for questioning. After regaining his freedom, the application for the parade was canceled. The Federation of Labor also announced that it was withdrawing its application for the march, citing concerns about being “robbed.” Eventually, the traditional street parade scene disappeared in Hong Kong.

Rare waterspout appears in Hong Kong waters due to strong winds and thunderstorms

While most areas in Guangdong Province and the Pearl River Delta were hit by heavy rains and extremely heavy rains, Hong Kong also experienced continuous showers and violent thunderstorms. A rare waterspout even occurred in Clear Water Bay.

There were violent storms in Hong Kong yesterday (21st), and the Observatory issued a yellow rainstorm warning twice within 24 hours, which lasted for nearly 4 hours. More than 50 millimeters of rain were recorded in many districts across Hong Kong, with more than 70 millimeters of rain in the west of Hong Kong Island. Many large trees fell down, and the roof of an MTR platform was blown up, affecting traffic.

The Hong Kong Observatory stated that a waterspout “commonly known as a ‘dragon sucking water'” was captured by a camera in Clear Water Bay around 9:30 a.m. that day.

According to the footage of Clear Water Bay released by the Observatory, it can be seen that the waterspout rotates rapidly on the water after it forms. The waterspout takes the shape of a giant funnel, penetrating the sea surface and clouds.

Hong Kong Meteorological Society spokesman Leung Wing-mo said Hong Kong’s heavy rain season usually occurs from May to August, and heavy rains lasting for several days in March and April are relatively rare. In the past few decades, there has never been a waterspout in April.

According to the forecast of the Hong Kong Observatory, there will be occasional showers and squally thunderstorms today and tomorrow, and the rain will be quite heavy at times. The weather will remain unstable in the middle to late this week, with occasional showers and thunderstorms.

There are currently two weeks left until the written examination for the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination. The HKEAA stated that if there is bad weather on the exam day, special arrangements will be made based on the situation. If the decision is made to postpone the exam, it will generally be announced approximately two hours before the exam is scheduled to start. Candidates are urged to pay attention to push notifications on the HKEAA website, HKDSE app and relevant announcements from television stations and radio stations before going out.

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Editor in charge: Lin Li