WTO Prologue

After a very rough week, I needed a break. So tonight I took my break of choice; A late night walk through Victoria Park. Upon approaching the park I noticed 3 police officers at the park's entrance. There were many other groups of 3 police officers patrolling the park. There were also many park workers, stages and signs written in 5 or 6 languages spread all over the park. It appears the local Pro-Democracy demonstrations may have been a dress rehearsal for the WTO this week.

I have to admit that I expecteded to see something as a friend told me that Victoria Park will be packed with WTO protesters this week. So I brought my camera for some shots. While not a great shot, I thought this first one I took right outside of the park looked kind of like cops from a Sci-Fi show.

On the main lawn I saw this stage with sort of a bullet point list of issues. Most of them having to do with immigrant and labor rights which ultimately came to the conclusion that there shold be no WTO agreement. If their point is to cause the WTO talks to fail, then I'm not sure this gathering is necessary. From what I understand, the talks have been failing. It's so hard to get a couple of countries to sign a trade agreement, that difficulty is obvioulsy multiplied several times over when it involves over 149 nations. So in all liklihood, these talks will fail unless there is a plan B of some sort. I hope that plan B represents some views from the protesters.

I do think it is good that all these people will gather here (and around the world) to represent and stand up for the common laborer. The commodification and exploitation of the common laborer by those in power (namely multinational corporations and governments) is a trend that has existed for far too long. I don't think it will end in my lifetime, but it is worth bringing these issues up while the world spotlight is on Hong Kong.

The protesters don't have nearly the money and resources that the multinationals and governments do, but they do have passion, compassion and creativity. Tonight, I snapped a picture of these statues of emaciated, starving human beings lined up in a row. I'm not sure how they'll be used this week, but their imagery says a lot to me about what these people will be speaking against.

The WTO and their protesters are dealing with issues that are very complex, with so many layers. There are no easy solutions. But unlike the pro-democracy march in the previous week; these are issues that I can not avoid. Gino is sending me to China to talk to a few animation studios. Their obvious advantage is their low cost of labor. Since coming to Hong Kong, I've met several western digital entertainment executives who have come to Asia to explore the low cost labor opportunties. As I meet and help shape relationships between Eastern and Western companies, I will seek the best win-win deal for all those involved. But I believe I will bring with me to these meetings, the images, sounds and ideas that will be presented this upcoming week in Hong Kong.