RAMBLINGS - The Hong Kong Brother

Hot Pants

Dragon boating is a big deal in Hong Kong. I won't even BEGIN to try to explain the significance of it (the history of "why?" and all), because basically I don't know it! But just trust me, it's a big deal.

Dragon boats, as you can see from these images, are long, canoe-like boats, sort of like what they use for rowing at Hah-vahd and Princeton, and in the front of each boat sits the person who hits the drum to keep them all rowing together. The have a really big festival in June where you can see dragon boat races all over HK, and in fact this past June I went to the races in Stanley over on the island.

Some dragon boats
in a big race...

Well, this year they had some "trouble" with some of the teams' uniforms, as you can read below...

Keep in mind that the following article is an ACTUAL news story from the South China Morning Post, which is THE English language newspaper in Hong Kong. "Disco Bay" (in the headline) is the nickname for "Discovery Bay" -- it's the "in" place for rich expat executives to live in HK, and the future site of the new Disney park being built here.

Bottom Line Too Hot for Disco Bay Paddlers
Friday June 21 2002
by David Evans

A consignment of mainland-manufactured Hot Pants left several Discovery Bay residents seeking medical treatment after the shorts unfortunately lived up to their name.

About 40 members of the Discovery Bay Residents Club-sponsored Dragon Boat teams suffered from varying degrees of burns at the weekend after a chemical leeched from the shorts they were wearing.

The shorts - supplied by the unsuspecting sponsor - were made in China.

Initial investigations suggest a chemical used during manufacture to set the dye had not been properly washed out.

The Consumer Council has said that this is potentially a problem for the Customs and Excise Department, concerning a hazardous chemical coming into the country. A spokesman for the council said the shorts could breach the ordinance covering consumer safety.

Injuries range from red marks to blisters.

According to one Dragon Boater, he was lucky to escape unscathed. 'I wasn't wearing any shorts because none of them fit,' he said.

Residents could be seeking reimbursement of medical expenses from the manufacturer, believed to be the Santa Maria Uniform & Premium Co.

The Sham Shui Po-based garment manufacturer was not responding to calls yesterday.

Lai See now understands that it wasn't their third place result the ladies' team were hopping mad about on Saturday. It was, in fact, their shorts.

The SCMP is THE English language newspaper in HK. I do not buy the SCMP, but I do subscribe to their online edition and refer to it often. I am copying the article here from the SCMP with no permission whatsoever, but I'm telling you where it came from out of some weird (and baseless) sense that "it's cool to copy if I tell you where it came from"...

This article was first posted: 17 September 2002

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*What's The Rush? (Part 2)--Rated "PG"*	*Is That Your Final Answer?*
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*Everything's Fake In China!!*	*What's Up, Doc?*
*BEN's TEAM -- 2004*

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