Architect and designer Andre Fu is sitting across from me. Wearing a black velvet jacket, light grey jumper, and designer jeans he looks dapper and in keeping with the upscale surroundings of his latest work The Upper House. Above all, he illustrates the ‘calm’ and ‘comfortable’ of the client’s brief to design Hong Kong’s latest skyscraper hotel.
Articles
UPCOMING ARTICLE: CLICK DATING
It’s late yet the first reflex of Mr. X when he arrives back from work is to switch on his laptop and log onto one of the dating sites of which he is a member. He usually spends about twenty minutes checking his home page (sometimes much more) to see who has viewed his profile, sent him interest, or sent him mail. He also scrolls his well practiced eyes over the newsfeed to see which new members he would bed, have a fling or get serious with.
The tableau is becoming increasingly common among men in Hong Kong which is surprising given that females outnumber males 3 to 1 there.
“It’s like an addiction. I try not to get into any major online discussions before meeting women so I don’t build up expectations”, says Mr X. Since signing on in early 2010, he has had 17 dates. It’s a number about which he is clearly proud. Yet in a city in which the gender ratio is as skewed as it is, is this really an achievement?
UPCOMING ARTICLE: POUNDS OF FLESH FOR HONG KONG DOLLARS
Hong Kong Chinese sex worker Cherry sits across from me. With her fresh face, slightly tinted hair, and plump demeanour she has the apparent naiveté of a girl next door. Smiling easily, she comes across as the type of woman other women would want to befriend; not a femme fatale you would expect to lure the man in your life into bed.
