Tatler Tales
Heard around the Tatler-sphere
A RANGE OF
mahjong sets drew fire last month after a Us-based company launched a version of the tabletop game that was disrespectful to its Chinese heritage. The Mahjong Line founders, aka Kate Lagere, Annie O’grady and Bianca Watson, offended not only for their ditzy graphics and US$425 price, but also for claiming that existing designs didn’t reflect style or personality. Feiping Chang blasted the cartoonish patterns on Instagram. “Did a two-year-old design this travesty? Mahjong is a game we learnt from our grandmothers or mothers. It’s a bonding experience during important family gatherings like Chinese New Year … mahjong tiles are beautiful, and the patterns all reflect something deeply rooted in Chinese culture—something these women don’t grasp at all.” Rina Hiranand chimed in as well: “This is a kind reminder that other people’s culture is not part of your ‘aesthetic’. You can still buy handmade mahjong tiles in Hong Kong but it’s a dying trade.” The Mahjong Line later apologised for not paying “proper homage to the game’s Chinese heritage”. The lesson? Don’t mess with a classic.
WHEN IT COMES TO
Asia’s champions of education, Jennifer Yu Cheng needs little introduction. Though her husband Adrian Cheng might be more of a society mainstay, Yu Cheng has always maintained a low profile. Now, she is throwing her name and expertise behind a substantial new Stem initiative aimed at young women: the Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation (JYCGIF) for female empowerment, an idea she says was inspired by the trials and tribulations of Covid-19. “In Asia, about one in five women holds a leadership role and one in six women majors in a Stem subject. While the gender gap in leadership and Stem has long existed, Covid-19 was a wakeup call for me. Virtually overnight, companies transformed, digitised and adopted new technology. It made me realise how urgent it is to build a pipeline of teen girls who are equipped to lead in the future, when Stem will be an integral part of every industry, [giving them access to] more career options [and allowing them to] make a greater impact in their future workplace and become leaders in a digitised economy,” says Yu Cheng. The future looks brighter already.
THERE WILL BE
extra cause to celebrate this Chinese New Year: Hong Kong’s mass Covid-19 vaccination programme will begin in mid-february. All around the city, members of the Tatler community are looking forward to resuming travel and social gatherings while not forgetting the lessons learnt during the previous year. Hong Kong’s movers and shakers are bringing a host of good intentions into the Year of the Ox: Natasha Li from Princess Yachts says she will try to be more spontaneous; Alan Lo hopes to “bring positive change to the global food ecosystem” through his hospitality ventures; Nadia Ng from Perrotin plans to switch off from digital technology; Hong Kong Ballet’s Septime Webre wants to practise yoga more; and Esemblé co-founder Alex Jiaravanont will “kick [his] son’s butt at video games”. However, it is Sake Central director Elliot Faber whose words resonate most this CNY: “With a vaccine imminent, I hope we can all take a moment to refocus on how to live, whatever that means to each of us.”
FORGET THE LUXURY HOTEL
that’s set to open in space in 2024; we’re looking at another resort that’s challenging to access and filled with unusual lifeforms. The rather boringly named WM Hotel in Sai Kung will open in the first half of 2021 after two years of delays. The glam 270-room property will have five decks, a rooftop pool, a spa and multiple seaview restaurants, and “will have lots of natural features, rocks, greenery, waterfalls”, according to Raymond Chan of the Shaw Group, WM’S owner. HK$2.5 billion was dropped on the new construction, which arrives at the perfect time to capitalise on the city’s thirst for secluded staycation spots (even better once pools are able to open again). Hong Kong’s seaside hotels have always left much to be desired on the style front, so count us in for this swish new weekend escape.