Haunting theory to garrison fire

WAS it mere coincidence that the PLA headquarters in Central caught fire so soon after the garrison started stripping its buildings of British colonial titles? Or could it be the Curse of the Black Watch? They were, after all, known as the 'devils in skirts', the name given to them by the German battalions who met them on the battlefield. They were the last British regiment to man the Prince of Wales barracks before the handover - and a rather cheeky lot too, for those who remember that photograph of a kilted squaddy inadvertently baring all during a flag-lowering ceremony at the Cenotaph.

Could it be there is still a bit of hellfire wafting around the premises? How much pain can one man take? Remember the parting shot that former Times journalist Jonathan Mirsky fired at Hong Kong as soon as he landed back in his adopted home in Britain last year? He told Times readers then that the harbour was a sewer, taxi drivers overcharged, shopkeepers were so unpleasant they were driving away tourists, and many of the five-star hotels were flashy but short on personal service.

We take it he was not referring to the Mandarin, because on his third visit in as many months to this appalling city, Mirsky told former colleagues at a press reception that he had a special deal with the hotel.

Does that mean the hotel will let him stay there if he promises not to write anything nasty about it, when he is safely back in London? Perhaps his next story will explain why he cannot stay away from a place he finds so charmless.

Richard Li Tsar-kai, the younger son of Li Ka-shing, (and the one they did not kidnap, as far as anyone has been told), has expressed concern over leaks to the press about his company, Pacific Century.

He was upset - among other things, we hear - by a story that appeared in this column a couple of months ago, about his hiring of former STAR TV president Robert Chan Hing-cheung.

So a memo was recently sent to all executives, warning them of dire consequences if they spoke to reporters on any subject.