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David Evans

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

What better way of promoting Hong Kong's bid to become the Asian technology hub than for one of the plan's chief architects to show how effective technology and the Internet could be.

Unfortunately for Tung Chee-hwa - who is using the Web to help promote his re-election as Chief Executive - the idea is in danger of becoming one big headache.

Cybersquatting is nothing new and is generally only a problem when we're dealing with commercial brands.

But names such as Tung, Evans, Smith and Wong are not well-known products found on supermarket shelves and are therefore not in too much demand.

So I expect that when Chansinha Leung - who is based at Mr Tung's campaign headquarters in Garden Road, Central - came across the available domain name chtung.org, she thought it was Christmas and New Year rolled into one.

But Ms Leung didn't snap up all the other derivations of chtung, which is how Lau San-ching, of the Good People's Service Centre, was able to register chtung.org.hk for himself.

Mr Lau put his domain name to good use by lampooning Mr Tung's campaign Web site, which could best be described as dull.

No, we tell a lie.

It could be best described as dull, unimaginative and unlikely to put Hong Kong on the map as Asia's Web designing hub.

When we were unable to access Mr Lau's Web site on Tuesday, we called him to ask why it had been removed.

According to Mr Lau, the problem was a hyperlink between his site and Mr Tung's official one.

Mr Lau said he removed the Web site because he believed that Mr Tung's campaign office had intimated through the media that he needed to seek approval for the hyperlink.

At no time had he been contacted by anyone connected to the campaign, Mr Lau said.

A spokesman for Mr Tung's re-election office confirmed they were looking into rules, regulations and practices regarding hyperlinks.

He was unaware that Mr Lau's site had closed down.

'How can we ask them to remove their Web site. It's unthinkable,' he said.

Mr Lau - who is a member of the Coalition Against Second Term (Cast) - said he would be speaking to legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing, of The Frontier, regarding the group's next step for the Web site.

According to Ms Lau, she would attend a meeting of Cast (held last night), where Mr Lau was welcome to raise any issue.

Mr Lau laid blame for the confusion squarely with the Chief Executive's campaign office.

'It was naive to register [a domain name] outside of Hong Kong. It must be very embarrassing for them,' he said.

Colourful by name: This year's Lunar New Year Parade, sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways, promises to be a colourful affair.

The February 12 event has attracted 22 floats and 38 performing groups.

Entertaining the crowds will be the South Brisbane Federal Band, Guangzhou Arts School, Guilin Municipal Tourism Bureau and the Lochiel Marching Team from New Zealand. Those managing to stay awake after that lot will be rewarded with a float bearing the cheerleaders of the San Francisco 49ers.

And whether by fate or design, the hair and boob troupe share a similar name to a group of pilots sacked by Hong Kong's flagship airline last July - the Cathay 49ers.

Case of confusion: One from the whoops file.

Investment bank JPMorgan won the IFR Eurobond Award 2001 for an issue from the People's Republic of China.

In an article in the IFR Review of the Year,  the magazine labelled the issuer Republic of China - the name Taiwan uses for itself. Unfortunately, the bank's marketing department seized upon the opportunity for a bit of trumpet blowing and ran a large print ad in the the Asian Wall Street Journal  complete with the blooper.

Graphic: whee17gbz



Cybersquatter's success keeps Tung tied up