S1E33: Hong Kong's vanity car plates a creative outlet as freedoms narrow

The affordable luxury of personalised car licence plates are proving an enduring and endearing avenue for self-expression in a changing Hong Kong  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  HEY YU, DREAMER, ADD OIL. The messages on Hong Kong's vanity car plates can draw nods of appreciation or chuckles for the city’s motorists. They can tell you a thing or two about their owners' status, sense of humour and beliefs.  Since the authorities made these special plates possible 20 years ago, Hong Kong has seen a proliferation of such plates on its roads. And along with it, communities have sprung up online devoted to sightings of this phenomenon.  In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with Hong Kong correspondent Magdalene Fung on the motivations behind this trend and what it reveals about Hong Kongers' deepest desires and obsessions.  Highlights (click/tap above): 0:50 Why vanity plates aren’t just for vanity’s sake alone  3:20 What Hong Kong’s vanity plates reveal about the city and its people  9:55 How a car with a special plate came to be impounded in Hong Kong on the anniversary of China’s Tiananmen incident  12:33 The biggest changes in Hong Kong society in recent years  Read Magdalene Fung’s article here: https://str.sg/KKxa Produced by: Li Xueying ([email protected]) and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Fa’izah Sani Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR  Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x Read Magdalene Fung's articles: https://str.sg/dbo9   Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7  The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u  In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt  COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE  Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7  Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN  Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf  Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m  Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE  #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad  Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX  --- ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts  ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa  --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2  Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn  Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB  Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa  --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB  Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX  #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.