Last week the Chinese government approved Disney’s plans for building a new 10-square kilometre themepark in Pudong district, Shanghai. The investment totals around US$ 3.6 billion and is of course bad news for Hong Kong, as more than one third of the visitors to our ridiculous 296 acre park are mainlanders. Not just our pride is hurt though, as the HK government has invested HK$ 3.25 billion for a 57 percent stake in the venture and spent HK$ 13.6 billion on landfill, roads, sewers and a rail line. Disney on the other hand only invested about HK $2.5 billion for the remaining stake.

One man already hated the mouse as much as you do now, namely LKF mastermind and chairman of Ocean Park, Allen Zeman. Ocean Park is cited as the no.1 reason for Disneyland Hong Kong’s failure: its exhibits of pandas and other Chinese wildlife in combination with more exciting rides have frustrated Disney for years. So you’d reckon that Mickey would be safe from Whiskers all the way up in Shanghai right? Wrong! Zeman wants blood, and is contemplating opening a new Ocean Park in Shanghai as well.

Why such aggressive expansion plans? Is it because Walt Disney was an anti-semite? Or does Zeman simply wish for Jewish dominance of the themepark business in China (Disney is now headed by fellow Jew Robert Iger)? Neither of course. Ocean Park is also considering requests from cities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, so obviously religion doesn’t matter much to this über entrepreneur when it comes to business. Surely the Saudi authorities would make an exception for him to visit his own themepark one day.