A court visit on yet another eventful day in Hong Kong

Not your usual defendants making their 

unorthodox entrance to court this afternoon

15 pro-democracy figureheads still defiant today

For some reason, social distancing rules seemed to be 

in abeyance at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court today

I went to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court this afternoon to attend a hearing for 15 people I admire and support whose arrest on April 18th were seen as an attack on Hong Kong's core values.  The previous time I had gone to support defendants at a court, it was on November 11th -- on the afternoon after a policeman shot a young protestor in the same part of town (Sai Wan Ho) earlier in the day.  

While no one was shot by a police officer in Hong Kong today (thank goodness for small mercies!), this Monday also was a pretty tumultous one in the Big Lychee.  Having employed bully boy tactics to put a stop to legal filibustering by the pro-democrats a couple of weeks ago, pro-Beijing representatives and their muscle (in the form of the Legislative Council' (LegCo)s security personnel) once again employed force to ensure that things went their way today -- to the extent that they actually caused physical injury to pro-democracy lawmakers while physically ejecting them from a meeting room.  

In the process, some pretty jawdropping optics were presented to the public, including ones showing lawmaker Helena Wong being being carried out of the meeting room (and her male colleagues -- among them Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai -- being dragged out), Legislative Councillor Ted Hui being assaulted by LegCo security personnel (many of whom are ex-police officers and boy, does it show).  And it really was upsetting as well to see a trio of pan-democrats (including "king of votes" Chu Hoi-dick and "god of Hong Kong protests" Roy Kwong) sitting dejectedly on the floor under the watchful eyes of LegCo guards after being ejected from the room.  

Still, perhaps nothing beats -- and says more about the state of Hong Kong democracy and government -- than the sight of a pro-Beijinger who chaired the meeting being protected by a menacing line of security guards before the meeting even got started; though the video showing LegCo security guards ensuring that pro-democracy lawmakers are denied entry to the room while a crucial vote is in the process of taking place comes close.  And as a result of these antics, pro-Beijinger Starry Lee was re-elected as chair of the House Committee by the ridiculous margin of 40 to 0.

Lest it be lost amidst all these details, remember that this all has to do with the attempt by the Hong Kong government to pass the National Anthem Bill that will make the booing of the March of the Volunteers punishable by imprisonment.  And with its passing seen as a precursor to the passing of Article 23, the stakes really are getting higher and higher in the fight for Hong Kong to remain the Hong Kong that so many of us love.  

Not so long ago, there were people who believed that Hong Kong was a beacon of democracy that could and would inspire the rest of China.  Among other things, they pointed to Hong Kong being the only part of China where the tragic events of June 4th, 1989, were commemorated.  So imagine what a signal it would send (to Hong Kongers, ethnic Chinese people everywhere, and the world) for the annual candlelight vigil to not be allowed to take place this year -- as is looking likely to be the case.  

Honestly now, wouldn't it seem too coincidental if social distancing measures were to be extended in Hong Kong through to June 4th?  (And for the record, today, Hong Kong once again reported zero new Wuhan coronavirus cases.)  Incidentally, this afternoon, the court set the next hearing for the case against the 15 pro-democracy figures (who have all been released on bail) for June 15th -- but there was a bit of a reaction when the judge mistakenly stated the date as June 16th.

Here's the thing: with one-year anniversaries coming up for a number of key events in the anti-extradition bill campaign next month, I was expecting things to heat up again in June after the pro-democracy activists re-focused to a large extent on defeating the Wuhan coronavirus in recent months.  What I did not expect was that the Communist Chinese regime and its Hong Kong enablers would step up its repressive actions while the pandemic's still occupying the attention of people around the world, and so openly and shamelessly too.   

It's bad enough that the Hong Kong government has used the Wuhan coronavirus and social distancing measures put in place to combat it to selectively harass "yellow" businesses.  But now it looks intent on turning Hong Kong more and more into "just another Chinese city", and maybe even Xinjiang.  

Still, it's not like there aren't Hong Kongers willing to stand in the way of this happening.  Back at the West Kowloon Magistracy this afternoon, it really was quite something to realize that the 15 defendants, all of them pro-democracy activists to the very core, span three generations: from 81-year-old Martin Lee to 24-year-old Figo Chan.  And, to judge from those who went to cheer them on today, their supporters' age range is even greater!