Musings about mooncakes, Catholics and more on Mid-Autumn Festival eve

  

October 1st is China's National Day

 

This year, October 1st is also Mid-Autumn (aka Mooncake) Festival!

 

Despite it still feeling like summer weather-wise, today is the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival.  As can be discerned from its alternative names, this festival is also associated with mooncakes, moon viewing and lantern displays.  It's also associated with family reunions, with many families making a point to gather together to have dinner together on the festival's eve. 

 

Unable still to go see their loved ones in detention over in Shenzhen, the family members of the 12 Hong Kongers intercepted while trying to make their way to seek political asylum in Taiwan back on August 23rd went to the China Liason Office in Sai Ying Pun earlier today.  Denied entry and a meeting with the officials there, they proceeded to stage a demonstration outside that complex and left boxes of mooncakes in a symbolic protest to highlight their lack of access to their loved ones.

 

Beginning in 2010, Joseph, Cardinal Zen would deliver mooncakes to prisoners during the Mid-Autumn Festival.  This year, though, Hong Kong's Bishop Emeritus has been barred from doing so; with the authorities having deemed mooncakes to be political weapons and the donation of them to prisoners a political activity.  Such is the heightened paranoia and absurdities that have come to be the norm in Hong Kong in the wake of China's introduction of the security law to Hong Kong.  

 

Another disappointment that the 88-year-old cardinal has had to deal with recently came after he flew to Rome to seek an audience with Pope Francis but the Pontiff decided against allocating any time to meeting with him.  That U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also was denied a meeting with the Pope is no comfort; particularly as both Cardinal Zen and Pompeo shared the intent of voicing their concerns to the Pope about what's happening in Hong Kong (along with in Mainland China).       

 

From his track record, Pope Francis does not appear willing to support Hong Kong's attempts to not be suppressed by the atheist Communist Chinese government.  Back in early July, there were reports that he had planned to mention China's imposition of a security law on Hong Kong, only to then omit the relevant passages in the speech he ended up giving.  Even earlier, in January of this year, Pope Francis voiced concern about conflicts in parts of the Middle East, Africa, the Caucasus and Ukraine, as well as political crises gripping Latin America in his annual message to diplomatic envoys accredited to the Holy See but did not offer a single word about the situation in troubled Hong Kong.

 

Is it because Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam is Catholic?  If so, so are prominent advocates for Hong Kong's freedoms and bid for democracy such as Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee as well as Cardinal Zen.  More likely, it is Pope Francis feeling willing to sacrifice Hong Kong (with its Catholic community) along with the Muslim Uighurs and Buddhist Tibetans to cement a deal with the Chinese authorities; something that gets me thinking that he may be the modern day Pope Pius XII (AKA Hitler's Pope).

 

People looking from outside of Hong Kong may not think things are that bad in the territory.  As HK Wuliff, a Hong Konger whose musings and observations I often connect with, Tweeted back on August 1st: "yeah, we still have internet. we still get to go on youtube. we can go shopping. for a few days we almost lost restaurants but we have that back, now. we can still go to work and school and we’re still alive."  But also in the same thread can be found the following remarks: "it’s actually so insane how quickly HK descended into this state. imagine explaining to an acquaintance that in the space of one month, you’ve lost all political freedom and are now living in a city where dissent is punishable - actually punishable - by life in prison". 

 

Something else that happened in Hong Kong today was the police deciding to set up cordon lines and surround a young man reading a copy of Apple Daily inside an MTR station.  Earlier this week, this same youngster was suspended by his secondary school for two days for having worn his school uniform to (peaceful) lunchtime protests.    

Should it not be obvious: censorship fears have arisen in Hong Kong schools.  Hong Kong schools have been told to remove books that may violate the new security law, including two written by Joshua Wong and one by Tanya Chan (who, incidentally, is one of three pro-democracy lawmakers -- along with Chu Hoi-dick and Ray Chan -- who announced this week that they are leaving the Legislative Council; this even while the majority of the pan-democratic legislative councillors have elected to stay for another year and fight the government from within the legislative body).  

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Catholic diocese has urged its schools (which include leading institutions such as St Joseph's College, St Paul's Convent, Maryknoll Convent School and La Salle College) to promote national security education.  This undoubtedly is the kind of thing that would not have happened if Cardinal Zen still headed the Catholic church in Hong Kong.  As would Catholic school text books containing the following prayer: "Lord, thank you for letting me be born as Chinese. To express my gratitude to you, I will learn from Jesus to love my state and nation. Amen"!  

Looking back to the start of the Umbrella Movement and ahead to there being continued protests in Hong Kong

How Harcourt Road looks on protest-less days

 

Admiralty is definitely more colorful when occupied by 

pro-democracy protestors and decorated with their creative works!

Six years ago today, what came to be known as the Umbrella Movement (or Umbrella Revolution) began in earnest after the police fired what was then an unprecedentedly large amount of tear gas into a protest crowd assembled at Admiralty.  I don't expect any tear gas to be fired today or to see water cannons going into action in the area, as was the case one year ago.  But make no mistake: the pro-democracy protest spirit that emerged on September 28th, 2014, has by no means been extinguished.  This even though the authorities have been doing what they can to bring Hong Kong to heel.  

 

Take, as an example, the banning of a protest march intended to take place this upcoming October 1st (with an appeal against the decision having proved unsuccessful).   As expected, the police cited public safety fears by way of the Wuhan coronavirus.  This is despite the third wave now being under control: as evidenced by there just being 10 new cases today; of which only 3 are local transmissions, all of which are linked to other ones.  And you also had the proposed march's very experienced organizers also indicating that social distancing measures could easily be practiced, such as asking marchers to wear masks and walk in groups of no more than four, the maximum number of people allowed to gather under regulations.    

 

As Renaud Haccart Tweeted back on September 15th: "As noted by other commentators, there’s a fair chance that group gathering rules will be the very last to go, as they provide the perfect cover for police to disrupt any public protest of any size or form and make arrests."  And it really didn't seem purely  coincidental that one week later, the powers that be proceeded to extend the current coronavirus social distancing measures until October 1st, amid online calls for a protest march on that day.

 

As a reminder: even without there being the Wuhan coronavirus attacking much of the world, the October 1st protest was banned last year.  And the ban not withstanding, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of Hong Kongers went out onto the streets to protest nonetheless; and, in so doing, produced the kind of visuals that the authorities most certainly did not wish to have beamed out to the world on China's National Day.

 

It's not entirely impossible that a good number of people will elect to march in protest again this October 1st.  This despite anti-Wuhan coronavirus social distancing measures being in effect -- and the vague, broad and sweeping security law China imposed on Hong Kong on June 30th whose penalties include life imprisonment.  

 

Alternatively, it's been suggested that people wear black on the day to register that October 1st is a day of mourning, not celebration, for most Hong Kongers as well as a sign of solidarity with the 12 Hong Kongers whose bid to seek asylum and freedom in Taiwan led instead to their detention in Shenzhen.  I do sincerely hope though that people won't dress up in black if they do plan to go onto the streets to protest because black attire has become the equivalent to the Hong Kong police of red cloth to bulls!    

 

For those who are wondering why Hong Kong is such a city of protest: do realize that one big reason why this is so is because Hong Kong has never been fully or really democratic.  Consequently, Hong Kongers have had to find other ways to make our will be known and heeded; with mass protests having met with some notable success in the past (e.g., in 2003 and 2012).           

And for those who reckon they know about the security law that's been imposed on Hong Kong: do give the quiz by The Guardian a try.  In what loos to have been an effort to commemorate the start of the Umbrella Movement (even without outright stating it), that British newspaper has shone the spotlight today on: Hong Kong's "freedom swimmers" (the hundreds of thousands of Mainland Chinese who escaped to Hong Kong between 1950 and 1980);  the Chinese Communist Party faithful shipped in to carry out Beijing's will in Hong Kong this year; and Oxford University's efforts to protect the students of China in the wake of the coming into being of China's security law for Hong Kong.  

Hong Kong remains far more threatened by political repression than the Wuhan coronavirus or nature in general

 

A closed-off playground last week

 

Playgrounds have been reopened for use this week (but have 

children gotten out of the habit of visiting them after so long?)

A rare tornado was spotted near Hong Kong International Airport yesterday afternoon.  Also, a wild boar family decided to head to Central and were recorded swimming in the pond of the Bank of China Tower.  It used to be that such events (along with, less amusingly, hiker deaths) would be the biggest news of the day when they occured in Hong Kong.  And in some ways, it's kind of quaint and assuring that they still can make the news these days.

 

But of course, these days, what tends to grab more attention is news concerning the Wuhan coronavirus or something political (which can range from political arrests to the enactment of a draconian law).  Re the former: at a time when things are looking really bad again on the pandemic front in many parts of the world (including Europe and Indonesia rather than just the U.S.A.), it can make for a nice surprise that Hong Kong has managed to bring its third wave under control; with there having been just two new cases yesterday and one today.      

As an added bonus: today's single new daily Wuhan coronavirus case was an import rather than local transmission; the second time this month that Hong Kong has reported no local cases.  For good measure: it's also the case that Hong Kong has only had one day this past week with an unsourced case.  All things considering then, there's actually plenty to feel good about on the pandemic combatting front here at this point in time.  So it surely is understandable that there are calls to reopen the still-closed-off beaches and to ease the gathering bans (the latter of which is impossible to not think are just an excuse to ban political vigils, rallies and marches -- like the one that usually takes place on October 1st); this particularly when it's allowed and normal again for such as MTR carriages to be super packed!

 

On the political front: there may have been more security law arrests -- this time involving a mother and her son accused of selling weapons online.  Upon further examination though, there are aspects of the case that appear questionable.  For one thing, the mentioned weapons are things like air guns, a bulletproof vest and respirators.  For another, whether the case actually falls under the security law is something that the police appear uncertain apart; this not least because the offensive materials (i.e., materials calling for Hong Kong independence) were found in the suspects' home (rather than, say, displayed in public by them)!      

As things presently stand, the man arrested has been charged and denied bail but his mother was not charged and released on bail.  I haven't seen any explanation for their unequal treatment.  What I have read though is that the man's lawyer has alleged that his client was intimidated by the police into making making incriminatory statements against himself.  So it's entirely possible that when the case finally gets to court, the judge will dismiss it or acquit the accused due to faulty evidence or such like once more.  (Though, of course, the possibility also exists that one will encounter a judge more willing to take the side of the government -- for they do very much exist.)   

 

Looking beyond Hong Kong: some signs are appearing that the international community may belatedly be waking up to the China threat; in view of its actions in and towards Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as Tibet and Xinjiang.  With regards to Hong Kong: I found the following statements attributed to Miles Yu, a member of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's policy planning staff, in a recent Voice of America article to be pretty spot on:     

Hong Kong has provided the world with a measuring stick to assess Beijing's behavior since 1984, when a deal was struck to return the territory to Chinese sovereignty on the condition that it enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. The actual handover took place in 1997. 

Hong Kong is "first and foremost a promise... It's a promise of a high degree of autonomy for 50 years — judicial independence, free press, individual liberty, rule of law." 

What the world has witnessed... is a promise made and a promise broken. 

"You might say it has been broken in a very brutal and semi-fascist way."

And I do hope that he's right when he said more countries are coming to recognize that China poses a threat to everyone; this not least since the deadly coronavirus unleashed in Wuhan less than a year ago has gone on to cause so many deaths in the world already, with many more expected to come.

Joshua Wong arrested once again -- this time for acts he engaged in (including wearing a mask!) last October!

A familiar face whose frame is no longer so scrawny

and has generally toughened up

 

Another familiar face who, alas, is now living in exile

but still is speaking out for Hong Kong

Joshua Wong was arrested again this afternoon.  While it didn't come as a major surprise -- since with this famous thorn in the flesh of the Hong Kong government and also Mainland China's, it had seemed like just a matter of time before the authorities decided to arrest him once more -- it still was upsetting because, well, finding out about the arrests of people one likes and respects still does hurt, however many times it happens as well as seemingly inevitable (for some) it has become in contemporary Hong Kong. 

One small consolation: Within hours of his arrest, the 23-year-old political activist was released on bail.  Also, because his arrest is related to his having participated in an unauthorised assembly against the mask ban last October 5, it's not a security law arrest.  Even so, he's looking at the possibility of being sentenced to six years in jail if convicted of these "crimes".

As the Financial Times' Eli Meixler was moved to Tweet (and yes, it's as bizarre as it sounds): "So just to be clear that I have this:@joshuawongcf arrested for wearing a mask in Oct, when it as illegal by emergency ordinance, before it became legal again in Nov, illegal in April, when they were also required outdoors, and compulsory in September"; with the only bit that he got wrong being that the wearing of masks both in outdoor and indoor spaces in Hong Kong became mandatory in July!  Or as whitebison66 put it more succinctly: "he's arrested while it's illegal not to wear a mask for something that happened when it was illegal to wear a mask"!

Ironically, Joshua Wong's latest arrest comes just a few days after it was announced that his friend and fellow Hong Kong political activist, Nathan Law, had topped the 2020 TIME100 Reader Poll (the latest edition of TIME magazine's annual compilation of the world’s most influential people).  Put another way: the world recognizes the contributions of the likes of Law, Wong and Agnes Chow, and respects their efforts to stand up for their city and its people -- even while the Hong Kong government and its overlords in Beijing look upon them as nothing but trouble and want to lock them up, probably for life, and silence them, possibly for eternity.    

Which, for me, is all the more reason to listen to them while we can.  And I think it says a lot about Joshua Wong that, upon his release on bail today, he was urging the international community to focus less on the more well known likes of him and more on such as the 12 young Hong Kongers detained in Shenzhen after unsuccessfully trying to flee to Taiwan last month.  Also, his most recent Tweets at this time of writing are about a phone repair specialist unjustly arrested for possessing the phones of his clients who the police deemed to have broken the security law!      

Continuing to draw attention to the plight of the 12 Hong Kongers in custody in Shenzhen, and Hong Kongers in Hong Kong too

No smooth sailing as yet in and for Hong Kong

It's somewhat assuring though to see the iconic Lion Rock 

still watching over Hong Kong

One month ago today, 12 desperate Hong Kongers set out by boat to Taiwan, hoping to get political asylum there. Instead, they were intercepted by the Mainland Chinese coast guard, in what is claimed to be Chinese waters. They are now in custody in Shenzhen.

This past Sunday afternoon, their relatives appeared in public for a second time to make an appeal for further information about their loved ones. Among other things, they would like to see proof that the 12 were in fact detained in Chinese waters in the first place.  (And, no, they aren't content with just getting "assurances" that this was the case by the Hong Kong police: that is, the same organization that alerted the Mainland Chinese coast guard as to the fugitives' attempts to flee Hong Kong.). The obviously very concerned individuals also want Hong Kong officials to contact the detainees to check on their latest condition to ensure that they aren’t injured as they themselves have been denied access to them.

These are demands that don't seem all that unreasonable, right?  However, these are the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese authorities they are dealing with. And as we have seen time and time again, Hong Kong officials will not stand up for Hong Kongers against Mainland China. (Forget the Mainland Chinese ones caring about what happens to Hong Kongers.)  Why should they as they're too are not answerable at the polls (what polls?) to the people of Hong Kong!

Watching this saga, many people here have had the same thought.  Hong Kong Hermit was speaking for us all when he Tweeted that: "This is every reason why we fought against the extradition bill in the first place. Because everyone feared being sent to China, where there is no hope of a fair trial, and with a Hong Kong govt. that won’t even advocate for its own people doing less than nothing to help."

Back on Saturday, Hong Kong Secretary for Security John Lee declared that he "understood the 12 were in good health, but [Hong Kong] officials had no right to visit them."  He also essentially dismissed the attempts by the families of the detained Hong Kongers to ensure that their family members would get good legal representation by stating that this particular issue had already been sorted, with the detainees having picked lawyers from a list provided by the Mainland Chinese authorities.

As far as the family members are concerned though, this is not a satisfactory arrangement; especially since they have already hired lawyers to represent their loved ones -- and those lawyers have, like the family members themselves, thus far been denied access to the 12 detained Hong Kongers.  And with one month now having passed since they last set eyes on their loved ones, they appear more determined than ever to see them and get assurances re their still being alive and well (something that sadly is not guaranteed when one is incarcerated over in Mainland China).      

Many of their fellow Hong Kongers -- and human rights activists in other parts of the world -- are also seeking to publicize and plead for the cases of the 12 detained Hong Kongers.  Earlier today, the Civil Human Rights Front announced that it had applied for a letter of no objection (from the Hong Kong police) to stage a march on October 1st with "Save [the] 12 Hong Kong Youths" as its theme.  (And in a gesture of solidarity, the organizers of a previously planned October 1st protest march -- in Tsuen Wan, in honor of the schoolboy protestor shot in the chest there last October 1st-- have announced its cancellation.)  

I have to be honest and say that I wonder how many people will take part in the planned October 1st march, especially if the police decline to issue a letter of no objection.  It's not that people aren't still dissatisfied with the Hong Kong government nor do very much want to get the 12 Hong Kongers back to Hong Kong.  But the fact of the matter is that the risks of getting arrested (and/or plain harassed) by the police, even if one were to stick to walking on the sidewalks rather than venture onto the road itself, are now so much higher -- and the possible penalties, if convicted, so much worse than before China's security law for Hong Kong came into effect this past June 30th.  

Still, it seems that you can always trust Carrie Lam to fan the flames of indignation, if not resistance, and cause people to want to show their disapproval of her words, actions and very being -- and if not her, it'd be the Hong Kong police.  Just this week, we have Carrie Lam telling the parents of the murdered teen -- whose murderer she had previously wanted so much to see brought to justice that she introduced the ill-fated extradition bill -- to "get over it" (with it being the murder of their daughter, lest it not be clear!).  In addition, the Hong Kong police have announced that they will be tightening controls on the press and refusing to recognize the likes of freelance journalists, reporters for news websites, student journalists and citizen journalists (even if they are accredited by major press associations such as the Hong Kong Journalists Association and Hong Kong Press Photographers Association).

As Agence France-Presse (AFP)'s Xinqi Su has noted in a Twitter thread: It was journalists not considered genuine media under the police's new and questionable classification who broke the news about: the passengers being beaten by the police inside Prince Edward MTR station on August 31st, 2019; a cop shooting an unarmed protestor at Sai Wan Ho on November 11th, 2019; a riot policeman shooting a young protestor in the chest in Tsuen Wan on October 1st, 2019; and a 12 year old girl being chased and pushed to the ground by riot cops this past September 5th.  

Consequently, it's hard to not suspect that the police look to be bidding to kerb reportage that shows them looking bad when they in fact do bad.  In any case, the Hong Kong Journalists' Association statement that these changes "will seriously impede press freedom in Hong Kong, leading the city toward authoritarian rule" surely is no exaggeration.

A wonderfully memorable evening at Kichijoji's Bakawarai (Photo-essay)

I dreamnt last night that I was visiting Japan. I've had many dreams in the past few months of leaving Hong Kong and going elsewhere but until last night, all of the dreams had actually been not very pleasant in nature: seeing as they involved my having to flee a place I love (and have come to look upon as my actual as well as spiritual home).

In last night's dream though, I was visiting what's become a favorite country to visit because of -- in no particular order -- its fantastic food, libations, cultural attractions, and natural ones too, a certain Pear (Fairy), friendly people and old friends who I met in Hong Kong but since have returned to their Japanese homeland.  And even while it really saddens me that it's looking like the Wuhan coronavirus is going to prevent me from making even one trip to Japan this year, it's also true enough that I have plenty of great memories of the Land of the Rising Sun to tide me over a while -- some of which I haven't yet chronicled on my blog. So here's going ahead and resuming posting about some of them from my May 2019 trip to Tohoku and Tokyo!

After I saw a video by Simon and Martina about their favorite 

izakaya, I simply had to go there when I was in Tokyo!

 

Bakawarai's idiosyncratic way to welcome its customers

and mark reserved seats (And, if you're wondering, that's 

the name of the friend I went with on the egg ;b)

 

That egg's not just for show, by the way -- as it can get used as 

an ingredient in one of this Kichijoji izakaya's signature dishes!

 

An omelette that's picture worthy and really truly yummy!

 

I had plenty of seafood on this trip but this stewed fish head may well 

have been the single most delicious seafood dish I had on it! 

 

I love this Japanese whelk dish and pretty much always order it

whenever I see it on the menu (or, in this case, as the menu's 

only in Japanese, ordered by other customers!)

 

Yes, we had a lot of beer and sake that night... :b

 

My vote for this atmospheric izakaya's piece de resistance:

the cured bacon hanging above the counter from clothes pins :D

 

A couple of notes to conclude: Thanks to Morgan for two of the above photos; and something that made my visit to Bakawarai truly memorable was that Simon and Martina happened to go there for dinner that night!  (And yes, I did perk up my courage to go and talk to them, and thank them for this really great izakaya recommendation!)  Also, should there be any doubt, I really would love to visit Bakawarai again on a future trip to Tokyo.  Truly, it's one of those places that makes me wish I lived in the neighborhood -- though it'd actually be pretty dangerous if that were the case, as I could definitely imagine my going and drinking as well as eating a lot there on many nights each week! :)  

More political worries prompted by a spate of legal decisions this week

At first glance, all looks well -- but look closer and you'll see 

that scorch marks from fiery past battles 

remain visible on this pedestrian overpass

 

Protest stickers found on the back of bus seats 

as recently as this week

 

A friend who I was due to have lunch with messaged me yesterday evening to ask if I wanted to postpone our meetup on account of lots of rain being forecast this week.  I had to laugh when seeing her query because, of all the things that get me worried in Hong Kong, the weather is often the least of it.  (And yes, it's true enough that I've been known to venture outdoors when Typhoon Signal Number 8 has been raised!)      

This same friend also is one of those people who, when Hong Kong's daily new Wuhan coronavirus cases look on the high side, will cut down on her socializing and stay at home for days on end.  So it's a sign of her confidence that Hong Kong's third coronavirus wave really has ebbed that she agreed to meet up for lunch in the first place.  (For the record: Hong Kong passed the 5,000 mark in terms of total number of Wuhan coronavirus cases today but it's noteworthy that the majority of today's 13 new cases are imported ones and, also, that there were just 3 new cases reported for yesterday.)

In another sign that the third wave of the coronavirus has ceased to cause people great worry, a number of entertainment venues, including bars, were allowed to reopen yesterday.  Lan Kwai Fong reportedly wasn't as crowded as might have been expected, because of the intermittent rain that can seem like a big deal for many Hong Kongers!  Given the circumstances though, this might not be a bad thing for Hong Kong as a whole -- and, frankly, I think it'd be irresponsible of the government to allow bars to operate to 6am (like one idiot pro-Beijing lawmaker has suggested)!

 

If truth be told though, my greatest worries this week have been political in nature.  For while there haven't been any recent political arrests of note in recent days, I've been reading reports of the verdicts delivered in cases involving political figures and anti-extradition bill protestors -- and a good number of them have proved pretty troubling individually, and plenty troubling when looked at collectively. 

 

It's bad enough when People Power's vice chair, Tam Tak-chi, gets denied bail when he's only charged for saying things (as opposed to, say, committing physical violence against other people).  But on the very same day that he was denied bail, a man who admitted to having stabbed veteran pro-democrat "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung with a metal chisel was let out on bail (by a judge who, just last month, sent a pro-democracy protestor to jail for having been found to be in possession of cable ties)!   

 

That Thursday also saw a 15-year-old having his probationary sentence for pleading guilty to arson and possessing materials with intent to damage property in May changed to six months in a detention center, during which he will undergo hard physical labour and discipline similar to a prison, after the Department of Justice won a review of the case.  In addition, the same Department of Justice announced that same day that it will be lodging an appeal against the acquittal of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai this past September 3rd in a case that had seen a pro-Beijing newspaper's reporter claim that he had been threatened by the media mogul.  And if all this wasn't enough, that same day also saw a construction worker being the first person found guilty of rioting in connection with last year's extradition bill protests.   

 

To be sure, things haven't all gone the government's way in the courts.  (Otherwise, I'd truly despair.)  Wednesday saw the acquittal of a man and a woman charged with attacking police officers outside Tai Wai MTR station last September statements given by the three police officers were found to be "obviously inconsistent with video footage of the incident" and the cops were deemed by the magistrate to have used "unnecessary" force against the arrested duo.  And Thursday also did see a judge determine that Hong Kong police must produce warrant cards to identify themselves as police officers in a case involving a social worker accused of obstructing the cops when she asked them to produce identification proving that they were indeed officers of the law!      

 

Earlier this week, lawyer-author Antony Dapiran was prompted to Tweet the following query: "How many more of these cases need to collapse before the DoJ stops wasting time and resources and public money prosecuting the thousands of arrests made last year on flimsy grounds...?"  Unfortunately, because it's not their money per se (but that of tax payers and such) that they're wasting, I don't think that these uncalled for prosecutions are going to be stopping anytime soon.

 

In what can amount to be a war of attrition and major testing of intelligent people's patience and tolerance, there sadly will be individuals who decide that they don't want to put up with all this anymore.  Thus it was that yesterday saw the Hong Kong government announce that Australian judge Justice James Spigelman has resigned from Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal and a warning from legal sector Legislative Councillor Dennis Kwok that more foreign non-permanent judges may resign from Hong Kong's courts in the near future because of concerns they have with the security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing.  (Put another way: confidence is waning in the true impartiality of Hong Kong's judiciary.)     

 

Against the odds though, there still are people within the system who are seeing that "rule of law" rather than "rule by law" continues to be practiced.  Thus it was that the Court of Final Appeal rejected pro-Beijing politician Rebecca Chan's appeal to hold on to her Legislative Council seat -- and, in doing so, effectively upheld a lower court’s ruling that she was not a duly elected lawmaker.

 

Seeing her efforts to hold on to that seat makes me all the more convinced that the pan-democrats would be walking into a trap if they were to voluntarily vacate hard-won Legislative Council seats to protest the government's postponement of the Legislative Council election and extension of the present Legislative Council term.  This is something that remains in the air, and something that is in the democratic camp's hands.  I just fervently hope that when the time comes to make the decision, they will act wisely and pragmatically (rather than let emotion and pure idealism prevail).       

Enjoying strolling along the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront sans tourist hordes (Photo-essay)

Earlier this week, the American and British governments issued travel advisories against visiting Hong Kong.  This says quite a bit about the severity of the political situation that Hong Kong is in -- more so than it being threatened by the Wuhan coronavirus, in fact; something underlined by pro-democracy activist Sunny Cheung being the latest person to announce that he has fled Hong Kong. 

In truth, however, Hong Kong has been devoid of tourists from everywhere in the world for some months now (after the government imposed a ban on tourist arrivals in late March -- but walked back on its stated plan that same day to ban alcohol sales).  And even while hotels and other tourism-dependent parties rue the damage this has brought to their finances, many residents have been enjoying effectively having gotten parts of the city back from the tourist hordes (an uncomfortably large percentage of which have hailed in recent years from Mainland China)!  

This has particularly been the case with regards to Tsim Sha Tsui, the area with the highest density of hotels in Hong Kong (and, it can feel like, the most businesses catered to Mainland Chinese tourists).  And I don't think it's coincidence that I've happily spent more time in this section of Kowloon in recent months than I have in years!  Heck, I've even happily strolled along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, including the section that's home to the revamped Avenue of Stars, a few times in recent months -- something I'd otherwise be loathe to do because I'd want to avoid the madding crowds there!  For proof, check out the following photo-essay cobbled together from snaps taken from one cold weather afternoon and earlier this week!

My first visit to this part of Hong Kong in 2020 was far more enjoyable 

-- as well as considerably calmer -- than back in October 2019, when

 a bunch of us were effectively forced into the area by riot police... :S

 

The celebrity handprints and plaques are now displayed 

on the handrails (rather than down on the floor, like previously)

 

When walking over to the Avenue of Stars from the direction 

of the Tsim Sha Tsui end of the harbourfront promenade, 

the first celebrity statue one beholds is of McDull!

 

Another beloved Hong Kong icon: Anita Mui (who I always 

would think of when hearing Bloodstained Glory

at the annual June 4th vigil in Victoria Park)

 

Bruce Lee said, "Be water" 

 

The view across the harbour from the same waterfront 

promenade on a better weather afternoon earlier this week

 

Especially when the weather's nice, 

Hong Kong is really beautiful

 

I honestly don't think it's just my imagination that 

Hong Kong has had way more beautiful blue skies this year 

than any other year that I've lived here!

Confirmation that Hong Kong's third Wuhan coronavirus wave has subsided the day after its mega costly mass testing scheme concluded

Wuhan coronavirus fight advice 

"Made in Hong Kong" surgical face masks 

for sale at vending machines now

For the first time in quite some while (since July 4th, 73 days ago, to be exact), Hong Kong had no -- yes: nada, zero, zilch! -- new local daily Wuhan coronavirus cases today; with all four new reported cases having been imports (one each from India, Japan, the Philippines, and Rwanda).  Sadly, there's one additional death today to report; bring the total number of deaths from the coronavirus in the territory thus far to 103.  On the bright side though is it pretty much having been confirmed that the third -- and most deadly -- Wuhan coronavirus wave that hit Hong Kong has now subsided.     

Even before today's news, things were looking pretty good on the coronavirus front for Hong Kong when compared to the likes of Singapore and Tokyo as well as London, New York and Los Angeles.  In recognition of this, the Hong Kong government has announced the relaxation of several social distancing restrictions beginning this Friday.  These include the reopening of bars, swimming pools, karaoke lounges and even Hong Kong's two major theme parks (Ocean Park, which I've been to a few times over the years; and Hong Kong Disneyland, which I've still never set foot in, and don't ever intend to).  Also, restaurant dining hours will be extended until midnight.  (But -- surprise, surprice (Not!) -- the ban on public gatherings of more than four people will stay.) 

The powers that be also probably realized that it wouldn't do to further extend its Beijing-backed "Universal Community Testing Programme" beyond yesterday (after having extended it twice already) which has been revealed to have cost HK$530 million to run!  And with just 42 positive results having been made, that effectively means that each of those positive cases cost HK$12,619,048 to discover (less than the HK$40 million amount estimated earlier by Apple Daily but a ridiculously hefty sum nonetheless)!

I'm sure that the government would say that if the 4-5 million people (from Hong Kong's 7.5 milillion population) that Health Secretary Sophia Chan estimated would take the tests had done so, more positive cases would have been found and this mass testing scheme would have been more worth its cost.  As things stand though, the total number of tests taken by yesterday was officially estimated as "around 1,783,000" -- and it's worth noting, even then, that there are reports of some people having gone and taken the tests more than once! 

Re those people who took the tests more than once: it's their right, I guess, since these tests are meant to be voluntary. But one still wonders why they decided to do so.  To help inflate the embarassingly low numbers? Sadly, that's quite likely as these tests have effectively turned into a referendum on how much the Hong Kong people trust the government (to actually be doing something for sound medical rather than political reasons, to not collect their DNA for something nefarious, etc.) -- and the answer is pretty clear: not much at all.

Throw in other factors like groups of people being pressured by the pro-Beijing/Communist Chinese-owned companies they work for to take the tests, and the number of true volunteers taking the test goes down further. In a seemingly last ditch attempt to drum up more support, Mainland Chinese medical workers administering the tests gave statements to reporters about the sacrifices they had made: like work up to 12 hours per day, with the heavy workload even causing hand and shoulder injuries to some.  Details also were shared about some having even been working eight hours straight without a break, and resorting to wearing adult diapers to avoid going to the toilet!

I guess this kind of thing impresses people in Mainland China. In Hong Kong, however, the reaction has been quite different.  As local lawyer Kevin Yam Tweeted on the matter: "Wearing diapers to minimise breaks in #coronavirus testing exercise: What might genuinely be considered in Mainland China as a heroic commitment to get the job done would instead be considered in #HongKong as unhygienic, inhumane and/or simply contrived and needless"!  And "Saikung Reader" was moved to Tweet that "Someone in Gov needs to read the Labour Dept’s Guide on Rest Breaks"!

In short, it really can feel like "One country: two different worldviews".  And even while people keep on bemoaning the death of "One country, two systems", there's still obviously enough differences between Hong Kong and Mainland China for such as the relatives of the 12 Hong Kongers currently detained in Mainland China to want to see their return to Hong Kong.  At the same time though, it's true enough that crucial differences really can feel like they are being chipped away; prompting the American and British governments to update their travel advisories for Hong Kong in recent days to warn of "abitrary arrests" now being a real possibility in this part of the world as well as Mainland China as a result of China's imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong.