A winter solstice that felt punishingly long here in Hong Kong

Old graffiti imploring people to "Never forget 

(why you started to protest)" still visible in Central

 

New shutter art paying tribute to Hong Kong pro-democracy 

protestors at the newest branch of Herbert Chow's Chickeeduck

 

For a (short) time today, I found myself cheering the Hong Kong police's successful tracking down and capture of a wanted individual.  It took "Asia's finest" (not) some 54 hours to find a 63-year-old man infected with the Wuhan coronavirus who fled from his isolation room at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Friday evening -- but, hey, they did get their man and, in so doing, get an infectious as well as infected individual off the streets.

 

All too soon though, I was back to feeling less than happy with the authorities.  First, came the news that the Court of Final Appeal had ruled that the mask ban Chief Executive Carrie Lam introduced back in October of last year was constitutional, along with the colonial-era law she used to bring it in.  Coming as it does at a time when people are required to wear masks in public (to protect against the Wuhan coronavirus), this means that Hong Kong's top court has made it so that it would be illegal to wear a mask but also illegal to not wear a mask should one take part in a protest, regardless of whether said protest is authorized or not!  

Quite apart from the confusion of Hong Kong simultaneously having a mask ban and a mask-wearing regulation, this development makes it all the more likely that no protest will be given a letter of no objection by the police as long as any Wuhan coronavirus threat is deemed to exist.  As Apple Daily's principal reporter, Alex Lam, also pointed out: "This [decision[ grossly violates the right to express opinions anonymously" and will discourage those individuals who face actual risk of retaliation (including from their employers or even family members) from taking part in even the authorized assemblies.

 

Adding to the worries is that when the likes of Holmes Chan and Antony Dapiran looked at the fine print of the ruling, they saw quite a few problems with it.  One big one is that the judgement privileges one narrative about the protests over the other; and, in so doing, Hong Kong's top court is aiding in the erasure of alternative accounts and rewriting of history before our eyes.  Then there's the narrative that has been favored actually being founded on falsehoods.  For example, the Court of Final Appeal ruling mentions that acts of protestor violence in 2019 included "stopping motorists and extorting mobile phones or money by threatening to damage their vehicles"; something that I, for one, am hearing about for the very first time today -- in no large part because I am not party to pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation.    

 

Another upsetting court ruling came in the afternoon when the High Court dismissed a challenge by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) over claims that police had acted unlawfully by failing to make sure the media could carry out their duties while reporting on protests.  In the aftermath, the HKJA argued that there are deficiencies in the current mechanism for filing complaints against the police, and it is very difficult to hold officers accountable through existing channels and legal remedies.  It also stated that while journalists could not give evidence in court to back up their claims, the public can decide for themselves whether police have obstructed the media, by looking at all the footage available (some of which I am presenting here, here and here).  

 

Outside of the courts, there also was dismaying news that came by way of  Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan.  In addition to stating this afternoon that all existing social distancing measures – such as the restaurant dine-in ban from 6pm, and the closure of facilities such as gyms and entertainment venues – will be extended to at least January 6th, 2021, she also announced that Hong Kong will suspend flights from Britain from midnight after a more infectious coronavirus variant was found there.  And while the ruling "only" restricts arrivals from Britain, Cathay Pacific has gone ahead and announced that it is cancelling all of its passenger flights to as well as from Britain until (at least) January 10th, 2021.

While I realize that this is a health measure (which various other territories have also gone ahead and implemented), the timing is pretty awful as far as those Hong Kongers with British National Overseas (BNO) passports are concerned: in that January 2021 happens to be when a new visa scheme for BNO passport holders, which paves the way to migration and citizenship, is scheduled to begin.  And for the record: Back in July, Carrie Lam had casually mentioned the possibility that she might restrict Hong Kongers from leaving the city to protect public health; so this was indeed an action that she had not been mulling for some time!  (And this despite her having stated back on March 24th that the Basic Law provides freedom for Hong Kong residents to enter and leave the territory.)  

 

One last development that I'll mention on a winter solstice that has ended up feeling plenty long: Nathan Law has revealed in an article he wrote for The Guardian that he has submitted a refugee claim to the British government.  Six months after he fled Hong Kong, he continues to speak out for Hong Kong -- from outside of Hong Kong, where he is able to speak more freely.

 

Among one of his messages he seeks to impart to the world is that: "For a long time too many laboured under the fantasy that China would be a strategic partner to the west, perhaps even one part of the democratic world.  The process of awakening from this illusion takes time."  The substantial time it is taking may result in Hong Kong not being able to be "saved".  But it may be thanks in no small part to Hong Kong that the world is waking up to the Chinese nightmare.  

 

The way Peter Dahlin sees it, this is down to Xi Jinping being far from the great leader he wants people to believe he is.  Instead: 

In handling China’s foreign relations especially, Xi has been nothing but incompetent. Domestically too, he has virtually shunned all reform, other than bolstering his grip and that of the CCP. This points to a leader who has no idea how to move the country forward.

It’s not that China’s power is not growing under Xi’s leadership, but rather that its power is growing significantly more slowly because of his leadership failures. That slowdown has in effect thrown the West a lifeline of sorts, giving it the time needed to get its act together and offer an alternative to China’s nightmarish vision of a world order.