What passes for good news these days in Hong Kong

The scene at Edinburgh Place one year ago today

 

Also seen in the same area last December

 

The daily new Wuhan coronavirus case numbers for Hong Kong dropped to 63 yesterday; the lowest in a month.  And today's daily number is lower by 10 at 53.  That passes for good news in the Big Lychee these days as well as fuels hopes that our fourth coronavirus wave may have peaked.

 

Further positive news on the pandemic front came today with the announcements that: the Hong Kong government has now procured enough coronavirus vaccines to cover the territory's entire population; and the first vaccinations may take place as early as next month.  In addition, an indemnity fund will be established to provide financial assistance to anyone who suffers from serious complications as a result of the jabs.  

 

(This is probably a good time to put out a reminder that the Mainland China's Sinovac vaccine, which is due to be the first available in Hong Kong, is not yet approved and efficacy results from their Phase 3 trials have yet to be released.  Which is why it is important, and good, that Hong Kongers will indeed -- albeit subject to availability -- be given a choice as to which vaccine to opt for.)

 

Another welcome bit of news for many Hong Kongers comes in the form of Jimmy Lai having been (belatedly) granted bail after spending 20 days in jail on charges of fraud and the security law crime of "foreign collusion".  It is a measure of how bad things have become in Hong Kong though that people are breathing sighs of relief, even if not celebrating, despite unprecedentedly harsh bail conditions having been set for the pro-democracy media tycoon who Hong Kong's last British governor, Chris Patten, has designated as his "man of the year".  

 

In summary: Jimmy Lai's effectively under house arrest; he has to put up a cash bail of HK$10 million (~US$1.29 million) and HK$100,000 in surety; and he is barred from meeting foreign officials, accepting media interviews, publishing articles in newspapers or online platforms and or uploading posts on social media.  Oh, and he's also banned from asking foreign countries or institutions, organizations or individuals to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong and China; and has had to surrender his passport to the authorities.

 

Fingers crossed that he will remain out for a time.  At the very least, the devout Catholic -- who the Pope looks to have foresaken -- ought to be able to celebrate Christmas at home with his loved ones.  Which is more than can be said, sadly enough, for a good number of other pro-democracy Hong Kongers -- some of whom remain behind bars, others of whom have left home (with one of the latest announced to have gone into exile being Tsang Chi-kin, the teenaged protestor who was shot on October 1st, 2019, by a police officer).    

It also would be lovely if the Communist Chinese authorities also would forego their inclination to drop news that will be unpopular with the West over the holiday season.  However, it really would not be a surprise if they were to pile on the misery in Hong Kong in the coming days.  Indeed, it's already being reported by the local press that Beijing is planning a crackdown on local district councillors (the vast majority of whom are members of the democratic camp) this Saturday (Boxing Day, a public holiday in Hong Kong but -- almost needless to say -- not Mainland China).    

 

It's a measure though of how embattled, even resigned, many people are about the continued repression that all this has now come to be seen as inevitable.  People are hoping against hope but they also aren't blind to what's going on, after all.  Among other things, each day, it seems that more and more people are bidding farewell to, and leaving, Hong Kong.  Matthew Brooker's piece is so moving, and his writing so beautiful, that I can't not quote from it.  Here are a few passages that particular resonated:-

Now it is 2020. In this year of so much death, so many grim landmarks, the curtain has fallen with startling rapidity. I mourn for the extinguishing of an exuberantly free society that, over three decades, taught me so much: about resilience, pragmatism, humor, adaptability and optimism...

Hong Kong as an entity distinct from mainland China was the product of an act of international piracy yet became for a while perhaps the place in China that was most stable and orderly, and where people were the most free. Denied real democracy under the British and then under Beijing, it is the most democratically minded of societies. Flowers grow in compost; the darkness shows up the light...

Hong Kong will never go back to what it was, that much seems clear. Its fate will be dissolved into a larger destiny, as was always likely and perhaps inevitable. My poor adopted city. Designed for obsolescence but wanting more life, it did burn so very brightly.