An update on the arrested Stand News folks before anything else: former chief editor Chung Pui-kuen and acting chief editor at the time of his arrest, Patrick Lam, were charged with conspiring to publish seditious material on Thursday. The same charge of conspiring “to publish and/or reproduce seditious
publications” was levelled against Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited, the
organization behind Stand News. Expectedly (though still sadly), Chung and Lam also were denied bail.
Four of the seven people arrested on Wednesday were granted bail though. All of them former Stand News board members, they are lawyer Margaret Ng, singer-actress-activist Denise Ho, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service Christine Fang Meng-sang, and former science page editor Chow Tat-chi. Former Apple Daily associate editor, Chan Pui-man remains in custody though -- like her husband Chung Pui-kuen. This is because she is facing national security law charges based on her work with Apple Daily.
With this and so much more in mind, it stands to reason that 2021 was not the happiest of years for Hong Kong, and thus for me. And
I would say the same of 2020 and 2019, really. Truly, Hong Kong
deserves a break and, as it is, I'm amazed at the resilence people have
displayed as it is.
Given this situation, the fact that people persist and are refusing to be hopeless as we go into 2022 is actually an achievement of sorts. More than incidentally, the mood of many Hong Kongers can be gauged by New Year's messages like these: wishing that good people will find peace in the new year; hoping to live, if not live well; and calls for Hong Kongers to stay strong and continue to be supportive of one another in 2022.
As for myself: Here's wishing everyone who f**king loves Hong Kong a healthy, safe and happy new year. Hope springs eternal (even in trying times -- and boy, have they been so in recent years), and remember: we are not alone.
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