Hong Kong Pride Parade Day 2020

At the most recent Pride Parade that was allowed to 

take place on the streets of Hong Kong

 

A message and sentiment that still resonates in 2020

 

Some color and whimsy are also pretty much always welcomed :)

 

For the second straight year, there will be no Pride Parade on the streets of Hong Kong.  Instead, 2019 saw a static pride rally in Central after the Hong Kong police banned the annual march over safety concerns (hmmm...) while 2020 has seen the pride parade go online after the Hong Kong police again refused to provide a letter of no objection for the event -- citing Wuhan coronavirus pandemic fears this time around.   

With things going the way they are doing in Hong Kong (with pretty much every planned march getting banned; the latest being what would have been a journalists' march to highlight the suppression of the media and issues such as the arrest of the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) producer Bao Choy Yuk-ling), I'm thinking the odds are pretty low that there'll be a Pride Parade in 2021.  Too bad since the 2018 Pride Parade had been such a wonderfully joyous as well as rainbow colored affair which brought together gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals, couples, singles, parents, children and so forth -- all united in calling for equality for all under the law.

 

More than incidentally, heterosexual people are welcome to participate in the Pride Parade.  Just as men can be feminists, heterosexuals can be allies and friends of LGBT folks, after all.  And while 2018 saw me participating for the first time in a Pride Parade in Hong Kong, it was not the first Pride Parade I took part in -- with my maiden participatory foray having taken place decades ago when I was living in Philadelphia.  

The reason for my deciding to go march came out of an incident in a classroom at the university that I was attending in Philadelphia.  It involved the professor being casually making disgustingly homophobic remarks of the kind that just would not have been accepted in the much more liberal liberal arts college that I was an undergraduate student at.  

 

Going from a college where I had so many lesbian, gay and bisexual friends that I sometimes joked about being moved to wonder who at the college was actually heterosexual to one which was noticeably more conservative, socially and politically, had been quite a shock to the system.  Even so, I honestly hadn't realized -- and thus was pretty shaken -- that homophobia was so tolerated, probably even condoned, in that particular place and institution of higher learning.  (And the fact that the homophobic professor was an anthropologist really did make things seem so much worse in my eyes!)

 

So caught off guard was I by the homophobic remark that I actually hadn't issued any protest in the classroom.  So when I heard of a Pride Parade taking place on campus a few weeks later, I figured taking part in it would be a good way to make amends for my silence in the classroom that day.  Thus it was that I came to take part in my first protest march ever -- but by no means my last; with Hong Kong being the part of the world where I've taken part in so many protest marches over the years.  

A reminder re why Hong Kong is such a city of protest: it has never been fully or really democratic.  In lieu of voting for what was always a rigged Legislative Council (which recent events have now made into a rubber stamp legislature), people have often sought to make the voices heard on the streets.  But while the authorities are doing their utmost to deny people even that, they have not succeeded in silencing us yet.  

 

Instead, people find alternative venues to voice their concerns and demands such as  Apple Daily ads, online (like with this year's Hong Kong Pride Parade participants) and even pop concerts like the Tat Ming Pair's last night!  As one of the chants I've heard at Pride Parades go:  "We are loud; we are proud; get used to it!" (And should it not be apparent: no, we are not dead yet!)

Yet another sad day for Hong Kong as its Legislative Council is turned democrat-free

When this photo was taken three years and four months ago, there were 

Legislative Councillors as well as ousted legislators among them...

 

As of tomorrow though, there'll be just former 

Legislative Councillors in even this wider picture :(

 

This afternoon, lawyer-political commentator Antony Dapiran Tweeted that: "Dammit I am so sick & tired of writing “A sad day for Hong Kong”..."  (https://twitter.com/antd/status/1326424281727832067).  Me too, Antony, me too.  

For the record: Today, Beijing went ahead and disqualified four pro-democracy members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council.  The Hong Kong government announced the disqualification after China's National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) passed a resolution earlier in the day saying that legislators who promote or support Hong Kong independence, refuse to acknowledge China’s sovereignty over Hong Kong, ask external forces to interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs or commit other acts that threaten national security should be disqualified.  

 

The fact that Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam openly admitted that she was just the messenger -- or, actually, errand girl -- for Beijing really made clear that "One country, two systems" is dead.  So, really, the question now is: why is she still being paid a salary of over HK$5.21 million (~US$667,680) a year?!

 

As promised just two days ago, the pan-democrat bloc have announced their resignation enmasse from Legislative Council after Beijing moved to (further) disqualify members of their camp.  In so doing, Hong Kong's Legislative Council will become like China's National People's Congress: devoid of a genuine opposition and really just a rubber stamp institution.

Already, there has been international condemnation of Beijing's ousting of Hong Kong's legislators (even as pro-Beijing vultures like Regina Ip sought to heap criticism blame on the pan-democratic camp).  But will real action follow the words?  The answer, I suspect and fear, is: No.  Though, of course, the possibility does exist.

 

This past Monday, Canada's The Globe and Mail published a piece entitled "With 3.4 million nationals in Hong Kong, Canada and allies have more influence than they realize: expert".  The expert in question, is a Hong Kong-born political scientist at the University of London’s SOAS China Institute.  

 

In his testimony before the special Commons committee on Canada-China relations, which is considering how the Canadian government should respond to Beijing’s repressive moves in Hong Kong, Professor Steve Tsang stated the following:-

If you [add up] the Canadians and the [British National (Overseas)] passport holders and the Americans and the Australians and the New Zealanders passport holders together, you are talking about the bulk of Hong Kong’s economic lifeline...

If they all leave Hong Kong because of ... Chinese government policy, [Beijing] will have to think hard about this...

At the moment the Chinese government does not believe any of these governments will stand by their nationals in Hong Kong, who are mostly in fact dual nationals. We have to persuade the Chinese government that yes we really mean it, for them to take it seriously.

...That is one thing that will really get [Beijing] to take notice, more than anything else. Individually none of us will be able to persuade the Chinese government to make any change.

And yes, it's so true that, right now, many of us here in Hong Kong are feeling so helpless as well as bereft; with the only thing we're clinging to now being that we are not alone -- in our misery but also attempt to hope against hope still that all is not lost.  Yet.  

Hong Kong continues to struggle against political oppression in the wake and shadow of the American presidential election

Demands made at the first protest march I participated in

in Hong Kong (back on July 1st, 2012) included (for) "1 person, 1 vote"

 

A reminder that the anti-extradition bill protestors' five demands

include (genuine) universal suffrage for Hong Kong

 

Despite spending the afternoon hiking on Saturday, I ended up staying awake until around 3 o'clock the next morning because very late that night (Hong Kong time), Joe Biden was announced as the winner of this year's American Presidential election; whereby my American Democrat friends promptly lit up my Facebook feed and rushed to share their joy with the world.  

 

Witnessing their sheer relief that good had finally triumphed along with ecstacy that their side had won, I thought back to the euphoria I had felt when seeing the results go in favor of the pro-democrat camp at the District Council elections last November 24th.  And I must admit to feeling rather jealous that they were able to vote this year -- unlike those of us in Hong Kong who were denied the chance to do so this year after the postponement of the Legislative Council elections which many sensed would see the pro-democrat camp capture an unprecedented majority of seats.

 

Even though they could not vote in the U.S. elections, many people in Hong Kong cared about how it would go because they look to that far away country's government to stand up to China -- for Hong Kong along with the Uighurs and Taiwan as well as the American people.  But while there were Hong Kongers who wanted to Trump to win a second term because they believe Joe Biden will be less tough on China, many foreign political analysts think the American government will continue to work to counter China's aggression -- and probably be more effectively doing so under the Biden administration.

 

For the record: I've long been anti-Trump.  (Yes, his administration has imposed sanctions against Hong Kong officials in recent months, and even today -- but it's worth recognizing that the likes of Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act had (rare) bi-partisan support.  And, honestly, there's so much wrong about him that I can't even bother to go into it.)  So the result of this American presidential election has gone the way I wanted.  

 

Actually, since last November 24th, every major election I've had an interest in has been won by the candidate I was rooting for!  And I really did experience joy from seeing Tsai Ing Wen be re-elected as President of Taiwan this past January and New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern prevail at the polls this past October -- more so than this past weekend, in no large part because their victories were so much more emphatic.

 

All of which adds to my regret that Hong Kong was not able to go to the polls on September 6th; and this all the more so since we would have then been spared the whole fiasco that has included Chu Hoi-dick, Ray Chan and Tanya Chan having decided that they did not want to stay Legislative Councillors in the wake of there being no election this year, and now the entire pan-democrat contingent threatening to resign enmasse if Beijing (via its Hong Kong government lackeys) moves to have any more of them disqualified.

There are people who, to this day, believe that the pan-democrats will be playing into Beijing's hands if they do in fact leave the Legislative Council.  Back in September, I agreed with Stephen Vines that it was of benefit to Hong Kong to have opposition members in the Legislative Council to do such as officially calling the government to account.  Also, as he pointed out in his Apple Daily article, "the system has long been rigged and has dubious democratic credentials."  So it wasn't as though fighting against the odds in that legislative chamber would be anything new.

At the same time though, the circumstances really are being made harder and harder for those who value democracy and freedom to stand one's ground here in Hong Kong.  In the case of the pan-democrats still serving in the Legislative Council, the removal of their ability to filibuster really could make them weaponless.   

Yet, it's not like Hong Kongers have entirely given up their fight and are now just waiting for such as the American goverment to come and save them.  On the education front: even as the government seeks more power to punish teachers, many school principals say they are pushing back against attempts by pro-establishment figures to name and shame teachers accused of misconduct and other wrongdoing.  

 

And after appearing in court for her hearing this morning, RTHK journalist Bao Choy Yuk-ling reiterated her feeling that "I truly believe I will not walk alone" as well as that "this incident is no longer a personal matter but a matter related to public interest and press freedom in Hong Kong".  In other words: even while we wish for the world with Hong Kong, Hong Kongers are continuing to stand with one another -- against political oppression, and for freedom and democracy.   

A rejuvenating hike up to Ma On Shan Country Park's Ngong Ping Plateau and then down to Mui Tsz Lam with a good friend (Photo-essay)

It's not been a great week for Hong Kong; what with a number of political arrests of politicians and journalists (not just Radio Television Hong Kong's Bao Choy Yuk-ling but also another female reporter -- this one from online media outlet Ben Yu Entertainment -- identified only as "Ho") having taken place along with such "developments" as the launching of a "snitch" line which reportedly received more than 2,500 "tip offs" in the first 24 hours of its operation and a man getting dealt a 55-day prison sentence for throwing one single metal can onto the road in Sai Wan Ho last November 11th.  

 

But I'm in better spirits than might be expected -- thanks to having spent time hanging out with a few friends in recent days.  For example, today saw me going on a rejuvenating hike on what turned out to be a beautiful blue sky afternoon up to the Ngong Ping plateau in Ma On Shan Country Park and then down to Mui Tsz Lam with the woman that I often describe as my oldest friend in Hong Kong (not in age but in terms of the length of our friendship!).   

More than incidentally, this particular friend of mine was one of the people who was at Admiralty on June 12th when the police started firing tear gas and beating up anti-extradition bill protestors.  And while hiking this afternoon, we couldn't help but talk about our fears of what all that inhaling of tear gas has done to our lungs (since we are among those Hong Kongers who've inhaled it more times now than we can actually remember).  At the same time though, we actually did manage to complete the hike okay -- and even enjoy our afternoon's countryside excursion (which really did offer up a number of splendid sights).  So I guess we're more resilient than we might think... and, yes, really do f**king love Hong Kong!

 

A beautiful day for a hike in the Hong Kong countryside!

 

Quite a few cows decided the Ngong Ping plateau

was the place to be this afternoon too! ;b

 

Pyramid Hill dominates the landscape at the plateau

 

The actual plateau is visually not to be sniffed at too! :)

 

Ditto, especially on a clear day like today, the view from

Ngong Ping plateau of Sai Kung town and the peninsula beyond!

 

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the Ngong Ping plateau

but there were other sections of trail to go on

 

At Mui Tsz Lam, I looked back up at the mountains

and caught sight of this series of seasonal waterfalls

(which I had never seen on my previous visits to the area!)

 

Also not seen on my previous visit to the area: this terraced

plot of land currently under cultivation! :O

No arrests today but still plenty of troubling developments taking place in Hong Kong

A reminder of how beautiful Hong Kong can be

 

A Lego ad with a message that's applicable to a larger world!

 

The eyes of much of the world remain transfixed on the USA and its still ongoing election saga.  Even many Hong Kongers have had given quite a bit of attention to the political events unfolding half a world away (but with what many believe will have major ramifications over on this side of the globe). At the same time though, Hong Kongers need to keep an eye on what's happening domestically; and  hope that the world have not looked completely away from what's going on in Hong Kong (and Beijing) and has not looked away as it's not at all as if the persecutions and repression have stopped in recent days.  

 

So it meant a lot to many Hong Kongers to see that the United States government actually did take time to call on the Chinese Communist Party "and their Hong Kong proxies" to cease their efforts to crush press freedom in Hong Kong in the wake of journalist Bao Choy Yuk-ling arrest's on Tuesday.  Ditto re our seeing that Bao Choy is standing her ground post getting out on bail, and going ahead and Tweeting earlier today that: "Words can't express my gratitude for the help and blessing from my friends, fellows, and everyone who support #PressFreedom . We may have to walk in the shadow of journalism greatness, but we will never walk alone" (https://twitter.com/Baochoy/status/1324182615566397440).

 

Should it not be readily apparent: Hong Kongers need to stay strong and continue to have support from others because they are under great threat from very powerful forces.  Michael Chugani states it very clearly in an article published today that dramatically outlines the following:

Beijing is now systematically ripping out Hong Kong’s soul, changing the city as we know it. At least 10 of the 21 opposition lawmakers who chose to remain in the extended Legislative Council have been arrested for various charges.

Another three who chose not to remain also face charges, as do numerous other opposition figures. Many opposition election candidates have been disqualified. Anti-government protests have become a thing of the past. The opaque national security law’s many red lines gives the government a free hand to define free speech and what constitutes a security threat.

Many Hongkongers now believe Beijing’s ultimate goal is to stifle political dissent, kill off the opposition, control media freedom, weaken our independent judiciary, and turn Legco into a rubber stamp. That will make Hong Kong like the mainland, where speaking your mind is taboo.

And although there were no new political arrests today, the Hong Kong police did do something else to threaten Hong Kong's distinct culture and society.  More specifically, the local constabulary has launched a hotline inviting people to report suspected breaches of the SAR's national security law.  In other words: they have established a "snitch" line to encourage people to -- shades of East Germany's Stasi, the Nazis' Gestapo and the Chinese "Cultural Revolution" -- spy, inform on and betray their fellow Hong Kong residents, neighbors, colleagues, and even friends and family.

Also, while I can count on my fingers the number of times I've actually heard the Chinese national anthem being played in Hong Kong, I may well be hearing the March of the Volunteers a lot more often in the not so distant future; with plans in the offing for it to get played much more often than has thus far been the case.  On a related note: There appear to be quite a few more Chinese national flags waving about in Hong Kong since -- if not July 1st, then October 1st.  Either that or their size has been markedly increased to make them harder to not notice when one passes by one hanging from a flag pole in front of a police station or school or atop some other building, be they government or privately owned!

Further threats to Hong Kong's press freedom by way of the shock arrest of a Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) journalist

 

Still alive and beautiful but not able to fly as easily as it would like, 

with wings that are no longer whole: a visual metaphor for Hong Kong? 

First, the Hong Kong police did nothing on July 21st, 2019 -- or, at best, arrived late at the scene of a terrible attack inside Yuen Long MTR station.  Then, on August 26th of this year, they arrested victims of the attack (including Democratic Party legislative councillor Lam Cheuk-ting) and sought to rewrite history by painting an alternative picture of what happened that night.

One major reason why they have not been able to plausibly do so is that the press (including in the person of Gwynneth Ho, then a Stand News reporter, now a political activist) were there to live stream and bear witness to what was happening on the night.  And in aftermath, the likes of the New York Times and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) produced in-depth investigative videos of the Yuen Long attacks; with RTHK's Hong Kong Connection program revisiting the incident again -- and providing additional information -- and uploading that particular episode onto Youtube just a few days ago.

For this and many other reasons, Hong Kong's sole public broadcaster has ended up in the powers that be's bad books.  RTHK has been under threat for some time now; and the Hong Kong police force have shown their displeasure by doing such as ending the partnership which had enabled the production of  Police Report, a weekly program telling the public about recent crime trends and giving crime prevention advice that had run for 47 years before its termination this year. Then today, the police took things further by arresting the producer of RTHK's Yuen Long attack programs.     

 

Coming the day after legislative councillor Ted Hui's arrest and two days after the arrest of seven other democratic political figures, this latest negative "development" is pretty shocking.  (I realize Hong Kong is now effectively a police state, especially after the implementation of China's national security law for Hong Kong, but, in all honesty, we never want to get to thinking or accepting that this is all to be expected and "the new normal".)  A measure of the scale of the shock can be seen by the likes of The Guardian (over in the UK) giving Bao Choy Yuk-ling's arrest front page coverage on its website on the USA's election day.    

 

Over here in Hong Kong, pro-democracy politicians released statements that Choy's arrest represents a clear arrest on Hong Kong's press freedom.  RTHK also has reported that the chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Chris Yeung, was upset by the arrest of their station's producer and has accused authorities of “exhausting every possible way” to make life difficult for journalists who are trying to uncover the truth.  

 

It really is stressful to be a reporter in Hong Kong these days, and maybe more so if you work for RTHK than many other organizations.  (In fact, I sometimes wonder who actually feels more under pressure: the staff of RTHK or Apple Daily!)  Something that should be of some comfort though to these journalists: that senior people in their organization still will come to their defence, and pretty promptly too.  In Choy's case, RTHK's Director of Broadcasting, Leung Ka-wing, went on the record within hours of the news of her arrest to state that that the organization is "afraid" and "worried" but will not alter its editorial principles or stop investigative reporting.     

 

Sad but true: this is something that can't be taken for granted anymore in Hong Kong -- along with senior personnel of major organizations being moved to do the right thing.  Indeed, also today, the New World First Bus company came out and stated that it will not provide legal assistance to its driver charged with careless driving after sounding his horn at a protest unless he pleads guilty!  Consequently, the driver may end up applying to the 612 Humanitarian Fund established to help arrested protestors with such as legal assistance even though he was actually working on September 6th rather than actually out protesting on the street that day!   

Eight more political arrests in the past 48 hours in Hong Kong

 

Outside the Legislative Council Complex during the

Occupy phase of the Umbrella Movement

 

 

Both the Legislative Council Complex and Central Government 

Offices were much less easier to get near come May of this year :(

Two days ago, Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp celebrated seven anti-extradition bill protestors being cleared of charges of rioting during a protest in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay on August 31 of last year; with the judge ruling that the prosecution has failed to prove the offences beyond all reasonable doubt.  Less than 24 hours later, the Hong Kong police arrested the exact same number of pro-democracy politicians on charges relating to a chaotic Legislative Council committee meeting on May 8 that carry a penalty of a HK$10,000 fine and imprisonment for up to 12 months. 

 

The Democratic Party's Wu Chi-wai, Andrew Wan and Helena Wong, the Labour Party's Fernando Cheung and Steven Kwok, People Power's Ray Chan and independent activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick generally represent the moderate sections of the pro-democracy camp.  If even this septet are being seen as enemies of the government, then it shows how extreme -- and intolerant -- the Hong Kong government has become.

 

At a media briefing yesterday, the police stated that they did not rule out more arrests.  And so it proved, with Ted Hui becoming the eighth pro-democrat politician arrested over the May 8th "LegCo mayhem" earlier today.  In a Hong Kong where "lawfare" has become pervasive and which has more and more clearly become a place where there are different sets of rules for pro-Beijingers vis a vis pro-democrats, it almost goes without saying that, as the RTHK article observed, "No members of the pro-Beijing camp have been arrested over the chaos."

 

Adding insult to injury was that among the eight arrestees are one (Ray Chan) who TV cameras clearly showed having his shirt collar grabbed and then being dragged several meters and to the ground by a pro-Beijing legislative councillor during the May 8th melee and another (Andrew Wan) who also ended up requiring medical treatment and being stretchered away by an ambulance crew!  It's also worth noting that a third member of this octet, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, was the top vote getter of the 2016 Legislative Council elections -- with the 84,121 votes he received putting such as Carrie Lam's 777 and Leung Chun-ying's 689 truly in the shade and to shame.

 

Long time political observer, Stephen Vines, reports that: "A member of the pro-democracy camp believes that the spectacular show staged by the police and the Department of Justice (DoJ) is nothing but a warning to the current democratic lawmakers to immediately disengage in parliamentary protests so that LegCo can resume “normal” as it was before June of last year. This is because Beijing and the Hong Kong government urgently need to convince the international community that the city is “business as usual.”"

 

Weeks ago, when the pan-democrat camp was deciding whether to stay or leave Legislative Council in the wake of Carrie Lam's announcement back on July 31st that this year's elections would be postponed for (at least) a year, there were arguments made in favor of their remaining in the posts that they had been elected to four years ago (as well as against).  And while I had agreed with Stephen Vines then that "elected democrats have a responsibility to serve the people who elected them" and that "part of the defence of liberty involves the democracy camp clinging onto positions it already holds" as well as thought that it would be better for there to be some opposition legislators in the Legislative Council -- even if they were in the minority -- rather than none at all, recent events have got me thinking that maybe those who had made the case otherwise could have been right after all.

 

If nothing else, witnessing the likes of Junius Ho controlling important Legislative Council panels is really painful.  It also adds credence to the sense that "LegCo is now where the most odious rise to power while opposition voices are suppressed thru lawfare" (cf Jennifer Wang's Tweet at https://twitter.com/jenniferlywang/status/1322746650570321920)       

 

Looking for a silver lining in this cloud: All eight of the arrested individuals have been released on bail (unlike the likes of national security law arrestees Tong Ying-kit, Tony Chung and Tam Tak-chi).  And, at least for now, the Legislative Council's remaining pro-democrats have vowed that "we will not back down ... and we will continue to fight"; perhaps mindful that "As long as there is resistance, there is hope" and "It always seems impossible until it is done".