A Hong Kong film that will be screened at Cannes tomorrow (but probably never in Hong Kong)!

 

A now forbidden slogan scribbled on the wall back in 2019

 

I viewed a film this evening that contained the following quote: "When the press bows down to the authorities, the authorities will mistreat the citizens. This has always happened, worldwide, and it has happened to us."  Upon seeing this gripping account of bravura investigative journalism from Romania, I got to wondering how much longer it'll be before documentaries like Collective won't be allowed to be freely screened in Hong Kong.

 

Perhaps, in the interest of maintaining the appearance that Hong Kong's freedoms are intact even after the imposition of China's national security law for the Special Administrative Region, this will be for a good while yet for films like it which aren't made in Hong Kong and about Hong Kong.  On the hand, I think there is pretty much zero chances of a Hong Kong film that has the Cannes Film Festival has just announced as a late addition to this year's selection: with just the title of Kiwi Chow Kwun-kai's documentary alone bound to upset the powers that be here.   

 

This is a great pity; not least because, according to Variety's Patrick Frater, Revolution of Our Times -- yes, that's the title of the film in question -- "may be the most painstaking and detailed yet" of the documentaries that "chronicle the protests in Hong Kong and the brutal police crackdown".   (And of course I'd love to view this film in order to have my own opinion of it.  But since this is unlikely, I'm going to have to rely on others privileged to view the work to provide descriptions of it, including Screen Daily's Melanie Goodfellow, who has written about it being "both a macro overview of the events surrounding the protests, explaining both their geopolitical and historical context, and also present[ing] an up-close and personal picture of protesters on the frontlines of the demonstrations".) 

 

Additionally reported by both Frater and Goodfellow is that, in an emailed statement, Kiwi Chow expressed his "heartfelt gratitude to Cannes" for hosting the world premiere of his film (tomorrow) and went on to state that: "Hong Kong has been losing far more than anyone has expected. This good news will be a comfort to many Hongkongers who live in fear; it also shows that whoever fights for justice and freedom around the world, are with us! And Hongkongers are staying strong!"   

 

For those who didn't realize it, Kiwi Chow was one of the directors of 2015 short film anthology Ten Years.  Last July, another of that cinematic work's five helmers, Jevons Au, announced that he had left Hong Kong for Canada.  I've since been informed by an industry insider that two other Ten Years directors have also decided to go into exile within the past year.  

 

In contrast, Kiwi Chow has featured in articles published in recent weeks that make clear that he's still in Hong Kong and, also, that he's a member of the pro-democracy camp.  In a Reuters piece about "a scarred Hong Kong" earlier this month, the filmmaker talked about having taken out his camera out to film the protests and is quoted as stating the following: "The regime wants us to forget. I hope to use my camera to remember... We are resisting in our memories. We are resisting forgetfulness."

 

In another Reuters article, this one about people who still hope for democracy in Hong Kong, he stated that: "If I really get arrested, I will find comfort in the fact that I am being punished for carrying out justice. And so, I am at peace. I have already passed the challenge of fear."  Suffice to say that I consider him to be a truly courageous man and filmmaker, and sincerely hope that Hong Kong will not join the ranks of Iran in doing such as putting its filmmakers behind bars -- or even house arrest -- any time soon (because, yes, it's indeed a possibility -- something that tells you how much Hong Kong has changed in the past year or so).      

Hong Kong movie-related news that I wish I could wish away

Still a beloved Hong Kong movie hero after all these years

(unlike too many others)

 

As regular readers of this blog should know, I'm a long time fan of Hong Kong movies whose love of Hong Kong movies got me loving Hong Kong too.  So negative Hong Kong movie-related news can hit me harder than most and by this, I'd include reports of Hong Kong movie luminaries professing greater love for China (and, let's face it, money by extension) than their home city.

 

A couple of weeks ago, there was a Variety article listing who decided to publicly celebrate the Chinese Communist Party's anniversary.  Some of my fellow Hong Kong movie fans -- particularly, it seems, those living overseas -- reacted with shock and horror to the report who listed a plethora of big names among the celebrants.  If truth be told, I actually didn't react as strongly because the vast majority of those on the list have long been known -- or, at the very least, suspected -- to be "blue" (i.e., pro-Beijing).  Yes, even Andy Lau, Chow Yun-fat and Wong Kar-wai, never mind Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan.       

At the same time though, I must say that the Hong Kong native who moved his base years ago to Beijing -- even while being on the record as being Australian -- really does continue to plumb new lows.  More specifically, earlier this week, the most reviled actor in Hong Kong declared on Chinese TV that he wanted to join the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and declared that "I think the Chinese Communist Party is really just so great".  

 

However, those pro-Beijingers who are applauding and celebrating Jackie Chan's proclamation might want to think twice after realizing that he is notorious for bad luck befalling brands associated with him (with a few not only losing money but ending up filing for bankruptcy and shutting up shop).  So should the CCP's fortunes start going downhill at some point in the not too distant future, it should know who and what to blame: the curse of Jackie Chan!   

If only Jackie Chan would start openly allying himself with the Carrie Lam administration and/or those charged with making sure that China's national security law for Hong Kong is applied to movies, among other things.  First, a recap: Back on June 11th, it was announced that Hong Kong movies can be deemed threats to national security and subject to censorship on those grounds.  While that's bad enough, consider the following declaration made yesterday by Commerce Secretary Edward Yau: "The filmmakers cannot claim that the film has received the go-ahead from the film censors as a defence against prosecution. Say, there is an activity in breach of the national security law, that's still punishable under the national security law."

 

Put another way: It appears that films that make it through Hong Kong's censorship checks may still be deemed to breach the national security law!  Put yet another way (because it all can seem rather bizarre and confusing): "When they censor your film, you will be refered to police and charged with conspiracy to subvert. If they let you show the film, you will be charged with committing subversion."

 

The sense I am getting is that the authorities want to frighten filmmakers -- and, for that matter, film distributors and cinema operators -- into not daring to make a film that looks like it is critical of the government or represents the kind of society and culture that Hong Kong has hitherto been!  At the very least, there will never be another film like Ten Years made.  Speaking of which: take a look at the image in this Tweet and be awed once again at how incredibly prescient that 2015 Hong Kong movie's makers were.  

 

I realize it's easier said than done but I think Hong Kong filmmakers, film distributors and cinema operators would do well to read Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.  In particular, Lesson #1 in the book is one that I think would be helpful for them to take on board in their current circumstance: i.e., "Do not obey in advance.  Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."

Finally, a reminder that today is the fourth anniversary of the death of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiabo.  A few days ago, a friend pronounced me an idealist.  There are days when I wish I could be an optimist too.  For if I were, I could, like that true Chinese patriot did in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, be able to confidently declare the following: "I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future free China. For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become.a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme." 

Hand Rolled Cigarette breathes new elements and life into the Hong Kong crime drama (Film review)

 

One of a number of posters out there for

Hand Rolled Cigarette

Hand Rolled Cigarette (Hong Kong, 2020)

- Kelvin Chan Kin-long, director and co-scriptwriter (along with Ling Wai-chun)

- Starring: Gordon Lam Ka-tung, Bipin Karma, Michael Ning, Ben Yuen, Singh Hartihan Bitto, Tai Bo

 

There are many elements in this 2020 crime drama that will be familiar to long time Hong Kong film fans.  Among these are the building that its protagonist calls home -- Chungking Mansions (most associated with Chungking Express but also seen in other Hong Kong cinematic offerings such as Fallen Angels, How Deep is Your Love, The Truth About Jane and Sam, and Cheap Killers) -- and also many faces and names among the movie's cast.  In addition, the early part of Hand Rolled Cigarette may get one thinking that it will follow the path of Fruit Chan's The Longest Summer, thanks to it similarly giving prominence to local military men who found themselves effectively abandoned when the British military pulled out of Hong Kong post Handover. 

 

The further one goes along into Hand Rolled Cigarette, however, the more it is apparent that actor turned helmer and scriptwriter Kelvin Chan Kin-long's film actually possesses a number of novel and creative touches along with unexpected twists and turns.  I also appreciate how he has come up with a crime drama that doesn't go the usual route of pitting cops against gangsters or even different groups of Triads versus each other; this especially since, post 2019 (in particular what transpired on 6.12 and 7.21), many local vieweres aren't all that keen on Hong Kong movies with cop or Triad heroes.  

 

Unusually, Hand Rolled Cigarette's lead character is a former serviceman patrolling the border areas with a band of brothers turned lone wolf reduced to living on his wits and risky money-making enterprises involving items as disparate as smuggled turtles and claw machines.  Now estranged from his military comrades, Chiu (portrayed by veteran actor Gordon Lam Ka-tung) is a friendless individual who's clearly down on his luck.  But even more luckless and troubled than him is Mani (Bipin Karma, making a very impressive Hong Kong film debut), an ethnic South Asian man who is left holding a bag of much sought after -- as well as highly illegal -- goods by his drug-dealing elder cousin and business partner, Kapil (Bitto Singh Hartihan).    

 

In what looked to be Mani's first stroke of good fortune in a while, he manages to elude his thoroughly villainous pursuers (headed by a scary individual played by Michael Ning) by seeking refuge in Chiu's cluttered Chungking Mansions apartment.  And while Chiu initially doesn't welcome Mani's presence in his pad (this not least he hadn't invited his unexpected houseguest in to it!), the two men soon get to striking a deal and then an unlikely friendship -- the latter of which is strengthened by the discovery that they have common enemies (in Triad Boss Tai (flamboyantly essayed by Ben Yuen) and his goons).

 

As might be expected of a movie with the kind of unambigously evil villains that it has, Hand Rolled Cigarette is a violent and dark crime story that contains action, thrills and spills in spades.  Its pretty remarkable extended climactic action scene delivers plenty of shocks and bloodshed, and isn't only the most painful looking that I've seen in quite a while but also features a great comment about Hong Kong beautifully delivered by the Hong Kong Film Awards' current Best Actor title holder, Tai Bo. 

 

As improbable as it may seem though, it's actually Hand Rolled Cigarettes quieter, social dramatic moments that I appreciate more.  They may seem to slow down proceedings but the interactions shown taking place between Mani and his young brother Mansu (played by Anees), Chiu and Mansu, and Chiu and a female friend from Mainland China (portrayed by Shui Jie) as well as between Chiu and Mani add valuable dimensions to the main characters and also this atmospheric offering as a whole.              

 

My rating for the film: 8.0

Too many people behind bars before their trial even begins but also too many people being insufficiently penalized for their sins in Hong Kong!

The area in front of SOGO on July 1st...

...and one week later: It's really hard to avoid 

the sight of the police these days in Hong Kong

Not that many years ago, when Hong Kong was so very different from the way it is now, a visitor I was taking around town asked me where the police were as she hadn't caught side of a single uniformed officer in the few days that she had been in the city.  These days, she'd be pushed to go for a whole day or even a few hours without catching sight of a group of police officers -- they never are out singly anymore -- or at least one police van.  An added measure of how much Hong Kong has changed is that the territory is now visited by few visitors here for leisure or even business.   

 

Something else to consider is that not that long ago, Hong Kong did not have a single political prisoners -- though it's worth remembering that its first political prisoners of the post Handover era were incarcerated back in 2017, two years before the territory saw millions of people taking to the streets to protest Carrie Lam's extradition bill and 777 herself.  In contrast, the number of Hong Kongers currently behind bars because of their political beliefs now number in the hundreds, if not thousands -- and include a good number who actually haven't been found guilty of any charges but have been denied bail while awaiting trial.     

Take, as an example, the majority of the 47 politicians and political activists formally charged back in late February under the national security law for their organisation and/or participation in a primary election for the now-postponed Legislative Council election.  With only 12 of them granted bail in the interim, 35 men and women have been languishing behind bars for more than four months now.  And yesterday, on what was supposed to be their first day on trial, the presiding judge decided -- upon the request of the prosecution -- to postpone the trial by a further 11 weeks to September 23rd even while refusing to grant bail still to the likes of Wu Chi-wai, Claudia Mo, Jeremy Tam, Ventus Lau and Jimmy Sham in tthe meantime.     

 

This leaves the trial of Tong Ying-kit, which began on June 23rd (close to one year after his arrest and incarceration on July 1st, 2020) and proceeded along to its 10th day today, as the only security law case currently taking place in court; this despite close to 120 people having been arrested under the security law since its coming into being on June 30th, 2020.  

 

In The Guardian's article about the postponement of the trial of the 47, it was noted that: "The national security law was imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing just 10 days before the primary [they organized and/or took part in], outlawing various acts as secession, subversion, foreign collusion and terrorism, and has been widely criticised as overly broad, draconian and for being used as a weapon against dissent."  Still, it's far from being the only weapon being wielded against pro-democracy politicians these days.

More specifically, the government has been accused by the likes of district councillors Paul Zimmerman of playing a "disqualification scare game" that involves the disqualification of district councillors if they refuse to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or are even adjudged to not be sincere about their pledge.  While this is a threat rather than reality for now, it's already prompted the resignation of dozens of pro-democracy district councillors, many of them scared by reports that they will be forced to repay their salaries and allowances to the government if they are disqualified; with the exodus continuing today and probably tomorrow and the day after that.    

 

And while she may not consider herself to be a politician, June 4th candlelight vigil organizer Chow Hang-tung is most definitely yet another Hong Kong political prisoner -- with the present tense being used because her (latest) appeal to be released on bail was rejected this afternoon.  Back on January 6th, the person known as Diplo Muggle on Twitter may have been guilty of exaggeration when he asserted that "EVERY HONG KONG POLITICIAN YOU HAVE HEARD OF [IS] NOW BEING ARRESTED."  But it can increasingly feel the case that pretty much every Hong Kong pro-democracy politician or political activist that people know about is either behind bars, or in exile.     

 

Adding to the sense of injustice is how those in government or affliated with them are allowed to get away (lightly) when they break the law and their thus not appearing to take rulings and restrictions -- even anti-pandemic ones -- all that seriously.  The latest scandal involves three senior Hong Kong officials  -- specifically, the Immigration Department Director (Au Ka-wang), Customs and Excise Commissioner (Hermes Tang) and Undersecretary for Security (Sonny Au) -- breaching social distancing rules for the Wuhan coronavirus by dining in a group of nine at a private club last March.

 

Should this seem like small potatoes, here's throwing out the additional detail that in that party of nine was a man subsequently accused of raping a woman during dinner!  And the police have confirmed that it was during its investigation into the rape case that they found out about the dinner gathering that had violated a ban on group gatherings.  All of which, at the very least, gets one questioning the kind of company that senior Hong Kong officials are wont to keep and getting one thinking that they're on the suspect side, if not downright bad! 

Threats to Hong Kong that I worry about and ones that I don't

Whither "Asia's World City"?

After I wrote my blog post last night, I went on Twitter to check a few accounts before calling it a night.  A Tweet by the Wall Street Journal's Newley Purnell jumped out at me and, in all honesty, not only jolted me wide awake but also unable to sleep soundly for pretty much the whole night.  I'm of course referring to the report that Google, Facebook, Twitter and a whole host of other tech companies are threatening to quit Hong Kong if the authorities move forward with a new privacy law that's "not aligned with global norms and trends".

 

For some time now, I've considered the day when the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter cease to be accessible from Hong Kong to be the day when I will have to leave this place that I have considered home for some time now.  And I've considered each day that the Great Firewall of China has not descended upon Hong Kong to be a blessing even while figuring that the arrival of that day is inevitable.   

 

What I didn't reckon on, however, was that the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter would consider pulling out of Hong Kong.  But the Asia Internet Coalition -- an industry group backed by Google, Facebook and Twitter, among others -- has voiced out its concern that Hong Kong's proposed anti-doxxing legislation would put locally-based staff of tech companies at risk of criminal charges and stated that, the way it sees it, "The only way to avoid these sanctions for technology companies would be to refrain from investing and offering their services in Hong Kong, thereby depriving Hong Kong businesses and consumers, whilst also creating new barriers to trade."  

 

Over on the Big Lychee, Various Sectors blog, Hemlock was moved to state the following and ask a super pertinent question: "Internet companies generally comply with such rules in other jurisdictions – but the laws are proportionate, and these are typically countries with rule of law and accountable governments. Police states, on the other hand, don’t allow Western social media sites in the first place. Which is Hong Kong?"

 

There still are some Hong Kong government officials who will maintain that Hong Kong is not a police state (even while other politicians have pretty much let the cat out of the bag and seem fine with it being so).  In that vein, Carrie Lam has counter asserted that the concerns raised by Facebook, Twitter and Google are unwarranted and would be proved wrong as the new law takes effect -- just as with the security law!

 

But as many of us know, ""Carrie Lam dismissed concerns…" is kinda evergreen" (with multiple examples supplied here of concerns she had dismissed turning out to be entirely justified).  Which is one reason why many people have come to hold the view that "it is meaningless to pay attention to what Carrie Lam is saying. There is nothing to come for. Not even hints at policy direction, since she has no say in those matters."    

 

Similarly, few people are wont to take seriously assertions by the police of bomb plots and the like -- the latest of which have seen six schoolchildren arrested along with three adults.  This is because more than once now (see here and here for examples), the "evidence" presented has been way too flimsy to be believed by other than the super gullible (even while this sadly still does not mean that these people will escape arrest and even imprisonment: for an example of an innocent being found guilty nonetheless by a Hong Kong judge, see the case of Samuel Bickett).   

 

Also, in all honesty, bombs tend to be associated in Hong Kong with pro-Beijing rioters (specifically those that made the summer of 1967 a bomb-strewn one in Hong Kong) rather than pro-democracy Hong Kongers.  This is not least because the "leftist riots" of 1967 resulted in 51 deaths, including 15 by way of bomb attacks; the most tragic of which involved two children -- a brother and sister aged 2 and 8 -- being killed by a bomb planted in a streetside dustbin in traditionally pro-Beijing North Point, and is yet another piece of Hong Kong history that the authorities will not want many people to recall.    

Drifting is a film about people on society's fringes (but) with messages that will resonate with many Hong Kongers (Film review)

A Hong Kong International Film Festival entry

given a theatrical run two months on

  

Drifting (Hong Kong, 2021)

- Jun Li, director, scriptwriter and co-editor (along with Heiward Mak)

- Starring: Francis Ng, Tse Kwan-ho, Loletta Lee, Cecilia Choi, Chu Pak-hong, Baby Bo Pui-yi, Will Or

 

This far from soporific sophomore effort from director-scriptwriter Jun Li (Tracey) was one of the offerings that I had wanted to view at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) but was unable to get a ticket for as its two fest screenings (including one at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre's cavernous Grand Theatre) sold out within minutes of ticketing having begun.  The second local film in recent years to focus on the homeless population in Hong Kong (after last year's I'm Livin It), Drifting sees its helmer focusing his attention once more on individuals considered to be on the fringes of Hong Kong society.

After being released from prison, Drifting's lead character, Fai (portrayed by Francis Ng), heads back to his old turf at the notoriously low income district of Sham Shui Po.  There, he meets up with old friends -- who include an elderly Vietnamese refugee (played by Tse Kwan-ho), a former club hostess who now earns her keep by washing dishes at a local eatery (essayed by Loletta Lee), a dread-locked former carpenter (portrayed by Chu Pak-hong) and a wheelchair-bound woman (played by Baby Bo Pui-yi) -- as well as gets his first "hit" of drugs before his return to "normal" (for him) life gets cut short when the authorities perform a street sweep that sees what to them are precious belongings -- and these people too -- being treated as trash.

 

With the help of sympathetic social worker Ms Ho (played by Cecilia Choi), they and other similarly mistreated street sleepers decide to sue the government -- and, Fai insists, get it to apologize for its faults.  (Drifting is inspired by a real-life court case.)  While waiting for their case to wend its way through the legal system and reach a verdict, Fai and his friends find a new place to live -- under a flyover -- and construct wooden huts for themselves that can better protect themselves against the elements.  

 

Against the odds, they form a close-knit community that comes to include a young man who prefers to play the harmonica rather than talk (played by Will Or) and -- to some extent, even though she does not live among them -- Ms Ho.  Accorded media attention because of the bid to see justice served (and the government pay for its wrongdoings), they also attract the attention of various do-gooders, including Father Franco Mello (played by himself) -- an Italian priest-social activist who had been the subject of Ann Hui's Ordinary Heroes (1999), whose lead actress was a certain Loletta Lee! -- and various highly idealistic as well as amusingly enthusiastic university students.       

In the wrong hands, Drifting could so easily have turned out to be "poverty porn".  Fortunately, Jun Li and his film's extremely able cast not only are able to emphasize the humanity of the ensemble drama's homeless characters but, also, make it so that many of their needs, wants and hopes are ones that many other Hong Kongers possess too.  Put another way: even while on one level, viewers can think "there but for the grace of God go I" with regards to the street sleepers, there will be moments when the thought that "we are in the same boat" probably will cross the minds of those Hong Kongers watching this movie (which benefits quite a bit too from the sterling cinematography of Leung Ming-kai).      

 

As an example: it's well nigh impossible not to get as angry and indignant as Fai and his friends when they are told that "You don't tell the police what to do".  Also, my sense is that many among Drifting's local audience will have wondered lately, as he does aloud while taking a ride on the Star Ferry, "What is so good about Hong Kong?"  And, perhaps most sadly of all, I am sure there are many people who wish they could leave the territory but feel unable to do so, like at least one of the film's most tragic characters.

  

There's no doubt about it: Drifting is not a movie that's going to make you feel that all's well with the world (or, for that matter, Hong Kong).  At the same time though, I actually didn't come out of my viewing of this insightful work wanting to slit my wrists or anything like that.  And I think that one big reason why this is so is that its characters are shown, in the grand scheme of things, to possess surprising amounts of dignity, modicums of agency and, above all, the ability to care for others -- the last of which can be especially encouraging and heart-warming.

 

My rating for the film: 8.0

The month of July has started off with (more) tragedy in Hong Kong

  

What now passes as "normal" now on anniversary days in Hong Kong

 

The police were out in force near that spot one year ago too...

 

Ditto at Victoria Park on July 1st, 2019

 

In recent days, Chinese flags and red banners proclaiming that "Hong Kong residents joyously celebrate the centenary of Chinese Communist Party and the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong’s reunification" have appeared in a number of parts of the territory.  Ditto re garish red trams and buses that look aesthetically super out of place in Hong Kong.

 

Out in force too on the streets on the first of this month were some 10,000 police officers who did such as close off Victoria Park for much of the day and a number of streets in nearby Causeway Bay too.  For the most part, they appeared to be concentrated in Causeway Bay harrassing innocent folks (including a young boy out shopping) and arresting people (including Grandma Wong once more) but I also spotted a number of uniformed cops at more than one MTR station entrance along with the Hung Hom side of the Cross Harbour Tunnel and what appeared to be plain clothes officers at certain bus stops.  And it was in Causeway Bay late on July 1st that a man stabbed a police officer and then stabbed himself.  

 

Before the end of the day, the man who has been identified as 50-year-old Leung Kin-fai was declared dead.  Disturbingly, there are accounts floating around (with photos as evidence) that after Leung stabbed himself in the chest, nobody at the scene attempted to give him first aid -- and, in fact, the police officers who were nearest to him were more intent on "subduing" him despite his bleeding heavily and even after he lost consciousness.  In short: it's being implied that the victim died because he was not attended to in time rather than because he killed himself.  (Meanwhile, the officer he stabbed is in stable condition two days after the incident.)

In the aftermath, it's been discovered that Leung Kin-fai had left notes, including one critical of the police and stating that the national security law had undermined people's freedoms.  Even before this came to light (or was made public), security secretary Chris Tang described Leung's actions as a "lone wolf terrorist attack".  Meanwhile, many Hong Kongers decided that the former Vitasoy staffer was a martyr, hero and/or "victim of the inhumane government" who was pushed to act in this violent manner out of desperation, not least because the authorities are outlawing even peaceful protest.  

 

For context: recall that June 4th vigil leader Chow Hang-tung was re-arrested on June 30th and had her bail revoked yesterday -- meaning that she now is behind bars while awaiting trial like the majority of the 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists on security law charges for having taken part in democratic primaries for the Legislative Council election (originally scheduled for September but then postponed) and a number of other of Hong Kong's political prisoners.  A reminder from AFP's Jerome Taylor: "Chow is not charged with a NatSec [National Security offence] or sedition (which these days is near guaranteed remand). She was charged with inciting an unlawful assembly" (an offence that, up until recently, was punished, at most, with a fine rather than any jail time). 

Until the past couple of years or so, I had associated knife attacks more with Mainland China than Hong Kong on account of the various stories I've read of the stabbings of such as schoolchildren by angry and/or mentally ill Mainlanders (see here, here and here).  And, actually, it was a (pro-Beijing) Mainland Chinese man who attacked (pro-democracy) local Hong Kongers in the first major stabbing incident that I took notice of: one at a “Lennon Wall” message board in Tseung Kwan O back in August 2019.  

 

Sadly, knife attacks appear to be one Mainland Chinese import that now has caught on in Hong Kong.  Witness "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung getting stabbed with a sharp object by a man outside the China Liason Office over in Sai Ying Pun in April of last year.  And it of course did not help that both the Tseung Kwan O and China Liason Office attackers were treated lightly by the judges at their trials: with the presiding judge offering sympathy to the Tseung Kwan O attacker and stating that he had made an "involuntarily sacrifice"; and "Long Hair"s attacker being adjudged to have a "passionate love for Hong Kong society" and sentenced to just three months and six days of jail time.  

 

As Diplo Muggle made explicit on Twitter: "You ask, how did Hong Kong radicalize? When a pro-government man stabbed protesters to near-death in Tseung Kwan O's Lennon Wall, the district court judge praised his "noble principles", refused to denounce his use of violence, and called him a "victim"."  It's also worth recalling the following pronouncement by John F. Kennedy: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable".