On the eve of Good Friday, and National Security Education Day in Hong Kong

Banners up for National Security Education Day!

Tomorrow is Good Friday, the first day of a long weekend for Hong Kongers on account of it, the day after and Easter Monday being public holidays here and Easter Sunday being, of course, a Sunday.  It also happens to be National Security Education Day -- a day whose existence I (and pretty much the rest of Hong Kong) did not know about until last year, when it was commemorated for the first time in the territory.    

What with tomorrow being a public holiday and Hong Kong's fifth coronavirus wave not having fully receded (with 1,043 new Covid cases reported today, one of which is of the new Omicron BA.5 variant, and 54 more deaths), I imagine that this year's observations will be lower key in nature.  At the same time, Hong Kong's second National Security Education Day's not escaped the attention of Hong Kong Law Fellow, Eric Yan-ho Lai, who was moved to make Tweet the following earlier today: "The Hong Kong government marks National Security Education Day on Good Friday this year. Yea, Good Friday is about how Jesus was crucified because of an unfair trial and his conviction of sedition by the collaborators of Roman colonisers. Providence or coincidence?"

On the subject of education: The Hong Kong Free Press reported today that "At least 5,720 teachers have left Hong Kong’s local school system during the current 2021 to 2022 academic year so far, according to a Legislative Council document. That represents a more than 50 per cent rise in “drop-out teachers” from the previous school year."  This news follows "the news last Wednesday that the rate of teachers leaving the EDB’s native-speaking English teaching (NET) scheme had reached a five-year high."  So, clearly, there's been quite a teacher exodus in recent years out of the city.

 

The article ended with the following sentence: "Education secretary Kevin Yeung said there were “no substantive grounds” to link the departure of teachers to Hong Kong’s Covid-19 quarantine measures, which remain among the strictest in the world."  I actually am inclined to agree with him as far as local teachers are concerned, as I reckon many more teachers have left as a result of the national security law and censorship issues.

 

Just last week, a friend told me of her cousin, who is a teacher and avowedly "yellow" (i.e., pro-democracy), planning to migrate -- along with his parents -- before the end of this year.  (More than incidentally, my friend, who is a journalist by profession, is herself leaving Hong Kong next week.  And while another friend who was the first to leave Hong Kong in 2022 is not a teacher, she was a university professor.  So, yes, I personally know of people in the education field having left Hong Kong, and because of professional concerns that have cropped up in the wake of the passing of the National Security Law that National Security Education Day is supposed to educate people about.)

 

And on the subject of unfair trials: yesterday saw Allan Chung Kin-ping (AKA Max Chung) sentenced to 16 months in prison for organising a protest against the mob attacks at, and in the vicinity of, Yuen Long MTR station on July 21st, 2019.  In the off chance that you, dear reader, are unaware of or have forgotten about what transpired on the night of July 21st, 2019: here's a reminder that a horrific attack was undertaken by people seen as Triad gangsters at, and in the vicinity of, Yuen Long MTR station that, in view of Hong Kong being (hitherto) seen as a largely crime-free place, came as a massive shock to Hong Kongers. 

 

Adding to the shock of it all was that no police appeared for more than half an hour despite thousands of emergency calls having been placed by concerned individuals. Re how come there were so many phone calls: This being Hong Kong, a number of the people being attacked took to capturing on their smartphones images of what was happening and putting it up online via social media. There also was at least one "live stream" that ended up being viewed by tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Hong Kongers as a result of then Stand News reporter Gwyneth Ho having been at the train station (and, as it so happened, being one of the people beaten with long rods and other weapons).

And for the record: this is the same Gwyneth Ho who turned political activist and was one of the candidates in the July 2020 democratic primaries for the Legislative Council elections. For her sins, she -- along with 46 others -- was arrested on February 28th, 2021, on national security law charges. Denied bail, she has remained behind bars since; awaiting a trial that now is being seen as not properly starting until next year.

 

As for Max Chung: In societies where thug attacks on train passengers, journalists and such would be condemned, he'd be lauded for organizing a protest march against mob violence. Instead, this is Hong Kong; and he's considered a criminal and, indeed, is now a convict, and will be so for the next 16 months. How unjust and sad is that?     

A bad start to the week mitigated somewhat by the release on bail of Allan Au, and release from prison of Yeung Sum

 

Tide pools on an island which I have great memories of  

 

I'm one of those people who starts the day by reading the news.  This even though, more often than I'd  like these days in Hong Kong, this means that I'm hit with bad news early in the morning.  Such was the case yesterday morning.  Talk about an unhappy start to a new week!

But if the day and week started badly for me, think of poor Allan Au, the veteran journalist whose arrest by the national security police yesterday morning shocked and upset me so.  Arrested on a charge of “conspiracy to publish seditious materials”, the 54 year old former columnist for Stand News is the first writer (as opposed to a publication's senior staffer, management or owner) to have been targeted by the authorities.  As such, as Samuel Bickett observed, the Hong Kong police broke new ground in their repression of dissent yesterday.  

Somewhat unexpectedly, Allan Au was released on bail shortly before midnight.  While he did acknowledge the journalists who had been waiting for him outside Kwai Chung Police Station with a "Thank you everyone for your concern" message, he declined to answer any questions.  His reticence is understandable, given that he will have to report to the police again in July.  

 

In recent months and years, prominent political activists who have been released from jail have been similarly quiet(ened).  I think of the likes of Agnes Chow (who has hardly been heard from since her release from prison last June) and Edward Leung Ting-kei (who officially got out of prison in January but many people suspect is effectively under house arrest now), not just those out on bail on national security charges (like Helena Wong and Clarisse Yeung) or issued suspended prison sentences (like Martin Lee).

So it was a pretty big surprise to read that veteran politician Yeung Sum had given a short speech upon his release from prison, also yesterday, after completing his 14 month sentence for "participating in an unauthorised assembly on October 1st, 2019".  His statement included the following observation: "Hong Kong has become an authoritarian society, in which the government stresses social stability, obedience, loyalty and hard-line governance".  

 

The Hong Kong Free Press also reported that: "He said that, under the city’s authoritarian governance, liberties such as academic and press freedom will be restricted and dissenting views will be limited, but he urged Hongkongers to “hold fast,” continue to “speak the truth” and preserve the core values of democracy, human rights, freedom and the rule of law."  Brave words in contemporary Hong Kong indeed!

 

Of course, just because other people aren't so direct, it doesn't mean that they aren't still resisting and caring about the fate of Hong Kong.  A case in point: Allan Au wrote a beautiful social media post about what, on the surface, appears to be about tide pools last New Year's Eve which has been translated into English by his friend and fellow journalist/journalism professor, Yuen Chan.  Its evocative concluding lines: "When the tide comes in, the giant wave is merciless, but do not be afraid.  One day, we will meet again in a certain tide pool."

 

Another friend and fellow journalist, Kris Cheng, shared that "Allan Au has a daily ritual of posting “good morning” on Facebook and writing down some thoughts. Many would respond with “good morning”. Sort of a way to tell everyone, hey, I am ok."  Hopefully, he's back to carrying out this daily ritual, and that he will have good mornings -- and rest of the days -- for several days, weeks and months to come. 

Covid testing and Covid theater in Hong Kong

 

When a negative result is a positve thing! 

 

At one of her close to daily press conferences a few weeks ago, Carrie Lam announced plans for a three day mass Covid screening exercise which would be entirely voluntary.  To encourage people to take part, the government sent out "anti-epidemic kits" ahead of the exercise (scheduled to take place this past Friday, yesterday and today) containing 20 sets of rapid antigen test (RAT) kits, about as many packs of KN95 masks and two packs of Lianhua Qingwen Jionang, dubious "Chinese medicine" whose stated function [on the packs] is "to clear scourge; remove toxin; diffuse the lung and discharge heat" (what. the. hell?!).

 

Although I've been known to take 24 herbs tea when I feel a tickle in my throat (as I've found that it can help lessen my cold and flu symptoms), five flowers tea to help digestion (and to help alleviate bad breath!), and chrysanthemum tea or turtle jelly to help refresh and cool me in hot weather, I'm giving the Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang a hard pass.  Quite aside from my feeling sceptical that there are actual cures for Covid out there, this particular Chinese "medicine" also has been known to cause liver failure -- so I reckon it's far more of a health hazard than help!

 

Also, while N95 masks give a good amount of Covid protection, I must admit to thus far eschewing wearing them in this pandemic.  The reason is because they are pretty uncomfortable to wear for significant periods of time.  Instead, I prefer wearing KF94 masks, which have close to the same level of filtration and protection, but which I find them more comfortable to wear while still fitting far more closely to the face than surgical masks (which I was fine wearing until the super infectious Omicron variant came to Hong Kong). 

 

As for the RATs: I wish I had been sent them earlier!  As it is, I already had 9 of them: seven bought last month with my own money, some of which cost HK$75 each; and two sent gratis by my neighborhood association.  And, actually, because I now had so many of them, I figured I might as well take a test or two over the weekend; which I was already prepared to mainly stay at home (as has become my wont during Hong Kong's fifth Covid wave). 

 

In all honesty, I did this less to comply with government wishes and more to give taking a Covid test a try.  As it so happens, even while the Hong Kong government has put out orders to millions of people to get tested during the pandemic as a result of their having symptoms associated with Covid, being close contacts of infected people, flying in and/or out of Hong Kong, being residents buildings that were subject to "ambush lockdowns" or whathaveyou, I'd actually never taken one before this weekend -- and I wanted to get some knowledge and experience of how to take a RAT for should I really felt a need to (i.e., if I turned out to -- touch wood! -- be a close contact of someone infected with Covid and/or started having symptoms associated with it).

 

So, on Friday, I prepared to do this by going grocery shopping to make sure that I had at least one week's worth of food for if I tested positive and thus needed to self-isolate until I had recovered.  And then, on Saturday and again today, I took a deep breath and tested myself.  And tested negative both yesterday and today.  Which was a relief, because I really didn't want to test positive and have to lock myself up in my apartment for a week!

But here's the thing though: it all feels a bit like Covid theatre because the fact of the matter is that my testing negative yesterday and today is no guarantee that I won't test positive tomorrow or the day after and the day after that.  Etc.!  Put another way: the tests only tell the taker whether they are negative or positive at the point they take it -- and one's Covid infection status could change within a few hours, never mind days!

Which surely is at least one reason why the majority of people who responded to a poll on Twitter about whether they planned to take part in this "mass exercise" responded in the negative.  Another reason is, of course, that people are disinclined to do anything the government asks -- but doesn't require -- them to.  And then there's Carrie Lam having said that this exercise will have no bearing on the easing of social distancing restrictions and is not a substitute for a mandatory mass testing which the government still appears intent on implementing at some point in the future.  Put another way: she's not exactly giving people incentives to carry out the voluntary exercise, is she?

A reminder re the mandatory mass testing: it would involve the locking down of large sections of Hong Kong for some days.  And one can but hope that when (rather than if) it happens, the lockdown will not be as botched as the one currently going on in Shanghai is.  Because the utter misery, never mind chaos, unleashed onto/in that Mainland Chinese city has been shockingly horrific to behold (and has shown how false are the Chinese government's claims that it knows what it's doing, never mind knows best)!   

A temporary hiking respite from political gloom during the fifth coronavirus wave (Photo-essay)

Yesterday was one of those days in Hong Kong where there was plenty to be upset about.  Among the lowlights: six people getting arrested on "sedition" charges for having clapped in court (yes, you really did read that right); and John Lee's appointment to the post of Chief Executive being effectively confirmed.  

 

Adding to the gloom: Tom Kellogg, the executive director of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law and the co-author (along with Eric Yan-ho Lai) of a report entitled Arrest Data Show National Security Law Has Dealt a Hard Blow to Free Expression in Hong Kong, producing a Twitter thread about it that included the following lines: "The NSL is a wrecking ball that is swinging wildly through HK civil society, doing immense damage"; and "No end in sight, I'm afraid: 2022 will continue to be a grim year for human rights in [Hong Kong]."

 

And the flow of disturbing news continued into today.  A case in point: Keith Fong, a former president of Hong Kong Baptist University’s student union, was jailed for nine months for "resisting police and perverting the course of justice, in a case linked to his purchase of 10 laser pointers during the 2019 protests" today.  

 

But I managed to keep the gloom away for a few hours this afternoon when I took a friend (who'll be leaving Hong Kong soon) for a hike in my favorite country park in the Big Lychee.  On my first excursion into the countryside since mask wearing while exercising became required again in Hong Kong (thanks to the fifth coronavirus wave), the sun was out but it was fortunately not super hot and humid.  So our hike today along the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Stanley turned out to be pretty pleasant (and thus provided a welcome temporary respite to help recharge the batteries)!

The trail head for the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path is well marked

but it's still a hiking trail that is not super well known

(and thus not very busy, at least on a weekday)

 

Yes, this is a hike with views of super expensive residences

along with the usual greenery and highrises!

 

Repulse Bay on a sunny afternoon -- from a distance,

things look pretty idyllic, don't they?

 

A sail boat and container ship in Repulse Bay

 

Violet flower spotted on the edge of Violet Hill

 

View of Tai Tam Intermediate Reservoir from Tsin Shui Wan Au

 

 

Clear day view past Middle Island over to Ocean Park 

and beyond to Lamma Island in the distance!

 

Looking downhill near hike's end at the Stanley Peninsula and 

beyond to Hong Kong's southernmost islands, including Po Toi

Carrie Lam will be gone soon but I don't think it'll actually impact Hong Kong's slide that much :(

  

A placard on July 1st, 2019, that listed 

six demands, not five

 

"No China extradition; Carrie Lam, step down!"  Those were among the demands that could be heard being chanted at the first few extradition bill protests I attended back in the summer of 2019.  On September 5th of that year, Carrie Lam did indeed finally withdraw the extradition bill that had brought millions of Hong Kongers out onto the streets on many occasions that summer.  And yesterday came the announcement from Hong Kong's most popular Chief Executive ever that she will be stepping down/leaving office when her term ends come June 30th as she will not be seeking a second term. 

 

Unlike when Leung Chun-ying announced that he'd be stepping down (back in December 2016), there were no joyous celebrations of the kind that took place at Chater Garden the evening after Hong Kong's third Chief Executive's announcement.  One reason is that many of the people who led the celebrations the last time around are behind bars or have been silenced (by way their being currently out on bail while awaiting national security law trials or having been handed out suspended sentences).    

 

For another, even before obituaries for Carrie Lam's political career had gone to press (see one example here) -- heck, even before Carrie Lam's actual announcement that she would not be seeking a second term -- the identity of the person widely perceived as her successor's come to light.  And, if anything, John Lee's rule looks like it'll be even more repressive than hers.  

 

In addition, especially after China imposed its security law on Hong Kong (on June 30th, 2020), the fact of the matter is that Hong Kong is no longer being ruled "with a high degree of autonomy" by local  leaders.  And even though it's continuing the charade of holding an "election" for Chief Executive on May 8th, make no mistake that the 1,462 voters chosen by Beijing will have their "choices" dictated to by China's rulers.     

 

Don't take my word for it.  Instead, see pro-Beijing think tanker Lau Siu-kai's!  Specifically, he was reported in an RTHK article yesterday as declaring that: "Hong Kong will need a strong leader in the next five years, and... the central government has already decided who that should be."  In his own words: ""Beijing has already prepared for the new person to run Hong Kong within a very short period of time"; and, actually "Beijing might even have made some arrangements for the new team to come into place afterwards"!

 

With regards to the new team: again, I wouldn't be surprised -- even if not happy -- to see another former police chief (and current security secretary), Chris PK Tang, continue his rapid rise to become chief secretary (and the number two official) in John Lee's cabinet.  If so, Hong Kong's status as a police state really should be clear for all to see.  And yes, such as the passing of Article 23, the building of an extension of the great firewall of China to cover Hong Kong and such horrors would be even more guaranteed to happen, and sooner rather than later.     

And while what awaits is truly chilling, the fact of the matter is that the situation in Hong Kong already is not all that great.  Forget, if you can, the raging pandemic (which has killed over 8,000 Hong Kongers as of today) and anti-pandemic measures which has killed a good number of small businesses, and consider the injustices that have been perpetuated by the authorities, including in the courts.

 

A case in point: Five people -- the youngest of whom's aged just 19 years; the oldest of whom is 30 years of age -- were sentenced to up to four and a half years over rioting charges relating to a protest in Wong Tai Sin on October 1st, 2019, by Judge Ernest Lin yesterday.  One of them, 24-year-old Mak Ho-wai, was found with bandage tapes and other emergency first aid equipment on him, and offered emergency care to those in need on the day. Judge Lin sentenced him to four and a half years in prison; in part because "Mak had showed no remorse".  

 

Seriously: why should someone rendering first aid show remorse?  But if you think that's bad enough, consider that another defendant in this case, Kwok Siu-kit, "was said to have stepped on a police officer when he was being chased while climbing across a barrier. There was no evidence to suggest that he had acted violently, and the 30-year-old maintained that he had done nothing wrong."  And yet he was slapped with a starting sentence of four years and six months, that was reduced by three months only after Judge Lin "taking into account [Kwok's] health problems and the fact that he cared for his sick parents"!

Over on Twitter, Elson Tong writes of another problematic case: the "founder of "Free HK Media" Pastor Keung pleaded guilty to assaulting a policeman inside police station. He was released Monday [i.e., yesterday] after being denied bail for longer than his eventual sentence: 2 months..."  "[W]e'll never know how strong the allegations are, as Keung would've stayed in jail far longer if he decided to go to trial. Thus rational defendants plead guilty even if they have a strong defence. Yet bail is increasingly denied even in non-NSL cases. Why? Read the above again"!  

Victoria Harbour-front views on a day that a cold front came in (Photo-essay)

The weather's been lovely this past weekend -- sunny, cool and fine.  Normally, I'd take the opportunity to venture outdoors, including for a bout of hiking.  But I've actually spent the whole of yesterday and today holed up in my apartment -- in no small part because I figured lots of people would be out over the weekend and I still am loath to be out among crowds since Hong Kong's fifth Covid wave has not yet ended (though it does look to have subsided considerably in recent days -- 3,709 new cases reported today; way fewer than what's been reported for Shanghai, which surpassed Hong Kong in the number of daily Covid cases from yesterday.)    

 

Before the pandemic, I'd never have stayed home all day for two days in a row unless I was feeling poorly or a major typhoon was visiting.  These days though, it feels more normal to do so, and easier too.  Also, on Thursday, when it was still shorts weather but the cold front was visibly coming in, I went for a leisurely walk along the Victoria Harbour-front.  So I feel like I did get in some exercise and fresh air before I hunkered down in my apartment for the weekend.  In addition, Hong Kong was looking really beautiful at the time.  So I got in some cool sights and photography (with my new camera that I got last week) too!

 

Cold front coming in from the east on Thursday

 

The view to the west was warmer, thanks to the rays 

of the sun that had not yet set

 

Sun and star... ferries that is! ;b

 

The cold front got things looking darker than they

normally do so at this time of a spring day in Hong Kong!
 

 

Egret in the city (specifically, walking along the surface of 

the government helicopter pad at Wan Chai!)

 

The sun setting behind the highrises 

of Central, Sheung Wan and beyond

 

When you cast your eyes on views like this, 

how can you not really f**king love Hong Kong?

 

 

A metaphor for Hong Kong?  Even when things are gloomy,

there still is some light and warmth, and beauty, amidst it all

Still remembering, and missing, Leslie Cheung 19 years on

Fans and flowers galore outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel

on Leslie Cheung's death anniversary pre-pandemic

 

Nineteen years ago today, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing jumped to his death from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong.  Pretty much every year since, fans of the late mega star singer-actor remember him on April 1st by doing such as playing or listening to his songs, watching movies in which he stars or going over to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and adding to the considerable amount of floral tributes to him there and/or to view and admire them.

 

I've had the good fortune of viewing a number of Leslie Cheung cinematic classics in the company of fellow fans of this Hong Kong legend on April 1st over the years here in the Big Lychee.  It's pretty much expected that at least one Leslie Cheung film will be screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (which usually runs from late March through early April -- though last year, it began on April 5th).  And, over the years, I've caught fest screenings of He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994), The Bride with White Hair (1993) and Rouge (1987) -- all of them great films as well as great Leslie Cheung movies.

 

With the Hong Kong International Film Festival being postponed (maybe even outright cancelled?) this year because of the fifth coronavirus wave, there was no opportunity to view a Leslie Cheung film on a big screen today.  And instead of viewing a Leslie Cheung movie on home video, I opted instead to listen to one of my Leslie Cheung CDs: specifically, that known in English as Most Beloved or plain Beloved (and whose title is 寵愛 in Chinese); which features Leslie singing hit songs from a number of his movies (including He's a Woman, She's a Man, The Bride with White Hair and also Days of Being Wild).  

 

Unlike some of his fans here in Hong Kong, I did not go over to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel today.  And in view of what's been reported on Twitter (by the likes of Bernice Chan and K Tse), it's a good thing I didn't.  This is because members of the police force that is far from Asia's finest decided that the fans and mourners who gone over to the side of the Mandarin Oriental where tributes to Leslie Cheung are laid on April 1st needed to be dispersed, and their floral tributes disposed. 

I suppose we shouldn't be surprised since the Hong Kong police have shown a marked tendency to use anti-pandemic regulations against people and a definite dislike of mourning by Hong Kongers.  Think about such as the refusal to allow Tiananmen Square Massacre commemorations to take place in Victoria Park on June 4th, 2020 and again on the same date last year as well as the small show of support for the Ukraine which took place in Central a couple of weeks ago and mourning to take place outside Prince Edward MTR station on the last day of the month.   

Rather than let the cops ruin the mood though, here's ending today's blog post by pointing out that one other way to remember Leslie Cheung that the cops have not (yet) interfered with involves social media posts.  Very touchingly, along with various fan tributes, are ones by Leslie's significant other, Daffy Tong, and erstwhile co-star (including in Happy Together) -- and friend -- Tony Leung Chiu-wai.  Seeing these, there's little dispute that Leslie Cheung continues to be fondly remembered and dearly missed.