The Hong Kong government heads into Monty Python territory by announcing that it won’t throw disabled people into prison for failing to rise from their wheelchairs in adoration when the national anthem is played. We will hang the unpatriotic bastards instead.
Or maybe send them over the border. Hong Kong Watch releases a report on the Mainland extradition proposal – more evidence that the international business community is starting to get Martin Niemöller-ish jitters.
For a glimpse of what the Chinese Communist Party might have in store for us in the long run, Human Rights Watch has a report on how the Xinjiang authorities use an app for extreme surveillance and control. (Here’s an interview on the investigative work behind the story.) It’s not just the total creepiness of the system that’s shocking, but the paranoia driving it – dictatorship as mental-health problem.
On a more aesthetic note, the Guardian’s obituary of Michael Wolf.
I declare the weekend open with a touching video – young Hong Kong people displaying due respect for the national anthem…
