Holiday time

Away til next week, probably. Packing my bags for another staycation in sunny Mongkok – the best we can do while Taiwan is off-limits.

With two public holidays coming, please do not take part in unauthorized assemblies or burn wax, or all you illegal crowds of melting, dripping secessionists will incur the wrath of the valiant 6,000-strong HK Police Seditious Wax-Burning Unapproved Gathering Rapid Reaction Task Force Squad (otherwise known as the Flying Candle Snuffers), righteously rampaging after kids with lanterns at inordinate expense to the Hong Kong taxpayer.

The Guardian is running a series on Hong Kong. Revenge of the knuckle-draggers – the paper looks at the city’s new shadow and parallel government. People used to swim to Hong Kong to find freedom – now their grand-kids are fleeing. And a quiz to find out how much you know about the NatSec Law.

And the horror continues – Xi Jinping as you’ve never seen her before (not suitable for people of a nervous disposition, or indeed people generally).

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15 Responses to Holiday time

  1. Charlie says:

    Daily reader, rarely comment. Enjoy and I will miss your posts until you are back.

  2. Red Dragon says:

    lnteresting pair of releases by the “government”.

    The one from the Security Bureau is far better written and, I am tempted to believe, not by a local hand. In addition, it contains the CCP’s fave word, “resolute”, unheard of in civil service bulletins until comparatively recently, but now, along with its adverbial form, really quite common. To me, this would suggest a certain mainland influence.

    The other from LCSD is, however, couched in the classic, clunky English that has long distinguished the local civil service. To begin two adjacent sentences with, respectively, “Moreover” and “Furthermore” (both used wrongly) is a feat which only a petty bureaucrat who learned his English in the Hong Kong school system could pull off.

    Would it be fanciful to infer from this that Hong Kong’s new northern minders pay more attention to notices which emanate from the Security Bureau than they do to those released by LCSD?

  3. Winnie Wanker says:

    “According to the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the freedoms of procession and assembly are not absolute, and may be subject to restrictions as prescribed by law in the interests of public order, public safety and the interests of others, etc.”

    Clearly falls under “interests of others” apparently…

    I find government press releases the most persuasive advertisements to join a public procession around…

  4. Old Mind Doctor says:

    Telling spot, Red D.

    Moreover, the Observatory loves ‘meanwhile’.

    “Typhoon Huge took a more southerly path overnight, and is now heading in the general direction of Vietnam. Meanwhile, the weather will be brighter with a few showers over the coast of Guangdong.” They won’t mention the words Hong Kong.

  5. A Poor Man says:

    OMD – The Observatory still uses “Pearl River Estuary”.

  6. Steve Mc Garret says:

    And what’s with ” an anticyclone aloft”.

  7. Argy-Bargy #4 says:

    @Old Mind Doctor

    My biggest gripe with the HKO, apart from its often crap forecasts [generally negatively slanted, which I assume is a concerted effort to keep the plebs at home], is the unnecessary use of “the………part of”, e.g. “It will be pissing down on the southern part of China”. It’s difficult to see why this phrasing is preferred over “It will be pissing down on southern China”.

  8. Gromit says:

    Another article in The Guardian about measures being taken by Oxford University to protect students from the long arm of the NIL.

    https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/sep/28/oxford-moves-to-protect-students-from-chinas-hong-kong-security-law?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

  9. Mary Melville says:

    So the Chinachem Charitable Foundation has petitioned for the bankruptcy of Peter (Tony) Chan, the rogue who kept a smile on Nina Wang’s face in her later years.
    https://www.intellasia.net/late-tycoon-nina-wangs-charitable-foundation-files-bankruptcy-petition-against-former-lover-peter-chan-jailed-for-forging-her-will-2-815917. Many folk would consider this most petty minded, particularly as the saga was, to put it mildly, murky, and he faced formidable forces
    In 2013 Chan was sentenced to 12 years in prison for ‘forging her will’, but with good behaviour should be released in a few years. In the meantime he is writing a book about the relationship.
    Now in view of the questionable circumstances of the fable and the revelations in the book it looks like this not so charitable foundation is doing a Trump on the guy.
    What should be of greater public interest is WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THAT MONEY THE FOUNDATION IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONATING TO CHARITY?
    Has anybody heard a dicky-bird about disbursements during the Covid crisis, apart from a few boxes of face masks?
    The Court of Final Appeal handed down judgment on May 18, 2015 and unanimously held that the Chinachem Charitable Foundation Limited (the Foundation) should hold the entire estate as a trustee and would not receive any part of the estate as an absolute gift (CFA Judgment)
    At Legco in May last year Paul Tse raised questions about the management of the trust as CFA had requested the Department of Justice to establish a supervisory managing organisation to ensure that the Foundation would operate in accordance with the testamentary intention of Mrs Wang and use the estate for charitable purposes. So far the incumbent Secretary for Justice (SJ) and her predecessors have not submitted to the court any plan for establishing the supervisory managing organisation.
    https://www.doj.gov.hk/mobile/eng/public/pr/20190529_pr1.html
    DoJ responded that it had made an application to the Court on March 29, 2019 in respect of the relevant matters, to seek the Court’s determination or directions, such that the DoJ may continue to complete the remaining tasks. The relevant matters concern the propriety of the Scheme proposed by the DoJ and details thereof, including the setting up of a supervisory managing organisation to monitor the Foundation as trustee. The Court has fixed a directions hearing on June 13, 2019.
    At this point the trail runs cold.
    While our SJ procrastinates Nina’s family is enjoying the spoils, management fees are mounting, and there is no transparency or accountability re disbursements.
    Why are all those groups who purport to represent grass roots both here an on the mainland not hollering that SJ has failed to perform her duties as the protector of charity and demanding to see the cash?

  10. A Poor Man says:

    Mary – Great comment as always.

    Every time I pass by one of the many buildings with a Chinachem sign on it I wonder what charitable work all the money is being used for. I also wonder how my life would have turned out if my sister married the only child of a highly successful businessman, she didn’t have any children herself, and I outlived them all. As you point out, Nina’s brother doesn’t need to own the empire personally to enjoy the benefits, he just needs to control it.

  11. where's my jet plane says:

    @ Mary Melville
    It may or may not be significant that the counsel for the Foundation, Johnny Ma, is a member of Des Voeux Chambers:
    He acted for Chinachem Charitable Foundation Limited in the probate action at all levels from the Court of First Instance up to the Court of Final Appeal, and also subsequently in the proceedings dealing with the construction and implementation of Nina Wang’s will.

    Coincidentally the SoJ was a member of Des Voeux Chambers before being appointed SoJ.

    By pointing out the coincidence I am not imputing malfeasance, malpractice, dodgy dealing or undue influence by any party.

  12. Conference says:

    Red Dragon:

    This is old news, sometime late last year we saw the press releases start to include “resolutely” as in “firmly and resolutely” oppose, adopt, support. I have also seen the more stilted “unswervingly”. I don’t know of any native English speakers or highly educated non-native speakers who would use this term, either speech or in writing. At some point late last year, or perhaps earlier this year, we started to see use of the word “motherland” in press releases.

    Clearly, those who are educated in Hong Kong and writing such press releases have retired.

    Here’s another trend: see the photo in this link. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1552224-20200929.htm

    Ordinarily government ceremonies, even if not open to the public but for which a photo was released on a government website or news site, would have the object or purpose of the ceremony in English and Chinese. This is in Chinese only. Perhaps it is because the government views it as being a matter as between the PLA and the Hong Kong government and none of the public’s (i.e. Hong Kongers’) concern; I would be interested if anyone can advise if the characters are simplified or traditional. I am assuming well meaning people like Paul Zimmerman wanting to have this made into a park cannot read Chinese.

  13. Hermes says:

    @Conference – the banner has traditional characters.

  14. Red Dragon says:

    Conference,

    Point taken.

    What l would say, however, is that, as I indicated in my previous post, the press release from LCSD was almost certainly penned by a local in that it contains many of the solecisms which characterise Hong Kong English.

    I remain resolutely, firmly, and unswervingly yours in the hope that you will never again fail to qualify an adjective or a verb with an adverb or a noun with an adjective. You know it makes sense.

  15. Del Toboso says:

    Conference

    Traditional characters

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