Michael Chugani in the SCMP provides a list of reasons why Hong Kong’s international reputation is beyond repair. And within hours, another one crops up: the government wants to find a way to extend censorship by banning ‘misinformation’. Because of ‘loopholes’.
Officials cite Germany’s ban on certain types of fake news on social media, to make the idea sound palatable. Also – less convincingly – Singapore. Russia and Malaysia also have such laws. In freer countries, the rules specifically target things like hate speech, but in more authoritarian regimes it is simply a way to criminalize anti-government views.
This proposal probably owes something to the HK Police, who have been embarrassed by rumours and allegations about cover-ups, for example over their never-explained rampage in Prince Edward MTR station in August 2019. But it’s easy to see how any statement the government disagrees with could become a ‘falsehood’, and next thing you know one Facebook post lands you in jail without bail for months.
Ever since the imposition of the CCP’s NatSec Regime, it has always been a matter of when rather than if the authorities start to clamp down on the Internet. Ultimately, the CCP will be happy only when Hong Kong has a Mainland-style intranet, with Facebook and Twitter inaccessible, and compulsory real-name registration of all social media users.
Beats me why the Chugani piece is a ‘premium article’ over at the SCCP
@Bagesty
The wumao are in an uproar over that particular article by Chugani. They really need to up their game on their fake English aliases, though. “Cranjis McBasketball”, “Helena Bottom-Farter”, and “Dr. Shrimp Puerto Rico” aren’t gonna fool anyone.
“Beats me why the Chugani piece is a ‘premium article’ over at the SCCP”
I just loaded it in a private tab since I wouldn’t want scmp to appear on my history anyway.
“The wumao are in an uproar over that particular article by Chugani. They really need to up their game on their fake English aliases, though. “Cranjis McBasketball”, “Helena Bottom-Farter”, and “Dr. Shrimp Puerto Rico” aren’t gonna fool anyone.”
They really are a bunch of imbeciles and SCMP does nothing about them but moderates anything remotely critical of the ccp and scmp very hard. And if you call wumao out for being xenophobic sacks of shit, you just get your own comment deleted.
I really hope SCMP is struggling financially and that their subscription drive is bombing hard because everyone knows how to read their 2 bit crap off the private tabs for free.
The Ant Group situation also hopefully means their big daddy Alibaba is on the outs with the ccp too and can be kicked in the teeth. If Tammy Tam ever gets punished for making the ccp angry with her intellectually lazy word salad articles that would be great too if we were to make a Christmas wish list.
Unfortunately in realty seems only likable people like Ted Hui, Jimmy Law, and Joshua Wong get major punishment. Alas.
@ bagesty
That’s odd. All I get when I go to SCMP is a pop-up asking what edition I want to see – HK/Asia/International/US
Why is Ronnie Tong so interested in why Jimmy Lai hasn’t made a bail application? (RTHK report)
Is he under orders to try to infiltrate Lai’s legal strategy because it’s bugging the CCP why he is seemingly content to remain on remand?
Both Chugani and Pete Kammerer come in for the troll treatment by those vile elements of HK life. Best to skip the Comments as you would Rectum4 when he pops up here,
Did I read it correctly that former 14K triad boss Broken Tooth, who spent 8 years in prison for attempted murder of a senior Macau police officer, is a member of the Chinese Consultative People’s blah-blah Committee?
And did I read correctly that Carson Yeung, formerly of Birmingham City soccer club, was assaulted last night in the lobby of the Park Lane Hotel in CWB and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance? Why is he not in prison? And is bad cop-turned-solicitor Peter Pannu still his lawyer? And why is Peter Pannu also the lawyer of the Senior Superintendent who was convicted of assault during the Umbrella Revolution?
Re-arrested Five
The five suspects will appear at Tuen Mun Magistracy for mention on Friday morning. Police say they will make an application for the case to be transferred to the District Court
Surely the police have no standing to make such an application, isn’t it is outwith their remit? Or are they now subsuming the prerogatives of the DoJ?
Joe
Pannu is/was a barrister, not solicitor.
Who was the senior superintendent convicted of assault? The guy who on camera hir a passer by with his baton?
@where’s my jet plane – “no separation of powers” in action, I suspect.