The latest civil society group on the chopping block: the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, founded in 1989 and running annual gatherings with police cooperation for decades. The NatSec police say they might be agents of foreign organizations and are demanding details of staffers and financial dealings with Mark Simon (of Next), the National Democratic Institute and others.
Combine this with the Andy Li/crowdfunded ads ‘international conspiracy’ (there’s at least some overlap), and the NatSec enforcement establishment is purportedly busting a major Western plot to bring down the whole PRC via foreign-manipulated Hong Kong traitors and subversives. If anything of the sort had really happened, Beijing would at least have recalled an ambassador over it years ago.
Former Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma says that defending the rule of law is not ‘political’. He tells Reuters that – thanks to that convenient judicial can’t-possibly-comment thing – he can’t discuss how people defending rule of law now get criticized by CCP-backed media or the Chief Executive for ‘being political’. Perhaps on this occasion he didn’t need to: he was speaking at the Law Society’s AGM, as the body voted for the ‘non-politicizing’ bloc in internal elections. (That’s the don’t-get-threats-against-their-families bloc. As someone put it, you can either castrate yourself or have someone else do it to you.)
A few months ago, the idea that Hong Kong schools would introduce Xi Jinping Thought classes was a grim, almost tasteless, joke. Now it’s a matter of time.
And a Beijing official declares that Hong Kong is now optimistic and patriotic. He also says that emigration from the city has nothing to do with the imposition of the NatSec regime. Huang Liuquan – hereby renamed Huang Christian Andersen.
Please remember that no matter the outcome of the cases, none of which have to have any legal validity, the real reason they are coming to trial or being investigated is to “inform public opinion.” All of the devices of media, justice, law, and business are being used to transmit ideas of ideological purity to the people. We are being “corrected.” Pay attention, children.
All China has to do is keep blasting the thought waves and air waves with suspicions and counter espionage assertions. The bulk of the public eventually soaks it in and instead of thinking too much and critically thinking why this is happening, they just begin to adopt it.
Well, as long as they got it covered and it’s not me, I’m okay with my paycheck and my salty biscuit.
This is how you lose all of your freedoms.
This morning there are again swarms of Gesta-po po’s roaming around CWB, annoying peaceful citizens. I can’t think of anything that will make you more optimistic than that.
Hear hear re what donkey wrote above.
A question: I gather that Hong Kong permanent residents are still considered as “foreigners”? I ask because I’d assume that Mark Simon is/was a permanent resident — or is my assumption there wrong?
“A few months ago, the idea that Hong Kong schools would introduce Xi Jinping Thought classes was a grim, almost tasteless, joke. Now it’s a matter of time.”
Overseas for-profit elementary and high schools operating in the west will begin seeing higher than usual spikes of interest coming from China. Enlightened parents already know the rote, robotic system in the mainland does not make for a sane, happy kid (not that it mattered) but now add this pile of shit on the course load and you have total hands-in-the-air surrender
I shall be eternally grateful to Comrade Huang Liuquan for his insight into my incorrect thoughts. I thought that I felt pessimistic about Hong Kong’s future, but it turns out that I feel optimistic. I also thought that the CCP were a bunch of arrogant, lying, thieving, sycophantic, malodorous bullies, but it turns out that I feel patriotic. I now understand that we are experiencing doublespeak in all Orwell’s intended glory!
Now, I wonder how many other people should be correctly feeling optimistic and patriotic with the current state of affairs?
Dear Big Al,
All thanks to your excellent explanation, I now understand that I too have been feeling very optimistic and patriotic. This new NSL clearly works wonders!
@YTSL
Foreigners are foreigners forever. Permanent residency is irrelevant.
Mark Simon and other non-patriots are proof.
But you knew that, didn’t you?
I’m thankful for Comrade Huang Liuquan in clarifying my muddled thinking. I am optimistic about Hong Kong’s future and am brimming with patriotism.
On that note, I really should complete the Chinese Nationality (Hong Kong) immigration department application from 2012 that I started in order to obtain a HKSAR passport but never completed. I received a letter with conditional approval from the Director of Immigration, but was required to show proof that I renounced all of my other nationalities. I was intending to renounce my US nationality, but they also discovered a European nationality I was hoping they wouldn’t find so I gave up. Silly me!
According to studies done by HKU psychologists, Hong Kongers display only slightly lower levels of mood disorders and post traumatic stress than people in war-torn Syria. Self-preservation dictates that their misery cannot be talked about, but people won’t forget so easily.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)33160-5/fulltext#relatedClinic
I love the way that while Huang “didn’t think the latest figures showing almost 90,000 people had left Hong Kong reflected a lack of confidence in the city’s future”, he is at great pains to point out the fact that “more than 1,000 young people from Hong Kong and Macau have started their businesses on the mainland” because that somehow illustrates how great the opportunities there are.
@Mark Bradley: Perhaps try for a Taiwan passport? Given the way things are going, a Taiwan passport may be up there on level with Japan’s soon as far as acceptability worldwide. Just do it whilst there’s still a Taiwan and “face” hasn’t forced Winnie’s hand to start WW3
Gobsmacked, my complaints over a decade about noisy construction work at Mira Hotel and The One every weekend and overnight for more than a decade were brushed off even with corroborating police reports.
Neighbour must be A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON
26th August 2021 – (Hong Kong) A person-in-charge of renovation works and a worker illegally used powered mechanical equipment when carrying out renovation works in a residential flat on a holiday and caused noise nuisance. They were convicted and fined a total of HK$10,000 at Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts today for contravening the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO).
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said that the department has all along been concerned about neighbourhood noise from residential flats, in particular noise from renovation which causes nuisance to the neighbours. At the end of last year, the department received complaints about noise by workers consecutively carrying out renovation works in residential flats during holidays in the newly occupied Yung Ming Court, Tseung Kwan O. EPD enforcement staff conducted a series of blitz operations and found that the aforementioned two persons used a handheld electric cutter to carry out renovation works in a residential flat on a holiday without a valid construction noise permit (CNP) and caused noise nuisance After collecting evidence, the EPD prosecuted the two persons involved in accordance with the NCO.
The spokesman explained that the NCO aims to protect the public from disturbance of rest. As the use of powered mechanical equipment for carrying out renovation works in a residential flat during the restricted hours (i.e. from 7pm to 7am on the next day or at any time on a general holiday) would cause severe nuisance to nearby residents, a CNP shall not generally be granted. Works contractors should arrange renovation works during the daytime and non-general holidays as far as possible to minimise noise nuisance to the neighbours. Anyone who contravenes the NCO is liable to a maximum fine of HK$100,000 for the first offence and HK$200,000 for subsequent convictions.
Mary
“BLITZ OPERATIONS!”
@donkey
Calling investigations of neighbourhood renovation noise complaints “blitz operations” is definitely a hilarious phrasing faux pas.
If I recall my history correctly, the Blitz was entirely designed to make very loud renovations to neighbourhoods, causing nuisance and disturbing people’s rest.