Tam Yiu-chung, a ‘delegate’ due to attend a meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, is told to stay at home. The reason is Beijing’s fear of (or need to appear hyper-alarmed about) a single untraceable Covid case in Hong Kong. As his peremptory treatment shows, the NPCSC simply serves as a rubber stamp, and Tam’s role is purely ceremonial.
Another victim of Mainland cancellations is Carrie Lam, who has been asked not to bother attending a meeting between Shenzhen officials and, er, Carrie Lam. The cadres are too busy for her. It was supposed to be about the Northern Metropolis Technopole Hub-Zone.
Which brings us rather neatly to Regina Ip, who echoes my thoughts on the ideological incorrectness of the Lantau Tomorrow Mega-Reclamation Project as a Hong Kong-centric plan at odds with the New Territories-cum-Shenzhen Cross-Border Merged Technopole Integration Vision. Reg also takes the opportunity to casually mention the possibility that Carrie will not serve a second term.
(Do I feel an ‘I told you so’ moment coming? In 2018 I called the Lantau thing ’too preposterous to be real’, said that ‘If the Lantau reclamation boondoggle had Beijing’s blessing at this stage, it would just happen – no debate or lobbying necessary’, and droned on about my ‘nagging feeling that this absurd idea isn’t going to happen and isn’t really intended to happen’. If I was right, all the lovely Peng Chau residents foreseeing the death of their island can relax and drink a toast to the Greater Bay Area.)
Back with the shoe-shiners’ weekend – former CE CY Leung leaps on the Mayer Brown HKU bandwagon…
“I call on Chinese state-owned institutions in Hong Kong, all universities funded by the Hong Kong government, and Chinese clients with dignity to boycott Mayer Brown. I invite law firms who are not under the influence of foreign powers in Hong Kong to actively represent this client [HKU],” Leung said.
Far away from all this grovelling, some very forthright extracts from American lawyer Samuel Bickett’s interview with Citizen News…
Since the 2019 demonstrations, no police have been prosecuted. Whether it’s my case or the case of a cop driving a motorcycle through a crowd, or attacking a pregnant woman, or pepper spraying someone for no reason, the DOJ should have easily been able to prosecute the officers.
On the intimidation and closure of prisoners charity Wall-fare…
What the hell are the police and the security bureau thinking? I just don’t understand, did [Security Secretary] Chris Tang’s mother not love him enough as a child? What happened to him?
Gargantuan reclamation projects are one of those Hong Kong zombie ideas that never die. If they don’t happen now, they’ll just be dusted off and proposed again in 10 years. They might get lucky eventually.
The tycoon shills are definitely trying to take advantage of their current monopoly on Legco to extract as many boondoggles as they can before Beijing pulls the rug out from under them. Last I saw, Regina Ip and co. were trying to knock big holes in the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance. If they don’t get a shiny new boondoggle out of the deal, at least they can shift the blame for Hong Kong’s housing shortages onto the pesky dolphin huggers.
Though admirable for his altruistic naivete, young Mr. Bickett simply can’t see that someone like Chris Tang (likely a first son) probably was not ignored by mama but rather coached to be as much as a lickspittle as humanly possible in order to secure an iron rice bowl career for his future and hence secure her retirement years as well. A very Chinese thing in certain socio economic classes reinforced by rote learning, that is hard for a westerner, especially a Yank, to wrap one’s head around.
Re “the Lantau Tomorrow Mega-Reclamation Project and the New Territories-cum-Shenzhen Cross-Border Merged Technopole Integration Vision” there’s this:
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/10/13/time-for-hong-kong-to-get-serious-you-cant-tackle-the-climate-crisis-and-build-mega-towns/
@Chinese Netizen – Yes, it does when one stands back and takes a look at that particular statement from Bickett. But my view is he’s reacting with the heat of the moment and it’s an elongated way of stating Tang is a daft cnut and doesn’t need to be if he had an ounce of humanity.
I dare say the reference to the old dear will have Tang smarting throughout his tubby form.
Broom Head making public comments about Carrie’s second term? Maybe she thinks that her time at the top has finally come.
@ Chinese Netizen
I know you don’t mean to imply that socialization in various western contexts doesn’t produce its own hearty share of sadistic creeps with power.
@steve
Yes, you’re right there. Especially with the likes of Boris and his formative public school years or George “W” and his legacy status as a Skull & Crossbones Yalie. Ad nauseam.
In this case, however, I’ll just stick to Tang’s classical Chinese formula of attaining a certain level, securing the iron rice bowl and then doing one’s best to ensure others don’t have it so good in order to please whoever happens to be running the show.
Should be be reassured that the qualifications for a well paid post in our government consist of being ………………………. an ousted District Councillor from DAB?