Citizen News shuts down (translation of last Facebook post here). The number of Hong Kong news outlets that the CCP does not directly or indirectly control is getting to be very small.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung says an interview that his bureau’s biggest achievement last year was national security…
“The cessation of Apple Daily impressed me the most. This newspaper was poisoning Hongkongers, especially giving the young people a wrong idea about China,” Tang said. “Since the newspaper has been shut down now, the society will be better and more democratic,” he added.
Other loyalists leap to defend the earlier closure of Stand News by accusing overseas critics of law-breaking…
In saying that ‘journalism is not sedition’, Blinken perhaps touched a raw nerve. Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng claims that foreigners criticizing the Stand News arrests are ‘violating international law’ (though the use of sedition to suppress peaceful opinions is surely incompatible with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
A thread by Tom Kellogg on the use of archaic sedition laws against Stand News. He postulates that the authorities are trying to ban local media from quoting comments by exiled activists like Nathan Law. As he says, this seems pointless since Hong Kong residents can still access the same material in overseas-based media. Unless and until, of course, a ‘great firewall’ cuts us off from the Internet.
Chris Patten joins in…
“Xi Jinping’s Communist dictatorship in Beijing and its quisling sidekicks in Hong Kong continue their relentless assault on the city’s freedoms.”
Some more links to get 2022off to a cheerful start…
How many times can you put the words ‘Chinese style’ into one paragraph? One sentence? The person who wrote the press release on the Immigration Dept’s rookie graduation parade finds out.
New Years Eve on Lion Rock.
From CNN, Tiananmen sculptures disappear from campuses – but the symbolism remains.
Also from CNN, can Beijing do the Winter Olympics and fight Omicron Covid at the same time?
An interesting thread on China’s infrastructure miracle.
These people claiming to be impressed with their shutting down of journalism and correcting mindsets to follow the correct view of history and current events are nothing short of insane, believing in a mass delusion.
These types of generational swarms only lead to one thing — the ruination of that generation and the city on which they feed.
Prepare for a lot more yoga-esque (twisting and stretching) working of “democracy/democratic” and “rule of law” out of the mouths, social feeds and press releases of flunkies and ass lampreys.
Vag’s “…in our rule of law” reads so stiff and contrived that one must just assume it was cut ‘n pasted from a commie statement emailed to all the arse licker “opinion leaders” on how to react to Blinken.
So the Chicoms are now trying to claim ownership of the “Goose Step”, depriving the good old Prussians, Nazis and Soviets their due?
@Chinese Netizen
Ah! But it is “goose step with Chinese socialist characteristics”.
From the photos at the Immigration Dept paramilitary nationalism fiesta, two things: (1) why does the Immigration Dept need automatic weapons? To enforce the immigration law against IIs (a term once liberally used for illegal entrants from the Mainland ironically but now presumably darker skinned and so in the govt’s view probably less desirable immigrants from South Asia and Africa); and (2) while typically disciplined services in HK used AR15s and other western weapons, they now seem to be using Chinese issue.
@asiaseen: Typical Chicom IP infringement…
A lot of this city’s rich and comfortable think that Singapore has the right idea. “Nobody there cares about freedoms,” one minor property scion once scoffed at me. It’s full of docile little worker bees fed on an information diet of cheerleading and pablum. Perfect from an investor’s point of view.
You’d think they would be nervous about Beijing knocking great big holes in the rule of law, but 1) they would never say so out loud, 2) they’ve convince themselves that corporate law has nothing to do with politics, and 3) never underestimate the short-term thinking of the average corporate executive. They all think they’re getting a golden parachute.
Wonder when Carrie starts wearing a uniform.
Didn’t the wife of CY suddenly had a uniform of sorts or was that only for the bedroom?
@Boris. — I do believe there was an embargo put on American military weapons being imported to the Hong Kong customs, police and border patrol after / during the 2019 protests. I recall there being much ballyhoo about this as it also seemed to have come at the same time as Carrie Lam needing to store cash in government house because her rights to a banking relationship were taken away.
What I love about that, actually, is that people seemed to have missed that putting a ban on her banking didn’t really harm her finances, but it did point out that she was a hypocrite for ruling Hong Kong, claiming foreign interference, but storing her assets with Western financial institutions, because why on earth would you want to keep them with a Chinese bank?
@Boris Bandanov
Well they kinda have to buy Chinese:
HK (Heckler & Koch) refused to sell HKSARG any more guns in 2017, as it doesn’t sell to repressive undemocratic regimes.
https://hongkongfp.com/2017/11/17/german-firm-refuses-sell-submachine-guns-hong-kong-police-force-lawmaker-blames-decline-human-rights/
The police M16A2s are US government licensed, so none of those manufacturers are going to illegally export to Hong Kong (ban came in in 2020), and the newer M4 system currently favoured by many special forces and armies is the HK416 by… Heckler & Koch.
At a pinch they could use the civilian grade “M4-gery” Norinco AR-15s, but then they may have to dump all their old ammo and rifles and they’re left with cheapo civilian knock-offs.
They tried Sig Sauer, but they also said “US weapons export ban” (and Sig have just replaced Beretta as US Armed forces side arm, so they’re all set for cash).
There were rumours that the Czech CZG might flog them some Scorpions, but they also said “no way, José!” — NATO & US market is much more lucrative than HKPF.
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/02/16/hong-kong-police-buy-firearms-from-czech-supplier-after-us-order-blocked-by-sanctions-report/
Ironic sidenote: Immigration’s new toys (the Chinese QXB-95 assault rifle) are widely thought to be a Chinese copy gun of the French army’s FAMAS bullpup, which is currently being replaced by … H&K’s HK416-F.
Didn’t the wife of CY suddenly had a uniform of sorts
As I remember it was for her “job” as matron-in-chief of the Peoples’ Armed Boy Scouts.
“Immigration Dept’s rookie graduation parade” – so that’s how Carrie gets her kicks, at uniformed services cum passing-out parades? Well, each to their own as we never say at the Vatican.
@donkeynuts – I suspect that the story of poor Carrie Lam being forced to stash her cash under the mattress is a fairy story concocted by some second-rate PR hack in a failed attempt to win sympathy for her. Does anyone really believe that any state-controlled Chinese bank would refuse to open an account for her? Or that a bagman arrives at Government House every month bearing fistfuls of moolah? I strongly doubt it.
CY’s missus is President of the Girl Guides, a position usually held by the wife of CE, but as as Carries better half is a Mr and shuns the usual accouterments of the First Spouse, she got to hold onto her uniform.
You may see more of her in her kit as work has commenced on the guides gin palace on Jordan that will incur lots of flag raising and other ops to get geared up.
But of course the upcoming CE appointment could generate a new First Lady………….
I see from the Immig Dept parade pix that senior officers now wear a sort of silver belt with two tassles of the kind which used to adorn old-fashioned curtains. When did that start?
silver belt with two tassles
Maybe it is to replace swords now that Wilkinson Sword is presumbaly no longer allowed to export weapons to HK?