The Hong Kong government’s Covid policy devours its own, with Home Affairs Secretary Caspar Tsui being sent off to the Penny’s Bay Rectification Facility. He was attending the birthday party of one Witman Hung – the Shenzhen Qianhai Hub-Zone promotion guy in Hong Kong, also an NPC delegate – which included a Covid-positive guest.
Hung’s resume reads like a parody of the Hong Kong establishment type, accumulating ever-more tawdry baubles as the years go by…
…In 2008, Witman was selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong. In 2016, he was given the Asia Social Innovation Leadership Award by CMO Asia and in 2017 he was given Light of Civilization 2017 Chinese Cultural Exchange Person of the Year. In 2015 he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace by the Hong Kong SAR Government.
(The CMO Asia thing is possibly the direst of the lot.)
I guess I’m out of touch, but I’m not sure why so many senior government officials and lawmakers turned up at the bash in a Wanchai tapas place. One possible reason is simply that – like the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone Authority’s Principal Liaison Officer for Hong Kong – they have humdrum jobs (Home Affairs, Innovation and Technology, Mainland and Constitutional Affairs) and are bored. But there were weightier serving and former functionaries there too, from the Police, Immigration and Customs (the last two represented by Au Ka-wang and Hermes Tang, inveterate social-distancing transgressors.)
It could also be that, as the cream of the NatSec-era heavyweight shoe-shining elite patriots, the 100 or so attendees are shunned by wider society – so any invite to a mutual-toadying fest looks good.
Among the lawmakers present were Junius Ho, Elizabeth Quat, Rock Chen and Benson Luk. We can only imagine how much fun karaoke and tapas with this lot would be. But we do know that all concerned insist that most of the guests had left by the time the infected individual turned up.
Lots of fuel for mockery, schadenfreude, accusations of hypocrisy and much more. In pictures: a comparison of Carrie Lam’s flexible views of who should be accountable in such cases.
And of course, much groveling – here and here.
We haven’t heard the last of this.
Oh sorry – actually, we have.
Some weekend reading…
In case you missed it, a must-read from Samuel Bickett on the Chow Hang-tung trial – ‘…manipulating evidence to obtain a conviction and hide an unlawful arrest’.
Allan Zeman’s embarrassing letter of outrage to the Wall Street Journal.
A Mainland official tells Hong Kong lawmakers…
“they should not be rubber stamps or voting machines. They have to criticize the SAR government in a friendly and sincere manner.”
From Transit Jam – more on the government silence on ‘walkability’ studies in areas where there have been recent pedestrian fatalities.
An explainer from HKFP recounting the deterioration of press freedoms in Hong Kong under the NatSec Law – it’s a long list.
For some light relief: Hong Kong’s Filipino domestic helpers’ cricket team.
Carnegie on the growing Russian-Chinese entente in Central Asia.
The 20th CCP Congress will be held later this year. A quick intro from CMP now might make it more digestible when the mega-event draws closer.
And Dan Wang of Gavekal Economics puts those of us who write an annual letter to family and friends around the world to shame with the mega-opus 2021 in Review – comparing Chinese cities for (among other things) livability.
Semens letter is embarrassing, not least for the shockingly bad English.
Ahem, it’s DOCTOR Witman Hung, graduate of the world-renowned (checking notes) Bulacan State University extension in Yau Ma Tei:
“Mr. Hung holds a Higher Diploma in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing from the Hong Kong Polytechnic, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of Bolton, a Master Degree of Business Administration from the University of Hull and a Master of Arts Degree in Public and Comparative History from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also obtained a Master of Laws and a Doctor of Laws from the Renmin University of China and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Business Administration from Bulacan State University, the Philippines.”
“Home Affairs, Innovation and Technology,”
You are out of touch. Home Affairs and Innovation and Technology people are the ones tasked with building the grassroots ardor for The Greater Bay Area.
The LEGCO party goers clearly ‘endanger national security’. They should be arrested and LEGCO disbanded and closed! The Tamar complex converted into a garbage incinerator.
Henry.
Yes, I noticed that.
The reason may be that Patriotic Al
a) did not write the letter himself.
b) doesn’t have a very strong grasp of English.
c) has been in Hong Kong too long.
d) is losing/has lost his marbles.
More than one (indeed all) of these options may, of course, be correct.
Just saw this:
On 7th EVERYbody is wearing a mask:
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3162476/coronavirus-19-hong-kong-lawmakers-attended-birthday-party?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage
On 6th NObody is wearing a mask.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3162357/omicron-suspected-covid-19-patient-believed-be
Photoshop??
“Dr Allan Zeman, GBM, GBS, JP”
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I don’t know what all those “honours” are after his name but is the last one “Jewish Person”?? Really.
A couple of weeks ago, Joe Blow asked in a comment on your blog how one should go about compiling a list of quislings. It sounds like the guest list for this party would make a good starting point.
“…(the last two represented by Au Ka-wang and Hermes Tang, inveterate social-distancing transgressors.)”
More like invertebrate social-distancing transgressors, as are Lam, just about all of her top lieutenants, and LegCo.
@CN
Hasn’t he effectively abrogated his Hebraicity by becoming Chinese?
Dr Zeman, by his own account, has never read a book in his life.
If the ‘lockdown / circuit breaker’ is extended over 2-weeks then I predict public sentiment will boil over.
Could the young woman in the photo of birthday celebrant Witman Hung belting out a song in full karaoke mode pull any further away from the old lecher?
Very amusing.
so what happens when Dr. Zeman dies of Omicron and his boy, the “CEO”, is left behind to fend for himself amongst the patriots? Will LKF survive?
The CMO Asia Awards are self-described as “an invitation-only event taking place behind closed doors”, implying that the winners are decided in advance by a small closed circle. That sounds remarkably like Hong Kong’s “improved” election system.
@Kwun Tong Bypass RE: Legco incinerator – yes, this would make more sense than the current location of the IWMF beside Shek Kwu Chau. At least the incinerator would be nearer to the source of all the waste.
@Wolflikeme: LKF will surely be parceled out between REAL patriots (i.e. those of 100% Han Chinese ethnicity and mainland lineage) with any historical interlopers (Indians, Canadians, Brits, etc) in HK barely tolerated but needed for the Gwailo Seal of Approval of Diverse & United Happiness For Outsiders at anything the HKCCPSAR Gov’t does.
Kwun Tong Bypass
Photoshop?
Almost certainly.
@Kwun Tong Bypass
They missed one. Seems like they got the lady’s face-space prepped but didn’t finish, although managed to mangle her fingers instead.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51806369753_6542aaba7b_b.jpg
Surely some tekkie can de-shop the image and expose SCMP for publishing FAKE NEWS?
Note that it is accredited to ‘Handout’
a contaminated swab might have led to the preliminary positive Covid-19 test result of an RTHK host
Yuen Kwok-yung said it’s believed that the contaminated swab came from the clinic of her husband, who’s a private practitioner
Chu said he gave Sinovac shots to 10 to 20 people before 5pm on Thursday, then left his clinic to meet his wife at a testing laboratory. But because the laboratory was about to close, he instead took a sample from Yeung in a disabled toilet in the facility, speculating the contamination could have happened then.
Oh how the questions mount up!
I wonder how many patients Dr I swabbed my wife in a disabled toilet Chu will have left by this time next week.
@Chinese_Netizen:
| “Dr Allan Zeman, GBM, GBS, JP”
GBM – Grand Bauhinia Medal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Bauhinia_Medal);
GBS – Gold Bauhinia Star (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Bauhinia_Star);
JP – Justice of the Peace (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_of_the_peace#Hong_Kong).
‘Dr’ Zeman has an Honorary LL.D from the University of Western Ontario.
Where to start wirh social distancing?
The link that failed
https://i.postimg.cc/BnZ2jfCX/rules.jpg
I thought academics were supposed to be able to think:
Professor Gabriel Leung from HKU points to what he says is a tactic by city’s flag carrier to get around quarantine rules by allowing aircrew to return on cargo rather than commercial flights.
How does he imagine the passenger aircraft gets back to HK without a crew? Unless of course he imagines Cathay is planning to stockpile all its passenger aircraft overseas.
Odaiwai: you are wrong. GBS – Grovelling Beijing Shit