The Chief Justice goes to considerable lengths to explain that judicial independence exists in Hong Kong. HKFP report here. It would be more convincing if he didn’t feel a need to say this in the first place. But perhaps credibility is not the aim here – he also insists that keeping 47 pro-democracy politicians in jail without trial for a year is perfectly fine.
An HKFP op-ed on those incessant official denials that press freedom is in the same wonderful shape as, say, judicial independence…
…knowing that a mere accusation can result in the immediate closure of a media outlet is intimidating for the staff of any organisation in the business, and also perhaps a dangerous temptation to people who disapprove of it.
Another microbiologist says Hong Kong’s zero-Covid mission is futile. And a study shows that Hongkongers find vaccination information more persuasive if it’s in English rather than Chinese. Something about a ‘high status’ language. (While we’re on the subject, William Pesek considers how China’s zero-Covid policy could impact the global economy. Clue: supply chains.)
It’s great to see HK’s real Covid experts begin to wander “off message”. Sixer Cowling was the first to go. Now Duck-Face. The next 10-14 days could be fun.
If by “independence,” the Chief Justice means independent from defendent’s rights under the Basic Law and ICCPR, he’s spot on.
If all it takes is a rabid insinuation by Ta Kung Pao about an organization/individual to get shut down and prosecuted, then how can any “official” in HK say, with a straight face, that all systems are “go” and nothing has changed? I know, I know…they are saying it with a barrel pointed to their heads.
I’ve seen enough photos of our government servants to finally be able to conclude that, indeed, evil is banal.
Speaking of credibility the lead photograph in this SCMP article utterly destroys any credibilty the alleged experts and so-called HK officials might have had. A Wuflu variant is supposedly so highly-transmissable that a mere 9-second, non-contact passing interaction is enough to infect someone. Isn’t it beyond understanding that making people in a community that has an apparent major outbreak stand in line for hours waiting to be tested major stupidity?
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3164576/lockdown-woes-only-raise-doubts-ability-government-officials?module=opinion&pgtype=homepage